The advantage to a home-built solar system is that if something is not working you can swap it out. But if you have a Bluetti or any other box; you have to send the whole thing wherever. I would like a Bluetti but only as a secondary unit because they are portable. Whereas the one in my trailer is not very portable. Early on I built a solar setup on a hand cart before all these power stations were available. Jason, you amaze me with your abilities to help others achieve independence from the grid. This will be helpful in case the big earthquake hits us here in Utah.
I was listening to the radio this morning while driving to work and they mentioned the chance of doing rolling power outages here on the Wasatch front during this heatwave! I thought that was only a California thing?! ... I guess these battery builds may come in handy if that ever becomes a thing here in Utah. I hope not!
@@Jasonoid I hope not either. I can always hook up my two Honda's and keep the refrigerator running and keep the ceiling fans going. And I still have my Hand truck solar system for incidentals.
Thanks for this excellent instruction. As powerstations are almost 30% or 40% more expensive in Europe than in the USA i have decided to build also. The prices are too off the wall to justify an off the shelf solution. Another advantage to building your own you have flexibility to expand the setup. I plan to start with smaller battery configuration but add to it over time as they are the most expensive part of the build.
This looks like a fun project. And I know you were a bit down on only having 180w for the AC but if you think about it, if you're putting it on AC you are probably plugging it in for the night so it shouldn't really be an issue, you would get a full charge probably in 10-12hours so it's not that bad. Also you'd probably get at least 80% of a charge after 8 hours and that's from dead. You probably wouldn't run it into the ground. What I would add if possible is a simple volt meter unless the volt meter on the DC out is the actual volts of the unit itself. Then you know once you get around the 11.8v mark the battery is pretty much done and needs charging. I have the exact same light and I love it. It only uses 5w of power and has the equivilent of a 60w bulb and has a little hook to hook it anywhere. Works great with my Golabs R300(Which doesn't have that DC cutoff software bug). I'm not sure if you've done this but maybe for fun have a bunch of low power USB/DC type devices to give people some options for a low power setup with links in the description to the models. You know like little fans, lights, comfort items that even a micro power station can run for a very long time. Maybe some LED light strips etc. Maybe have a DC plug in there that has a bunch of USB ports you can use. You know fun stuff that would make it more comfortable for campers or during a blackout. If it's during a heat wave it could save your life, say there was an elderly person even a very small 200wh cheap portable power station, a usb fan and a usb light. A lot of elderly people can die in heat waves, a decent sized USB fan may get them over the hump until the power comes back on. I would say it would be a great gift item for anyone for less than $200. If you want to go a little better as an example the Golabs R300 was $199 when I bought and they have specials on occasionally for a little more run time. It's very light so an elderly person or a child can carry it and has enough juice if your using low powered items for days without a solar or wall charge and the good thing is it's relatively inexpensive and uses LFP batteries which last a long time. Add even just a cheap 60w solar panel and you could run indefinitely if you had enough sun.
I did come up with a Top 5 gadgets video a couple months ago, you can watch it here if you haven't seen it: th-cam.com/video/134WJlvd0Pk/w-d-xo.html Basically a video showing off USB and DC gadgets that work well on small power stations.
@9:55 Is assume the fuses "could" blow out of sync. Is this kind of wiring safe? As soon as one fuse pops, there will be twice the load on the remaining wire. On the other hand, then the other fuse will pop for sure, I guess.
Just jumped onto this video. Looking to build a power station, but have realized a small one is probably not practical, but a mid range or higher might be. Don't want to get too heavy, otherwise it's not really portable. Maybe go with a main unit with a stackable add-on battery pack. That might be the way to go. Have a main unit with possibly a 2000 watt inverter and 100ah, and a companion box with and additional 200ah of battery storage.
I built 3 power boxes abt a year ago. I used 2- 12vdc 9Ah AGM batteries. I have a old, cheap car 500w inverter on just one. The other 2 have a 150w inverter ea. I will be upgrading to lifepo4 batteroes soon. The charge controllers aren't mppt but those will be upgraded as well. Original cost was $100.00.
Great job makes the BLUETTI EB3A at 249.00, that you reviewed seem like a great deal. i realize its half the wattage but still. great price for what you get with the bluetti
@9:42 looking at the diagram, the Output if the 12V to 24V Boost converter will be exposed up to 50V (max PV input of the MPPT), may be you should put blocking diode on the output of that 12V to 24V Boost converter since the output filter caps of the 12V to 24V Boost converter may not be rated to handle up to 50V, same check on the caps of the AC to DC 36V SMPS power supply. You should also check and see if there is Voltage at the Input (nothing connected to the input) of the 12V to 24V Boost converter when you have AC wall charging or PV panel connected to see if the Voltage is fed all the way to the input of the 12V to 24V Boost converter or not, that is why i suggest to put a blocking diode on the output of 12V to 24V Boost converter.
The DC to DC converter has a diode in it so it doesnt backfeed. I have tested each charging option and it works well....other than conversion losses from going from 12v to 24v back to 14.6v
A few suggestions. I would put inline fuses on the 3 inputs going into the MPPT, and anything connected direct to the battery positive. Also maybe diodes to avoid back feeding the 12v to 20v boost unit or the 120v/DC adapter. A terminal block could clean up all the wiring.
Thanks for the suggestions Joshua. I was really wanting a terminal block for simplicity but I couldn't find a terminal block that was small enough, I bought two and both didn't fit! Haha The two DC chargers I used all have diodes so they won't backfeed. Not too worried about the AC charging, I probably won't use it much.
I've been thinking about something like this for camping. I don't need the AC inverter or AC charging so I could save some money and simplify the build a bit. I could even use those savings to jump to the 100ah battery from the same supplier. The DC charging will require a bit more thought as I'd like to be able to charge from the vehicle's 12v socket as a backup to solar but a full DC to DC charging unit from the engine compartment may be worthwhile.
The 100ah sized batteries wouldn't fit into this case, but the concept would be the same. Leaving out the AC inverter and charging would make this such an easy project :)
great video, found this researching to do the same. planning on a 2 100ah lifepo build with a 2000w inverter. using a toolbox with wheels and a handle. going to make a van build and that way i can roll it in the house when im not on the road to keep it safe.
A DIY is not as sleek as a store purchased unit, but there are many benefits on a DIY as repairs are easy, upgradeable and can be made to suit your needs. I have a 100 ah LIFEPO4 battery, 1KW pure sine inverter and a charger ready to be placed into a box, just need some materials and time to complete the project.
@@Jasonoid Your build is great and very similar to what I have planned to make, simple but very effective with DC, USB A and C and 120V AC out. For charging, AC input and high current 12v. This allows bypassing charging the of battery while charging USB devices or even AC power. 100ah is a lot yet not enough. I have ran some, although not scientific tests, to see how long certain household appliances could run from that battery. 3 loads of laundry used about 45% and the furnace can go approximately 3.5 continous hours on a full charge. My 12v portable cooler/freezer pulls around 45 watts on eco mode, this will run for a whole weekend on battery power alone.
