External battery for Surface 2 and Surface RT?

[Wendy Haylett]

There is a potential major ice storm in the forecast for this weekend. I have lived through a couple of them - one without power for 9 days. :unhappysweat: I would love to get myself set-up to charge our Surfaces (RT and 2) if it happens. My neighbor has a whole house generator for charging external batteries which should keep us going for awhile. What do I need? And is there one I can buy that will do Nokia Lumia 920 phones and the Surfaces using the right cables/adapters.

Thanks for the help!

 

[luv2skipow]

Honestly if I was without power for up to 9 days I would have quite a few other priorites for power or charging than my Surface.
As the charger is proprietary you would have to plug the Surface with charger into the outlet on the generator. Personally I don't know of any portable power supplies with an outlet but someone else may come up with one.
For the 920 as it is micro USB there are a plethora of options.
I have a number of diferent sizes of Anker power packs and they are great. Some with laptop adaptors.
Amazon.com: portable batery

Hope that helps.

Edit: Here is a portable battery with outlet
http://www.duracellpower.com/portable-power/power-packs/powerpack-600.aspx

 

[Wendy Haylett]

I've been through 3 bad ice storms and they are never fun, but you find methods and processes then put them in place with a storm threat. We have the priorities covered: We have a wood stove, 6 LED camp lanterns, coolers and a porch ... so we can keep warm, keep our food cold, and have plenty of light. The reason for the interest in keeping the Surface charged is that we work out of home, so I would like to keep the money coming in, even during a long-duration power failure, and as a writer I can do everything on the Surface and use the phone as a hot spot.

I was hoping to find some proprietary-to-USB cable option for car charging or plugging into an external power pack like an Anker. I know I could go to my neighbors and plug in, but I would like to keep my interruptions of their lives to a minimum. My thought was to find a power pack that could charge things a couple of times. The one sticking point is that darn charger for the Surface and finding a way to connect that to the external battery.

Thanks for the help.

 

[luv2skipow]

Surface car charger??
Buy Microsoft Surface Car Charger with USB port - Microsoft Store

There are invertors for the car that can run just the wall charger as well.

 

[Dewg]

I don't know if you'll have sun, but you can get solar chargers too. My mom has one in Alaska for frequent power failures. Its a battery pack that charges thru solar panels, and then has various plug options to charge devices.

 

[jaimeastin]

Some type of gas generator will be the best... Solar will take a long time and depending on the weather may not be fruitful.

I have been through many ice storms when I lived in Arkansas... Now that I live in the San Francisco Bay Area and miss a little weather flavor... But I still love the decent year round weather... I digress... Ice store are not fun... Limbs and trees falling... Cold, power out... CABIN FEVER!!! Well, with a family, it can be fun everyone hanging...

Try to save power by turning down the brightness, turn off wifi and Bluetooth. I have a few portable batteries for my phones and such which would help you get at least two charges out of it.

Good luck!

 

[Dewg]

A pure solar charger may not be a good idea - but many solar options have a battery pack attached. Your device charges off the battery pack, which you can then re-fill using solar at your convenience (or when weather permits).

 

[EfrenFunstons]

I don't know if you'll have sun, but you can get solar panel too. My mom has one in Alaska for frequent power failures. Its a battery pack that charges thru solar panels, and then has various plug options to charge devices.

It is always tough to fulfill power needs in ice storms.. These panels alone will not serve the cause.. Ideal is to get additional battery system or small generator for your home..

 

[xandros9]

Well, when you do have the power situation worked out, I don't know if it works with the RT, but MS has the Power Cover.
Any portable battery thing will work for the 920.

 

[Cobb]

I use to live in an environment like that and use the harbor freight 800 watt generator. Its enough to run a tv, direct tv box, several phone chargers, a regular battery charger, a light. In the summer we add an ice maker and a fan. You can get 5 hours on a gallon of gas. The battery that is charged is a deep cycle one that runs an inverter. I also have one of those all in one units to jump start a car that includes an air compressor and inverter. That should be perfect for anyone as you can recharge it at home or office. Then when needed plug in your car or home charger.