Power station which one (2 Viewers)

[Campervan Plan]

Hello I am thinking of buying a power station to power microwave & have for back I have 200 watt of solar & 100 ah liesure battery at moment any info would be great thank.

 

[Cush]

I inherited one and use for things other than the van. It’s a anker 767 with good inverter performance and about a 150 ah lithium phosphate battery inside. You need to be careful when choosing solar panels to go with them or you won’t get full amp charging. If I had been buying one myself for use only in the Moho I would have invested in lithium and an inverter for the equivalent cost. In my opinion, You need to go quite expensive to get decent inverter output. As said, if you are going to use it somewhere else or not invest in upgrading the vans lithium battery / charging system then it’s worth considering. They are “marmite” to some.

 

[PhilMary]

Here's one going cheap.

 

[Campervan Plan]

Here's one going cheap.
View attachment 934979

How much are you not using it anymore

 

[Jo662]

You want one that charges up reasonably quickly,the best for doing that is the Ecoflow range imo.
I have the old version Ecoflow Delta,which charges in one hour. The new version is even better.

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[MarkHoughton]

I have the EcoFlow Delta2, combined with their portable 220w solar panel and I find it recharges very quickly. I have only ever charged it once from the mains when it was first delivered. As well as using it in the motorhome, we also use it at home for charging up mobile phones, tablets, Makita tool batteries etc. So very versatile and helps contribute toward it's cost in a small way. We have not plugged any of those 'gadgets' into the mains at home since we bought the Delta2 in March this year.

 

[starquake]

I have the EcoFlow Delta2, combined with their portable 220w solar panel and I find it recharges very quickly. I have only ever charged it once from the mains when it was first delivered. As well as using it in the motorhome, we also use it at home for charging up mobile phones, tablets, Makita tool batteries etc. So very versatile and helps contribute toward it's cost in a small way. We have not plugged any of those 'gadgets' into the mains at home since we bought the Delta2 in March this year.

Smae, but we purchased a set of cheaper 200w solar from Renogy that use a different panel deign (crucially they fold to fit in our lockers which the ecoflow branded ones did not as they are slightly larger. We had to buy a ecoflor to mc4 cable + a run of mc4 solar cabling to allow it to be placed anywhere within 20m of the van). We also keep that in the lockers. Amazon sell all the bits to connect an ecoflow to any solar panel really. I can reccoment the Renogy panels and they are usually around £100, compared with 2-300 for the ecoflow ones. They do generate the full 200W.

(This is to avoid any funster wanting to do it as cheaply as possible!).
Equally to buy a Delta2, check costco, they have been doing it cheaply recently -> ditto wait for black friday sales on amazon as they usually drop the price by £200 for one day only every single time.

 

[MisterB]

If the intended use is for other than just your camper then a power bank is a good option, my suggestion would be to buy from a reputable source, not a pre used one from any selling site UNLESS you personally know the seller and can trust them.

If it's ONLY for use IN the camper then perhaps a lithium battery upgrade and a decent inverter (2kw minimum) might be a better use of your money. The ability to use the power bank in lots of other scenarios is, for me, the majority plus point, BUT only if you actually use it in those scenarios...

It's worth doing a few comparisons on cost (Inc installation) and positive/negatives of each option.

 

[BrianJane]

Smae, but we purchased a set of cheaper 200w solar from Renogy that use a different panel deign (crucially they fold to fit in our lockers which the ecoflow branded ones did not as they are slightly larger. We had to buy a ecoflor to mc4 cable + a run of mc4 solar cabling to allow it to be placed anywhere within 20m of the van). We also keep that in the lockers. Amazon sell all the bits to connect an ecoflow to any solar panel really. I can reccoment the Renogy panels and they are usually around £100, compared with 2-300 for the ecoflow ones. They do generate the full 200W.

(This is to avoid any funster wanting to do it as cheaply as possible!).
Equally to buy a Delta2, check costco, they have been doing it cheaply recently -> ditto wait for black friday sales on amazon as they usually drop the price by £200 for one day only every single time.