My biggest concern in using say a 50 cal size plastic box is after getting the power poles ,the battery meter the walkway light the map light / table top light , and the high speed USB , cigarette socket for outputs then the sae socket with volt/ amp meter for solar input , it leaves me just enough room for 2, li-ion battery packs and if careful the fuse box and 2 dc dc buds for charging frm solar and another to bring down the full 16.8v batteries to 13.6 . this is a tight pack but extremely useful. And I have been using orange boxes to stand out .
I saw ur video couple of times to understand the wiring of the DC DC converter and the MPPT solar charger and was wondering how would the charging stop when the battery is full ? Will it be the solar charger which will stop the charging or the BMS on the battery which will do it ? I am planning to build a power station myself with 100Ah prismatic cells hence want to underatsnd this a bit. Thanks.
The battery BMS stops all charging input once the cells reach a certain voltage. It's great to have a BMS that protects from over charging and over discharging (unlike lead acid batteries).
Biggest perk of diy is faster dc charging. 6-8 hour charge times on a lot of commercial offerings is their biggest con. An appropriately sized dc-dc converter and mppt controller wired directly to your cars battery will get charge times closer to 2 hours (or less). Also, you can use one of your dc output ports to parallel additional batteries for more capacity.
I watched the whole thing. I am really having a hard time retaining the science behind AC/DC power. I think it is just going to take me working with it hands on.
Nice powerbank that will last for many years. I am building one too, I will use my battery from the electric bike it is at 36v 15Ah I will use a converter down to 24v most cigar-usb uses 12-24v I also have a 24v 1000w inverter 230v I only intend to use about 400w max with this setup. for solar input I will use a converter stepup from 20v to 40v
Looks good hope you get lots of use out of it. I have built a bunch of 18650 batteries for ham radio use using the 4s10p design and have gotten very good use from them. I also built my first power box from 10ah Headway cells a 4s5p then added all the extras
nice set-up! question; can you connect the dc 12v-24v converter straight to the main battery / alternator or do you need an isolatorin between (old car)?
I agree.. smaller power stations and features add up and would probably make sense for most people to catch the vendor models on sale.. it’s when you want to just have 12v or things like that, DIY is the way to go… I was very interested in seeing how the multi charging was going to work.. sounds like it is not great as you can only do one input at a time. On my larger build I have solar in and then any of the other Anderson’s can be used to charge via 12v. Thanks for the build info. I was looking at the buck device as well so that answers some of my questions..
That's definitely possible. You'd want to look for a display that has a shunt with it. The shunt tracks the amperage and voltage so it can calculate power in and out of the battery.
Hi, great vid! Question... How do you work out what size inverter is compatible with the battery size? You have a 50ah battery with 500w inverter, what would the max size be for a 75ah or 100ah. Thanks from 🇬🇧
It's all about amps. Usually the battery will have a maximum amperage in the specs. For example, a 50ah LFP battery will usually have a 50 amp limit. 12.8v x 50 amps is 640 watts (volts x amps = watts). So a 50ah battery will support a 500w inverter. A 100ah battery with a 100 amp BMS will support 1280 watts (12.8v X 100a= 1280 watts).
So I'm considering building my own power station but I need some help as I'm not sure if what I want to do will work. Can you recommend somewhere to get help with my build?
I have all the major components in the video description. Wiring diagram is in the video, everything else not featured in the wiring diagram wires up to the positive and negative battery terminals.
Hi Jason, I have a question for you. On a Diy build like this, could I plug in a Bestek 500 watt pure sine wave inverter into my cigarette lighter port in my vehicle. And then plug in a Victron 5 amp trickle charger into the pure sine wave inverter and charge a lithium battery? The Victron is adjustable from 5 amps to 2 amps. I know there would be some efficiency loss. Can you see any downsides to this?
Your cig port is probably limited to 10 amps, or a 120 watts max. So don't go over that wattage or you'll blow the fuse. If everything randomly shuts off, then the fuse was blown. Other than that it should work just fine. I'd only do this if the engine is running so I wouldn't kill the starter battery.
Lifepo4 batteries have a BMS that protects the battery from overcharging and over discharging the battery. You can tell its full when the voltage of the battery is 14.4v and empty when the voltage starts dropping below 12v.
@@delagto_5340 all that info is in the owners manual for the battery. 14.4 - 14.6v is full, anything below 12v means the battery is dead. LFP is usually around 13.2v while discharging.
Hi Jason. I have been planning a battery box for a while and I like your design. I built one using most of the same parts you used, including the same battery (the Lifepo4). I’m having a problem though. When I try to charge the battery on 12 volts from a 20 amp Astron power supply it ended up pulling the power supply down to 10 volts and was pulling 26 amps! The 12 to 24 boost module is only rated for 10 amps so I’m not sure what went wrong. Do you have any ideas? Thanks!
It rated for 10 amps on the output side so lets take a look at the equation of power: volts X amps = watts (24v X 10 amps is 240 watts). Looking at the input side, the power would be the same, around 240 watts total.... so that's 12v X 20 amps to get the same power. Remember power input has to be near power output, PLUS some additional losses for conversion. I think I was seeing around 24 amps on the input side of mine.
@jasonoid Could you please show how to build a DIY LiFePO4 battery pack to power Dashcams in parking mode? Something with fast pass through charging too so 20 minutes of driving will charge up the battery quite quickly. Current ready made dashcam batteries on the market are too expensive. Thank you so much for your videos!
I decided to build a portable power supply as well. My mission parameters.....I couldnt purchase anything. So....just using what I had around the house....zombie apocalypse style. I used a plastic locking pistol case, a new 55ah sla battery, a pwm charge controller, and a digital guage. I put mc4 leads on the charge controller....and I built a long 12 volt cig plug with mc4 connections. I can use solar panels or swap to the cig lighter cable. I can use a battery charger for ac charging or a 12 volt adapter. I hooked it up to a 1500 watt power inverter. It all fits in the briefcase. I call it my suitcase nuke.
A not related to this video question for ya. That bluetti AC300 has solar charging capabilities of 2400 watts max between two different legs so if I bought 24 100 watt solar panels and ran 12 of them each in series and hooked them up to each mppt leg will that work out ok? Am I following along with all this correctly? I think I get it lol
Hey Kerry, The maximum input for the AC300 is 150 volts, so you can actually only connect 6 panels in series together to keep under the max charging voltage. So on each MPPT charge controller you can make a mixed array of series and parallel connections to get it to work properly. (25 volts per panel X 6 panels = 150volts for the total array) For example, take TWO sets of 6 panels in series and join them into parallel so each charge controller would have 12 panels (6S2P). That would give you 1200 watts of power @ 150volts and 8 amps. Now you would double the same setup on the other charge controller and it would give you a total of 24 panels or around 2400 watts. Does that make sense?
