suaoki solar generator

[RossCoe]

Hope that she tells us how it works for her and the minimal dc needs. It sounds like it pretty much exactly what she needed/wanted.

TWIH

I will definitely let you guys know how it works for me .  Any suggestions on how to accurately test it for your informational needs will be appreciated.  I just hope when Jan comes around I have the umph to join you in Quartzite.

 

[John61CT]

> I could go as low as a 20 watt panel or as high as a 100 watt.  Trying to be cost efficient and dollar wise

The "suitcase" style 100w total with two 50w halves IMO would be well-matched to your powerpak, and allow you to recharge away from the van so you don't have to park in the sun.

There are more expensive ones made from semi-flex that likely won't last as many years, but weigh very little and would slide into a very narrow space inside a van.

The ones made from hinged rigid framed panels are much heavier and bulkier, but cheaper and likely more robust.

I hope we can work together to get more derails on your unit's performance; you certainly got a good price if it actually proves to be LFP at 20AH capacity.

 

[RossCoe]

How tall is the roofline compared to you?  When you are standing outside does the roof come to your shoulders?  head?  If it's low enough this might be a great opportunity to build in a tilt mount;  the Pilot would face E/W (depending) so that the panel tilted toward the south when propped up.

Or maybe flat-mount flush (or nearly so) with the rack rails so they don't throw shadows on the panel.

It's really not a bad situation for using the bendy panels, particularly if you can unbolt the rails to minimize shadows.

I am 5ft 6in, and the roof at the driver door is even with the top of my head, and as you go further back it slopes higher, and the rack is about 6 ft, way above my head at the back door, and the back hatch.

 

[John61CT]

People I know have purchased from this outfit and are happy so far, arrived from China within a week.

https://m.ebay.com/itm/100W-Solar-P...wer-Charger-For-Outdoors-Camping/182852613473

Market rate "buy it now" seems about $180 but with some good eBay-foo and sniping tools you may be able to get a good discount by bidding.

Here's an example of the rigid style: https://www.renogy.com/renogy-100-w...lline-foldable-solar-suitcase-w-o-controller/

But you can probably find cheaper.

If you are mounting on your roof, do try to get these three detailed specs on the built-in solar controller, which may be difficult from the vendor.

MPPT or PWM? Voc maximum? Amps (Imp) maximum?


Just a bit off the wall, but this style https://m.ebay.com/itm/Portable-Fol...Battery-Charger-for-Phone-Laptop/192183910013

would require some adapting, but be the ultimate in portability and flexibility in use

 

[RossCoe]

you certainly got a good price if it actually proves to be LFP at 20AH capacity.

Educate me here John!!  What is LFP?  

 

[John61CT]

AKA LiFePO4 or lithium iron phosphate

A specific type of Lithium Ion (LI) battery.

The only one in common use as energy storage in big RV and boat systems, since it doesn't have the thermal runaway issues of the others.

Yours is either that or NMC.

 

[RossCoe]

AKA LiFePO4 or lithium iron phosphate

A specific type of Lithium Ion (LI) battery.

The only one in common use as energy storage in big RV and boat systems, since it doesn't have the thermal runaway issues of the others.

Yours is either that or NMC.

How will I know what I got?  Can you trust what they say in the specs in the manual?  A sticker? 

So there are many types of lithium ion batteries.  Who knew??  YOU did!  Thank you- and looked up Nickel manganese cobalt 

 

[John61CT]

In an ideal world, you pick up the phone, get put through to a knowledgeable tech within 10 minutes, or contact them via email, and get your questions answered.

But actually this level of basic info should be available, all in one readily available data sheet.

All the quality deep cycling battery vendors work this way, because the professionals working in the off-grid power, yachting and Euro caravanning markets, would never buy from a vendor that didn't.

The only reason vendors can get away with such deceptive obfuscation is that it's a "hot" fashionable market niche, where most consumers aren't even aware of the right questions to ask.

 

[John61CT]

Keep googling anytime you come across something you don't immediately understand, you'll be amazed how much you can learn in a very short time.

 

[user 37446]

...and please report back on how well that is working... and what you choose to recharge with solar-wise.  I know it will take time to test it out but the community needs input from users like yourself!

 

[user 37446]

> Too bad as 400 watts could likely power a CF18 sized 12v fridge, especially with regular solar recharging...

Even the most efficient fridges can easily use 20-40AH per 24 hours depending on conditions.

Again, the inverter wattage is a side issue, the **storage** capacity is the primary raison d'être for these products

Even with LFP, a bank suitable for that use case will barely be as "portable" as the fridge it's powering.

