Dual Battery vs Power Station - which options is best for your overlanding/car camping needs?
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- čas přidán 4. 07. 2024
- Having enough power on overlanding trips is a must to keep your fridge running, charging electronics, and powering devices. There are two key ways to do this - a portable power station/solar generator or a dual battery system like mine powered by Redarc and Antigravity Batteries. I break down the pros and cons of each to help you chose which options is best for you.
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For the majority of people with vehicles, the challenges of integrating a DIY dual battery setup makes a portable power station far more appealing, even with its downsides.
I love tinkering on my overlander more then going out but I would still buy a power station for so many reasons
Hooking up a second battery is stump dumb easy.
My two cents: I went with a portable system for our teardrop camper, and opted out of the battery approach. My reasoning was: Simple. Flexible. Portable. It’s a self contained system, and doesn’t need an inverter, Solar controller, etc. If there are issues, it’s not behind a wall or a hood. Also, if my rig changes, I can bring my solution along for whatever we get next. It’s also portable. We have used our Jackery and Bluetti in our rooftop tent, our ground tent, and now our teardrop. We’ve brought them with us when renting a Class B Van. AND if we use them in our house to backup our fridge, or when working remote bring it along. Some considerations after a year: make sure you can charge while driving. Either through cigarette lighter or your rigs inverter if you have one. Our Tacoma has an inverter. However our best decision was to prewire our teardrop so we could charge the power station through the 7pin connection while driving. Allows us to leave the station in the teardrop. Another thing is considering buying one or two smaller units if charge time is a concern; simply the 300W units can charge in 2-3 hours and a solar panel is all you need. We do this with our fridge. We don’t bring home appliances with us so the inverter needs have less importance. We use a Jackery 1000 and Bluetti A50S. Been looking for a 300W station to round it out, but that’s probably overkill to be honest. Our solutions works well for 2-5 day trips (most of the time). If during sunny spring - fall weather, have had no issues keeping units topped up with solar panels, even when using with our diesel heater and fridge. I feel like this system is cost effective and maybe even cheaper when looking at the complexity of install, additional hardware and battery costs and all the flexibility with multi-use.
I will add a bias that I don’t like wiring anything. And I don’t have a heavy load of vehicle auxiliary electric requirements, where a dual battery system may make a ton of sense.
@@tomfrengillo9671 I just got a teardrop and it came with an AGM battery and a basic 1500 watt inverter. I have a 600 Watt portable battery station. I’m trying to figure a way to cool the teardrop without shore power. What do you do when you need to cool it down with your setup?
@@GetOutSmore we have a Maxx Fan that runs off 12V, so the portable station is fine with it. “Cooling down” for us consists of using an awning for shade, trying to stay by a river and taking advantage of normally cool nights at higher altitudes in Colorado. I’ve seen some bring a pop up canopy that they park under if they can’t find shade. I’ve also seen a few videos of portable 12V AC units as well. Plenty of CZcams videos with ideas on the topic.
Agreed. I'm in the middle of setting up a Vtoman 1000 jump into our camper. My 2 main reasons were...
1) I don't want to leave that much money in equipment and that much of a summer heat related fire risk in the camper 24/7 since it's permanently mounted on the truck. Lithium batteries can and do swell in heat and the fire isn't easy to extinguish
2) I like the idea of it living in the house 90%+ of it's life since the power at home does goes out sometimes and spoiled food sounds expensive, especially these's days
I should also add that the model I bought can be used to jump the truck in a pinch
A pretty fair and balanced review of these different systems. Well done!
Great video!! I was looking for something like this. Very precise and with a lot of common sense mixed with real experience. I am turning my Wrangler into an overland vehicle, and thanks to your video, I feel I could make the right decisions now. I am very handy for making/installing things, so that is no problem for me, but the common sense and experience you shared is AWESOME!!!!
Thanks man!
Everybody's needs are different and everyone's set ups are unique... thanks for the info
Very informative! Love to see the pros/cons. Im pretty bought into Goal Zero. They are the OG but have been resting on laurels. Pulling trigger on 1500x and two 300 watt Ranger panels. I like the idea of adding a "link" to expand to more batteries for the house while tied into my grid with the integration kit. Your set up looks great!
This is the most thorough comparison of power systems on CZcams. Great job!
