Using the Jackery 500 as an Emergency Power Source 

Haha, thanks, we had some fun with it for sure. :-)

I have a question I have a smaller version I also own the large one by mistake one day I plugged a Small vacuum it was running fine but then it shut down the vacuum that is. My question is do they have a surge protection or some type of internal fuse I believe they must it would seem to me that would be a safety issue does anyone thank you

Thanks Dan! Lucie's a good sport for sure and really helps figure out how to pull some of these scenes together.

I just bought aimtom solar panel. It works exactly the same and $100 cheaper!!

Thanks Marc! We had a little fun with it for sure. :-)

Show her the video

Haha, well this setup is definitely beyond my budget and I was only able to acquire it because I could work for it. I had been considering the 240, and I feel that in general for most weekenders, a solar panel is really unnecessary - I only have that because Jackery wanted it reviewed as well but suspect it won't come with me on most trips. I think the 240 would have eased my power management headaches without needing to dive into an $800 setup. I may go ahead and jump off a bridge this weekend. Don't tell your wife though. :-)

Aww thank you! I naively thought I would produce two videos per week while everyone was in lockdown, but my own day job work struggles made that more challenging than I expected. I'd love to produce more, but alas first and foremost I gotta keep my bills paid. I still hope one day to get it to two videos per week, but for the moment, just not enough hours in the day. Perhaps one day we'll manage to cross paths! A lot of interesting country I'm hoping to explore in Washington some day.

Dual battery is a totally legit approach. Honestly, I'm happy not to have to mess with it for now, but I think for serious extended travel overlanding, from what I've seen on other channels, an actual dual battery setup is probably worth the trouble.

She's better at it than me! We also shot some other scenes with Lucie imposing the Jackery on me to do something I was avoiding, but my acting just didn't fly and I cut them. :-)

Yeah, for the amount of investment, I like that it offers a little more versatility than a dual battery setup. Clearly for certain types of full time overlanders, a dual battery setup has its advantages, but I think for those of us who are mostly weekenders with maybe the occasional weeklong trip, this approach makes a lot of sense.

Those who follow my channel know that I provide my honest opinion even when a product has been provided. I have videos where I flat out say I don't like a product (which I received for free). Months later, after extended real-world use & abuse of my Jackery, I still have zero complaints. In fact, if I were to review it again now, I'd be even more effusive about it than when I made this video. It works fantastically and has been an absolute game-changer in my exploring/camping/overlanding life. I can't speak to the solar panel as it's not really a practical fit with the way I personally use the Jackery, but I did not express an opinion about it in this video, I simply showed that it exists and showed it charging the Jackery. I understand your cynicism and I agree there are a lot of paid reviews that are excessively flowery without pointing out flaws, but it's neither fair nor accurate to make a blanket statement lumping every person who reviews a company-supplied product into one pool of shillers, as it's simply not the case. I have watched many videos where reviewers have given brutally honest reviews of an item that was given to them for free. There are plenty of scrupulous, frank reviewers out there. What you don't see, behind the scenes, is all the products I turn away...FAR more than I accept. I only accept those items which look promising in terms of quality, seem relevant to my viewers' interests, and which make sense within the context of my channel. A natural by-product of this pre-screening is that, yeah, it's highly likely I'm going to enjoy the item. And if I do like the item, well, yeah, I'm not going to lie and say I don't like it...right?

Haha, this one is definitely not low budget. I would not have been able to purchase this setup, though in fairness I did have to log some serious hours working for it. :-)

Thanks!

I have a 500W inverter in the car as well (though I couldn't tell you if it was pure sine wave...guessing not as it was not that expensive). It does work fine for charging the chain saw battery and other items, but I was always wary about using it once arrived at camp, because I'd have to leave the key on in the ignition to keep it powered and I'm paranoid about killing the starter battery when out solo. So I'd still end up unable to recharge all my dead devices at the times I really needed to...in the evening at camp, or in the morning after the cold drained everything. I was honestly more impressed with this thing than I expected to be. Actually, positively tickled with how well it works. Had I found something to dislike about it, I would have included it. Granted, I haven't had much chance to really put it to use. I'll continue reporting on it as it gets more real world use on the trail.

