Caldwell Accumax AR-15 Barrel Cooler

[alfsauve]

Now don't get me wrong.  Caldwell is owned by S&W and I'm a stockholder, 0.00000005%, so yeah anything Caldwell makes.

If they had attachment that let you stick it up most any pistol mag well and one that was a short hose to stick in any barrel, then maybe I could go the $50.

Here's my $10 fan in op at the range with the USB rechargeable battery pack.

[billt]

Alf,

Give me the skinny on that whole USB Battery pack you've got going. Is the fan a USB "plug in type"? What's the deal with the battery pack? How do you recharge it? 110 Volt outlet? What kind of batteries are they, and how long will they run the fan? I've seen chargers that plug into 110V, and have a USB port going "out" of them.

[alfsauve]

If you have anything powered by a USB port, like these little fans, or cell phone chargers or LabRadar, then there are dozens of these "emergency" chargers. 

I stumbled on this one at Office Max/Depot just when I needed one for the radar.   It was on sale for $20 at the time and has Li-Ion cells inside.  It has a 6AH capacity if you don't discharge it too fast.  Has two USB ports that can supply either 1A or 2.1A.   There also a mini-USB port that is used to charge it from any of the USB wall warts.  So anything that will run off a USB wall wart will run off of this battery.

I used it Friday to run the little fan for about 4 hours, no problem.  And of course I run the LabRadar with it as well when I take it to the range.



Here's the Office Depot link for more details.

http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/408211/Duracell-Portable-Power-Bank-With-6000/

Here's Duracell's web site.  At work we're partial to Pro-Cells, Duracell's pro line, so I tend to prefer them at home as well. 

https://www.duracell.com/en-us/products/category/usb-battery-packs


Other manufacturers make USB solar panels and, especially in your weather, you could run a fan all day and charge multiple cell phones while still have power left over for the evening festivities.

[alfsauve]

Oh and from a prepper standpoint, you do want one of these rechargeable ones, a solar panel to keep it charged and also a recharger  that will take alkaline batteries in a pinch.

[billt]

Thanks Alf. I appreciate the info. I'm not up on a lot of this stuff.

[Sponsor]

[billt]

While I'm at it, do all cell phones require the same power? I have a Motorola Moto G Smart Phone. How do I know I'm not giving it too much power? I know that batteries don't "push current". But is there any way I could damage it using one of these type of battery packs?

[alfsauve]

Not all cell phones have bought into the USB style charging system.  If the charging cable is a USB type,  socket pictured above, then probably any USB charging battery pack or wall wart, or even a computer port, could be used to keep it charged.

I was a little skeptical of these emergency chargers at first, looking down my nose thinking, "Stupid people If just keep your phone charged in the first place."  That was until I was on an extended trip and got caught in DFW for would could have been 2-3 days.   I commandeered one of the few pay phones in the place and only used my cell phone for texting until I could get out of there.   Now when I travel, I carry one of these in my carry-on bag.

[billt]

Mine has that little trapezoidal port that the phone end plugs into. And the other end plugs into a 110 outlet. I've seen chargers for it that plug into a cigarette lighter. I have a 110 outlet in my new Jeep, but for my truck I'd need the 12 volt cigarette lighter deal. I have no idea what voltage or amperage the phone requires to run.

[Solus]

A device you might consider...if you would have another use for it....is a Bio-Lite stove.  Several sizes and accessories including lighting arrays.

CampStove
Turn fire into electricity using wood

http://www.bioliteenergy.com/products/biolite-campstove

Also, a tip I happened to see the other day.  I found I had been making good emergency tinder for many years now.   Clothes dryer lint.

[billt]

Do they make wood burning cell phones?