Outdated though. I have a feeling it was already outdated when filmed, but now, one year later, it most definitely is. Most of the things he says you can’t do with portable power stations you most certainly can. Hard to stay updated since the advancements in portable battery packs happen so quickly but he could have mentioned that fact to inform viewers. Now, only one year later, this video is pretty misleading.
Thanks for the comparison. It proved my need is for a power station...use on the road but available for the house.
Great video! I'm new to overlanding. I drive a gen 2 Tacoma. Just put the globalraod side kick 2. Your videos are really helpful to picking out what kind of set up I'm going with over time.
Thanks so much for this comparison, which fit my thoughts exactly! I'm not a camper but I have had many power outages before the power company laid thicker cables in my housing estate. To avoid requiring certification by the electrical company, my solution was to have two car 12v 65A batteries in parallel with a battery isolator as offline, same as dual batteries in cars. They are constantly being charged by 2 100A solar panels in parallel at the window glass. As I'm on the top floor of my block it gets all the morning sun. This 12v 1000W inverter gave me 2xAC and 2xUSB for just under 3 hours for my fridge or six hours of fan at low speed. This is all off grid and AC cable runs are used when needed. Now because this all worked nicely and cheaply, I'm thinking of 2 more batterIes to a quad system in the same setup with an isolator and batteryclamps on wheels and I would have two similar sets that could be joined up in parallel as needs arise, OR moved into another part of the house to power something else with another inverter! I like your Bluetooth link to the batteries! Desktop Computers? I have two 24v UPS 1500w for those blackouts, or laptops if longer use is required. Thanks for thinking out of the box. I decided to not go for all in ones.
💚Thank you for your review!
The dual battery is ideal for me but as you stated, the wrangler is limited to its available space. Part of the reason why I chose the Duracell portable power station at first. Because it Allows a similar setup with the ability to add batteries to the rear of the power station. Still one of my favorites but the OneUp/Eco has the ability to fully charge within an hour or two by Solar. Pleasantly surprised by both Power Stations.
I’m doing your setup in my JKU. Thanks a ton Matt!
Great job on explaining these systems.
THIS is what Ive been debating thanks for the vid
Very nicely put together and great info. Thanks for sharing your experience.
I have to say, I love your setup there...and the fact that it's so simple to wire up....everyone else I see with these systems look like they're opening a hatch on the space shuttle when you look at them.
No kidding! I'm trying to figure out how to do my setup and it seems everyone has his or her opinion, but non are the same. You can definitely tell some are over kill, but I can't tell which ones are crap. I'm really suprised that there's not more video's from the manufactures like Redarc on how to and what's needed. I'm not wanting "overkill", but redundancy. It's a fine line.
Great to see someone cover this so well. Something that isn't taken into account often is the effort and cost of all the parts required for an installed setup - really if you take into account everything (decent gauge wires, inverter, dc-dc charger, battery box(es), terminals, fuses etc etc) I think you'll find installed cost is a lot higher than you think - even before labour. Given the space and weight it takes, you really need a huge power draw to justify it over the larger portable options in my view.
My numbers were full installed costs based on what I spent to install mine.
Thank you for sharing your insights! You bring up valid points about the additional parts and costs involved in an installed setup. And you're right, sometimes a portable power option like the Segway Portable PowerStation Cube Series can be a great alternative. It's compact, powerful, and has a fast recharge time. Plus, it offers multiple output ports and comprehensive protection features. Definitely worth considering for efficient and hassle-free power on your outdoor adventures!
Great video & thank you for sharing your experience & thoughts. Hopefully someday I will be purchasing a Redarc system for my rig & portable power station.
Excellent info for this auxiliary -power newbie!
Thank you for cramming into the small space
Switched to a power station several years ago and never regretted this step.
Another great video, thank you. My rig is meant for Baja racing and designed for overlanding too. A jackery 500 works great to run the jp40 fridge and charge my devices and GoPros. But a lot of unknowns considering my 2nd ever camping trip is next 😊
Awesome video thanks for sharing. I love using my Jackery to power tools around my yard, it’s easier than unspooling an extension cord. (E.g., sawzall to prune branches, jigsaw in kids’ tree house)
@16:44 FANTASTIC ✊🏾 Gotta do what you gotta to do to keep things moving.
I love my Ecoflow Delta, it can recharge with 110 w from 0 to 80% in 1 hour, full charge in 2 hours. Usually can keep charged off my 400 w solar panel on my roof, 4-6 hours while driving charges it is totally. Has kept me covered for 5 months camping cross country. Haven't tried the 12v charge off the car.
