Portable battery power for the Ranger

[Pogo007]

Looking for recommendations for a portable battery to power my Ranger. Considereding Ecoflow and Goal Zero Yeti models but not sure what models or stats I should be looking for.

 

[GrillMeister]

When I bought the PTG at Costco a ways back, it came with an inverter to use by plugging it into a lighter socket in a car.

You can get a decent Deep Cycle trolling battery and inverter for under $150 and it will keep your Ranger going for days in the wild.

 

[Pogo007]

When I bought the PTG at Costco a ways back, it came with an inverter to use by plugging it into a lighter socket in a car.

You can get a decent Deep Cycle trolling battery and inverter for under $150 and it will keep your Ranger going for days in the wild.

Thanks for this feedback but I'm not interested in using an inverter since I don't have a car.

 

[RemE]

Thanks for this feedback but I'm not interested in using an inverter since I don't have a car.

Regardless of a car, you need a 120V AC source to power the grill. You can get a cheap 12V to 120V "inverter" and 12V battery, or one of the newer combined battery/inverter units like Goal Zero etc. with an outlet on them.

 

[Pogo007]

Regardless of a car, you need a 120V AC source to power the grill. You can get a cheap 12V to 120V "inverter" and 12V battery, or one of the newer combined battery/inverter units like Goal Zero etc. with an outlet on them.

Exactly, but how many peak watts and how many Watt-hours will a battery station like a Goal Zero require for a average use. Knowing this will help me pick a particular model. Thanks

 

[GrillMeister]

Thanks for this feedback but I'm not interested in using an inverter since I don't have a car.

How long are you looking to operate it away from AC power?

I have my Traegers connected to UPS that uses a 7Ah battery and I can get almost 2 hours out of it if needed. I would imagine something like this would do the same. It all depend on how long you expect to be using it.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07WP86PBY

 

[RemE]

My Timberline draws 98W at ignition, then drops to 15watts during normal operation. So any modest backup battery unit can handle that for quite a while.

 

[Pogo007]

My Timberline draws 98W at ignition, then drops to 15watts during normal operation. So any modest backup battery unit can handle that for quite a while.

Thanks RemE. Traeger tells me that the Ranger draws 300W initially but was unable to tell me what the wattage draw would be after ignition. I suspect it to be 30W at most.

 

[RemE]

I'd be surprised if the measured draw was that high at startup. Grab a cheap watt meter and see. It's the hot rod ignitor that pulls the most power for the first 10 min, then it's the controller, fan, and auger which draw little.

 

[Pogo007]

I'd be surprised if the measured draw was that high at startup. Grab a cheap watt meter and see. It's the hot rod ignitor that pulls the most power for the first 10 min, then it's the controller, fan, and auger which draw little.

I would think that Traeger would know what the draw was in the ignition stage and they say it's 300W and, in fact, recommended a battery station that can support peak 400W.

 

[RemE]

Stated max draws are seldom what is measured. That said 300-400W unit is small.

 

[Pogo007]

Turns out I can now give an answer to the initial post, by me, to this thread. Today I attached an energy meter to my Ranger and grilled some chicken at 375 degrees Fahrenheit. From the time of ignition and for a period of approximately 5 minutes my Ranger was drawing an average of 237 watts. For the remaining 62 minutes it was drawing an average of 30 watts. With this in mind I figure a battery station that can handle a peak 300 watts with a 250 watt-hour capacity will likely handle most any grilling task. So I think I may be purchasing an EcoFlow River portable power station

 

[GrillMeister]

Turns out I can now give an answer to the initial post, by me, to this thread. Today I attached an energy meter to my Ranger and grilled some chicken at 375 degrees Fahrenheit. From the time of ignition and for a period of approximately 5 minutes my Ranger was drawing an average of 237 watts. For the remaining 62 minutes it was drawing an average of 30 watts. With this in mind I figure a battery station that can handle a peak 300 watts with a 250 watt-hour capacity will likely handle most any grilling task. So I think I may be purchasing an EcoFlow River portable power station

Nice. It looks like EcoFlow River does not accept a 3 prong grounded AC plug, so you will need an adapter.

 

[Pogo007]

Nice. It looks like EcoFlow River does not accept a 3 prong grounded AC plug, so you will need an adapter.

Correct, however the EcoFlow River does have a power earth screw so the adapter could be grounded accordingly.

 

[RemE]

Since it's battery operated no ground is actually needed.