Tag Archives: battery

I Love My New DeWALT Cordless Blower DCBL720P1

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Dewalt Cordless Blower DCBL720P1

Dewalt Cordless Blower DCBL720P1

 

I just got my DeWALT Cordless Blower DCBL720P1. It came with a 5AH battery versus a 4AH battery that came with my drill and driver set (and the 3AH batteries that came with the extra 2-battery pack that I bought). I have experimented with some other cordless blowers and this one seems to be pretty powerful for a long enough time to get something done. Using the DeWALT 20V MAX batteries is a plus, because I am currently converting my DeWALT cordless tool arsenal from the old 18V NiCad to this new 20V Lithium battery. Over the last 10-15 years I have collected many of DeWALT’s line of cordless tools. Some in duplicate and triplicate.

Cordless Blower Battery

Cordless Blower Battery Guage

The new 20V lithium batteries come with a power button that has 3 lights on it. This way you can see how much your battery has in it, before you get started. I did not realize that there were different sized batteries. The photo on the left shows where to look. I had bought some extra batteries for my drill/driver set around Christmas time and now I know why they were priced the way they were. I will look every time now.

Cordless Blower Came with a 5Ah Battery

Cordless Blower Came with 5Ah Battery

I primarily used an electric blower before I got this DeWALT Cordless Blower. This meant plugging in and dragging the extension cord around. I had gotten away from the gas blowers, because I would always let it sit for too long between uses and the carbs would always gum up. Also, if it would tip over, fuel would ruin whatever it spilled onto. This was bad. So the switch to electric has been good. Always have power, and if there was no electricity, we would bring a generator along for those few occasions.

Pine Needles on Roof

Pine Needles – Cordless Blower

This new DeWALT Cordless Blower is very powerful. I was very surprised how it compares side by side to an electric blower. The gas blowers probably have a little more kick, but this cordless blower was powerful enough to blow pine needles off of a roof, then blow an entire driveway, and still had one full light on the power meter. Now that is impressive. I am also impressed by the consistent power that it has throughout the battery life. The cordless blowers that I have used in the past seemed to give less and less power until finally dying.

Cordless Blower gets rid of Pine Needles

Pine Needles on Roof

Now that the cordless technology has some lasting power, there are many other tools that have become cordless besides the standard drill/driver package. If your using some of these items then you know. If your not, you may want to try some of these newer tools. You will be surprised at how much power they have for a long period of time. There are other brands of cordless blowers and tools, but DeWALT seems to be the one that I gravitate towards. I think a supplier I dealt with sold them and once we had so many, it was hard to switch brands.

Cordless Blower gets rid of Pine Needles

Cordless Blower Cleans debris from roof

Then once we were deep in, then it is just a matter of buying new batteries from time to time. Trying to switch over to a new brand of cordless tools is no economical feat. You don’t even realize how many you have until it is too late. Then it’s like, “I can’t buy something different, I want to be able to use it with my other tools!”

Cordless Blower gets rid of Pine Needles

Cordless Blower gets rid of Pine Needles

I am now going to see how long these new lithium batteries last. The old NiCad batteries lasted quite a while, so I am hoping these will last a lot longer. That is one of the main reasons I steer away from these types of things, is because it seems more costly in the long run. I guess efficiency is hard to put a price on. They say efficiency is making something you are already doing better, not doing something you never do fast.

Cordless Blower Tackles Pine Needle Covered Driveway

Driveway covered in Pine Needles

I paid $200 for the DEWALT DCBL720P1 20V MAX 5.0 Ah Lithium Ion XR Brushless Blower from one of the big home stores. It came with a charger and the 5Ah Lithium battery as well. So, if you factor the extra power battery and charger into the mix, then it is not any more than an XR Drill/Driver without a battery.

Cordless Blower Tackles Pine Needle Covered Driveway

Cordless Blower cleaned pine needles from Drive

GoPro 30 Pin Connector

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GoPro 30-pin power cable I found a 30PIN POWER CABLE WITH WATERPROOF BACK DOOR HOUSING FOR GOPRO HERO3+&HERO4. The KAPAXEN product is no longer available with the waterproof back door. It is available without the backdoor and just the 30 pin Power Supply Connector.  The cord is the same and will power it the same.

