Is a power station a good option for running electronics at shows?

[WOHDecalsandMonogram]

My craft fair coming up in December only offers power for LED lights as it is a night time fair. I want to bring my laptop and Cricut machine to offer personalization on the spot as it is close to Christmas. My laptop will run on it's battery for a good while, but my Cricut needs to be plugged in.
I considered generators but have ruled them out due to 1) noise; the organizer mentioned needing "to move me where I won't disturb other vendors" and 2) cost; I really don't have the $ to invest currently.
So I started looking at these power stations and lots of reviewers seem to be using them for similar purposes, but I was wanting to ask someone who has used them at fairs what they thought...

[GlassyGrace]

Depends what you are running on them. I have a Black & Decker Electromate 400. When I dont have electric at a booth I can plug one light into it, The 13 watt compact flourescent bulb which is equivalent to a 60 watt bulb. It will last for 6 hours and thats it. LEDs might last longer but I havent used it with those yet. Maybe different brands have different size batteries in them and will run more.

[KimagineDesigns]

I don't know what your Cricut would draw, power-wise, but I use a power station I got from Harbor Freight and I can run my six Ikea LED lights on it for a good 6 hours.

Maybe you could only plug it in when you actually need to use it. And definitely get LED, they hardly draw anything.

[Former_Member]

I guess I don't understand what a power station is... isn't it just a battery charger? or jumpstarter? can you plug electric lights into it?

[TigersandDragons]

A power station is essentially a battery. You charge it up, and then can run some minimal electrical items off it.

We use a marine deep cycle battery together with a power inverter.
It can hold more power than a power station, so we felt it was a much better investment, and what I would heavily recommend instead of a power station.

The heavier a battery, the more power it can hold. The marine cycle battery we have is the same size as a car battery, and you can use your charger (for a car battery), to charge it We run about 100watts or less, for 10 hours. We also have a small folding dolly, so that we can easily cart it back to the car and then home to charge overnight for shows that run multiple days.

[WOHDecalsandMonogram]

thanks for the responses!
tigers I will check into that marine battery. I was also told I could rent a quiet generator so that might be an option

[WOHDecalsandMonogram]

I looked the marine battery up, but I'm not understanding how I would use that to plug my outlet cord from my cricut into it?

[TigersandDragons]

As I wrote above, you need the power inverter unit as well.. It connects to the battery, and then you plug into the inverter.

How much power does the cricut machine use?
LED lights are low power, but some other machines take so much power that they may drain the battery quickly.

When figuring out power usage -
amps x volts=watts

[Former_Member]

Is a power pack silent? or does it make a noise when in use?

[TigersandDragons]

Power stations are silent, as is the set up I use - marine battery + power inverter. They store electricity.

Generators are noisy because these are machines where parts are turning in motion to create electricity, using fuel to enable this motion.

[TigersandDragons]

The power inverter I use cost approx $50 CAD, or $35-$40 on sale
it is for a 12 Volt battery which is the power of the marine (otherwise known as a deep cycle) battery we own.

[BohemianHollow]

This is the one I bought and have been using for a few years now:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/BLACK-DECKER-500-Watt-Portable-Power-Station-PPRH5B/203613410

Personally, I love it! I've used it to run a booth full of string lights for three days during working hours and it hasn't failed. Also charged my phone and my Square card chip reader too during that time and it held up.
Like someone else said, I don't know how much power it would take a crikut to run, but I'm sure if this was charged up all the way and you only turned it on whenever you really needed it, then I'm sure it'd be fine. :D
When not using this during shows I stow it in my car because it also has the capability to jump a dead battery. Or to fill your bicycle tires, which I've used many times! It's a nifty little thing to have around, for sure!

[Daniscreations1]

Someone asked about the power of a cricut  machine.

How much power does a Cricut machine use?

2.5 Amps

[Daniscreations1]

What voltage is a Cricut machine?

The Cricut Maker has a standard 5-Volt charging port on the right side of the machine near the bottom. You can use this port to charge your mobile device while cutting! Important: We recommend using the power cord that came with your Cricut Maker machine.

[Daniscreations1]

This was not important information for the power needed. Sorry