Goal zero yeti 150 & cpap

Since "Goal Zero" is in the subject title I would like to say a few words about these Yeti unit, almost all of it positive.

While it is "one more thing to lug around" if you already have a battery, a charger and an inverter, when you have none of those things the Yeti is a very convenient method of toting them around. And while it is more costly than buying the individual parts separately, I know of no other combo setup anywhere near as convenient for travel as the Yeti units.

I first purchased the 150 for use snow camping in a tent where every last thing was being dragged in on sled by human donkey. All I needed to do was power a small tablet, but since I am addicted to electronic devices I needed the tablet powered on pretty much any moment I was awake.

The Yeti units are solidly built and lightweight--apart from the dead weight of the battery. My main gripe with the 150 is simply its small battery.

I bought the 400 even though it was less luggable, because it offered far more power. With the 400 I found that I could power both my laptop and sat reciever and tailgater, for short durations. The problem I found was that the power cord charger offered very low amperage--five, I think--and since there is no transfer switch in these devices, and power that goes into the cord has to be charged into the batts and then inverted out again. In practice this meant that they were still better suited for short-duration uses.

There are two ways to improve this. The first is simply to clamp a Meanwell single-stage power supply onto the external anderson ports and do bulk charging by that method. The second is to add solar panels and feed power inthrogh the solar input, which is higher. I did both these things, but in both cases you're now lugging around more clutter, and less clutter was the whole point with the Yeti units.

My Yeti 400 (and extra batts) now travels with me in my car. This allows me to run my power-hungry laptop for hours on end, say if I decide to head out to some picturesque spot and day-camp for the afternoon. For that use alone I don't know how I ever got along without it. Idling my car for hours on end, if memory serves.

Bottom line: Highly recommended for limited-duration uses where the recharge cycle is not part of the equation. Highly recommended for its portability. Neutral recommendation on price--high priced but there really is no other alternative short of making your own. Not recommented for long-duration uses beyond the onboard battery capacity. The cord charger takes an eternity and solar or a Meanwell adds that much more clutter.

In aperfect world I would go back and buy the 1250 (100 pounds) and keep it permanently in the back of the jeep, trickle charging every time I start the car and ready whenever I need it.

Power hungry laptop? Have actually measured the wattage required?

how many amp hours are the 150 and the 400? seems to me that the only thing this does is store up juice and then powers a 120 inverter. with most CPAPs converting 12 to 120 and back to 12 is sort of foolish and wasteful?
why wouldn't my portable battery jump starters do the same thing at 10% the cost? what is the real advantage. as was said $$$$ for $$ worth.
bumpy

Hi Bumpy,

It is the high cost of "buying" a Y. (a la Wheel of Fortune).

Bumpyroad wrote:
how many amp hours are the 150 and the 400? seems to me that the only thing this does is store up juice and then powers a 120 inverter. with most CPAPs converting 12 to 120 and back to 12 is sort of foolish and wasteful?
why wouldn't my portable battery jump starters do the same thing at 10% the cost? what is the real advantage. as was said $$$$ for $$ worth.
bumpy

Tuna: yes.

My Alieneware 17 r3's 240w power supply will draw a steady 180 watts when I am processing, and I typically have a process running in the background. The reason that it can draw this much power is that the nVidia 980m gfx card can function as a coprocessor. Very speedy for a laptop, but ridiculously power hungry also--and hot.

My 8-inch tablet, on the other hand, barely sips power, but is just there for web surfing and email.

FWIW the r3 laptop is a major improvemnt over the r2, which under 100% processing couldn't hold a charge.

Ok I would sooner have a Lifeline AGM battery with 100 amp/hours sit next to the bed or move around with me.

14 amp/hours for the YETI 150(150 watt hours). The 400 is 33.

For the RV pull 12v wire to where you need it or add a small inverter.
Either way add an extra battery or two. Then 200 to 500 watts of solar.
This will improve the entire camping experience not just what is needed for the CPAP.

What smk said.

X2

Not sure if we're back to CPAP or if we're still Yeti-bashing. Regarding the Yeti, there is no RV attached to it. It is either in my car or in my tent or next to a folding table set up at an overlook, or being lugged from one to another. This is its value.

smkettner wrote:
Ok I would sooner have a Lifeline AGM battery with 100 amp/hours sit next to the bed or move around with me.

14 amp/hours for the YETI 150(150 watt hours). The 400 is 33.
.

so for 1/4 the cost you could get 6 times the amp hours? doesn't sound that great to me.
bumpy

No one is saying the Yeti units don't work. Most are saying it is expensive per amp-hour of storage. If you choose to call that bashing the product, that is your choice.

I'm on a limited budget, Yeti is for the rich folks, not for me.

greenrvgreen wrote:
Not sure if we're back to CPAP or if we're still Yeti-bashing. Regarding the Yeti, there is no RV attached to it. It is either in my car or in my tent or next to a folding table set up at an overlook, or being lugged from one to another. This is its value.