@@Jasonoid Yes!!!! Ok now I see and get it. I can get the Renogy 100 watt panels for a $100 each so that's why I want to use them. That's a lot of panels I know but for the price I guess a good value.
@@Jasonoid I know but I have the money for them (24) so just get them all at once. So would you think with 24 100 watt panels tied in like you said to that AC300 on a good day should be able to get plenty of power for that battery to run a fridge and freezer and maybe charge that battery for the night. What you think?
@@billy2bob63 I am able to run two fridges throughout the day on only 1600 watts of solar, but I live in an area that gets really good sun. I get down to about 25% battery in the morning powering just two fridges. You may need more battery capacity, but you can always buy that later.
You learn the voltage curve of Lifepo4 batteries pretty quickly. These batteries basically stay at 13.2 volts until its around 15% full and then the voltage drops rapidly. Once you see around 12.3v - 12v on the display, it's time to charge it back up.
Hi, Jason. I just subbed you, great channel. Do you have schematics for this? My demands are simple. Run an Iceco 45 and charge a few lights and devices in the middle of the Canadian wilderness while camping. Thanks, mate.
Power station prices are so cheap these days I wouldn't recommend this project anymore. If you are looking for something with only DC output and charging, I will be testing this battery soon: amzn.to/3ZQgS07
Friend says that the DC/DC 120w converter keeps blowing his car 12v outlet for some reason. I assume he has a 15a fuse but is there a solution in this case or anyone experiencing similar issue? (Besides directly wiring it to the car battery?)
@@Jasonoidthanks! he said it was working for awhile fine with 15a fuse, But "then one time I had like three phones and two ecigs also plugged in at the same time to the cigarette outlets and that was the first time it blew and then since then no matter what even if it's just the battery bank plugged in it blows right away" So weird tbh. we also tried the AC to DC converter from this build (which was labeled as not very good lol) but it made a huge popping noise and a resistor blew on the converter. I think the MPPT was sucking 300w but the AC converter was max 180w and wonder if a larger wattage would support the 300w mppt, not sure if there is a solution to swap out that ac/dc with a better part somewhere that won't die? Really cool project! I am just trying to get my friend and his box up to speed 😅
@@Jasonoidhey I figured out why his fuse was tripping on the 12v outlet in the car, the DC-DC 12-24V converter blew up in the box and one of the capacitors blew in it. Seems the MPPT Is still fine, I wonder is there a good replacement for this 12-24v converter that won't blow it's cap after awhile? I don't think we crossed any wires because the battery had successfully charged itself a couple times, but for some odd reason, the DC 12-24 converter blew itself up, along with the AC/DC converter that blew itself up, almost like the 300w MPPT is sucking too much power from both devices??? Like the AC to DC is 180w~ and the DC to dc is 24v5a which would support 120 watts max, but if the MPPT is trying to suck out the MAX of that, is that too much for the other components? How to fix it so that neither of the components blow themselves up? I feel like the 300w MPPT is too powerful for the other two components that it's sucking from, but Im not electronics expert and can't tell for sure if that is the cause of both items popping caps 😢
Not gonna lie, this makes me somewhat regret ordering myself a bluetti eb70.. Suggestion for the future: explore the possibilities of using newer larger battery packs connected to the electronics of commercial powerstations. Think: 700Wh of the eb70 is not enough after my requirements change a few years down the road, could i take apart the powerstation and simply attach a large lifepo4 battery (or multiple in series depending on voltage) to where the stock battery pack normally would attach inside the powerstation? Would be nice to reuse all the charging electronics in the future.
There are incompatibilities' with this design. The Powerwerx MPPT-300 Solar Charger Controller is a great choice for a compact MPPT charger. However, the other two devices to feed the MPPT will not work as supplies to MPPT solar charges. Either use separate changing devices suited to DC/DC and AC/DC. Besides solar panels, only CC CV Power Supplies work as a source of power for solar chargers. The earlier video that introduced d the Powerwerx MPPT-300 testing with a Benchtop power supply, which is a CC-CV source.
nice video cool am going build my own power box I have 3 inverter 500 watts 800 watts 1100 watts I have 12 volt deep cycle battery 75 amp 900 watts I love your video how good would lithium battery would work in the cold may I asked
Your build looks like a military tractor while the Bluetti looks like a 'supermodel' . I would go with Paris Hilton's opinion on this one : "Thats 'Hot'" ! !
PS : Have 'built' a lot of things with great satisfaction of the results, so I 'get' where you're coming from. To try and build my Honda Pacific Coast motorcycle from a bunch of individually obtained parts would probably not come out well. th-cam.com/video/9tOC8eK-ct8/w-d-xo.html (Some owner add-ons made this one a little better) . . . . take care, RH
i am always interested in your diy builds, thanks for sharing. but yes i agree the cost of diy today is definetly pointing towards get it already built rather than diy, but with diy you can make it your own and are not limited by the choices in the prebuilt.
Thanks PM, cost is probably leaning towards benefitting off the shelf options, at least for a small build like this. Going with a 2000wh or 3000wh setup, the cost benefit swaps over to DIY.
@@Jasonoid I ordered the 200 amp 300 amp hour LiFePo4 Ampere Time battery when the price fell from 1199 to 1036. I also ordered a 2000 watt pure sine inverter and a 60 amp MPPT charge controller, plus a 20 amp LiFePo4 charger. Now I have to figure out what to do next. Do you think it would be safe for the battery and other parts if I put 500 watts of solar panels outside propped up on the ground and wire all this up after a hurricane to power my 5000 BTU Frigidaire window air conditioner? The inverter has replaceable fuses and an "AC Grounding" point. This was a HUGE purchase for me and the last of my savings. Should I simply build a unit similar to what you`ve done here? I want to put it on wheels if so. Utilities are hooked up at my camper but not connected yet. I don`t know if the wiring is safe.
You should be able to run your AC with that setup just fine. If you connect each component together properly with the proper wire size / and fuses there shouldn't be any risk of something going wrong. There are lots of videos and guides online about proper wire size and the amount of amps they will safely allow online.
@@Jasonoid I was gonna order 2 gauge but saw that the inverter has wires to connect the battery. I also ordered wires that were for charge controller to battery. I ordered some fuses but I have to think about this carefully first. I have a box of typical DC fuses somewhere. I have to get moved first. I can`t function around these mentally deranged freaks here. Trying to even think in the same house with my sister is futile. She`s making threats and called me crazy because I bought the battery with my OWN MONEY. She and my nephew both started hounding me about wanting air conditioning after hurricanes. They find somewhere to go where there`s a generator and told me I should just get a battery powered fan! The next time the power fails she can sit there in the dark. Why would she want to borrow a Bluetti EB70 from a crazy person? I`m from Louisiana but these two are REAL Rednecks....completely ignorant about what the battery I ordered can do and they don`t care why I want it. They were hoping they could talk me into hiring a bulldozer with the money to "level my yard" (RIDICULOUS!) and trick me into paying for having work done in THEIR YARDS too! This happened once before.And they think I`m too dumb to know this.