I had to return my EcoFlow River Max twice, once it just died on me while charging, no reason and EcoFlow couldn't say why it died and the second time it died due to overheating.
I was charging in my livingroom 23 degrees celsius and I was using the slow charge setting.
Hopefully I just got 2 sketchy units and had bad luck, nevertheless I cant really trust the brand anymore, which is sad because I really loved the app and the display.
I'm looking at the delta max and delta generator for my upcoming smittybilt scout build
I have the EcoFlow River Pro with extra battery. I love it. 80% charge in 1 hour. It will even run my Kuereg. Best portable battery.
I like EcoFlow too but I wish they would change the battery kemistry to LFP….. I like the Delta Max 2000 watt. It’s the sweet spot for portability.
I just bought the EcoFlow Delta Max and Wave A/C combo. Looking to get a DC to AC inverter so I can plug in the Delta Max to charge at a much higher rate (800W) while driving.
Thanks for an excellent review. It was very helpful.
Great comparison video. Thank you.
Well done on the video! Great information!
Great video. I am torn between dual batteries or portable power station. Thanks for sharing.
awesome video,..i appreciate it. now i know which way i would set up and utilize my power needs,..
Totally agree with your setup.
Good to have both !
Excellent. Really well balanced. Thank you
I like your set up better then the portable wish could build one for my van
Thanks for the breakdown.
Great review. We also carry a jump box for truck which is also a power station
great video, helped me make a choice.
You are just fantastic. Great video. You're teaching me so much.
Glad to help
Definitely worthwhile, thank you.
Very welcome!
They each have specific advantages. We have both and they do complement each other. Redarc 1225, 200 watts solar, Optima blue top AGM. EcoFlow 1300 Delta. Particularly, on cloudy days or when we are at camp more than 2 days.
Thanks for the review
I've got a van plus a camper-trailer. !00 Amp in each (so 2 x 100amp batteries) connected with an Anderson plug. Best of both worlds!
Good video, thanks for covering this. I now disagree that a power station can’t run a whole rig set up. My Bluetti powers both my AC and DC distribution panels and I still have the option to easily unplug and take it to my other rig or for emergency power for my house. A lot has changed and come down in cost from a year ago when you shot this. Still great info, but an update video would be very useful for people just starting out.
Drive fast and take chances!
Great video, thanks!
I run dual 6 volt lead batteries & a 1000 watt power station. Solar for both and they seem to be fully charged most of the time. About $600 invested + solar panel cost. Frig, personal electronics, microwave & fans.
Good information. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for a really informative review, I didn’t go through all the comments to see if someone mentioned it, but as a pro for the dual or single battery system is that you can jumpstart your starter battery in case it’s dead through a battery isolator, thanks again for a wonderful video, cheers.
That's only if you use a dual lead acid battery setup which I do not recommend.
Thank you. Very helpful.
I have had a dual battery setup in my truck camper for 26 years with upgrades along the way. But in my new van I went with a Bluetti 200 max power station. Gives a cleaner look inside the van than all the separate pieces and is 2048WH and 2200 watt inverter. I run my fridge from the 12 volt cigarette plug and my lights from one of the 5521 outlets. On a really rough road I run the fridge from one of the ac outlets. It has a 30 amp 12 volt outlet that I can wire to a fuse block if I want to hard wire various devices. It has 4 ac outlets and multiple usb and barrel connector outlets plus two wireless phone charging pads on top. You can add an additional battery from Bluetti but at a prohibitive cost.
Both systems work great and the cost was about the same. So it probably comes down to personal preference and ease of setup.
I designed and built an 800 watt solar panel system that feeds 4 - 6V deep cycle flooded batteries in my enclosed cargo trailer converted to a one-man rv. I did it because l wanted to and started 2-1/2 yrs ago. The portable bricks were barely available probably because Li cells were so expensive. With the price drop and large competition brick prices have dropped to $1.00/watt. If this were the situation the same today and knowing my experience, I'd opt for portable. Too convenient and flexible. I had to go with deep cycle batteries because l couldn't afford Lithium's first cost.
