FYI/Battery for HeaterMeter


 

Paul Frere

TVWBB Member
I prefer to avoid having power cords to trip on, so last June I bought a good sized battery to power my HeaterMeter (https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00MF70BPU/tvwb-20) I have used it several times with success. One advantage is that it uses the same power supply as the HeaterMeter, so less junk to deal with.

Why posting now? Well I just finished a 25 hour bacon cold smoke, which was the first test of how long this battery would run the HeaterMeter. Outside air temp (HeaterMeter and battery) in the mid 20deg Fahrenheit range. I was quite pleased and surprised that the battery lasted about 23 hours. Since batteries typically hate cold weather, I'm expecting that in warmer air the battery would easily exceed 24 hours of capacity.

(FWIW I picked this battery because it is not just some random battery resold on Amazon. The supplier, http://talentcell.com/about-us/our-company/ is the manufacturer and I felt that I was likely to get better value as a result.)

YMMV but I thought some here might like to know these results.
 
I bought one and received it yesterday, I'm testing it out on a DC motor that draws about 500mA as the weather outside is a bit dodgey. It's been running for over an hour now and it's still showing 5 bars. This is pretty awesome! Again, great find Paul.
 
Reviving this thread, because I would highly suggest this little battery unit. Did a full burn of charcoal overnight on my gravity feed with a 15CFM fan (30% max), running the fan full blast for 2 hours before connecting to my smoker. After 16 hours (All charcoal burned), the battery was only down to 80%. Incredible little unit. I bought 2 more for backups.

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I use battery power as well. I use a sealed battery from Cabela`s and quick a disconnect for cigarette lighter adapter. I use another plug that mates to the cigarette adapter and proper cable and plug to match heatermeter. I get 20+ hours and never have issues with background noise or noise from poorly designed power supply. Never have and issue with voltage and current.
 
Gotta admit..... battery power has some attraction.

A year ago in August, I'd just lit the smoker off and loaded it up with food for 70+ people. I knew we were going to get some ugly weather.... yeah, right. Something like 5 (or more) tornadoes in less than 10 miles. I was just about ready to run a wire from my truck to keep it running. We lost power for just a couple of minutes, the south side of the river in town lost power for 48-72 hours. :( So, yeah.... battery supply really does have useful capabilities. And about food for 70+ people.... turned out awfully good, my friend/coworker was very happy serving it for his daughter's wedding rehearsal dinner.

Thanks for the report. I'm really going to have think about this.
 
I use battery power as well. I use a sealed battery from Cabela`s and quick a disconnect for cigarette lighter adapter. I use another plug that mates to the cigarette adapter and proper cable and plug to match heatermeter. I get 20+ hours and never have issues with background noise or noise from poorly designed power supply. Never have and issue with voltage and current.
Yeah that's my battery setup as well. A 12V 7.2Ah battery is about $18 on Amazon Prime and has ~86Wh of power compared to those USB power banks which are are ~22Wh for the one linked in the OP. Cheaper and 4x the power? Win win. The only downside is that you need something to charge it with so I can see the advantage of the lithium pack for folks that want it all in one package. I just use my bench power supply set to 14V/500mA and let it go. I don't think that will give it a full charge, but I don't have to worry about it heating or anything else going wrong and it still holds plenty of power to run a HeaterMeter for 24 hours and probably much much longer.
 
the Cabela`s has an option that includes a charger for $29. Battery alone is $20. I went to Walmart and got a Deltran Battery Tender Junior. It is an automatic charger for 12 sealed ,AGM, and Gel batteries. Comes with all the cables and connectors you will ever need. $30 at Walmart and I have seen on Amazon for about $26. A little pricey, but I do have motorcycle batteries I need to charger and float when not used . I used a bench supply for years like Brian and that worked just fine.
 
Reviving this..... The draw of lithium is you don't need to recharge it frequently. In fact it should not be stored at 100%. You can go a year without charging it. Lead acid batteries while cheaper have to be kept charged or they will quickly be damaged and cease to work
 

 

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