Solution to an annoying electrical issue…

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Garth

Contributor
Messages
1,103
Reaction score
170
Location
North Carolina USA
# of dives
500 - 999
Fellow Enthusiasts,


Have you ever been annoyed by the amount of time it takes to gather all your electrical equipment for a dive trip or vacation excursion?
Ever find yourself unplugging, wrapping, organizing, making sure you have all the chargers, batteries, wires and do-dads necessary to take a cave or wreck trip?


… well I have and have been annoyed by all the plugging and unplugging and packing so when I saw a solution that a buddy of mine Scott Walker was doing I figured it was time to build my own. I also have never actually seen anyone doing this on the forums so I thought it would be appropriate to share. I'm not sure if Scott came up with this or if this is the ancient secret passed on by those who "post less, and dive more"… who knows.
My potential list of charged stuff…



  • Canister Light batteries (my Sartek has (2) 5.4ah battery packs for each dive)
  • Canister Light back up batteries (i have 2 additional battery packs for the second dive..)
  • Handset rechargeables
  • Backup Handset rechargeables
  • Backup to your backup handset rechargeables
  • Nautilus life line for wreck diving
  • GoPro USB charging
  • Your iPhone or iPad or other phone
  • The list goes on..





The concept is to use a milk crate as the base as it has handles and can be carried relatively easily. Then get a surge protector that will do for the amount of charging objects you need. I got a surge protector for an entertainment center so that I have 2 USB ports for my goPro and iPhone or the Nautilus lifeline uses a USB.


If you zip tie everything down nothing will move when you transport it to your car and everything will stay organized. Since there is quite a bit of room in the milk crate you can set your canister light, computer, goPro, etc inside for the transport.


Once you get to the dive site/house/yacht/mansion/remote location with a generator/cabin/trailer/tent/ or ##### house you simply plug in ONE plug and you are set to go. Once you get back from the dive you pop in all the batteries and connect everything and whallah!!! your done… when you go home you unplug ONE plug and carry it to the car saving plenty of plugging and unplugging.


I hope you enjoyed this solution and feel free to comment, belittle, berate, or discourage anyone from doing this as this is an online forum and subject to your own dang opinion…


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And then you get a scooter and . . . .

;-)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Then you have to plug two cords in... :)

I'd love to have that problem...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I've struggled with this also... I take a power strip and some 110v pigtails. All of the adapters go in a baggie. I like your solution except that it's bulky and usually I'm stretched for space in carryon or check baggage. If I'm going via car or truck, I like your idea a lot...

Jim
 
I love it! I'm in the process of converting over to milk crate type containers, and I'll be stealing this from you mercilessly.
 
I've struggled with this also... I take a power strip and some 110v pigtails. All of the adapters go in a baggie. I like your solution except that it's bulky and usually I'm stretched for space in carryon or check baggage. If I'm going via car or truck, I like your idea a lot...

Jim

I usually stay in the USA and drive to either the coast of NC or Florida or vacations in SC etc.

I would really like to make it up north to dive with some of those folks but haven't been able yet.

I love it! I'm in the process of converting over to milk crate type containers, and I'll be stealing this from you mercilessly.

If you get a larger milk crate you can put the power strip on the inside to keep it protected. I didn't do any measuring when I made this so I had to put it on the outside. I think I will try it this way for a while before I switch it all up.

Please take and use this because it was a shock to me when I saw it that no one else had posted anything like it. I spend so much time getting all the electronics in order that i figure this will save a lot of time and hassle. I like to tinker with my rebreather not my chargers and batteries... :-D

Garth



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Interesting idea and should work great for local trips.

I took the opposite approach and started to look for "similar" electronics. Most of my gear is now powered by
- rechargeable AA's (I have a fast charger than does 4 in under an hour)
- or uses a flat battery that fits in my universal charger (phone and all cameras)
- or is charged via a mini USB type connector which connects to my universal charger

So I just take 2 chargers and 2 wires (need a special one for the apple junk) and I am good to go.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/perdix-ai/

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