This video was extremely helpful 🙌 Thank you! I have a battery/inverter/solar panel setup in my van. It took 2 months to get the parts and figure out the setup but it was so cost effective for the amount of power. Tomorrow is Prime Day in Canada and I was considering a portable station but given that it doesn't give more amp hours than a dual battery setup, Im going to pass. Thanks for saving me money. 🤑
I had thought the same as you but went ahead with the portable power supply and 200watt portable solar panel, just because I can use my system anywhere I need it without my truck and it’s working just fine for me and my needs. It’s good that we have choice👍
I could fix my own battery setup in case I need to, replace whatever parts . I cant fix a power station in case whatever inside that box gets fried .. I rather build my own thing.
I’m starting to see that this is true 👌🏻
makes sense
I like this comment 👍
Hi... I like this comment too... is it possible to do some part time camping with a regular car battery instead spending 100's on a deep cycle? Using a kooltronic cooler and not a fridge
@@Frugaleater you’ll need a deep cycle battery. Car batteries are designed to deliver max amps on startup and then relying on the alternator to replenish the battery as you drive. Hence the reason you can kill a battery quickly by repeatedly trying to start a car that won’t start.
A deep cycle battery only delivers about half the cold cranking amps (CCA) of a regular car battery but has 2-3 times the reserve power to deliver lower but consistent output over a longer period of time.
A car battery just exists to start the car, in fact you can disconnect the battery after starting the car and the alternator will continue to produce AC power to the vehicle as you’re driving.
This was very informative, and will do well to help people who are trying to sort out all the power options available. I have a 2021 JLU Rubicon, and I put two 100ah heated Battle Born LiFePO4, and the Redarc Manager 30 & Redvision system under my Goose Gear full rear-seat delete. Along with 400 watts of solar panels, I can go for days powering our fridge, LED lights, and charging all of our gadgets. It was possible to fit it all, nicely, in the JLU.
I am thinking about a dual battery set up in my suburban. If you can give me any tips on how and where would be appreciated
Another great video! I got a small Jackery for Christmas to handle the small items. I’m gonna be building an off-road camper and the biggest power concern I have is setting it up so the wife can run her 3 quart Instapot. She loves cooking out of it so it’s a must. I know our regular camper is fine as it’s all shore power. But getting this off-road camper sounds like a permanent set up maybe best. From what found say 700 watts for power usage.
Very informative, thank you
Negative on power station reported as charging times; however, that would also be a negative on your pair of batteries in your truck as your batteries are still Li in both setups. The real challenge is finding high amp source of energy to supply chargers and regulators in any situation whether trying to get amps from truck alternator or solar panels or a gas generator. I discovered earlier this year that my truck will only provide 3 amps at 14.4v max and my 100w solar panel going thru mppt charge controller only ave 80w to battery and that when i connect my camping trailer to shore power recently i discovered that i could only expect 13.6v/4.33a so no matter what i do it takes all day to recharge my 12v 75ah AGM. Your video certainly points out that i need a better option and that better options are certaily available. Thanks for the info. Best wishes on your journey.
I enjoy your work. Thanks!
Thanks so much!!
I am a Boy Scout and I just got a jackery explorer 160 watt power station and I really want to use it while camping
Great info...Helped me make a pre decision....Could you do a series on calculating Fridge power use compared with these 2.
The Jackery Explorer 1500 is a great product. I own two. I’m looking to replace the with something that LiFePO4. One of the things I love about the jackery is the cleanliness of the inverter in terms of noise. It’s great for Audio applications.
Awesome video. More Cara and Boo as well.
Good coverage. I think a lot of people approach a topic like this with assumptions they think are true for all people. But one solution doesn't fit all. The rig you have there in your Gladiator is fantastic. However, it's overkill for many people, and the complexity of assembling all of its components isn't something that a lot of people want to deal with. For them, the simplicity of an all-in-one solution like a Jackery (or its MANY competitors) can be a godsend.
One thing you didn't mention was battery chemistry. If people are looking for portable power banks, I highly recommend they seek out ones that use LiFePO4 batteries. Those might be a little bit more expensive, and be a little heavier and bigger, but the lifespan of those compared with older lithium ion batteries is incredible.
The LFP is good for up to 10 yrs of daily cycles then drops to 80% -.
were as the Ion is good for up to 10 months of 100% discharges daily then drops to 50% capacity -
Great video, was on the fence
Awesome info!
Great video!
I like your expectations
Wish you had a video on the install and wiring. I'm setting up something similar in my H3 for camping this summer but there are a few aspects of the set up that I'm still figuring out. Thanks for the videos.
