A money saving alternative for Faro batteries

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SteveBury
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A money saving alternative for Faro batteries

Post by SteveBury »

Like anyone who owns a Faro scanner (or any other survey equipment for that matter!) I rather resent paying £500 a time for replacement batteries. I realise that for those of you outside the UK, these days the equivalent of £500 in your own currency is just about what you pay for a croissant and a coffee – but it’s still a lot to us!

We’ve been looking into alternatives/back-up power supplies for using on site and recently discovered the Xtorm Laptop Power Bank. It’s your standard USB type power pack but it has an additional A/C socket – European type but with an adapter that fits UK & US plugs, so you can plug the Faro’s charger straight into in. The whole thing is small enough to fit neatly into the lid compartment of the scanner box.
IMG_2651.JPG
We were hoping that it would at least give enough power to complete those last few scans that still need doing at the end of a day just as the main battery runs out, but it turned out to be a little bit better than that. We ran a test this morning, with no internal battery (just the charger plugged into the Xtorm) and with the scanner set to do 2 minute 47 second scans. We managed to complete 51 scans before the battery ran out!

We bought our Xtorm from here for £126 (including VAT):
https://www.solarpowersupply.co.uk/xtor ... 0wodNvcEEw
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Re: A money saving alternative for Faro batteries

Post by landmeterbeuckx »

Nice tip.
They are for sale over here for 126€ and get good reviews. I'm going to order one and if it's good maybe a second one.
One can never have enough power.
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Phil Marsh
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Re: A money saving alternative for Faro batteries

Post by Phil Marsh »

LASER SCANNING FORUM
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Re: A money saving alternative for Faro batteries

Post by Leap3D »

Phil Marsh wrote:Would these also work?

http://www.tracerpower.com/tracer-lithi ... packs.html
With a Faro car charger it probably will.
I think it's a better solution than transforming up and down.
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Re: A money saving alternative for Faro batteries

Post by SAttaya »

the scanner set to do 2 minute 47 second scans.
We managed to complete 51 scans before the battery ran out!
How many scans like the above can you do on a "new" fully charged Faro battery,
as opposed to the 51 scans on the Xtorm, do you think :?:
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Re: A money saving alternative for Faro batteries

Post by SteveBury »

How many scans like the above can you do on a "new" fully charged Faro battery,
as opposed to the 51 scans on the Xtorm, do you think :?:
Not a dissimilar amount - somewhere in the 50s, if you're lucky.
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jcoco3
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Re: A money saving alternative for Faro batteries

Post by jcoco3 »

If have a car charger and you are willing to carry it around :lol:
Faro Jump-Box.jpg
We were able to buy enough Faro batteries and docks to keep us going indefinitely, but I guess if you get in a pinch and need power this could help. I have no idea how long this will run the scanner.
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Re: A money saving alternative for Faro batteries

Post by berdindc »

Where can I buy a FARO battery block and/or charging dock? Need extras for our S120. 2 batteries don't quite make the 8 hour day. Then you're stuck charging them all night, switching them over, etc...
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Re: A money saving alternative for Faro batteries

Post by Scott »

Leap3D wrote: Tue Oct 18, 2016 8:54 pm
Phil Marsh wrote:Would these also work?
http://www.tracerpower.com/tracer-lithi ... packs.html
With a Faro car charger it probably will.
I think it's a better solution than transforming up and down.
I do have the FARO car charger (never have used it), so I'm interested in the Tracerpower pack. The FARO batteries are 6.5AH, 14volt. Are the 12volt Tracerpower units compatible ? Has anyone used one of these units successfully? If so which one?
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Re: A money saving alternative for Faro batteries

Post by Scott »

jcoco3 wrote: Wed Oct 19, 2016 7:35 pm If have a car charger and you are willing to carry it around :lol:
Faro Jump-Box.jpg
We were able to buy enough Faro batteries and docks to keep us going indefinitely, but I guess if you get in a pinch and need power this could help. I have no idea how long this will run the scanner.
I like Jonathan's (18lb) solution, too, but wonder if this 1 lb wonder might work with the Faro car charger? Great Youtube video if nothing else:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzkZKjz3FoE
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01D42TYFC/re ... B002X6VXL4
https://www.amazon.com/Cigarette-Lighte ... AAZ91GHANJ needed for FARO car charger
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