I have a KAPAXEN 30 Pin Power Supply Connector with waterproof backdoor for my GoPro 3+ and GoPro 4 that I use all the time. I have the one that is through the back and waterproof. The  The USB connection is not completely waterproof, but can be protected to be outside. I have just not tried to put it under water. I have had it out in the rain with an extension cord cover and it worked great. I do time lapse photography with my GoPros and it will sometimes be plugged in for several days at a time and outside in the weather.

 

Same GoPro 30 Pin Connector without the back door. This will still come into play but may need to be modified to be waterproof. Click on either image to see it at Amazon.com

Top 20 Best Selling Power Banks on Amazon.com

This link is to a list of the best selling power banks on Amazon.com. Make sure and look at the mAh value as the higher the mAh the longer it will last.

You can use the 30PIN POWER CABLE WITH WATERPROOF BACK DOOR HOUSING FOR GOPRO HERO3+&HERO4 in conjunction with a power bank. Using a power bank will drastically increase the situations that you can extend your battery time. Getting the GoPro 30 pin connector with waterproof back door will extend your ability to leave the gopro oustide or even submerge the gopro under water.

GoPro Battery Life – Extended Forever and Waterproof

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First thing, this is not a charger. I have tested this product to charge and it does so, minimally. It is for constant power. The usb connection on the side of the Go Pro unit is for charging.
GoPro 30-pin power cable The 30PIN POWER CABLE WITH WATERPROOF BACK DOOR HOUSING FOR GOPRO HERO3+&HERO4 will extend your gopro battery life forever, if needed, and is waterproof. I stumbled on this product a while back and have been using it successfully for a while now. This is a wired option, but is solid. There are a few pitfalls that I will warn you about, but otherwise I really like this product. This product is compatible with GoPro Hero 3+ and Hero 4. I have successfully completed several projects with it. The 30-pin power cable is great for extended time lapse projects.

I have another post where I went on about batteries and power packs, which only last 8-12 hours or so. Of course, you can continue to switch out the power packs, but waterproof is still an issue. Go Pro Battery – Battery Extender

 

Features of the 30-pin Power Cable for GoPro Hero

1 – It is waterproof. This is the best part. The one downside is the 6′ cable where there is a USB connection. This, of course, is NOT waterproof. So this means that the GoPro unit can be placed underwater for a few feet without problems. I would suspect that the cord can be cut and a new wire be soldered or connected somehow to be waterproof, but I am not going this direction yet. This setup works fine, and I can deal with rain. I place a plant pot on the ground, then place my connection on top of it, then place a 5-gallon bucket over this. Then the connection is not on the ground and is covered. I have also found a connection cover, that is not waterproof, but will withstand the rain and being wet. It just won’t go underwater.

2- Unlimited run time. Once plugged in, it is ongoing. I have successfully done a 3-1/2 day time lapse so far, but that is the longest that I have done it. I would think that in a reasonable scenario, barring any extreme weather, that it would last as long as it had power and memory.

3 – The GoPro back door will work with my existing accessories.

4 – I have the option of 12v power, 110v power, power banks, and even plugged in to a PC. Of course, some options are as limited as they have capacity.

Pitfalls of the 30-pin Power Cable for GoPro Hero

1 – When you close the back door, the cable has a small box, which has to fit inside of the waterproof back door. This will make the cable inside the waterproof back door have to curve around to fit. There are two structural bands of plastic that run from the back of the waterproof back door towards the gopro unit itself. Make sure the cable is not in front of this. It will want to push it out into the seal, and may create a situation where the waterproof back door is not waterproof. If you are going to completely submerge the unit in water then this will come into play. If it is just getting rained on, then it may not be a problem. I found out about this the hard way.