Sounds like a great setup! I need to get the fridge thing figured out. My cooler is adequate for long weekends but I'm hoping to get out on a couple of much longer trips this year and a fridge would really be a game changer. Plus of course for that inevitable zombie apocalypse! :-)

@@softroadingthewest I have been really impressed at how quickly the Dometik cools down even just using the 12V cigarette lighter socket. For longer trips, I run the power from 12V socket to the Jackery, and then Jackery to the Dometik. That way, the Dometik will keep cool even when I shut down the vehicle while doing a pitstop. I have not tested how long the Jackery 500 can keep the fridge cold without recharging though.

That's a great idea!

It's not a budget item for sure. I had been kicking around buying one of their smaller, less-expensive power stations like the 160 or 240 to keep all my devices charged, and just stick with a cooler for the time being, but when they reached out and asked me to check out the 500, well, I didn't say no. :-)

If you change the location on the website to australia there's a 240v version with a proper plug

No, in the car I charge the Jackery using the the cigarette lighter 12V plug. I had that inverter long before getting the Jackery. It continues to serve other purposes, allowing me to charge a few items for which I only have AC chargers, such as my chain saw battery.

That's made by Helian: helianlighting.com/ The light strip seen here is their "Mini Cat" though they also have a smaller lighter weight version now which I've found more practical to use for camping.

With the panel set up on its kickstand, I was able to simply tuck the Jackery right up underneath it in the shade it created. I don't think any of this is designed to sit outside permanently or be weatherproof, I'd say they need to be stored indoors/in vehicle. I don't know if the battery will run the crockpot for 8 hours or not, but it certainly would if the solar panel was feeding power in at the same time. I've never fully charged the Jackery from the solar panel, so I don't know how long, but guessing it would be a full day affair. I think the panel is probably better at keeping the power station topped up as you go rather than complete recharges. If your primary goal is emergency power at home, there may be better systems for that. My point here is that the Jackery can serve an additional purpose beyond the camping/overlanding use most of us mostly use them for. :-)

I've never charged it from empty to full on solar, but based on what I saw with the solar panel hooked up, I would expect it to take several hours, yes, and probably all day if the conditions aren't perfect.

Honestly, I don't know, but I doubt its serviceable. With how long it takes me to deplete the battery, I suspect it will never become an issue for me. Jason (Primal Outdoors) runs a few of them constantly as he lives out of his camping setup. I don't know if he's ever exhausted one despite needing to recharge them very regularly. I suspect most people will never put them to anywhere near that kind of use. There's a guy up in the Portland area who built a very interesting system using a car battery and some kind of aftermarket box designed for that purpose. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-3I_Q7eR4W8U.html I might've looked further into that as it resonates with my low budget DIY approach, but when Jackery reached out, I didn't say No. :-)

​@@softroadingthewest Seems to be the issue with most these portable battery power units. Battery goes bad, throw it out. At least if you build your own you can just replace the battery once it goes bad. Turn your old battery in for a new battery so that the materials get recycled, and you are good again. In a age of recycle we don't seem to make anything that can be recycled anymore. Just my thoughts, George.

These will last the normal user for years. Even after their stated number of full recharges - from zero - then they drop down to something like 80% capacity. We never drop ours down to zero very often - quite rare - so we will get 100's, if not 1000's more full recharges. Much ado about nothing for the average user. Full timers - van lifers - survivalists - DO need to build their own system that has replaceable parts. But the average camper will be perfectly fine with a Jackery 500 or 1000. I just did a video about setting up a budget and simple solar setup for our mini camper that revolves around a Jackery 500, a Solar Saga 100w panel and a fixed Renogy 100w panel on top of our Runaway Camper. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-TUrZMk9cBow.html

Yes, I forgot to point it out in the video, but Jackery did provide this equipment to me to test, at no cost to me (well, except I have a LOT of hours sunk into this video). This setup is beyond my budget otherwise. For my purposes and the way I travel/camp, I'd probably be just fine without the solar panel, as I never camp more than one night in and I'm usually driving for a good chunk of every day, exploring and finding the next campsite, so ample opportunity for the Jackery to recharge off the car. Power management has long been a genuine struggle and I was considering purchasing their 240 model as a more affordable route to keep my devices all operating, but they ended up reaching out to me before I had decided to pull the trigger.

@@softroadingthewest Yes I know nothing is free ,I just asked because they seemed to supply almost all the RU-vid people . smart marketing on there part . And everyone seems to put them to good use .I should have grabbed a Honda By Jackery a few months ago ,i think they must have been discontinuing them and had a good sale on .Stay safe and thanks for your efforts .