Is this the cable we need? I bought the delta 2 and 220 watt panels from costco on Friday, expecting delivery wednesday/Friday. Due to Bank Holiday. It looks like no cable comes with it. Want to be ready to charge up.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0D4VCTYRP/?tag=mhf04-21

 

[starquake]

Is this the cable we need? I bought the delta 2 and 220 watt panels from costco on Friday, expecting delivery wednesday/Friday. Due to Bank Holiday. It looks like no cable comes with it. Want to be ready to charge up.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0D4VCTYRP/?tag=mhf04-21

I'd wait as the ecoflow own brand panels I think come with a cable (and it's a xt60 connector on it, so you'd want a xt60 extension for longer runs).

Wait to see what you get before seeing about extensions. Most non-ecoflow branded panels use mc4 conenctors, so you just use mc4 extensions, but yeah, I'd wait, as it's about 20 quid a cable max, and they usally (as you see) delivery next day on amazon once you know what you have. The ecoflow branded panels AIUI use xt60 connectors not mc4.

The ecoflow end does use xt60 connectors so it's just a case of finding what you have. I'd reccomend at least a 5m extension cable as thats what we find we need with our van to allow positioning anywhere in sun. With the (supplied with panel) 3m it would not be long enough.

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[Pausim]

Here's one going cheap.
View attachment 934979

Is that one of the Magnox ones with the nice glow in the dark bits?

 

[BrianJane]

I'd wait as the ecoflow own brand panels I think come with a cable (and it's a xt60 connector on it, so you'd want a xt60 extension for longer runs).

Wait to see what you get before seeing about extensions. Most non-ecoflow branded panels use mc4 conenctors, so you just use mc4 extensions, but yeah, I'd wait, as it's about 20 quid a cable max, and they usally (as you see) delivery next day on amazon once you know what you have. The ecoflow branded panels AIUI use xt60 connectors not mc4.

The ecoflow end does use xt60 connectors so it's just a case of finding what you have. I'd reccomend at least a 5m extension cable as thats what we find we need with our van to allow positioning anywhere in sun. With the (supplied with panel) 3m it would not be long enough.

Thanks for the info Starquake. I`ll check when I unpack.

 

[Cush]

Check. It might be the xt 60i . Orange version with an additional pin in it. Affects the charging rate somehow.

 

[starquake]

Check. It might be the xt 60i . Orange version with an additional pin in it. Affects the charging rate somehow.

The extra pin in the xt60i speeds up the device recognising the solar, it works fine with auto detection without the pin, but may take longer to ramp up on initial charge (from my own experience). You can tell in the app when it's doing it, as the device won't know if it's a 12V charge cable or solar until it's detected.

 

[BrianJane]

I'd wait as the ecoflow own brand panels I think come with a cable (and it's a xt60 connector on it, so you'd want a xt60 extension for longer runs).

Wait to see what you get before seeing about extensions. Most non-ecoflow branded panels use mc4 conenctors, so you just use mc4 extensions, but yeah, I'd wait, as it's about 20 quid a cable max, and they usally (as you see) delivery next day on amazon once you know what you have. The ecoflow branded panels AIUI use xt60 connectors not mc4.

The ecoflow end does use xt60 connectors so it's just a case of finding what you have. I'd reccomend at least a 5m extension cable as thats what we find we need with our van to allow positioning anywhere in sun. With the (supplied with panel) 3m it would not be long en

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[BrianJane]

160 w panel and delta 2 box arrived. The panel has the 1 metre xt60 male and female connectons. The ecoflow has a 1 metre cable with xt60 on one end and the connection that goes into the box. So should i get a 5 metre that goes between the 2, or a 5 metre that goes from the panel straight to the box. I guess to go straight into box to save power loss.

 

[starquake]

160 w panel and delta 2 box arrived. The panel has the 1 metre xt60 male and female connectons. The ecoflow has a 1 metre cable with xt60 on one end and the connection that goes into the box. So should i get a 5 metre that goes between the 2, or a 5 metre that goes from the panel straight to the box. I guess to go straight into box to save power loss.

Exactly go straight into box with a 5m would be my choice (most on campsites seem to use this).
We find we can close our windows over the cable just fine too leaving the delta2 in it's "in van" location whilst the panels are out (we have the window type that allows this).

 

[BrianJane]

Thanks for your help starquake. Would you say 4mm or 6mm?

 

[starquake]

We use 6mm solar cables. Less lossy when you run though a wiring calculator