What portable power station do you carry?

[bigb]

I know a lot of people bring a power station along on trips and camping, what do you bring? I chose to build my own since I had a spare battery. It's 1,280wh with a 1,000 watt pure sine wave inverter, USB ports, 12V socket, 120VAC socket, shunt with display, cooling fans and a 120VAC inlet on the side for charging via a self contained Victron 15 amp charger. It weighs 40 lbs and fits nicely in the back seat of the Ranger, and can be carried with one hand. It will run my 12 volt cooler for up to several days depending on weather of course.

No solar yet but thinking about a portable array with a built in charge controller if anyone has recommendations on one.

What do you carry?

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[STEVE_K]

Nice work!

 

[pablo94sc]

I bought the anker solux 1000w, first gen version. It tucks nicely in front of the bed outlets with a tie down removed. Rest of the time, it's ready to act as a battery backup for the fridge.

 

[OxygenMask]

I have 360 ah of 6v lead acid batteries, 320 w of solar, a 2000 w inverter. They fit nicely in our camping trailer....
And a 4000 w dual fuel generator.

 

[bigb]

I have 360 ah of 6v lead acid batteries, 320 w of solar, a 2000 w inverter. They fit nicely in our camping trailer....
And a 4000 w dual fuel generator.

That doesn't count if you can't bring it along with the Ranger, and that doesn't look like a Ranger!

I have a similar setup in my MH which is how I ended up with a spare battery when I upgraded the MH to 330ah.

 

[bgn]

I have a Delta 2 and the Ecoflow 800w alternator charger.

 

[bigb]

I have a Delta 2 and the Ecoflow 800w alternator charger.

Nice. Does that 800w charger actually use 76 amps from the truck alternator and can our Ranger alternators handle that?

 

[OxygenMask]

That doesn't count if you can't bring it along with the Ranger, and that doesn't look like a Ranger!

I have a similar setup in my MH which is how I ended up with a spare battery when I upgraded the MH to 330ah.

Heehee..
In a couple weeks we're doing our annual fall 2 week camping trip. This year we're having quite a few friends and family join us so we're taking both trucks, kayaks etc... Does it count if the equipment is at the campsite with the RR there too?

Here's pics taken from near our campsite a few years ago. 6000' elevation.

View attachment 94241

 

[bgn]

Nice. Does that 800w charger actually use 76 amps from the truck alternator and can our Ranger alternators handle that?

They seem to be 250 amp units on both the 2.3 and 2.7.

Here's the 2.3: https://www.ford.com/product/alternator-p4000200913

I've seen it output closer to 14v, so it's under 60 amps at full load. That being said, I very rarely run it at the full 800w since I rarely need my power station charged ASAP on long trips.

 

[John E Davies]

That is very slick! How does it cool, and have you thought about adding a computer fan and vents? The controller and battery temps must both be maintained for long term health.

I use an Ecoflow 1028 Whr and a separate Ecoflow 500 watt Alternator Charger, plus a backup 200 watt EF folding 4 panel solar panel. I rarely need that, the truck engine will fully charge the power bank in about two hours driving time...

John Davies
Spokane WA USA

 

[nullderef]

I've toyed with the idea of building a custom system for mine. But for now, I use a Jackery Explorer 2000 v2.

 

[Oregon2025Ranger]

I have a Blueetti AC180 and a single 200W folding solar panel (which peaks around 140W in real life usage -- but it's enough to keep the AC180 charged.

https://www.bluettipower.com/products/ac180

Can run anything I need to off the AC180. For fun we've run the vacuum cleaner at home which sucks a lot of power. I bellieve it used 900w for the Vacuum, and the AC180 stores 1152wh, so I guess could run a vacuum for about an hour. But could run power tools which don't run continuously just fine . It's great for camping items like electric kettles. It could keep laptops and batteries for lanterns and such going indefinitely.

It's overkill for things like phones and ipads. If that is the use case, then we have a simple, small solar panel with direct USB outlets which we can plug phones in to directly to keep them charged without a battery.

https://paleblueearth.com/products/approach-portable-solar-panels?variant=44211420004589


P.S.
For fun, I use these at home as well. The AC180 has been great a few times when the electricity has gone out. I plug the internet router into it as well as my work computer and monitor and am able to get back online and work when the electricity goes out. That buys me about 7 hours of emergency electricity to keep the home office running -- If the sun is shining , then much longer as the panel will continue to charge the battery while I'm using it.

 

[bigb]

That is very slick! How does it cool, and have you thought about adding a computer fan and vents? The controller and battery temps must both be maintained for long term health.



John Davies
Spokane WA USA

There are two 3" PC fans and 2 intake vents. The intake vents are located behind the inverter and alongside the charger with both devices mounted to allow air space completely under and around them. The PC fans are located so the intake air will draw around the 2 devices then across the battery and out the top regardless whether the unit is laying flat or standing upright. The fans have a separate switch so when not needed, like for USB charging etc, they can be left off to conserve power. I can also open the case while charging to allow cooling. At this time I have no solar charge controller.

Unfortunately I live in a very hot climate so there will be times when the battery temperature will be unavoidably out of the optimum range, but one of the advantages of building your own is that any part can be easily replaced. If and when the battery dies they now make more ah in the same size enclosure and will likely get even better as technology advances.

 

[CaptAngry]

I am rocking a measly Ecoflow River Max Gen 1 (576Wh) and a 120W solar panel. I have never come close to draining it while camping, but I don't use a 12V fridge either. I'm very minimalist

 

[sikedsyko]

For camping I have a 400w Ego inverter that lets me use the ~800wh of batteries I already owned for my lawn equipment.

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