uninteruptable power supply to recharge LI-ION

[hotpink]

I am thinking about using an uninteruptable power supply to recharge 3 lithium ion Segways. Any thoughts on what size I would need and how feasable it is?

[BarnyFife]

Do you mean that you want to use a UPS as a super surge protector, yes they are the best at that, if you want to try to use it "off line" (not connected to AC) then no, a large server grade UPS only runs for about 3/4 of an hour on the batteries and most of them will not even turn on if not connected to AC.

[SegwayDan]

I seem to remember reading somewhere that if someone wanted to charge a Segway from a car battery, that the inverter would have to handle 300 watts. If that same wattage would apply to UPS capacity, then the UPS may want to handle 900 watts for three Segs or about a Kw.

[hotpink]

Do you mean that you want to use a UPS as a super surge protector, yes they are the best at that, if you want to try to use it "off line" (not connected to AC) then no, a large server grade UPS only runs for about 3/4 of an hour on the batteries and most of them will not even turn on if not connected to AC.
Yes, we are located on a beach and I am looking to use it during the day as a stand alone recharge or at least "top off" station.

[segwaycf]

Get yourself a Honda 1000I or 2000I inverter generator. Either will run all day on less than a gallon of gas. They are nearly silent and very reliable. This is how we recharge our fleet when not near shore power.

[yosgof]

If you want to keep "clean" which is the whole idea with the Seg why not use a solar panel (for example http://store.solar-electric.com/kc-120.html) with an inverter.

On a beach it should work great.

[sribas]

I would like to use solar energy to charge my HT180 (Li-on bat), but I don´t know how much power I need. 130 Watt is enough? And the inverter, can I use one I use in my car? (12vDC to 220vAC)
thanks

[bystander]

I would like to use solar energy to charge my HT180 (Li-on bat), but I don´t know how much power I need. 130 Watt is enough? And the inverter, can I use one I use in my car? (12vDC to 220vAC)
thanksYou may find you need more power than that, unless you just want to "top-off".

Here are some old threads related to solar charging a HT:

Creative ways to charge batteries! (http://forums.segwaychat.com/showthread.php?t=1828)

Solar Segway? (http://forums.segwaychat.com/showthread.php?t=2545)

Solar Powered M model Segway (http://forums.segwaychat.com/showthread.php?t=5491)

Anyone look into solar power? (http://forums.segwaychat.com/showthread.php?t=9059)

Potential for a solar-charging Segway HT? (http://forums.segwaychat.com/showthread.php?t=9601)

Solar charging of a Seg? (http://forums.segwaychat.com/showthread.php?t=10197)

The HT charger uses around 130 watts average, but you'll need some overhead for surges and inverter efficiency losses. Also, a full charge may take 10 hours on a Saphion, meaning a total of 1300 watt-hours minimum. Unless you have a lot of panels and a lot of sunlight, to handle that much power for that long, an external storage battery needs to be utilized. Charging and discharging an external battery involves more losses, which in turn mean more solar panels and battery capacity. So it is somewhat challenging to do this economically.

[yosgof]

So it is somewhat challenging to do this economically.

I think the question was about charging where there was no available electricity (on the beach) not necessarily looking for an economical solution.

[bystander]

I think the question was about charging where there was no available electricity (on the beach) not necessarily looking for an economical solution.In the context of the original post from hotpink, you are correct, but I was referring to query from sribas. As a new member, I thought he would appreciate some background info and a summary.

[sribas]

Thanks for your precious information regarding different alternative ways to charge our batteries.
I don´t know about other countries, but here in Portugal we are facing 1.40 euros per liter of gas, with all the implications regarding transportation and distribution costs. We are to much dependent on exterior oil.
I would like to start thinking about fotovoltaic not only for Segway chargings , but also for some important home appliances like the regrigerator and computers. Perhaps at 0.0988 euros/Kwh it´s not cost -effective, but the ideia of being partly free of public electricity is important for me.