@@Jasonoid Yes, it's only like 92-95% full at 13.8v. I float it with this in the car, and basically leave the battery station to act like a ups and large current buffer, as I use a 750w inverter on it
This is an older video (youtube recommends old video now for some reason...) I agree, power station prices have dropped quite a bit and they are much better now.
Just saw some good reviews on one called, “Bawaut.” Have you heard of that one and is it actually identical to another one under a different label? Thx!
You don’t need a direct AC charging input. Use a laptop charger or any similar AC to DC power brick as long as the output voltage range is between 9-20V DC. You can then use your DC 9-20V DC input. You will need to make an adaptor, barrel jack to power pole, or whatever configuration is required depending on the output connector of your power brick. Alternatively replace the barrel jack connector from your power brick to use power pole. Really you only need one DC input (solar MPPT). Not sure why your MPPT needs a minimum of 20V? I would have thought it could still charge from 12V, isn’t that one of the main benefits of using MPPT, so you can still charge in low light conditions?
Another very cool video. This looks like a nice, "right-sized" solution for camping trips or short power outages. Do you have a link for the voltage display/USB charging connections that includes the USB-C PD port? It would be a huge bonus to find one that is bi-directional, but that is probably too much to hope for, right? :)
You cannot charge a LifePo4 battery from a car. To charge from DC it has to be from another LifePo4 battery or a solar charge controller made for LifePo4.
We have used the th-cam.com/users/postUgkxOTeIs0vv4_9B5hsmnLsk9r930uDQLu_Y for probably 30 hours with our camper and it’s been great! The noise level is really only noticeable when running the AC and other appliances like the microwave, hair dryer, or coffee pot. It’s not huge like other ones and it has wheels so even at 90lbs, I can move it!
Looks like a fire waiting to happen Your inverter mains are now exposed, something comes loose (like that charge controller) and cya later. So are your ring terminals; 12v won't kill but it'll still short and cause a fire. Would recommend an isolator switch. Both safety and prevent it knocking on in the boot of your vehicle. Please don't make it out like it's easy, and anyone should build one. Viewers: if you don't have the know how, and have not worked with electricy, this is not the thing to learn on...
Just electrical buzzing noises... I need to do more testing lol. I did have a lithium NMC battery pack explode while camping those week! I'll have that video out soon.
@@Jasonoid sorry, but that statement didn't give me any confidence to attempt this DIY build. Rather pony up the extra money for a reputable prebuilt that's likely not going to put me or my family at risk.
@@Jasonoid depends on the voltage of the battery doesnt it?....and whether it has a built in bms. I say you try it while filming...outside where it is safe. Whats the worst that could happen? Lol.
I wish you the best of luck! There are lots of opportunities since the market is still growing! You just need to find out what people really want and how to get it at a decent price.
Time to take this video down. The Blueetti Eb-70 ,ready to go, is superior in every way at the same cost. Nothing to build, 2 year 😮warranty. There is NO reason to build this!!
The advantage to a home-built solar system is that if something is not working you can swap it out. But if you have a Bluetti or any other box; you have to send the whole thing wherever. I would like a Bluetti but only as a secondary unit because they are portable. Whereas the one in my trailer is not very portable. Early on I built a solar setup on a hand cart before all these power stations were available. Jason, you amaze me with your abilities to help others achieve independence from the grid. This will be helpful in case the big earthquake hits us here in Utah.
I was listening to the radio this morning while driving to work and they mentioned the chance of doing rolling power outages here on the Wasatch front during this heatwave! I thought that was only a California thing?! ... I guess these battery builds may come in handy if that ever becomes a thing here in Utah. I hope not!
@@Jasonoid I hope not either. I can always hook up my two Honda's and keep the refrigerator running and keep the ceiling fans going. And I still have my Hand truck solar system for incidentals.
Love to see this content. Your original build is what got me to build my 100Ah box and start working with powerpoles!
Powerpoles can save the world! Haha
Glad you enjoyed the build. More small DIY Projects coming soon!
Thanks for this excellent instruction. As powerstations are almost 30% or 40% more expensive in Europe than in the USA i have decided to build also. The prices are too off the wall to justify an off the shelf solution.
Another advantage to building your own you have flexibility to expand the setup. I plan to start with smaller battery configuration but add to it over time as they are the most expensive part of the build.
I agree. Building your own power station is just fun. I may never build another or use lithium batteries, but it was worth it.
Unless your time is worth $100/hr, isn't it worth it though as far as cost savings?
Wow, this exactly what I was looking for. I don't need the solar part but I've been trying to figure out how to charge with a/c like this.
This looks like a fun project. And I know you were a bit down on only having 180w for the AC but if you think about it, if you're putting it on AC you are probably plugging it in for the night so it shouldn't really be an issue, you would get a full charge probably in 10-12hours so it's not that bad. Also you'd probably get at least 80% of a charge after 8 hours and that's from dead. You probably wouldn't run it into the ground. What I would add if possible is a simple volt meter unless the volt meter on the DC out is the actual volts of the unit itself. Then you know once you get around the 11.8v mark the battery is pretty much done and needs charging. I have the exact same light and I love it. It only uses 5w of power and has the equivilent of a 60w bulb and has a little hook to hook it anywhere. Works great with my Golabs R300(Which doesn't have that DC cutoff software bug). I'm not sure if you've done this but maybe for fun have a bunch of low power USB/DC type devices to give people some options for a low power setup with links in the description to the models. You know like little fans, lights, comfort items that even a micro power station can run for a very long time. Maybe some LED light strips etc. Maybe have a DC plug in there that has a bunch of USB ports you can use. You know fun stuff that would make it more comfortable for campers or during a blackout. If it's during a heat wave it could save your life, say there was an elderly person even a very small 200wh cheap portable power station, a usb fan and a usb light. A lot of elderly people can die in heat waves, a decent sized USB fan may get them over the hump until the power comes back on. I would say it would be a great gift item for anyone for less than $200. If you want to go a little better as an example the Golabs R300 was $199 when I bought and they have specials on occasionally for a little more run time. It's very light so an elderly person or a child can carry it and has enough juice if your using low powered items for days without a solar or wall charge and the good thing is it's relatively inexpensive and uses LFP batteries which last a long time. Add even just a cheap 60w solar panel and you could run indefinitely if you had enough sun.
I did come up with a Top 5 gadgets video a couple months ago, you can watch it here if you haven't seen it: th-cam.com/video/134WJlvd0Pk/w-d-xo.html
Basically a video showing off USB and DC gadgets that work well on small power stations.
I say have one of each, a lot of pleasure building DIY
Totally agree! Thanks Jeff
@9:55 Is assume the fuses "could" blow out of sync. Is this kind of wiring safe? As soon as one fuse pops, there will be twice the load on the remaining wire. On the other hand, then the other fuse will pop for sure, I guess.
