your reviews of portable power stations and portable solar panels?

[Giggles]

Ok, I got my stimulus check this week, so I figured I'd spend part of it on a portable power station and one portable solar panel. I don't want to put a solar panel on my high top for several reasons.

The problem is, I'm having a tough time deciding on which BRAND. I'm thinking of going between 300 watts and 500 watts to begin with. (Sorry if I use the wrong terminology...you know what I mean....500 watts....500 watt hours...or whatever)

I've been watching lots of videos, but it all gets so overwhelming after a while. I'd like to hear your experiences with different brands of portable power stations and/or portable solar panels.

Also, stupid question...how do you know whaat size solar panel goes with a portable power station? If you get the wrong size, can you ruin your battery or blow the fuse? Are there any quick and handy formulas?

P.S. Today, I saw a 300 watt Progoeny portable power station (MPPT) for $195 on Amazon, but I'm not sure if I'd just end up regretting buying a cheaper version. Also, I can't tell by their write-up if it you can charge it through the cigarette lighter while driving. I get the feeling it was a written and translated from another language. (Probably Chinese...)

 

[Camper]

The only two brands I would buy are a Jackery and a Bluetti. The Bluetti AC50S has features that I like better.

 

[Giggles]

Thank you! I've never heard of the Bluetti. I'll check it out right now...

 

[Sofisintown]

My opinion when it comes to solar equipment and electronics, is
Buy the best you can afford when you buy them.
Cheap stuff that breaks too soon is wasted money.
If finances are tight wait and save, and don't buy on credit - that can make a cheap thing, not so cheap.
Things like that , often get cheaper overtime. Wait for a sale if you are not going to use it right away.

That said, I have a Bluetti AC200 all-in-one ($1200) with 4 x 100 Watt panels ($360)to feed it. (1.7 KW total available)
So far so good, no problems.

And also a secondary 'put-together' system, with 2x55 AH deep cycle batteries, 1 x 100 Watt portable panel, Epever 40 Amp charge controller, and 1500 PMW inverter. The secondary system cost was about $600 with all components, wires, fuses etc.
So far it works well too. Both are 5-7 months old, so I don't know what the long term performance will be.

 

[Giggles]

Thanks so much.

 

[Camper]

I have the Bluetti and a Jackery and my Bluetti will charge way faster on solar using a generic panel. That's important to me in the winter because of the short daytime charging period. I'll sell the Jackery pretty soon.

 

[MrAlvinDude]

How to size the solar panel to the power stations solar charge ability?

The solar input charge port will have a voltage range specification. Meaning, so long as the volts you send to the solar input socket, is above a certain voltage, and under another certain voltage, then the electronics behind the solar power input socket, will make sure that you do not harm the battery.


Examples:

The Jackery 300 specifies that input voltage must be between 12V and 30V

So a solar panel that will have all voltage ratings be under 30V can be used as a solar source for the Jackery 300. 
All "12V" solar panels will have a max voltage rating of under 30V. Typically a "12V" solar panel will have a rating of 22-24V to be the highest voltage that can come out of the solar panel.

Also, if the cig socket in your car, delivers a minimum of 12V, then the cig socket can be uses as a DC power source to charge the Jackery 300.
Details about Jackery 300: https://www.jackery.com/products/explorer-300-portable-power-station


A PROGENY 300 (found on amazon)  https://www.amazon.com/PROGENY-Portable-Regulated-Generators-Emergency/dp/B08F7XNWW4
has a DC input specification of 13V-22V.

So all standard "12V" solar panels can be typically be used as a power source for the DC input socket on the power statuion, as most of the "12V" solar panels will have a max voltage rating of 22V.

So long as the "12V" cig socket in your car, has a minimum of 13V, then it can be used as a charge  power source to the DC input port on the power station.
When you engine is running, then the "12V" cig socket in your car, will typically have 14V-14.4V coming out. 



The BLUETTI AC50S 500Wh Portable Power Station (https://www.amazon.com/BLUETTI-Portable-Station-Included-Generator/dp/B08TG7T887)
has a spec of 14V - 40V on the DC input port.
So your car engine must be running, in order to charge it from the "12V" cig socket.
So long as the highest voltage rating on the solar panels, is under 40V, they can be used to charge this power station.

Solar panels will have several (or at least two) official voltage ratings.
One rating, when it is not connected to anything (OCV = Open Circuit Voltage)
And then a minimum voltage rating, which indicates the voltage that the output of the solar panel is likely to drop to, when power is being dawn/used by what ever the solar panel is connected to. Like connected to the charge port of a portabe power station.