2 – Plugging and unplugging, and withholding power may confuse it and will turn off in the middle of your project. I have had this happen. Once the 30-pin cable is plugged in, it changes the behavior of the unit. It is not like the USB plug where you can just plug and unplug and it will use the battery once it is without external power. Test, test, test.

3 – I have also had better luck with a power cord out to the project, then an adapter to plug in the USB of the 30-pin Power Cable directly to power. I am not sure why, but it seems to get to the finish line, without fail, more consistently.

 

 

Here is a link to the exact same 30-pin Power Cable without the waterproof backdoor:

Top 20 Best Selling Power Banks on Amazon.com

This link is to a list of the best selling power banks on Amazon.com. Make sure and look at the mAh value as the higher the mAh the longer it will last.

You can use the 30PIN POWER CABLE WITH WATERPROOF BACK DOOR HOUSING FOR GOPRO HERO3+&HERO4 in conjunction with a power bank. Using a power bank will drastically increase the situations that you can extend your battery time. Getting the GoPro 30 pin connector with waterproof back door will extend your ability to leave the gopro oustide or even submerge the gopro under water.

GoPro Battery – Battery Extender

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GoPro on a Power Bank

GoPro on a Power Bank

To get more out of your GoPro battery you can use a power bank. A power bank is typically used to charge your cell phone in a mobile setting, without the need to find an outlet. A power bank can be used to charge your GoPro camera as a stand alone charger. The power bank can also be used to power the GoPro unit and extend the single use life of the battery by 4 or more times.

GoPro Skeleton Housing

GoPro Skeleton Housing

Using the skeleton housing, you can use a myriad of the GoPro accessories available. The skeleton housing allows the charging cable to be plugged in to the side and still be in a housing. The skeleton housing is not waterproof. It is the one downside. It sure beats drilling a hole in the standard housing.

The Power Bank that I am using is the Targus 5500 mah. This unit will charge the GoPro battery in 1 1/2 hours versus 2 hours for the PC. A normal battery will last around 2 hours and 20 minutes shooting a 30 second interval time lapse. Using a fully charged GoPro battery and plugging in the power bank the same time lapse will go for just under 12 hours. This is great, because time lapse projects usually take more than 2 hours. This means that I can set up a time lapse project and not have to rely on 110v power. There may even be bigger power banks out there.

These and other GoPro Products recommended by Project Bolony

Top 20 Best Selling Power Banks on Amazon.com

This link is to a list of the best selling power banks on Amazon.com. Make sure and look at the mAh value as the higher the mAh the longer it will last.

You can use the 30PIN POWER CABLE WITH WATERPROOF BACK DOOR HOUSING FOR GOPRO HERO3+&HERO4 in conjunction with a power bank. Using a power bank will drastically increase the situations that you can extend your battery time. Getting the GoPro 30 pin connector with waterproof back door will extend your ability to leave the gopro oustide or even submerge the gopro under water.

GoPro Battery Life – More Charging Options

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The GoPro battery life can be extended with some of these methods. Charging the GoPro camera is sometimes a challenge, especially when you are wanting to be using it while the battery is charging.

DigiPower GoPro Charger

DigiPower GoPro Charger

DigiPower GoPro Charger

GoPro Batteries Notched

GoPro Batteries Notched

So now with the DigiPower charger you can be charging a GoPro battery and using the GoPro unit at the same time separately. The charger package I got also came with a battery, so I was able to alternate. The only problem was that the DigiPower battery had 2 notches in the top that snapped into the charger and the GoPro brand batteries do not have notches. I was able to take a razor blade and cut just enough of the plastic out on the GoPro brand batteries and they work and charge fine. So after a little time keeping, this charger takes 4 hours and 20 minutes to fully charge the GoPro brand battery.

Charging GoPro with PC

It only takes 2 hours and 3-5 minutes to charge the GoPro battery using the GoPro unit plugged in to a PC USB port. The one thing with charging this way is that the GoPro camera cannot be used while charging. I wanted to keep like items so I did not test the DigiPower brand battery, but I will update soon with this info.

