What would be a good, inexpensive portable generator I could use to Zwift when I’m camping or in case of a power outage? I only ask about the camping aspect as I’m going to be doing some solo overnights soon at a campground where there’s no good trails on which to ride and the main road leads to an extremely busy road that’s not at all conducive for bikes. I know generators can make noise, and I will luckily be in an area where I won’t be a bother to anyone (plus, having been here before, I’ve heard others use generators in the past), and the power outage aspect should be self-explanatory; I live in an area that’s prone to these whether there’s a bad storm or blizzard. We have a much larger generator our family keeps in the garage for such emergencies, but I’d love to have something that could power my CycleOps Hammer for a few hours or so! Also, ideas on wattage would be great!
I’m also prone to power outages and use a Jackery Explorer 500 for my laptop, router and a lamp. I’m using a Tacx Neo 2T which doesn’t have to be plugged in so can’t help you with that. Maybe find out what kind of power your trainer needs and maybe a portable power bank could also power that?
I’d go with something like this. Solar panel is optional. You might also want to get a kill-a-watt type measurement device to determine the total power draw of your setup.
I’m using two Jackery 1000. It started as a hobby project - bought a solar panel that I attached to the balcony and added a Jackery 1000 that’s being charged with the panel. Works like charm, so I added a second Jackery (one is being charged while the other one is in use wherever I need it) and haven’t zwifted without my own solar power ever since. It’s definitely not at all paying off financially - but it’s fun and I’ve learned a lot about all this energy and solar stuff.
But keep in mind that 1000 watts isn’t really much. My Zwift setup requires about 150 watts per hour (Zwift Hub, AppleTV, fan, monitor) so that’s about 6 hours zwifting with a fully charged Jackery 1000. You cannot use a 1000 watt power bank for high energy devices like an electric cooker, heating etc - if that’s what you want to use while camping or in a power outage you’ll need a much stronger device. That’s really expensive if you go for power banks, and those devices are really heavy (the Jackery 1000 is about 10 kg, just okay to carry around). And there’s the safety aspect: You don’t want to leave a big power bank in an overheated car or tent, and those lithium batteries tend to catch fire when they are faulty. But the power bank technology and market evolves rapidly!