It'll take a healthy fellow with a very strong backpack to go recharging it at Starbucks.

She can likely lift it...

Technical Details:

[size=small]Brand
SUAOKI[/size]

[size=small]Item Weight
5.5 pounds[/size]

[size=small]Product Dimensions
9.8 x 6.3 x 3.4 inches
Manufacturer Part Number
211828001-01
Special Features
AC/DC Output, USB Output
Wattage
200.00[/size]

 

[sushidog]

So if it is 200 watts that means that it has 200/12v = 16.67 ah So if you discharge it 80% that means you have about 13 usable ah. so if you are trying to run a fridge that requires 20ah/24 hr period for one day before completely and fully recharging you would need 2 of these battery banks. If you needed 40 ah you would need 3 battery banks and so on. You really need to survey your actual electrical needs with a Kill-a-watt or something similar to determine how many of these you will need.

Chip

 

[user 37446]

Here's an interesting competitor - it sounds like it could do what she wanted as well.  Remember she said nothing about wanting a 12v compressor fridg, that was me musing over the bigger brother 400 watt model...

Not too sure about the solar recharging as one review said it was limited to 16V input, but a controller would obviously take care of that.  

https://www.amazon.com/ACOPOWER-Por...show_all_btm?ie=UTF8&reviewerType=all_reviews

ACOPOWER 150Wh/40,800mAh Portable Generator Power Supply Solar Energy Storage Lithium ion Battery with AC Power Inverters 110V/60Hz, USB Ports 5V/3A, DC Ports 9~12.6V/15A, Charged by AC/Solar Panels
byACOPOWER

Price:$143.88+ Free shipping with Amazon Prime

Always hard to know if the review is "valid" or not but here goes:

[size=small]5.0 out of 5 stars   Pound-for-pound the Best Portable Power Generator and a Great Value![/size]
BySerendipRVon May 24, 2017
Verified Purchase
We are very pleased with our purchase of AcoPower’s very efficient and lightweight 150Wh/40,800mAh Portable Generator. I can’t get over how small and lightweight it is for the power it holds! My review will compare it to a Goal Zero Yeti 1000 Lithium that I also own as well as going over some of the technical details.

Size and Weight: Honestly, I expected a bigger box! The AcoPower Generator packs a lot of power into a very small form factor weighing in at just over 3 pounds. Our Goal Zero weighs 40 pounds, making it too heavy for my wife to move around. When you compare the Amp Hour (Ah) capacity, AcoPower gives us over five times the Ah capacity per pound (GZ just under 100 Ah/40 lbs vs. AcoPower’s 40.8 Ah/3.31 lbs).

Power: We put this generator through a lot of tests and still had half the battery capability. It did normal things like charging our phones quickly via its USB ports, and powered my laptop. We also powered a portable printer, a mobile internet router and a DC Fantastic Fan! Over several days I kept checking to see if we needed to charge it back up. Truly impressive!

Versatility: Two AC Power ports are like having a wall outlet in a power pack. Two USB ports are convenient and were able to power a USB splitter to charge two phones on one port while we had another device in the second port. Three standard DC ports (vs. GZ proprietary) and the 12v DC adapter worked flawlessly. The unit has the capability to run as a UPS, meaning with the click of a button you can charge the generator while it supplies power to charge or run your devices. Most of all the small size and weight meant either of us could carry it with us to power our devices wherever we wanted. I also liked the built in LED light which was great at night when boondocking. We used the lights on the high brightness setting outside and on the low setting inside. Even recharging the generator is flexible, we used both the included AC and DC adapters to power it back up. Last, the unit has an intelligent BMS (Battery Management System) built-in meaning this is worry-free, protecting both your electronics and itself. The LED is easy to read and informative.

Cost: Wow. AcoPower’s portable generator gives me three times more Amp Hours per dollar than my GZ Investment. I wish I had found this first!
Pound-for-pound and dollar-for-dollar AcoPower’s Portable Power Generator is a winner and a great investment!"   end of quote

The Achilles Heel to all of these units is the questionable quality of the "Lithium Ion" battery chemistry, it's longevity etc.  Once it dies, this whole thing is junk. Our throw-a-way society...  

That's why a FLA 12v or two 6V batteries with an inverter and a 12V powerpoint adapter in a battery box, even though heavy, is kinda better - reusable...and much less $.  The various trolling motor "all in one" battery boxes with an AGM battery in them could do as well, just much bigger and heavier, obviously.  