It's whatever basic lead acid battery was in the car when I bought it 3 years ago. It's actually on its way out, I'll need to buy a new starter battery in the coming months.

softroadingthewest same here my 4TR has Toyota TruStart (09/11) and will need replacing. Was going to get an AGM but after some research seems most vehicles don’t full charge an AGM battery.

Phones are generally the least of my worries. We have no cell service 95% of the time we're out anyway, though we do use them as additional video cameras. Coordinating the charging of camera batteries, GoPro, iPad, drone, and chain saw however is a constant nightmare. Even worse in cold weather when all the batteries drain much faster and I wake up to everything being dead every morning. :-) Getting all that under control AND being able to run a fridge overnight is a dream come true. :-)

I've never tested it specifically that way, but if it sits unused for a month or two, the total charge does go down a bit. There are internal electronics which monitor the battery which must always run, but it's a pretty small drain. I use mine pretty regularly so I have never seen a significant drop.

It’s a 24aH battery só a max of 9.6 hours assuming it’s a 12v dc fan, if ac it will use more power because of the need to use the inverter

Depends on the wattage of your fridge, but a quick Google search indicates the typical fridge/freezer is probably going to exceed the 500W output of the Jackery 500. I'm guessing it would handle small dorm-style fridge though, and reportedly will keep a 12V car fridge going overnight with no problem.

@@softroadingthewest also wanted to ask what type of tent do you use can't seem to find it in your videos thanks

It would depend on the power draw of the pump. The Jackery 500 can theoretically output up to 500 watts. A quick glance at the specs of a small 1/3 HP pump shows 4.2 amps, which (if I understand correctly) would probably be beyond the capabilities of the 500. Their 1000W model might be better for keeping a sump pump in action, but that thing is huge and $$$. Thanks for watching! We definitely had a little fun with this. :-)

@@softroadingthewest Don, there are 746 Watts on 1 horsepower. That's a shade under 250 Watts so it should work. However, Watts= Amps x Volts 504W= 4.2A x 120VAC So maybe not. Great video.

@@bah5310 Yeah, I was just looking at the amperage spec for the pump, ran it through Google, LOL, and concluded that was too many watts. I imagine than in practical application, most motors are not efficient enough to perfectly convert 746 watts into 1 horsepower...there must be losses, as heat is also generated when a motor runs, so I guess it makes sense that more than 746 watts would have to be drawn in order to yield an actual horsepower of work.

@@softroadingthewest 1 horsepower is always 746 Watts. The efficiency of a motor factors in when calculating power consumption.

@@bah5310 I know NOTHING about power and conversions and all that. But I see that a 1/3 HP pump is a 4.2 amp device, and 4.2 watts at 120 volts = more than 500 watts. So...I don't understand how that calculates. My conclusion, at the very least, is that I shouldn't tell someone this 500W station can run a sump pump, LOL. :-)

It'll run a box fan for sure. For how long, I don't know. Running the AC output definitely draws the battery down faster than the DC outputs. I'm actually working right now on a 1-yr review follow-up, since I made this video very shortly after getting the Explorer 500 and before I truly had a chance to put it to practical use. I've got a fan around here somewhere and I'll do some testing to see how it performs. Check back next weekend, I should have the new video completed by next Saturday or Sunday.

It will run anything that has up to a 500-watt draw. A quick Google search indicates most TVs these days draw about 100 watts; a fully charged Jackery 500 would run a 100-watt TV for about five hours.

It depends on the power draw of the fog machine. I would *guess* it probably would, but I don't know exactly how fog machines work and how power-hungry they are. You'd just have to look at the label on your machine (should be tucked away on there somewhere) to see how many watts it requires. I think some electrical appliances have their power draw labeled in amps instead of watts. I don't recall the conversion but it's easy to figure out using Google. The Jackery 500 will run something that draws 500 watts or less. Needless to say, something that requires 150 watts will be able to run much longer than something that pulls 450 watts.

That was simply a conceptual dramatization in order to introduce the solar panel as a charging option. :-) We were unable to drain the power bank down to zero with our usage. As to connecting two panels, there is only one input on the Jackery Explorer 500, and there is no input on the SolarSaga panel for daisy-chaining, so I *imagine* an additional power management device of some sort would be necessary to accept the inputs from two solar panels and feed it into the Jackery's input. I have zero experience and knowledge of all that however. :-)

@@softroadingthewest So much stuff and stll at 72%, nice! Power the hole house from the main panel? Maybe? Probably you can connect two with just a specific splitter. So nothing comes with to connect two. Did you find the need for more than one 100W panel?