Just jumped onto this video. Looking to build a power station, but have realized a small one is probably not practical, but a mid range or higher might be. Don't want to get too heavy, otherwise it's not really portable. Maybe go with a main unit with a stackable add-on battery pack. That might be the way to go. Have a main unit with possibly a 2000 watt inverter and 100ah, and a companion box with and additional 200ah of battery storage.
I built 3 power boxes abt a year ago. I used 2- 12vdc 9Ah AGM batteries. I have a old, cheap car 500w inverter on just one. The other 2 have a 150w inverter ea. I will be upgrading to lifepo4 batteroes soon. The charge controllers aren't mppt but those will be upgraded as well. Original cost was $100.00.
Sounds like a great build! My first build was also lead acid, once I found out about LFP I had to upgrade! So much more power density!
Could you update the link for the AC/DC Converter to one that's in stock?
Great job makes the BLUETTI EB3A at 249.00, that you reviewed seem like a great deal. i realize its half the wattage but still. great price for what you get with the bluetti
I got a EB3A, for the charge controller, $209. New,Six months ago. I keep a 60 Ah LiFePO4 like this guy's to refill the Bluetti about six times.
@9:42 looking at the diagram, the Output if the 12V to 24V Boost converter will be exposed up to 50V (max PV input of the MPPT), may be you should put blocking diode on the output of that 12V to 24V Boost converter since the output filter caps of the 12V to 24V Boost converter may not be rated to handle up to 50V, same check on the caps of the AC to DC 36V SMPS power supply. You should also check and see if there is Voltage at the Input (nothing connected to the input) of the 12V to 24V Boost converter when you have AC wall charging or PV panel connected to see if the Voltage is fed all the way to the input of the 12V to 24V Boost converter or not, that is why i suggest to put a blocking diode on the output of 12V to 24V Boost converter.
The DC to DC converter has a diode in it so it doesnt backfeed. I have tested each charging option and it works well....other than conversion losses from going from 12v to 24v back to 14.6v
A few suggestions. I would put inline fuses on the 3 inputs going into the MPPT, and anything connected direct to the battery positive. Also maybe diodes to avoid back feeding the 12v to 20v boost unit or the 120v/DC adapter. A terminal block could clean up all the wiring.
Thanks for the suggestions Joshua. I was really wanting a terminal block for simplicity but I couldn't find a terminal block that was small enough, I bought two and both didn't fit! Haha
The two DC chargers I used all have diodes so they won't backfeed. Not too worried about the AC charging, I probably won't use it much.
I've been thinking about something like this for camping. I don't need the AC inverter or AC charging so I could save some money and simplify the build a bit. I could even use those savings to jump to the 100ah battery from the same supplier. The DC charging will require a bit more thought as I'd like to be able to charge from the vehicle's 12v socket as a backup to solar but a full DC to DC charging unit from the engine compartment may be worthwhile.
The 100ah sized batteries wouldn't fit into this case, but the concept would be the same. Leaving out the AC inverter and charging would make this such an easy project :)
Warm air rises so it would be better to have the fan pulling hot air out rather than pushing downwards. Even better to have 2 fans
Either way will work fine, pushing over the converters worked fine. The air flow of one 120mm is plenty for this setup.
7:45 Does this offer a limit on 12V SC charge (in case of a low power 123V-Source)?
great video, found this researching to do the same. planning on a 2 100ah lifepo build with a 2000w inverter. using a toolbox with wheels and a handle. going to make a van build and that way i can roll it in the house when im not on the road to keep it safe.
A DIY is not as sleek as a store purchased unit, but there are many benefits on a DIY as repairs are easy, upgradeable and can be made to suit your needs.
I have a 100 ah LIFEPO4 battery, 1KW pure sine inverter and a charger ready to be placed into a box, just need some materials and time to complete the project.
Nice setup J T, you'll love the amount of power in those 100ah batteries. I have a few options laying around and you can run a small load FOREVER!
@@Jasonoid Your build is great and very similar to what I have planned to make, simple but very effective with DC, USB A and C and 120V AC out. For charging, AC input and high current 12v. This allows bypassing charging the of battery while charging USB devices or even AC power. 100ah is a lot yet not enough. I have ran some, although not scientific tests, to see how long certain household appliances could run from that battery. 3 loads of laundry used about 45% and the furnace can go approximately 3.5 continous hours on a full charge. My 12v portable cooler/freezer pulls around 45 watts on eco mode, this will run for a whole weekend on battery power alone.
My biggest concern in using say a 50 cal size plastic box is after getting the power poles ,the battery meter the walkway light the map light / table top light , and the high speed USB , cigarette socket for outputs then the sae socket with volt/ amp meter for solar input , it leaves me just enough room for 2, li-ion battery packs and if careful the fuse box and 2 dc dc buds for charging frm solar and another to bring down the full 16.8v batteries to 13.6 . this is a tight pack but extremely useful. And I have been using orange boxes to stand out .
Would not a more equipped inverter save time and bits/
Also the AC inverter female plugs could been used as well.
Hey Jason! Thank you for the video. What would you suggest to pick as the charge controller if I don't need to charge the battery from solar panels?
I saw ur video couple of times to understand the wiring of the DC DC converter and the MPPT solar charger and was wondering how would the charging stop when the battery is full ? Will it be the solar charger which will stop the charging or the BMS on the battery which will do it ? I am planning to build a power station myself with 100Ah prismatic cells hence want to underatsnd this a bit. Thanks.
The battery BMS stops all charging input once the cells reach a certain voltage. It's great to have a BMS that protects from over charging and over discharging (unlike lead acid batteries).
Is there a diode in this circuit? As I heard a sound when connecting 12 volts DC
Biggest perk of diy is faster dc charging. 6-8 hour charge times on a lot of commercial offerings is their biggest con. An appropriately sized dc-dc converter and mppt controller wired directly to your cars battery will get charge times closer to 2 hours (or less).
Also, you can use one of your dc output ports to parallel additional batteries for more capacity.
I should have mentioned the parallel option as a HUGE perk. Thanks Fluffy Eggs!
I watched the whole thing. I am really having a hard time retaining the science behind AC/DC power. I think it is just going to take me working with it hands on.
It took me awhile, lots of terms and numbers to keep track of!
The inverter is the brains really. That plugs in the cig lighter
Nice powerbank that will last for many years. I am building one too, I will use my battery from the electric bike it is at 36v 15Ah I will use a converter down to 24v most cigar-usb uses 12-24v I also have a 24v 1000w inverter 230v I only intend to use about 400w max with this setup. for solar input I will use a converter stepup from 20v to 40v
Sounds like a great build, thanks for sharing your idea!
why do you need 2 of DC to DC converter?
Can u do a build useing an. Lead acid 20 hr battery????
