What Preps are you doing this week? Part 11

[Medusa]

It's this one ALLPOWERS Portable Generator 288Wh Power Station Emergency Power Supply with DC/AC. It has been really good on holiday, but I would like to buy another similar one which is bigger, but have no idea how to work out what they will run and need someone to explain it to me in simple terms please so I dont make an expensive mistake.

I assume this is it:?

https://uk.iallpowers.com/products/allp ... ation-s300


Looking at the specification

It's

288Wh Capacity;
300W AC output (500W Surged);

Which is roughly on par with my ecoflow river 2



To work out what it'll run you need to look at the appliances ratings plate on the back / base usually you'll find a id plate

Shamelessly stolen of Google

Screenshot_20240413-081942.png

As you can see a kettle is one power hungry monster pulling between 2500-3000w depending on the voltage as there's fluctuations between parts of Europe so let's say that kettle on average pulls 2750w that's one big power bank required even the average / standard honda eu20i caravaners favourite generator wouldnt power it


My river is 256wh so a tad smaller than yours but at maximum load of 300w (travel hair drier on setting 1 is 300w) it'll run for just over 30 minutes
Screenshot_20240413-082429.png

As good as power banks are anything with a heating element is one power hungry beast I'll take my ecoflow delta max downstairs in a bit and see what it makes of the generic kitchen kettle it will run it but it'll soon flatten the battery I have no doubts on that

Still think for hot water for a brew you can't go wrong with a jetboil type stove and hot water for washing / bathing one of the compact lpg water ' boilers ". You can buy a lot of gas with close to £1000

Screenshot_20240413-083417.png


Well the delta max 1600wh was showing 45 minutes run time with a 2500w-3000w kettle then it got upset with the load and tripped out I suspected so much

Screenshot_20240413-085822.png

The 2000w displayed is due to the xboost over drive mode trying to run it (it's cuts voltage to reduce draw)

Now if I wanted to use a kettle id use the low wattage job from the camper but that's parked at my parents

Thank you for taking the time to do all that. I understand better now. Loving the pink hairdryer btw and beautifully staged next to the Stella Seriously though, I really appreciate it and yes, you are right I could buy a lot of gas for my various camping stoves

[Yorkshire Andy]

Thank you for taking the time to do all that. I understand better now. Loving the pink hairdryer btw and beautifully staged next to the Stella Seriously though, I really appreciate it and yes, you are right I could buy a lot of gas for my various camping stoves

Not a problem it's not my hair drier honest my hairs long long gone took it a few weeks ago winding up a mate who had gone off grid camping with a new lady friend who wasnt overly impressed with his arrangements in thr end having a company car thats leccy this is his solution till he flattens it

[pseudonym]

What are you using these things for? Itsy and pseud.

Anything and everything lil, haven't tried the washing machine yet but kettle, toaster. fridge freezer and microwave work just fine.

Think of mine as a DIY solar install with battery like you see on the TV Adverts. Except mine is portable


You just have to change your "working" habits i.e any heavy electrical loads are done before 10am so the Powerbank has the rest of the day to recharge

[Frnc]

This may be of interest to some people. I found a brand of silicone sealant you can use on wet surfaces, even under water. It is called CT1. It comes in a range of colours, and is about £15 a tube on ebay. Normal silicone is about £8, sometimes a bit cheaper. Obviously this could repair a leak in the rain for example, or even a leaking boat!

CT1 will successfully bond:

All metals (including lead)
Glass
Mirrors
All woods
MDF
Polystyrene
Fiberglass
Tiles
Concrete
Most stones (without staining)
Most synthetic materials
Plastics (excluding PP, PE and PTFE)

On the topic, quick tip for applying silicone around a 90° joint. Apply the silicone making sure no gaps or holes. Squirt some dilute soapy water using a mister. Then dip your finger or smoothing tool in soapy water and smooth the joint. The excess will come off cleanly. This is what I was taught by BAL.

Don't try to fill a deep gap that's much wider than about 3mm. You should put a foam bead down the gap for the silicone to sit on. If silicone is very thick, it has low elasticity. I'm not sure if foam beads are easy to buy though. I used to have rolls of 3mm and 6mm diameter. You could improvise. If the gap is under 3mm wide, depth won't be an issue. Set it a few mm back so the silicone has a nice gap to sit in.

Same applies to acrylic decorators caulk, but you can skip the soap, it cleans up with water. A smooth sponge would be useful for excess.

[Yorkshire Andy]

Ct1 isn't silicon it's a water based panel adhesive / filler


I prefer sumo
https://www.protrade.co.uk/product/maxi ... ant-290ml/ it's much cheaper to boot....


For bathrooms and wet rooms you can't beat DowCorning now Dow 785 plus for it's anti mould properties


Flat roof emergency repair bitumen roof and gutter seal and or flash band

For timber you can't really beat a pu based adhesive such as original gorilla glue


Don't get sucked in by some very clever marketing and sponsorship/ referrals by the building trade give a YouTube contractor a few free boxes a fleece and a wooly hat he will sing your praises all day long

I used ct1 when I rebuilt the rotten end wall of my camper as I couldn't get sumo locally it worked but at the price it's no better than other similar products

[Frnc]

But can Sumo be used on wet materials? From what I can gather, CT1 and Sumo are similar in many ways (I have read a review comparing them), but that page doesn't say Sumo can bond to wet surfaces or under water, and the review didn't mention it either. I've not looked at the Dow Corning, but obviously I've heard of it, is that a normal silicone?

[Yorkshire Andy]

But can Sumo be used on wet materials? From what I can gather, CT1 and Sumo are similar in many ways (I have read a review comparing them), but that page doesn't say Sumo can bond to wet surfaces or under water, and the review didn't mention it either. I've not looked at the Dow Corning, but obviously I've heard of it, is that a normal silicone?

From sumo it's also anti fungal

Dow is "normal silicone"

[Frnc]

But can Sumo be used on wet materials? From what I can gather, CT1 and Sumo are similar in many ways (I have read a review comparing them), but that page doesn't say Sumo can bond to wet surfaces or under water, and the review didn't mention it either. I've not looked at the Dow Corning, but obviously I've heard of it, is that a normal silicone?

From sumo it's also anti fungal Screenshot_20240414-175738.png

Dow is "normal silicone"

I must have missed that. Looks like Sumo might be the better option. Reminds me, I need to silicone the extractor fan hood outside soon, got some brown silicone for it.

[Nurseandy]

Weather's finally warming up, hopefully no more frosts, so starting to plant the veg garden this week.

[jansman]

Weather's finally warming up, hopefully no more frosts, so starting to plant the veg garden this week.

We have a very good chance of frost tomorrow night here in the midlands. Everything fleeced in the greenhouse!