Nm I'm an idiot I just found the install video... 😁😆😂
Check out Will Prowse’s channel 👍🏼
Great review very informative
Glad it was helpful!
Great video.
I drive a tractor trailer and use a jackery 1000 To power my portable coffee pot ,electric skillet and hot pot And it works out fantastic. It needs charging in the middle of the week and I just plug it in the cigarette lighter for the day while I'm going down the road doing my thing .
I heard that if you charge it slower and don't go completely to a 100% percent, I go to 95%-97% when I can catch it, that it has a longer life.
Keep the cycles between 20% and 80% for a much longer life. Or if possible try to go between 30% and 70% to get over 3000 cycles from it. But every three or four months fully charge/discharge it to keep the cells balanced.
I have a new ranger coming and will be going a power station instead of a dual battery this time. having having the charger, inverter, inputs, outputs, meters etc all in a single compact and removable box makes a lot more sense for my use. Being able to remove it and use when camping, carvaning, use it as a backup at home is incredibly flexible. Power stations have come down a lot and it is actually cheaper than a dual battery system. If you were non stop touring for months a dual battery is the way to go, otherwise i think most people would be better served by a power station if you are starting from scratch.
Very informative!!! Thanks
Glad it was helpful!
Informative video, thank you for your time. A 2000/3000w inverter is a litlle entousiastic.. maybe for short periods time at most! It takes a big batterysetupp!!
A 1000wats inverter is realistic. Watever your electric needs/setupp, just remember it is free power if you carefully set it up. It needs to last becose its expecive. That being said, i know/talk to a lot of consumers and most replace batterys in a few years€€ it comes to a well tougth setupp that serves you well for many years..
I’m currently a weekend warrior and dive a Ford Transit AWD. And I still Prefer my Arkpak with a chins 100 amp lifepo4 battery that I recharge with my Honda EU 2200i generator Because I hate solar panels. Total Cost for all three was about $1200.
good info-
New scriber. Going to be gathering pieces to set up something similar in my truck
Thanks for the video. Would have liked to do a duel battery setup but I don’t have the space without engine bay modifications. I drive a 2007 Honda Element and do mostly camping and light trails so I went with the EcoFlow River Pro 2 with a 220 watt solar panel at this point cause of ease of use and space. I am also not out for more than a few days at a time so I don’t need a crazy amount of power. Also Nashville has had lots of grid issues lately so having this as a backup to bring into the house for the fridge in case of an emergency is also another reason for the power station. Really liked the video. Thanks.
Interesting segment. Thanks for covering this. I prefer the all in one solar generator vs sourcing, purchasing and mounting all the components separately. Maybe it's my age, but I don't get this movement's name. Most cars and trucks don't fly or float. They all mostly travel on land. Offroad makes sense because your not driving on roads. Over land sounds more like a reference to a plane's flight path when not flying over water. Here's another oddity, when I was young, 100 yrs ago, the "goat" was who got blamed when everything went wrong or fell apart. Quite the opposite of, Greatest of All Time. Back then, me and Abe Simpson preferred the kiwi lime flavored asbestos shoe polish toothpaste too.
If it makes your decision change, it is cheaper to build your own. Jackery 300w = $300, or Buy a 100ah 12v battery ($180) and your choice of an inverter (300w-1000w) can be up to $90, so that’s $270 at the most, for way more power than a $300 generator.
Good information, thank you very much,i like your channel
For a space issues its good to take a look under the car, sometimes all you need a bit welding job to creat new space under the car.
Super helpful comparison and I have been dealing with several of the question you were so kind to address. I do have a few questions if you don’t mind providing your thoughts.
- When you mention moving all of your aux tech to the dual battery system to protect your battery. That is a great idea, did you also move your winch, what I have been reading indicated winch draw doesn’t mix we with lithium batteries.
- I am working with a ’21 JLU, rear seats removed and complete bed and storage system. This setup makes the cargo in-floor storage a bit tough to get to. The space won’t fit the DC-100-V2 but will fit several lithium batteries in parallel, does that make sense to you in concert with the properly sized Redarc?
Again, very helpful and informative keep the great content coming, you have helped me on several tough product decisions and I hope to see you on the trails.
I will be getting a bronco Everglades in the fall I hope. Like you were saying space is a virtue with vehicles like that. So I am looking at a vorsheer xer. So instead of loading up my bronco with stuff , I can have the majority of it stowed in the trailer.