Does these examples help you to understand what kind of "12V" power sources that can be used to charge portable power stations?

 

[Camper]

My Bluetti charges fine on the van cig lighter outlet.

 

[jonyjoe303]

The watthours they usually measure by the type of battery they use. For instance a "goalzero 400" is 428 watthours divided by 10.8 volts gives you 39.6 ah battery. Some power stations divide by 11.1 volts, thats the typical voltage the mfg use to measure for a 3s lithium battery.
If a power station has 500 watthours divide by 11.1 volts = 45 ah battery.A 300 watthour divided by 11.1 volts = 27 ah battery. So the progeny is about a 27ah battery, according to the specs it can be charged from the cigarette plug while driving, it can also be charged from a solar panel in the 120 watt/ 21 volt range panel(which puts out about 6 amps of charging power). It has regulated 12 volt output which is good for running a 12 volt fridge.

If you know what the battery amp hour is, then you know what you can run with it. For instance my 12 volt fridge uses 18ah per 24 hours, a goalzero 400 might be able to run it for 2 days if its fully charge. The progeny 300 will run it for a little over 24 hours. Since they are lithium you can run them all the way until it stops putting out power.

The important thing is to have a way to charge them everyday. The worst thing is to need power and have an empty power station. If your uses are modest 27ah is all you might need.
I had a 31ah powerstation that I use to power my laptop, I could run my laptop with an inverter for about 5 days using it about 3 hours a day before I had to recharge it.

 

[StacyK]

I have had 3 Rockpals 300’s and 2 Jackery 300’s fail me in the last 15 months. (For comparison, I have a 15 year old laptop and a 6 year old tablet. I am not generally hard on electronics.) I’m still in S&B, so nothing has gotten heavy use or rough treatment—I’ve just been testing things out before I hit the road. My power use is light enough that I haven’t seen the need for a full setup in the van, but that may be changing. I would say that, whatever you get, have backup power like an Anker power bank so you can charge your phone. Also, make sure the warranty is good, and buy from a company you’re pretty sure will still be around in a few months so you can claim it. Because all those products were warrantied, I’m not out a penny—just the nuisance value.

Also, Rockpals offered me $20 to delete a 3-star review. (I refused.) All to say, a lack of negative reviews doesn’t mean anything.

 

[Giggles]

I have the Bluetti and a Jackery and my Bluetti will charge way faster on solar using a generic panel. That's important to me in the winter because of the short daytime charging period.  I'll sell the Jackery pretty soon.

Thanks! Good to know!

 

[Giggles]

How to size the solar panel to the power stations solar charge ability?

The solar input charge port will have a voltage range specification. Meaning, so long as the volts you send to the solar input socket, is above a certain voltage, and under another certain voltage, then the electronics behind the solar power input socket, will make sure that you do not harm the battery.


Examples:

The Jackery 300 specifies that input voltage must be between 12V and 30V

So a solar panel that will have all voltage ratings be under 30V can be used as a solar source for the Jackery 300. 
All "12V" solar panels will have a max voltage rating of under 30V. Typically a "12V" solar panel will have a rating of 22-24V to be the highest voltage that can come out of the solar panel.

Also, if the cig socket in your car, delivers a minimum of 12V, then the cig socket can be uses as a DC power source to charge the Jackery 300.
Details about Jackery 300: https://www.jackery.com/products/explorer-300-portable-power-station


A PROGENY 300 (found on amazon)  https://www.amazon.com/PROGENY-Portable-Regulated-Generators-Emergency/dp/B08F7XNWW4
has a DC input specification of 13V-22V.

So all standard "12V" solar panels can be typically be used as a power source for the DC input socket on the power statuion, as most of the "12V" solar panels will have a max voltage rating of 22V.

So long as the "12V" cig socket in your car, has a minimum of 13V, then it can be used as a charge  power source to the DC input port on the power station.
When you engine is running, then the "12V" cig socket in your car, will typically have 14V-14.4V coming out. 



The BLUETTI AC50S 500Wh Portable Power Station (https://www.amazon.com/BLUETTI-Portable-Station-Included-Generator/dp/B08TG7T887)
has a spec of 14V - 40V on the DC input port.
So your car engine must be running, in order to charge it from the "12V" cig socket.
So long as the highest voltage rating on the solar panels, is under 40V, they can be used to charge this power station.

