Which Jackery?

[KaLvan]

We are getting ready to purchase a portable power station for our Chevy Express.  We need to power a Maxxair Deluxe fan at night and some strip LED lights and charge cell phones and IPAD.  The fan draws 5 amps at highest setting and the lights .5 amps and we have 4 of the lights.  That is the extent of our power needs; they are not that extensive.  We plan to recharge the unit through the cigarette lighter when we are driving or shore power when we have access to it.  We are hoping not to have to charge it every day.  

Based on others experience and knowledge greater than mine, will a Jackery 240 or Jackery 300 be sufficient for our limited needs?  Are there other units that will offer all the same options of a Jackery at a similar or lower cost?  

I know we could build out our own system cheaper, but we experienced some injuries and health issues, and given limited time and knowledge, the Jackery or something similar seems like our best option right now.  Thanks.

 

[nature lover]

For what it’s worth the bigger the battery the longer you can go without charging. It’s a simple as that. So if you don’t want to be running your engine and driving all the time you’re going to need a larger battery to supply your needs for longer time. And if you do go with the “solar generator“ Jacorey or other you easily can add a portable solar panel for when you’re not moving.

I wound up with my meds in my refrigerator and spending a whole week in the hospital before I can get back out to my van. I’m thankful I had a higher capacity of batteries then I really needed. I built my own system, much more powerful than most solar generators, with individual components that can be replaced without shipping or tearing apart the generator. I’m still not convinced the generators are the way to go.

 

[jonyjoe303]

The jackery 300 is a 20ah (300wh) battery pack. If you run your fan at full power (5 amps) it will only run it for 4 hours. If you run the fan at a lower speed like about 2 amps you will get about 10 hours of use.
From the car outlet it will take 5 hours to fully recharge. From wall outlet about 2.5 hours to charge.
The power stations are only practical if you have a way of quickly charging them back up. The larger power stations will give you more run time, but they will also take longer to charge.

 

[ldsreliance]

Power stations are not the answer to these needs. They are a convenient, portable solution for spot duty. They are NOT a good solution for permanent, everyday use. They are not built well (I have done a few teardown videos and it is not pretty) and the components that are used in even the best brands (even Jackery) are inferior to components you could purchase on your own with some good research and advice.

I'm getting ready to do a comparison video on this comparing a Maxoak (Bluetti) power station to a similarly priced battery/inverter setup and show how bad it is.

I would recommend putting together a quality lithium battery and inverter/charger for this type of application. And stay away from low cost lithium batteries. There is a reason they are so cheap. If you need help navigating the waters of batteries to choose from, let me know.

 

[KaLvan]

Thanks for all the feedback.  We have decided to get a battery and set it up ourselves specific to our needs.