Portable battery pack for battery tender | FerrariChat

Portable battery pack for battery tender

Discussion in 'Technical Q&A' started by Wolfram, Jun 3, 2021.

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  1. Wolfram

    Wolfram Rookie

    Jun 2, 2021
    19
    Full Name:
    David Browne
    Just joined the forum - thanks for the wealth of information here - it's been so helpful and I wanted to contribute some data which may be useful for those who do not have access to a power point for their trickle charger.

    I bought my 2018 Ferrari 488 Spider last week, but it's not currently possible to get power near its garage to run the trickle charger. Research here and elsewhere did not come up with a remote / battery-powered solution that would work, so I decided to get a Li ion portable power pack/inverter to see how it would work.

    The power pack I tested is the Jackery 500, capacity 16.8 Ah / 240 Wh. It will run my Ferrari battery tender connected to its 230v AC inverter outlet for between 20-25 hours. That should scale linearly for higher capacity power packs (e.g. 2 days for a Jackery 1000; longer for larger-capacity units from other suppliers).

    So, on the one hand, definitely no substitute for a mains-powered trickle charger! And no solution for extended periods where the car is not driven (e.g. if I am away). But it does give a temporary solution to keeping the battery topped off when the Ferrari is not driven for a few days.

    Hope that may be useful info to someone!

    Cheers,
    David
     
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  2. Redneck Slim

    Redneck Slim Formula 3
    Silver Subscribed

    Mar 10, 2011
    1,440
    Palo Alto,CA,USA
    Full Name:
    Walt Kimball
    I have a situation with my Portofino where I can't leave it on the tender full time,so I just connect it up every other day until fully charged. It only takes about an hour. So you might be able to get much more than 20-25 hours from your power pack that way.
     
  3. Wolfram

    Wolfram Rookie

    Jun 2, 2021
    19
    Full Name:
    David Browne
    Yes, good point - and I wanted to try using a timer to switch on the charger for an hour or two per day to try to maintain the battery for up to two weeks if I'm away. Sadly, the Jackery 500 has a 'feature' which auto shuts down after a few hours (exactly how many seems to vary) when the draw is less than 10 watts...
     
  4. vincep99

    vincep99 Formula 3
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    Jun 8, 2009
    1,929
    Good advice

    Could it be supplicated with solar?
     
  5. Melvok

    Melvok F1 World Champ
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    Jul 25, 2008
    14,101
    Amersfoort, The Netherlands, Europe.
    Full Name:
    Mel
    When full: disconnect the MINUS pole

    Can you not use that powerpack 12 volt directly to the battery onboard ?
     
  6. Wolfram

    Wolfram Rookie

    Jun 2, 2021
    19
    Full Name:
    David Browne
    Yes, I looked at solar, but the garage is in a conservation area so panels need planning permission. However, I am only renting the garage, so that complicates things.

    I could connect the power pack's 12V DC directly to the battery, but I've not tried it. It would be very inconvenient compared to the magnetic tender connection though, so it would have to give substantially better life from the power pack. I drive the car 3-4 times per week and disconnecting from the battery and replacing the cover each time would quickly get boring.

    It's longer periods, like when I'm away, that I'm worried about. I don't think there's any alternative for me than disconnecting the battery.
     
  7. Melvok

    Melvok F1 World Champ
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    Jul 25, 2008
    14,101
    Amersfoort, The Netherlands, Europe.
    Full Name:
    Mel
    Simply buy a magnetic connector on Ebay, you find them for appr $ 50

    And try that !
     
  8. Extreme1

    Extreme1 Formula 3

    Jun 27, 2017
    1,212
    Santa Clarita, CA
    There are several small solar panels available that will keep a trickle charge on the battery when the sun is out. They are only 12” x 5”, or smaller, with long leads and alligator clips that attach directly to the battery.


    Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat.com mobile app
     
    Llenroc likes this.
  9. tazandjan

    tazandjan Three Time F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa Owner

    Jul 19, 2008
    37,985
    Clarksville, Tennessee
    Full Name:
    Terry H Phillips
    If you drive her 3-4 times a week and have a good AGM battery, why do you need a battery maintainer at all? Mine has not been on one for 10 years and always starts.
     
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  10. shhsjoe

    shhsjoe Rookie

    Dec 29, 2021
    1
    Seoul
    Hello i am in the same situation where there is no power sockey in my underground parking lot. Were you able to prolong the portable battery use in some way? Question i had was if the Jackery 500 is plugged to the tender and only lasts 20+ hrs then how is it that doing brief charges per day resulting in a full charge if the ferrari battery is that much more depleted over time?
     
  11. Wolfram

    Wolfram Rookie

    Jun 2, 2021
    19
    Full Name:
    David Browne
    Short answer is, unfortunately, no. I disconnected the battery if I was going to be away for more than a few days; this was fine, apart from the car losing its settings each time.

    I actually did manage to get power to my garage in the end (courtesy of a friendly neighbour and a very long cable), so I now have my 488 tendered all the time. It's been particularly useful now it's winter, and I'm driving the car much less often.

    I'm not sure I completely understand your question. I think my Ferrari battery is 60Ah capacity, while the Jackery is 16.8Ah. I don't know what the efficiency loss is in the tender itself, but I assume that using the Jackery 500 extends the time for the car to run the battery flat by about 25%. In reality I used to charge the Jackery every 2-3 days and the car always started, but it was tedious.
     

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