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The item(s) contained in this review were purchased by The Naked Whiz website, using funds sourced from reader donations and web site advertising.
Introduction
In our quest for finding a battery pack solution for powering the Thermoworks Billows temperature controller, we came across this little
gem from Auber Instruments. You may already know Auber Instruments as the company that has produced a few BBQ temperature
control devices of its own. They actually sell a ton of other types of equipment in addition and this Battery Pack Adapter
looks like it could be a great solution to the battery problem for anyone who already happens to be invested in DeWalt 20 volt
battery equipment.
Specifications and Features
Observations
Here are a few pieces of information from the Auber Instruments web site:
Power Capacity — When using this adapater as a 12V power bank, the 5.0Ah (DCB205) 20V MAX DeWalt battery will provide 8,300mAh. When using this adapter as a 5V power bank, the DCB205 battery is equivalent to a 20,000mAH 5V power bank. Similarly, the 2.0Ah (DCB203) 20V MAX DeWalt battery can provide 3,300mAh as a 12V power bank, or 8,000mAh as a 5V power bank. Operating Time — 20 Hours operating time is based on 2Ah battery, SYL-2615 controller and 20CFM blower (30% average blower output). 50 Hours operating time is based on 2Ah battery, SYL-1615 controller and 6.5CFM blower (5% average blower output). The actual operating time depends on many factors, including the battery capacity, ambient temperature, cooking temperature, blower size and also the fuel burning status. For Kamado style smokers/grills such as Big Green Egg, a 6.5CFM blower only needs to run at less than 5% average time (ambient temp: 40F, set temp: 225F). For bullet style smokers such as Weber Smokey Mountain, a 10CFM blower needs to run at less than 30% average time (ambient temp: 40F, set temp 225F).
WARNING!! Do NOT leave this adapter attached to a battery any longer than you need to use the battery. The adapter draws current from the battery even when you aren't powering anything with it. This will run your battery's voltage down to nearly 0 volts and you will find that your DeWalt battery charger will not recognize the battery and will not charge the battery. If you find yourself in this predicament, fortunately there is an easy fix. If you can find a 12 volt power supply with the same barrel plug that is used on the adapter and that has a positive center terminal, you do the following to "wake up" the battery. Attach the adapter to the DeWalt battery. Plug the power supply's plug into the Auber adapter's side socket. Plug the power supply into a wall outlet for about 15 seconds. This will give the battery a small recharge. Now, plug the DeWalt battery into your charger and see if it will start charging. If not, try another 15 seconds with the power supply.
Battery Life Testing
In order to test the life of a DeWalt 20V battery when powering a temperature controller, we powered a CyberQ Cloud with a
2.0AH battery and the Auber adapter. Connected to the CyberQ Cloud were a pit temperature probe, two food temperature probes
and a Pit Viper 10CFM blower with the damper wide open. We tested this arrangement in our office, so that the blower was
running 100% of the time during the entire test. This is probably a far bigger load on the battery than when the CyberQ Cloud
is controllling a cooker and only running the blower occasionally.
We stopped the test when the DeWalt battery's fuel guage no longer showed any bars. We didn't want to find out if the battery or the CyberQ Cloud might be damaged by low voltage. The 2.0 AH DeWalt battery had run for 8 hours and 50 minutes when we stopped it, probably not long enough to do an overnight cook, but certainly long enough to do something like ribs. If you happen to already own a DeWalt 5.0 AH battery, however, we can extrapolate this to just over 22 hours, far longer than even the longest of cooks.
Conclusions
If you are already invested in DeWalt 20V tools and batteries, the Auber Instruments 12V
Power Adapter For DeWalt 20V Battery Packs is a great solution for powering 12 volt temperature
controllers like those from The BBQ Guru, Flame Boss and Auber Instruments. A 2.0 AH battery
is sufficient for most ordinary cooking, while the 4.0 AH and greater battery packs will last long
enough to do an overnight cook. Compared to auto and marine batteries, this adapter and a DeWalt
battery are much smaller and lighter. If you put your temperature controller in a plastic shoe box
for protection from the weather like we do, this adapter and a battery will easily fit in the box
with the rest of your gear.
Availability
You can purchase this adapter from Auber Instruments on their website by searching for "DeWalt USB". When we purchased our adapter,
it was on sale for $24.99.
If you need to purchase DeWalt 20V battery packs or DeWalt compatible battery packs, here are a few choices that are available on Amazon (yes, we do get a small percentage of any purchases made on Amazon via links from our website):
Also, we found a slightly cheaper alternative on Amazon. We have not tested this item, but it has a four-star rating on Amazon. Here's a link if you are interested:
Contact Information
Auber Instruments
5755 North Point Parkway, Suite 99
Alpharetta, GA 30022
Phone: (770) 569-8420, (404) 926-6098, (404) 983-8228
Email: info@auberins.com
Web: www.auberins.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/auberinstruments/
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