@@maniacm6 Honestly I was unable to discharge the power bank enough to need recharging, and I really only used the solar panel briefly while filming (the whole "power outage" was a dramatization to demostrate using it at home...we have not actually had to rely upon it yet). The charge level went up a few percent while I was getting these shots with the panel connected, which wasn't long at all, but from what I saw, I doubt that you would be able to get the 500 from 0% to 100% on a cloudy day using just this panel.

@@softroadingthewest My bad, I was thinking for using it outside but you said was only for a week, I checked the video again. With a fridge or something more dismantling you will need the solar panel, we will see. Honestly I thought the power outage happen and gave you idea. Cool idea and cool video. I planning to make one, smaller, hope ot works. Good luck!

Haha, no, that was stock music. :-) I hack at the guitar a bit, but sound nothing like that. I'm actually a drummer and played in a local band for a number of years, but I like fiddling with guitars and keyboards too.

That's an interesting idea. I do run an AC inverter in my car. I'll have to see how that compares with charging it off the 12V outlet. Oh, and I'm a total hack at guitar. I'm actually a drummer and have been in a few bands over the years, but I like to fiddle around with other instruments. The Jackery actually could be interesting for busking, set up on a street corner with a guitar and amp and take the whole presentation to another level. :-)

@@softroadingthewest I think you mentioned doing a follow-up review, and comparing the charging rates between 12v and AC in the car would be interesting to know. When I bring my HAM radio gear camping I have to run the truck to keep up with charging... the Jackery (or even any similar made brand) would cut down on idling time. Everyone I've seen playing on the street has been acoustic... you might be on to something here... with the Jackery attracting even more attention. Good luck with it!

@@peterkunka2694 Yes, it would be interesting to check the recharging via 12V plug vs the AC converter. I'll give that a try once we can get back out there driving around! I'm a worthless guitar player so I might attract attention but it wouldn't be good attention, LOL. I used to play drums in a few bands, but the guitar is just for fun when no one is listening. :-)

July 7th? Tuesday July 7th? No idea. I barely know what I'm doing May 7th, and that's today, LOL.

Ok this vod was funny. Almost a horror aspect when the jackery appears each time haha.

@@MattCookOregon Haha, indeed. "Noooooo!!!! Now I have to work!!!" We actually filmed a few other segments where Lucie turned the tables and used the Jackery to force me to do something I didn't want, but I'm not as good of an actor and they just didn't play as well, heh.

No, it won't do that. You'd need a separate jump pack for that. Something else I really need to add to my kit.

I do not, I'm sorry. I often get promo codes when companies send products for review, but Jackery did not provide a discount code to me.

She can do her homework without being connected to the internet. Though the Jackery can easily power both her laptop and the modem/wifi router. :-)

@@softroadingthewest Wow, I wasn't expecting a reply. Love the vids. Hurry with your new vehicle selection so we can see more of your great content. Keep them coming boss.

No because it’s not a T.V.

J'avais l'impression que ça pourrait monter vers $1,000 pour installer une système de batterie auxiliaire...à 250 euros, en fait c'est plus faisable que je ne pensais. De l'autre côté, je suis ravi de la simplicité du Jackery, rien à apprendre et pas de câbles à installer. :-)

@@softroadingthewest Oui, ce Jackery te fait gagner du temps aussi bien en utilisation qu'en installation! C'est bien pour ça que ce genre de système m'avait tenté avant que le porte feuille me rappelle à la raison! 😂👍

I haven't had enough use to get a feel for the recharging. With the kind of charging I do, it doesn't seem to drain fast enough for recharging time to be a concern. However, if I get a fridge, that could become another story for sure. Once we can get back out on the trail, I'll definitely continue reporting on how it's working out, and any disadvantages I experience! :-)

softroadingthewest check out Matt Dewitt on RU-vid. He did a nice informative video on the Jackery 1000. I think he ran his Dometic fridge for like six days straight. Local guy giving him a shoutout.

@@randallharmsen5802 Wow, 6 days? That's amazing. I'd be thrilled just to keep a fridge running overnight. I'm looking forward to putting this to use in a camping/overlanding context and reporting further. We're under "no non-essential travel" orders here but I had agreed to provide a video by the end of April. :-)