Router Battery Backup

David DJ said:
I've got 2 requirements. The one is to power the fibre box (15w) and router (15w) for up to 5 hours. The second is for a laptop (85w), low power desktop (90w), monitor (40w) and wifi router (15w), also for up to 5 hours. For the latter I've got an inverter and 2x12v 105 batteries. I'm looking for a safe, not hacked, solid solution for the first which is in an adjoining building. I'm looking for an economic but long term professional solution.
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So the info required is the actual device DC voltage, Current and Watts
ONT
Router
Laptop
Desktop
Monitor
wi-fi router
 
Zuner said:
Measured with a multimeter, got everything right, center pin positive both routers power supplies are also that polarity.

That's an old Samsung galaxy s3 power bank in case somebody wonders.
View attachment 636856View attachment 636858View attachment 636860
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I don't think that's giving out enough power. Volts are not the only thing required here. That power bank might not be pushing enough amps for the router, so you might need to invest in a better power bank. If you look at the one I linked (Xiaomi Power Bank 20000mAh) you should be good to go. I was able to power my 9V TP-link without any issues.
 
Geoff.D said:
Then we just need to sort out A/C and refrigeration and heating (cooking) water heating is already direct solar.
We are all slaves to this huge centralised power generation monster that has now let us down spectacularly!

All the stuff we are all worried about when LS happens is completely out of the equation.

Cooking ----- GAS
water heating ----- Solar
A/C ----- DC - inverter compressors
Refrigeration ----- DC - Inverter compressors
Electronics ----- Solar - DC to DC converters.
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Indeed!
I reckon one has to decide how independent one is attempting to be.
Going off grid is a mission and you need to think seriously about it if you are attempting that.
If you are 'surviving power outages' then you are simply making a plan.
So instead of making a shopping list of all the things you think you need ask yourself what you really need in order of priority.. (And of course being abe to post comments on My Broadband is high priority!)
 
TheHxckid said:
I don't think that's giving out enough power. Volts are not the only thing required here. That power bank might not be pushing enough amps for the router, so you might need to invest in a better power bank. If you look at the one I linked (Xiaomi Power Bank 20000mAh) you should be good to go. I was able to power my 9V TP-link without any issues.
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I've got a Romoss Sailing 3 (outputs 2.1a) that i was going to use, but to test i used a cell charger which outputs 2amps, it didn't work.
 
PUP Backup said:
Indeed!
I reckon one has to decide how independent one is attempting to be.
Going off grid is a mission and you need to think seriously about it if you are attempting that.
If you are 'surviving power outages' then you are simply making a plan.
So instead of making a shopping list of all the things you think you need ask yourself what you really need in order of priority.. (And of course being abe to post comments on My Broadband is high priority!)
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There's definitely much more involvement in your own power solution -- except if you get a really expensive solution (and even then, you're looking at replacing batteries every couple of years). At this point it does feel that it is still in the early adopter phase and that you need to be an enthusiast to go off-grid completely -- nothing is "install and forget".
 
Quick question.

If i got one of those 12V mini UPS Power bank supplies and a DC splitter cable to power my Asus router and fibre ONT, would the power supply be sufficient enough to power it and if so, for how long?

Mini UPS

edit: a 2A powerbank will be able to power a 1A router for one hour, so I'm assuming that it will only power 2 routers for one hour, still not sure if that splitter will work.
 
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Taariq404 said:
Quick question.

If i got one of those 12V mini UPS Power bank supplies and a DC splitter cable to power my Asus router and fibre ONT, would the power supply be sufficient enough to power it and if so, for how long?

Mini UPS
Click to expand...

Quick question with a complicated answer. I'd say power it from the UPS and time it.

The fibre ONT I would expect wouldn't draw much current but the Asus router might (depends on the model). If you have power usage information (in watts) for the devices you can make an estimate.
 
ebendl said:
Quick question with a complicated answer. I'd say power it from the UPS and time it.