Solar panels will have several (or at least two) official voltage ratings.
One rating, when it is not connected to anything (OCV = Open Circuit Voltage)
And then a minimum voltage rating, which indicates the voltage that the output of the solar panel is likely to drop to, when power is being dawn/used by what ever the solar panel is connected to. Like connected to the charge port of a portabe power station.


Does these examples help you to understand what kind of "12V" power sources that can be used to charge portable power stations?

Yes, thanks. .I knew that the cigarette. lighter was a 12 volt, I just wan't sure if it could take 12 volt input. Thanks for clearing all that up. Appreciate it!

 

[Giggles]

My Bluetti charges fine on the van cig lighter outlet.

Thanks. Good to know.

After watching a few videos, I think I'm going to get a Bluetti.

 

[Giggles]

The watthours they usually measure by the type of battery they use. For instance a "goalzero 400" is 428 watthours divided by 10.8 volts gives you 39.6 ah battery. Some power stations divide by 11.1 volts, thats the typical voltage the mfg use to measure for a 3s lithium battery.
If a power station has 500 watthours divide by 11.1 volts = 45 ah battery.A 300 watthour divided by 11.1 volts = 27 ah battery. So the progeny is about a 27ah battery, according to the specs it can be charged from the cigarette plug while driving, it can also be charged from a solar panel in the 120 watt/ 21 volt range panel(which puts out about 6 amps of charging power). It has regulated 12 volt output which is good for running a 12 volt fridge.

If you know what the battery amp hour is, then you know what you can run with it. For instance my 12 volt fridge uses 18ah per 24 hours, a goalzero 400 might be able to run it for 2 days if its fully charge. The progeny 300 will run it for a little over 24 hours. Since they are lithium you can run them all the way until it stops putting out power.

The important thing is to have a way to charge them everyday. The worst thing is to need power and have an empty power station. If your uses are modest 27ah is all you might need.
I had a 31ah powerstation that I use to power my laptop, I could run my laptop with an inverter for about 5 days using it about 3 hours a day before I had to recharge it.

Thanks!

 

[Giggles]

I have had 3 Rockpals 300’s and 2 Jackery 300’s fail me in the last 15 months. (For comparison, I have a 15 year old laptop and a 6 year old tablet. I am not generally hard on electronics.) I’m still in S&B, so nothing has gotten heavy use or rough treatment—I’ve just been testing things out before I hit the road. My power use is light enough that I haven’t seen the need for a full setup in the van, but that may be changing. I would say that, whatever you get, have backup power like an Anker power bank so you can charge your phone. Also, make sure the warranty is good, and buy from a company you’re pretty sure will still be around in a few months so you can claim it. Because all those products were warrantied, I’m not out a penny—just the nuisance value.

Also, Rockpals offered me $20 to delete a 3-star review. (I refused.) All to say, a lack of negative reviews doesn’t mean anything.

Thanks! Good to know!

 

[MrAlvinDude]

Yes, thanks. .I knew that the cigarette. lighter was a 12 volt, I just wan't sure if it could take 12 volt input. Thanks for clearing all that up. Appreciate it!

Just to clarify. All cigarette lighter sockets are 12V output sources.

The  cigarette lighter socket in the car will output power.
The  cigarette lighter socket on the power station  will output power.

The DC input socket on a portable power station will be a separate socket, and will NOT look anything like a cigarette lighter socket, the DC input location will look entirely different.
The size and shape of the 'DC input socket' is not standardized on portable power stations, so each power station will have their own design.

 

[AuricTech]

I've been testing a GOLABS 299Wh power station. So far, I like it. Tomorrow, I plan to bring it down to about 50% depth of discharge, then see how long it takes my DOKIO 100W folding panel to recharge it.

Three factors that led me to choose this particular power station were chemistry (unlike most such devices, the GOLABS uses an LiFePO4 battery, giving it a greater number of cycles), AC output (300W pure sine wave) and price (list price is $299.98, but Amazon had a digital coupon for $100 off*).

*The digital coupon later dropped to $80 off, but I just checked, and it's back to $100 off.

ETA: If you buy it using the link I posted, this site gets a kickback.

 

[Camper]

Does it have a regulated power supply? I can't find it in the specs, and I won't buy one without that feature.

 

[JDub]

I read the reviews on it and one of the first stated that it appeared to be regulated as the entire discharge cycle stayed at ~ 13.4 -13

 

[Camper]

I'm not a negative person but I won't buy one unless the manufacturer states it in the ad.