Ecoflow River Pro portable powerstation, can charge from an outlet in 2 hours, it is also expandable.
Seems like a good idea for a business. Nothing but a battery, solar, generator, power supply shop. Set up/construct tailored to customers needs.
Running a 60W rigid panel on the roof of my Tundra shell directly to a Jackery 240 to my Dometic CFX. Works great, no controller needed, and as long as it’s sunny I can run 24/7 with zero issues. May go with a bigger Jackery eventually, but for now It’s been perfect.
Consider a unit with LiFePo4 batteries with 2000-3500 charge cycles vs the 500-900 with Jackery. Although Jackery is very well made with great customer service. They need to get with the times and upgrade their units.
@@baneverything5580 overkill for me for one fridge, but maybe if I need more power for added equipment. Thanks for the suggestion. Cheers!
@@chrismak4859 I got two Bluetti EB70 700 watt LiFePo4 battery units as emergency backup power for my two 5 cubic ft AC freezers. I used the stimulus checks. I`m on SSI in hurricane country and can`t afford to use a car and wanted to esure I have electricity far into the future in case something happens. There`s no guarantee I`ll always get the small check I receive now. Plus we got hit back to back by hurricanes Laura and Delta in 2020 and several near misses since. I bought a Golabs 300 watt too with LiFePo4 battery. It`s rated at 2000 charges to 80% remaining capacity and the EB70s are rated at 2500 charges to 80%. Hopefully they hold up. I shopped for great deals and got 8 more lithium ion power stations for other things and storage. Two are 500 watts and cost 250 each and can run my dorm fridge and the others are 300 watt deals I found for 100 each back when the market was compeditive and companies were letting them go cheap to build good reviews. But I`ll have guaranteed electricity now. Thank God! I have to take prepping very seriously because my life deends on it.
Bluetti and Ecoflow charge much faster and outperform jackery in many ways. Nice video.
Great vid. Batteries and electricity and charging times and kwh and amp hours and … well all of it is new to me. So this was super helpful in my current debate between going dual battery vs powerstation (not the 80s supergroup) for my Gladiator setup. You pretty much said what my research to date seemed to be saying about pros and cons and solidified my decision to go powerstation as all my set up is away from the truck. My plan tho is to charge via 115 watt plug in backseat of Gladiator so thanks for the comment re your friend- I checked mine and it is a 400 watt inverter so I should be good to charge most powerstations while driving, but it is something I’ll check before buying.
A future vid idea that would be helpful to electricity and battery idiots like me would be to explain kwh vs amps vs watts and how charging time works re output rates of charger and input rates of battery, how to calculate the draw of an appliance on a battery etc. you know, the maths stuff and how to convert the different ways these things are measured.
Will Prowse has a great video explaining the basics of electrical math. You only need to be able to do the very simplest forms of algebra.
Volts=Amps*Ohms.
Watts=Volts*Amps.
Buy the Ugly's 2020 Electrical Handbook app for $20. Really helpful.
#willprowse on CZcams explains it all very easily & #lithiumsolar
Worth it 👍🏽
I watched this video again after 3 months and i haven’t touched either setup yet but now I’m actually considering the two battery setup with redarc. The ecoflow only has a 50 ah battery but that two battery system brings 200+ ah. It’s like powering everything for weeks instead of a couple days. Prove between the two total… the redarc setup might be $600 more for 150+ ah. Completely worth it!
Thank you for sharing this awesome video! Very informative and very well explained. With my tiny Tear-Drop Trailer (Helio HE3C) towed with a Toyota RAV-4, I would not have the space, nor the inclination or expertise to use the set up you are referring to. Besides, I only need to power a small electric heater of 200 Watts for 1.5 hour every day. But running this tiny electric heater is giving me headaches! A Jackery 300 would able to handle the heater for one night but then...it needs to be recharged the next day. Solar panels are not an option for me as I stay at Walmart most of the time (and drilling holes on the roof of a one monocoque trailer is really NOT appealing to me; holes mean leaks down the road). So maybe a Jackery 1000 could charge the 300 as the Explorer 300 accepts dual DC charging? But then, the Jackery 1000 would be drained after one day, and now how do I charge it again? Driving 14 hours every day is to recharge it is not an option.Right now, it looks like replacing the 12V Deep Cycle battery already in the trailer with a Lithium Battery seems the only option. Would you perhaps have a more economical and efficient way of recharging the Jackery 300 every day? Or an other way to run this electric heater? Thanks a million! If a simple solution exists out there, I would be stoked!