Looks good hope you get lots of use out of it. I have built a bunch of 18650 batteries for ham radio use using the 4s10p design and have gotten very good use from them. I also built my first power box from 10ah Headway cells a 4s5p then added all the extras
Just came across this. Looking at a DIY 100AH system with the triple charging method. Did you ever find a better AC/DC converter?
It's best to use a normal AC to DC LFP battery charger.
I have 2 20ah lifep04 batteries. I want to do something like this. Upgraded to a big 100ah lifep04 battery.
The larger capacity is nice!
nice set-up! question; can you connect the dc 12v-24v converter straight to the main battery / alternator or do you need an isolatorin between (old car)?
I agree.. smaller power stations and features add up and would probably make sense for most people to catch the vendor models on sale.. it’s when you want to just have 12v or things like that, DIY is the way to go… I was very interested in seeing how the multi charging was going to work.. sounds like it is not great as you can only do one input at a time. On my larger build I have solar in and then any of the other Anderson’s can be used to charge via 12v. Thanks for the build info. I was looking at the buck device as well so that answers some of my questions..
Thanks Brian. You get way more bang for your buck as you move up above 1000wh and 1500wh systems :) I'm a mostly DC guy myself.
Can you build a version with a meter similar to the EB70 so you can see watts in and out, etc
That's definitely possible. You'd want to look for a display that has a shunt with it. The shunt tracks the amperage and voltage so it can calculate power in and out of the battery.
I don't even have to watch this to know it's a good build.
What will happen if you plug more than one charging option?
It will charge faster.
Hi, great vid! Question...
How do you work out what size inverter is compatible with the battery size? You have a 50ah battery with 500w inverter, what would the max size be for a 75ah or 100ah. Thanks from 🇬🇧
It's all about amps. Usually the battery will have a maximum amperage in the specs. For example, a 50ah LFP battery will usually have a 50 amp limit. 12.8v x 50 amps is 640 watts (volts x amps = watts). So a 50ah battery will support a 500w inverter. A 100ah battery with a 100 amp BMS will support 1280 watts (12.8v X 100a= 1280 watts).
Very nice looking job I can tell you spent some time to decide where to put everything and how to run the wires.
Which one is best used in winter temperatures?
Lead acid is better for cold weather situations.
So I'm considering building my own power station but I need some help as I'm not sure if what I want to do will work. Can you recommend somewhere to get help with my build?
Hi Jason, would you publish a full schematic & parts list (seems you are missing some in description) for this build on your site?
I have all the major components in the video description. Wiring diagram is in the video, everything else not featured in the wiring diagram wires up to the positive and negative battery terminals.
nice.. more than enough power for emergency or camping .. should last easy more then 10 years+ depending how you use it and take care of it
Hi Jason, I have a question for you. On a Diy build like this, could I plug in a Bestek 500 watt pure sine wave inverter into my cigarette lighter port in my vehicle. And then plug in a Victron 5 amp trickle charger into the pure sine wave inverter and charge a lithium battery? The Victron is adjustable from 5 amps to 2 amps. I know there would be some efficiency loss. Can you see any downsides to this?
Your cig port is probably limited to 10 amps, or a 120 watts max. So don't go over that wattage or you'll blow the fuse. If everything randomly shuts off, then the fuse was blown. Other than that it should work just fine. I'd only do this if the engine is running so I wouldn't kill the starter battery.
@@Jasonoid Thanks for the quick response
how do you know when the battery is fully charged. can a solar panel overcharge the battery and hurt it?
Lifepo4 batteries have a BMS that protects the battery from overcharging and over discharging the battery. You can tell its full when the voltage of the battery is 14.4v and empty when the voltage starts dropping below 12v.
Waoh. Just waoh. This is amazing. Thanks for sharing bro.
Please do you have a circuit diagram sir??
I'm thinking of making a portable power station like this. I've noticed that inverters come with a ground terminal. Is it safe to ignore this?
Most gas Generators use a floating ground which means it's not connected to anything.
What controls over charging and discharging the battery
The battery has a built in BMS (battery management system) that controls all that.
@@Jasonoid when would you be able to tell when it’s charged when the batter shows 14.6 volts on the meter and what is the dead voltage.
@@delagto_5340 all that info is in the owners manual for the battery. 14.4 - 14.6v is full, anything below 12v means the battery is dead. LFP is usually around 13.2v while discharging.
Why would you need to charge with DC ? Faster charging? What puts out DC that would charge it?
A car or boat while driving
Can I use my AGM 70ah instead of lifepo?
Yep, that will be very similar.
Hi Jason. I have been planning a battery box for a while and I like your design. I built one using most of the same parts you used, including the same battery (the Lifepo4). I’m having a problem though. When I try to charge the battery on 12 volts from a 20 amp Astron power supply it ended up pulling the power supply down to 10 volts and was pulling 26 amps! The 12 to 24 boost module is only rated for 10 amps so I’m not sure what went wrong. Do you have any ideas? Thanks!
It rated for 10 amps on the output side so lets take a look at the equation of power: volts X amps = watts (24v X 10 amps is 240 watts). Looking at the input side, the power would be the same, around 240 watts total.... so that's 12v X 20 amps to get the same power. Remember power input has to be near power output, PLUS some additional losses for conversion. I think I was seeing around 24 amps on the input side of mine.
@jasonoid Could you please show how to build a DIY LiFePO4 battery pack to power Dashcams in parking mode? Something with fast pass through charging too so 20 minutes of driving will charge up the battery quite quickly. Current ready made dashcam batteries on the market are too expensive. Thank you so much for your videos!
Great DIY Power Station!👍💪
Thank you very much!
I decided to build a portable power supply as well. My mission parameters.....I couldnt purchase anything. So....just using what I had around the house....zombie apocalypse style. I used a plastic locking pistol case, a new 55ah sla battery, a pwm charge controller, and a digital guage. I put mc4 leads on the charge controller....and I built a long 12 volt cig plug with mc4 connections. I can use solar panels or swap to the cig lighter cable. I can use a battery charger for ac charging or a 12 volt adapter. I hooked it up to a 1500 watt power inverter. It all fits in the briefcase. I call it my suitcase nuke.
Awesome build! I love that you didn't purchase anything and used various things that were laying around!
Great job and video, well detailed and to the point I'm inspired from your project...let's see from unfolds from here 😃 Thank you!
A not related to this video question for ya. That bluetti AC300 has solar charging capabilities of 2400 watts max between two different legs so if I bought 24 100 watt solar panels and ran 12 of them each in series and hooked them up to each mppt leg will that work out ok? Am I following along with all this correctly? I think I get it lol
Hey Kerry,
The maximum input for the AC300 is 150 volts, so you can actually only connect 6 panels in series together to keep under the max charging voltage. So on each MPPT charge controller you can make a mixed array of series and parallel connections to get it to work properly. (25 volts per panel X 6 panels = 150volts for the total array) For example, take TWO sets of 6 panels in series and join them into parallel so each charge controller would have 12 panels (6S2P). That would give you 1200 watts of power @ 150volts and 8 amps.
