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"Charge and Carry" lithium battery power box - electricity.straw.lithium PEP BB

BB electricity - straw badge
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This is a badge bit (BB) that is part of the PEP curriculum.  Completing this BB is part of getting the straw badge in Electricity.

In this Badge Bit, you will build a kick ass "charge and carry" lithium battery system that is always charged.  Maybe you want to have some electricity for tools while working at your food forest.  Or your off grid tiny home needs a bunch of power from time to time.  Or you want to be able to run your refrigerator for a day if the power goes out.  Let's make a portable light weight energy system!

Here's a great video of a guy making exactly what we're talking about (except he builds the battery packs as well which is not required):


To complete this BB, the minimum requirements are:
  - 1100 watt hour capacity
  - 1500 watt inverter
  - reasonably water resistant case
  - One 220VAC 30 amp RV outlet
  - Four 110VAC 15 amp outlets
  - Four USB plugs
  - Two 12V sockets
  - Power meter with display
  - Solar input plugs
  - Plug to charge the unit from 110V or 220V

To show you've completed this Badge Bit, provide proof of the following as pics or video (less than two minutes):
  - the parts you're putting together
  - a description of the build and how you're satisfying the minimum requirements
  - the construction mid-way through
  - the assembled back-up battery system (inside and out)
  - the system turned on
  - the system powering a device with 110VAC, USB and 12V
2
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Errata on these requirements:  30-Amp RV plugs/receptacles are NOT 220/240 Volt AC, they are 110/120 Volt AC ONLY!

The RV outlet shown in the example video is a NEMA TT-30R not to be confused with the old NEMA 10-30R 220 volt dryer outlet, which has been deprecated by modern electrical code because it was a non-grounded outlet.  The inverter used in this same video is not capable of producing 220 volts either.

Unfortunately, it's still possible to find RV outlets that were wired incorrectly as 220 Volt, and that can seriously damage an RV that is plugged into such, so check before using and make sure - it's an expensive mistake!
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