110v Charger and 12v Charger

Using these charging methods are good, takes about 2 hours and 20 minutes. This is just a little longer than if it is connected to a PC. These charging methods can also be used to power the GoPro camera unit.

Power Bank – Cell Phone Charger

Power Bank GoPro Charging

Power Bank GoPro Charging

What is better than that? Using a power bank, specifically the Targus 5200 mah. This will charge the batteries while in the unit, as well as power the GoPro camera if you turn it on while charging. It only takes 1 hour and 33 minutes to charge the GoPro camera with the power bank. Fully charged the power bank will charge the GoPro battery 3 full times. I have used this method to prolong some of my time lapse projects. It turns a 2 1/2 hour battery into an 11 hour battery. The only thing that I lose is the ability to go underwater. I don’t do any underwater time lapse, so I’m good.

If you are using the power bank option, you can keep going by just switching out the power banks and the GoPro camera will not turn off during the process, unless you drain the power bank and battery completely. This can drastically increase the GoPro battery life and mobility.

Takes about 8 1/2 hours to fully charge the power bank.

GoPro Accessory – Skeleton Housing

The skeleton housing can be used in all these scenarios. Using an extension cord or even a USB extension can widen the range significantly.

GoPro Skeleton Housing

GoPro Skeleton Housing

Top 20 Best Selling Power Banks on Amazon.com

This link is to a list of the best selling power banks on Amazon.com. Make sure and look at the mAh value as the higher the mAh the longer it will last.

You can use the 30PIN POWER CABLE WITH WATERPROOF BACK DOOR HOUSING FOR GOPRO HERO3+&HERO4 in conjunction with a power bank. Using a power bank will drastically increase the situations that you can extend your battery time. Getting the GoPro 30 pin connector with waterproof back door will extend your ability to leave the gopro oustide or even submerge the gopro under water.

GoPro Battery Life

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Charging the GoPro Hero 3+

The GoPro Hero 3+ with the charging light on.

The rechargeable battery that comes with the GoPro Hero 3+ will last a while, but has to be monitored to make sure that the camera is still on when the action comes. During some recent testing I found that the standard battery lasts for 2 hours and 10 minutes shooting video and 2 hours and 25 minutes shooting a time lapse on 30 second intervals. So that means that the GoPro batteries have to be changed out (assuming you have more than one) if your action is lasting more than the 2:10 time span.

I found that the batteries cost around $20 purchased separate from the GoPro unit. This is the GoPro brand battery too. You can also buy an off-brand charger so you did not have to use the GoPro unit as the charger. You can only use the GoPro camera while charging if it is plugged in to a non PC USB outlet. I posted info on this method here:  http://www.tagnaples.com/gopro-battery-alternative-power/.

Does the LCD Touch BacPac use more battery life?

GoPro LCD Touch BacPac

GoPro LCD Touch BacPac

YES! Using the LCD Touch BacPac definitely decreases the time the battery will last. A normal battery without using the LCD Touch BacPac shooting video lasts around 2 hours and 10 minutes. Attaching the LCD Touch BacPac decreases the time by 40 or more minutes. So the video will only shoot for 1 hour and 30 minutes, give or take a few minutes. The same goes for time lapse, but the time lapse shoot lasts a little longer than the video. So from now on, unless I need to see what I am shooting, I will not be using the LCD Touch BacPac. The LCD Touch BacPac sure is nice though, being able to see exactly where the frame is.

Does using the WiFi Remote Control use more battery life?

GoPro WiFi Remote

GoPro WiFi Remote

The answer is yes, but it is not enough to worry about. I did some extensive testing while shooting video. The WiFi remote only takes a few minutes off of the GoPro battery life.

What will kill the battery after you turn the GoPro off, is when you don’t turn off the wifi setting on the GoPro camera. Sometimes just turning off the WiFi Remote will do it, but if there is still a blue light blinking, that means that it is still searching for a wifi signal. I guess you can power on the unit with the remote and that is why it continues. If you throw the GoPro camera in your bag, the GoPro battery will surely be dead when you get ready to use it if the wifi setting is still on.