Now you would double the same setup on the other charge controller and it would give you a total of 24 panels or around 2400 watts. Does that make sense?
@@Jasonoid
Yes!!!! Ok now I see and get it. I can get the Renogy 100 watt panels for a $100 each so that's why I want to use them. That's a lot of panels I know but for the price I guess a good value.
@@billy2bob63 you can always start with 12 panels, and the grow your system from there.
@@Jasonoid
I know but I have the money for them (24) so just get them all at once. So would you think with 24 100 watt panels tied in like you said to that AC300 on a good day should be able to get plenty of power for that battery to run a fridge and freezer and maybe charge that battery for the night. What you think?
@@billy2bob63 I am able to run two fridges throughout the day on only 1600 watts of solar, but I live in an area that gets really good sun. I get down to about 25% battery in the morning powering just two fridges. You may need more battery capacity, but you can always buy that later.
With no display, how do you know what the battery level is? Otherwise, very cool DIY.
You learn the voltage curve of Lifepo4 batteries pretty quickly. These batteries basically stay at 13.2 volts until its around 15% full and then the voltage drops rapidly. Once you see around 12.3v - 12v on the display, it's time to charge it back up.
Great video man! DIY is totally the way to go!
It's the best way to learn and if most of your loads are DC, it's the most efficient option too.
Hi, Jason. I just subbed you, great channel. Do you have schematics for this?
My demands are simple. Run an Iceco 45 and charge a few lights and devices in the middle of the Canadian wilderness while camping.
Thanks, mate.
Power station prices are so cheap these days I wouldn't recommend this project anymore. If you are looking for something with only DC output and charging, I will be testing this battery soon: amzn.to/3ZQgS07
Friend says that the DC/DC 120w converter keeps blowing his car 12v outlet for some reason. I assume he has a 15a fuse but is there a solution in this case or anyone experiencing similar issue? (Besides directly wiring it to the car battery?)
Usually they have 10 amp fuses, that's probably why.
@@Jasonoidthanks! he said it was working for awhile fine with 15a fuse,
But "then one time I had like three phones and two ecigs also plugged in at the same time to the cigarette outlets and that was the first time it blew and then since then no matter what even if it's just the battery bank plugged in it blows right away"
So weird tbh.
we also tried the AC to DC converter from this build (which was labeled as not very good lol) but it made a huge popping noise and a resistor blew on the converter. I think the MPPT was sucking 300w but the AC converter was max 180w and wonder if a larger wattage would support the 300w mppt, not sure if there is a solution to swap out that ac/dc with a better part somewhere that won't die?
Really cool project! I am just trying to get my friend and his box up to speed 😅
@@Jasonoidhey I figured out why his fuse was tripping on the 12v outlet in the car, the DC-DC 12-24V converter blew up in the box and one of the capacitors blew in it. Seems the MPPT Is still fine, I wonder is there a good replacement for this 12-24v converter that won't blow it's cap after awhile? I don't think we crossed any wires because the battery had successfully charged itself a couple times, but for some odd reason, the DC 12-24 converter blew itself up, along with the AC/DC converter that blew itself up, almost like the 300w MPPT is sucking too much power from both devices??? Like the AC to DC is 180w~ and the DC to dc is 24v5a which would support 120 watts max, but if the MPPT is trying to suck out the MAX of that, is that too much for the other components? How to fix it so that neither of the components blow themselves up? I feel like the 300w MPPT is too powerful for the other two components that it's sucking from, but Im not electronics expert and can't tell for sure if that is the cause of both items popping caps 😢
Probably best to run the solar by itself, then buy a real DC to DC charger so he can chose one or the other to charge from (solar or 12v input)
Nice video, detailed and to the point!
I’m just learning but it seems you get a lot more WH’s for the money. Well explained video. Thank you
Thanks for watching!
Not gonna lie, this makes me somewhat regret ordering myself a bluetti eb70..
Suggestion for the future: explore the possibilities of using newer larger battery packs connected to the electronics of commercial powerstations.
Think: 700Wh of the eb70 is not enough after my requirements change a few years down the road, could i take apart the powerstation and simply attach a large lifepo4 battery (or multiple in series depending on voltage) to where the stock battery pack normally would attach inside the powerstation? Would be nice to reuse all the charging electronics in the future.
I did a video about that actually: th-cam.com/video/dTTneUtz4Jk/w-d-xo.html
There are incompatibilities' with this design. The Powerwerx MPPT-300 Solar Charger Controller is a great choice for a compact MPPT charger. However, the other two devices to feed the MPPT will not work as supplies to MPPT solar charges. Either use separate changing devices suited to DC/DC and AC/DC. Besides solar panels, only CC CV Power Supplies work as a source of power for solar chargers. The earlier video that introduced d the Powerwerx MPPT-300 testing with a Benchtop power supply, which is a CC-CV source.
do you have a link for the capacity tester?
Did you mean this one: amzn.to/3CPS4e8
I use this one for all my DC discharge tests.
Can someone tell me why this doesn't need to be grounded in anyway to be safe?
Just like 99% of the population doesnt ground a gas generator and they survive.
nice video cool am going build my own power box I have 3 inverter 500 watts 800 watts 1100 watts I have 12 volt deep cycle battery 75 amp 900 watts I love your video how good would lithium battery would work in the cold may I asked
I think the design a bit flaw. 1. Do not use fire catching material like a wooden board there. 2. Charging require CC-CV.
Whats CC-CV ?
Constant current - constant voltage charging method.
Super stuff Jasonoid
Appreciate it :)
🐾🐾Thanks Jason😎
450$ is pretty good sized investment, do you know how much costlier it would be to buy an equivalent setup premade?
$450 seems a bit much for a diy. Premade I think Premade are competitively priced now.and has a cleaner look. Nevertheless it's a really cool project.
Your build looks like a military tractor while the Bluetti looks like a 'supermodel' .
I would go with Paris Hilton's opinion on this one : "Thats 'Hot'" ! !
PS : Have 'built' a lot of things with great satisfaction of the results, so I 'get' where you're coming from. To try and build my Honda Pacific Coast motorcycle from a bunch of individually obtained parts would probably not come out well.
th-cam.com/video/9tOC8eK-ct8/w-d-xo.html
(Some owner add-ons made this one a little better) . . . . take care, RH
i am always interested in your diy builds, thanks for sharing. but yes i agree the cost of diy today is definetly pointing towards get it already built rather than diy, but with diy you can make it your own and are not limited by the choices in the prebuilt.
Thanks PM, cost is probably leaning towards benefitting off the shelf options, at least for a small build like this. Going with a 2000wh or 3000wh setup, the cost benefit swaps over to DIY.