Example being:
Minn Kota

MinnKota Trolling Motor Power Center

4.3 out of 5 stars    1,000 customer reviews

Price:
[size=medium]$57.58 [/size]


Anyway, she already bought the Suaoki but these are options.

 

[John61CT]

I love how they take the the AH spec at face value.

Simple common sense says that the heavier box stores more energy.

If it's lighter that means by definition it has less capacity.

There isn't any magic powerpak that fits all your daily energy needs in your pocket.

And that "review" definitely sound like it was written by the company's marketing dept.

But maybe I'm just getting cynical in my old age.

 

[John61CT]

150wH implies 12.5AH @12V, but no indication at what discharge rate.

Note that is 1/7 the capacity of the Yeti 1000 that reviewer claimed is actually **less** than this one!

40.8AH is stated, so if the 150wH is correct, that would be measured at 3.7V, just like the other one above, not a voltage actually output by any of the ports.

I just remembered that is the "nominal" voltage for a single NMC cell, as lead is 2V and LFP is 3.2V.

So maybe this a new "fraudster standard" for giving mAH/AH ratings as high as possible.

I wish Consumer Reports or even The Wirecutter would invest in a detailed teardown and objective testing of this whole product category.

 

[John61CT]

> So if it is 200 watts

that is the max **inverter output** in watts

nothing to do with capacity in watt-hours

 

[John61CT]

> She can likely lift it

I was talking there about a bank capable of supporting the use of a fridge. Which has nothing to do with the tiny units being discussed here

>> a bank suitable for that use case will barely be as "portable" as the fridge it's powering.

LFP is ~2.5 times lighter than LFP.

For example, a Trojan 8D-AGM 230 amp hour weighs 167lbs, or .726 lbs / AH

A comparable 100AH LFP pack (4 cells) weighs just under 30 pounds, or .3 lbs per amp hour of capacity.

I'm stacking a 100AH LFP bank up against 230AH of lead, because only 50% of the lead capacity is usable for longevity purposes, compared to 90% of LFP, plus the LFP should last much longer if properly cared for.

So, 30 pounds for just the battery part, add in a quality high-amp charger, that weighs at least that much, plus the box, other components, wiring.

That ~75lbs at maybe 2 cu ft, is what needs to be stuffed in a very sturdy backpack and carted into the coffeeshop in order to recharge a day or two's fridge usage within a couple of hours.

 

[RossCoe]

OK....Received this cute little power pack.  It was fully charged out of the box.  I am testing what I can charge.  Yesterday my laptop was run for 2 hrs with a 10% battery level, that charged to full 100 % in that 2 hrs.  (the power brick draws 45 watts).  The charging dots went from 5 dots to 3 dots.  I shut the Suaoki down for the day.   This morning I plugged in my iphone 6s plus at 30 % and is charging via usb ports.  It went from 30% to 90% charge in 90 minutes with a drop in dots to 2 remaining.

I also found a lightening sale on a 21 watt solar panel usb charger by Sokoo, $35, and I got that too. It can't charge the Suaoki, but I felt this was a great deal to use with a limited power supply.

 

[John61CT]

Is the battery inside user replaceable?

Have you got a DMM and any sort of ammeter?

Is there any contact information for tech support?

 

[RossCoe]

Is the battery inside user replaceable?

Have you got a DMM and any sort of ammeter?

Is there any contact information for tech support?

I received a warranty card that looks more like a business card.  I have a chat going on facebook about the chemistry of the battery.  My answer was it is a lithium polymer battery.  I asked again what the chemical composition was, and am waiting for an answer.  

And after looking up what a DMM or ammeter is- uh, no.  I don't have those tools.

All the documentation states that the battery is not user replaceable, but after reading all the Q&A on Amazon's product page (a lot of info can be gleaned from them)  someone posted the type of battery it was.  Also many warnings about warranty voided if pack is opened by user.  But for someone who knows how to do it, it looks possible. The PDF file below is about the type of battery. Also, the metal casing (aluminum??) looks just like the casing for the battery to my electric bike. And I know those can be rebuilt by someone who knows how to do it.

[font=Arial, sans-serif]What Lithium-Ion batteries are used and how many times they can be recharged ?[/font]

[font=Arial, sans-serif]Answer:
There is so many factors involved but typical or in perfect condition 500 times. Eventually it will lose its MAX capacity. 
By The Simple Guy on September 27, 2016
The battery type is 9059156 and it can be used 500 times at least 
By EKEYUS SELLER  on April 14, 2016
[/font]