Top 20 Best Selling Power Banks on Amazon.com

This link is to a list of the best selling power banks on Amazon.com. Make sure and look at the mAh value as the higher the mAh the longer it will last.

You can use the 30PIN POWER CABLE WITH WATERPROOF BACK DOOR HOUSING FOR GOPRO HERO3+&HERO4 in conjunction with a power bank. Using a power bank will drastically increase the situations that you can extend your battery time. Getting the GoPro 30 pin connector with waterproof back door will extend your ability to leave the gopro oustide or even submerge the gopro under water.

GoPro Battery – 3 Alternative Power Methods

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GoPro Connected to PC

GoPro Connected to PC and turned on

I had noticed that my GoPro had turned off (ran out of battery power) while I was walking on a trail one day and realized that I needed to invest in some more batteries. This was good for a while, but then I started using the time lapse to shoot some plants and found that I needed another power option. As I was changing the batteries, trying to shoot time lapse, the GoPro would move just a little and mess up the frame. So a 6 hour time lapse would have severe movement of the subject 3 different times. I plugged the GoPro in to my pc and it started charging. I turned it on to see if it would power and the screen went to “USB CONNECTED CAMERA FILES ACCESSIBLE”, and only wanted to read it. The GoPro camera would not switch to any other mode from there. I knew there must be a way. So I thought, I need to find a “charging” source that can’t also read it. That is when I found out there is an alternative power source for my GoPro.

GoPro 110v Power

110v receptacle as viewed through GoPro

It is my understanding that the GoPro Battery BacPac will double your battery life. The following will do much more than that. The one upside that I can see with using the GoPro Battery BacPac is that it will be waterproof.

Gopro Alternative Power sources

Since the GoPro charging cord comes with a USB connection, there are several different methods of powering it. The pc or computer just wants to charge it, or read it. Other power sources will charge it and power it, at the same time.

GoPro in 12v Power

12v Car Adapter

110v – or house power. This can be a generator, an inverter, or even the receptacle at home. All you need is a USB charging device that will charge from 110v power outlet. I used a “Just Charge It” and it works fine.

GoPro on a Power Bank

GoPro on a Power Bank

12v – this is typically in the car, but can even be one of those jump start things for the car. Some of them have 12v receptacles. Now there are many types of 12v to USB converters. I use one from Duracell that will serve both 110v and 12v from the same unit. Works great.

A power bank – This device is typically to charge your phone when you are on the go. I have found that it will power the gopro for 3-4 times a normal battery life. A power bank works real well. It will charge the GoPro on its own, or it will provide extended power to it.

Skeleton Housing – Gopro Accessories

GoPro Skeleton Housing

GoPro Skeleton Housing

The skeleton housing allows for the ports to be accessible for plugging in power. It also will help to dissipate the heat better during extended use. The skeleton housing also allows the GoPro to be mounted in the typical GoPro fashion with many more of the GoPro accessories. This way you don’t have to use a zip-tie or rubber bands to get it in the right place for your shot. The only downside to using the skeleton housing for your GoPro camera is that it is not waterproof anymore. Not even the least bit. It is no different than not having a housing at all. I have taken some time lapse shots without the housing, but it is much easier to hold position through the shoot with the GoPro camera inside of a housing.

The unit I am using is GoPro Hero 3+ with an LCD Touch BacPac (provides a viewing screen on the unit)

I do not own, nor did I test the GoPro Battery BacPac. There is always tomorrow.

Top 20 Best Selling Power Banks on Amazon.com

This link is to a list of the best selling power banks on Amazon.com. Make sure and look at the mAh value as the higher the mAh the longer it will last.

You can use the 30PIN POWER CABLE WITH WATERPROOF BACK DOOR HOUSING FOR GOPRO HERO3+&HERO4 in conjunction with a power bank. Using a power bank will drastically increase the situations that you can extend your battery time. Getting the GoPro 30 pin connector with waterproof back door will extend your ability to leave the gopro oustide or even submerge the gopro under water.