The fibre ONT I would expect wouldn't draw much current but the Asus router might (depends on the model). If you have power usage information (in watts) for the devices you can make an estimate.
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I have a 20000mAh power bank, I'm not sure about using that or getting one of those Mini UPS power banks. The hassle of charging the power bank is a bit off putting. Just trying to establish what is the cheapest and most efficient solution. Using a power bank certainly seems to be the cheapest.
 
ebendl said:
There's definitely much more involvement in your own power solution -- except if you get a really expensive solution (and even then, you're looking at replacing batteries every couple of years). At this point it does feel that it is still in the early adopter phase and that you need to be an enthusiast to go off-grid completely -- nothing is "install and forget".
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And then you can only blame " My own lack of maintenance " :) No Eskom stories to bitch about!:)
 
Daruk said:
This.
Intel at one point was supplying rural clinics in Africa with a packaged solution based on a container with roof mounted solar power, battery backup and laptops. The way they made it work was to remove the batteries from the laptops and throw them away, then connect the laptops directly to the solar charged battery array. What this did was negate the need for AC voltage conversion (via inverter) and the power hungry charging circuits of the laptops. Everything runs off the solar charged battery array and the result is increased efficiency.
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and a security measure of sorts. The laptops are useless without batteries or chargers.
 
In the end, it is about commitment to being self-reliant. You can do it in stages.
(1) Solar water heating - reduces reliance on mains immediately, cut electricity bill. Timing when it is time to replace an existing geyser.
(2) Cooking - Choose to move to gas
(3) Electronics ( DC powered stuff) - start small and increase as needed. First priority. AC--> Charger -- Battery bank --> DC to DC conversion
(4) Add Solar to 3 as an alternative to reliance on AC mains.
(5) Total backup of all power requirements - large install Solar bank ---> batteries ----> DC to DC conversion for electronics. In parallel - Inverter feeding AC dependent Appliances.
 
Daruk said:
This.
Intel at one point was supplying rural clinics in Africa with a packaged solution based on a container with roof mounted solar power, battery backup and laptops. The way they made it work was to remove the batteries from the laptops and throw them away, then connect the laptops directly to the solar charged battery array. What this did was negate the need for AC voltage conversion (via inverter) and the power hungry charging circuits of the laptops. Everything runs off the solar charged battery array and the result is increased efficiency.
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That's a pointless thing to do because the laptop batteries are charged via the same dc input as the laptop itself, which is typically 19V and throwing away the battery doesn't negate the need for Dc power?

Nevermind laptop batteries use li-ion cells which are one of the most efficient storage mediums, why throw that away.

I have a 12v charger for my laptop, works great, powers the laptop and charges the battery.

I think in the situation you mentioned the battery was discarded due to other reasons than power because having a battery fitted even if not used to power the laptop directly is handy to have to deal with power input fluctuations.
 
Taariq404 said:
I have a 20000mAh power bank, I'm not sure about using that or getting one of those Mini UPS power banks. The hassle of charging the power bank is a bit off putting. Just trying to establish what is the cheapest and most efficient solution. Using a power bank certainly seems to be the cheapest.
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I had a look at some power banks too -- RS components sell one that allows passthrough, in other words, you can use it plugged into its own PSU and plug other things into it. https://za.rs-online.com/web/p/products/7757508/

The installation guide makes a feature of this (you can find the installation guide at the link above):

Screen Shot 2019-03-25 at 15.38.30.png
 
Daruk said:
What about this?

https://www.gumtree.co.za/a-car-acc...ck-jump-starter-12v/1004553999990910431617509

https://www.gumtree.co.za/a-other-e...echargeable-battery/1004452748460910021302409
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These are promising devices. Amazing amount of current to kick start your car when your battery is flat!
A disadvantage with all these gizmos is that you need to manually connect the device to your routers etc. when there's and outage and then to plug it's regular power supply back in when the mains power resumes.
 
Would love to see the manual for the these devices and the real specs, not what has been selectively extracted for the adverts. That recharge figure quoted of 3 hours is very hard to believe. What sort of charger is required to pump that sort of charge back into the battery?
 
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Daruk said:
Ja, what I was thinking too. The form factor looks relatively small for that Ah rating.
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Found this reference: https://www.amicell.co.il/batteries...e-high-energy-density-lithium-polymer-series/
Amit Industries is proud to present her new series of lithium polymer cells
Extreme high energy density cells (Up to 250Wh/kg)
This special technology has been developed mainly for the unmanned aerial applications, this technology offer low weight, high capacity and amazing energy density which promise extremely high functioning of your application.
Here under you may find details regarding some cells of this series and we invite you to check the new technology , test and evaluate it in order to answer your application’s requirements.
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Presumably, technology developed for the satellite industries is now filtering down into more "mundane" products.
 
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