Another great video, I agree we need reliable power off grid.
I was thinking maybe you need to do an onboard air comparison or have I overlooked that one?
air compressor is right beside the batteries in the video.
Thankyou
I was going to run a power cable off my starter battery to wire up to my portable battery. The charge time straight from the starter battery instead of the 12V charger will charge the portable in a few hours also. I am planning on running the portable battery just like an auxiliary battery until I need to move it for mobility.
we use a Bluetti AC50S for our fridge going for 1 deg it stays 50 hrs without charge only 27-30W.. 35lts with LG compressor.
We have a 100W portable Solar and works good. We do not use any charging or cooking just for gadgets.
It all boils down to your power needs....we just keep it simple.
Portable folding solar panels are great for USB fans, little power bricks and NiMH and 18650 battery chargers. Miracle devices for areas with tropical weather like hurricanes/typhoons. I love them!
I have a similar setup with 2 100 watt amp lithium battery and a 2000 what sine wave inverter I've ran my circular saw, table saw at a friend's off grid Homestead and it has run my electric 12 volt refrigerator it's been running my refrigerator for about a year now
MThanks for all he information here! I have never heard of a 'red ark'. Would you explain what it is an how/why it's so useful to have with your battery set up. I'm really just learning. Thanks again
Great video! Vee-hee-ickle is an interesting way to pronounce vehicle. 😂
another great advantage to the installed system is you can now buy server rack batteries that take up about the same amount of space as your batteries and they have an incredible 2500 to 4800 watt hours. these things are crazy how much you get for the price now.
The down side to Server Rack is most require indoor/climate control storage, and they weigh a lot. This is my plan one day when I do a Cargo Trailer conversion but I have already resigned myself to the fact that the smallest decent rack battery is at least 4X what I would need. But $/Watt you can't beat them.
@@alexkleine9737 I agree but I want the extra power. I intend to run a small AC unit with them. Also induction stove top. Want to be 100% capable of completely off grid living. I also plan to have motorhome with the same basic idea.
I've not read through all the comments or watched the whole video but wanted to point out that the batteries you have cannot be charged below freezing. Here are the specs on the batteries: Safe Operating Temperatures:
Charging: 32°F ~ 122°F (0 ~ 50°C) . I built a similar system to yours and added temp sensing such that if the battery temp is below freezing a heater turns on to heat the battery and cuts off the charging system.
I have a small camper, but bigger than the one in the video. Lots of 12 volts and only one 230 volt AC socket (Germany). The Powerbox only has advantages. It is more compact and mobile. I can use it outside the camper. I actually take two boxes with me. Then I can put one with the panels in the sun. The only disadvantage is the low power consumption from the car's alternator. In addition, the boxes have become much cheaper
I appreciate your easy to understand technical videos like this. You are seriously good at explaining complex things. I know you're in Arkansas and thus not a super cold climate. If you were to venture into colder areas during this time of year with your setup, what would you have to do to make sure your that setup continued to operate properly since the Li batteries are sensitive?
that's a great question. I know they make battery warmers that I might could look into.
If you're building from the ground up and plan to spend alot of time in the cold, Battleborn makes (and I imagine you can find elsewhere) LiFe PO4 batteries with integrated heaters that activate with a switch. I would also probably consider putting them in the cab area, where you can warm them up on the go. I actually have a switch connected to the lead for my DC/DC charger so I can manually shut the system off until my rig warms up (I keep mine inside) even though the BMS has a temp shutoff. I wonder if you enclosed the battery system in some insulation if simply throwing some hand warmers in would do the trick.
I kept it simple and cheap. 2,12 volt marine grade batterys. 1, 1500 watt power inverter. 1, solar panel from harbor freight. Mounts directly on top of my expedition. You don't even know it's there. I never run out of juice. Some of those portable power stations are very expensive. Great job explaining everything. When I first started out I got 2 large used batteries from the from the auto repair shop in my neighborhood. Free. Lots of life still left in them. I ran them for 2 years. I put them in battery boxes. Strapped down.
Your reply is what I was looking for. Thanks!
Not to survive…always in my mind this words when preparing my next camp !!!