Charging Tool Packs Off Solar or a Power Station

Out on the block, at the far end of the paddock or away camping, there's often no power point handy. You can still charge cordless tool packs from solar or a portable power station. Here's how.

1. Portable power station

A power station is a big lithium battery with built-in power points. Plug your normal tool charger into its 240V AC outlet and charge as usual.

Check the output: the power station's AC output (W) must be higher than the charger's input watts. Most tool chargers draw well under 300W.
Allow for losses: charging through the inverter wastes some energy. Plan on getting roughly 70 to 85% of the power station's watt-hours into your packs.
How many charges: work it out with our Power Station Recharges calculator.

2. Solar

Tool chargers run on 240V AC, so you can't plug them straight into a solar panel. Two common ways:

Solar to a power station: a folding panel charges the power station during the day, and the power station charges your packs.
An off-grid setup with an inverter: a shed system with panels, battery and inverter runs your tool charger like mains power.

Some brands also sell 12V vehicle chargers for their packs. Only use a charger made by the battery's maker.

3. Rough numbers

An 18V 5Ah pack holds about 90Wh. Allowing for charger and inverter losses, it takes roughly 110 to 130Wh from a power station to refill it. A 500Wh power station could refill that pack about four times.