@@Jasonoid I ordered the 200 amp 300 amp hour LiFePo4 Ampere Time battery when the price fell from 1199 to 1036. I also ordered a 2000 watt pure sine inverter and a 60 amp MPPT charge controller, plus a 20 amp LiFePo4 charger. Now I have to figure out what to do next.
Do you think it would be safe for the battery and other parts if I put 500 watts of solar panels outside propped up on the ground and wire all this up after a hurricane to power my 5000 BTU Frigidaire window air conditioner? The inverter has replaceable fuses and an "AC Grounding" point. This was a HUGE purchase for me and the last of my savings. Should I simply build a unit similar to what you`ve done here? I want to put it on wheels if so.
Utilities are hooked up at my camper but not connected yet. I don`t know if the wiring is safe.
You should be able to run your AC with that setup just fine. If you connect each component together properly with the proper wire size / and fuses there shouldn't be any risk of something going wrong. There are lots of videos and guides online about proper wire size and the amount of amps they will safely allow online.
@@Jasonoid I was gonna order 2 gauge but saw that the inverter has wires to connect the battery. I also ordered wires that were for charge controller to battery. I ordered some fuses but I have to think about this carefully first. I have a box of typical DC fuses somewhere. I have to get moved first.
I can`t function around these mentally deranged freaks here. Trying to even think in the same house with my sister is futile. She`s making threats and called me crazy because I bought the battery with my OWN MONEY. She and my nephew both started hounding me about wanting air conditioning after hurricanes.
They find somewhere to go where there`s a generator and told me I should just get a battery powered fan! The next time the power fails she can sit there in the dark. Why would she want to borrow a Bluetti EB70 from a crazy person?
I`m from Louisiana but these two are REAL Rednecks....completely ignorant about what the battery I ordered can do and they don`t care why I want it. They were hoping they could talk me into hiring a bulldozer with the money to "level my yard" (RIDICULOUS!) and trick me into paying for having work done in THEIR YARDS too! This happened once before.And they think I`m too dumb to know this.
Just remove the 12v->24v boost converter and use DC Automatic Buck Boost Converter DC 8V-40V to 13.8V 10A stright to the battery
13.8 won't fill up the battery 100%, you want 14.6 volts, so I'm guessing you can adjust it to that as well.
@@Jasonoid Yes, it's only like 92-95% full at 13.8v. I float it with this in the car, and basically leave the battery station to act like a ups and large current buffer, as I use a 750w inverter on it
I think that today the technology for buying a much smaller and more powerful power station is way less expensive than sourcing components and DIY.
This is an older video (youtube recommends old video now for some reason...) I agree, power station prices have dropped quite a bit and they are much better now.
I doubt that a power station is less expensive than a DIY. Prices of components like the LiFePo4 batteries have come down a lot recently.
i built my own 30 amp hour battery 20 watt solar panel on 30 foot extension cord for my ham radio portable ops
Sounds like a great setup, Terry!
Very exciting possibility!
Just saw some good reviews on one called, “Bawaut.” Have you heard of that one and is it actually identical to another one under a different label? Thx!
You don’t need a direct AC charging input. Use a laptop charger or any similar AC to DC power brick as long as the output voltage range is between 9-20V DC. You can then use your DC 9-20V DC input. You will need to make an adaptor, barrel jack to power pole, or whatever configuration is required depending on the output connector of your power brick. Alternatively replace the barrel jack connector from your power brick to use power pole.
Really you only need one DC input (solar MPPT). Not sure why your MPPT needs a minimum of 20V? I would have thought it could still charge from 12V, isn’t that one of the main benefits of using MPPT, so you can still charge in low light conditions?
Very nice informative build!
Another very cool video. This looks like a nice, "right-sized" solution for camping trips or short power outages.
Do you have a link for the voltage display/USB charging connections that includes the USB-C PD port? It would be a huge bonus to find one that is bi-directional, but that is probably too much to hope for, right? :)
I can't comment on the quality of this part since I haven't purchased it myself but it isn't very expensive: amzn.to/3tD8FNB
A 500 watt one (not homemade)n I have can power a 3.1 cubic ft dorm fridge for 24 hours.
You cannot charge a LifePo4 battery from a car. To charge from DC it has to be from another LifePo4 battery or a solar charge controller made for LifePo4.
That's why I have an LFP charger inside.
We have used the th-cam.com/users/postUgkxOTeIs0vv4_9B5hsmnLsk9r930uDQLu_Y for probably 30 hours with our camper and it’s been great! The noise level is really only noticeable when running the AC and other appliances like the microwave, hair dryer, or coffee pot. It’s not huge like other ones and it has wheels so even at 90lbs, I can move it!
Looks like a fire waiting to happen
Your inverter mains are now exposed, something comes loose (like that charge controller) and cya later.
So are your ring terminals; 12v won't kill but it'll still short and cause a fire.
Would recommend an isolator switch. Both safety and prevent it knocking on in the boot of your vehicle.
Please don't make it out like it's easy, and anyone should build one.
Viewers: if you don't have the know how, and have not worked with electricy, this is not the thing to learn on...
I LIKE THIS
As always, another great build thank you for this appreciate it
@18:13 ^kinda made a lot of noise....like it was going to explode^ WTF
Just electrical buzzing noises... I need to do more testing lol. I did have a lithium NMC battery pack explode while camping those week! I'll have that video out soon.
@@Jasonoid sorry, but that statement didn't give me any confidence to attempt this DIY build. Rather pony up the extra money for a reputable prebuilt that's likely not going to put me or my family at risk.
That's why I said use a different method for charging via AC... But whatever your choice, my advice is go with Lifepo4 instead of NMC.
why didnt you just put a cigarette lighter cord directly to the battery?....or build a cord to plug cig lighter to cig lighter???
In my opinion, cig ports are the worst connection. I have an adapter that goes from APP to a female cig port if I absolutely need one.
@@Jasonoid but you wanted to charge from 12 volt....and you already have 12 volt ports in your unit....power goes both ways!
You can't 'charge' a lithium battery using a lead acid battery, you need a proper charging method using an actual battery charger.
@@Jasonoid depends on the voltage of the battery doesnt it?....and whether it has a built in bms. I say you try it while filming...outside where it is safe. Whats the worst that could happen? Lol.
INTERESTING
Can I start a business by building a power station and resell them ?????
I wish you the best of luck! There are lots of opportunities since the market is still growing! You just need to find out what people really want and how to get it at a decent price.
How are you doing boss I’m here
Good to hear from you Antonino!
Do you want sell any of your power stations?
Ctechi GT500, Golabs R500 I could part with right now
Would it be cheating if I took that same box and put a Bluetti EB3A in it? lol
Lol
👍
does not look like it is water proof.
I didn't claim it was waterproof in the video.
Time to take this video down. The Blueetti Eb-70 ,ready to go, is superior in every way at the same cost. Nothing to build, 2 year 😮warranty. There is NO reason to build this!!
Show!
Im so fucking lost. Lol