WTB: DC Only Power Station

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bdvan

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May 6, 2021
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I am looking for a DC only power-station for camping use, primarily charged using shore power & Solar. Inergy makes one called Flex DC power station which looks good with a total of 100A DC output, but it looks like they haven't shipped any units yet to other customers waiting in line for over an year. Looking for some recommendation on alternative options. inergy-flex-dc-power-station
 
Build your own? there are many diy AC power boxes just build one for Dc use only 12v LiFePO4 and a solar charge controller, a ac charge controller , several usb ports, 12v power points (cig lighter) even could include an anderson connector to hook up other 12v items.
later floyd
 
lithiumslar has done a few reviews on power boxes that include ac,
but you could only use the dc side of the power box.
later floyd
 
floydR said:
Build your own? there are many diy AC power boxes just build one for Dc use only 12v LiFePO4 and a solar charge controller, a ac charge controller , several usb ports, 12v power points (cig lighter) even could include an anderson connector to hook up other 12v items.
later floyd
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Are there any tried/tested solution (components, parameters for battery charge/discharge, protection etc.) - perhaps they can be assembled and put inside a pelican box.
 
Sounds like you mean 12vdc (as apposed to 24v/36v/48v). For DC and DIY there are many youtubes. Here's Will Prowse showing a straigh-forward 4 x LifePO4(s) with a BMS in a milk crate for 12vdc. You can skip the inverter stuff and solar charging stuff if you want.

Maybe add a 12v / USB socket panel like this ( https://www.amazon.com/Deyooxi-Ciga...uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl ) to the milk-crate (or container you choose)
 
OffGridInTheCity said:
Sounds like you mean 12vdc (as apposed to 24v/36v/48v). For DC and DIY there are many youtubes. Here's Will Prowse showing a straigh-forward 4 x LifePO4(s) with a BMS in a milk crate for 12vdc. You can skip the inverter stuff and solar charging stuff if you want.

Maybe add a 12v / USB socket panel like this ( https://www.amazon.com/Deyooxi-Ciga...uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl ) to the milk-crate (or container you choose)
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looks scarily simple, my plan is to route the output to a BlueSea fuse panel and connect my devices into the panel. Does this setup needs any additional fuses, AC charger, battery monitoring system etc?

Edit: From what I have seen, there are quite a few tweaks required to keep a house battery system running, including setting various parameters to charge/discharge/protection etc. I am trying to understand how effectively this simple setup can function. For e.g. DC appliances in a van such has 12v DC fridge, 12v heater, 12v Fan needs regulated output and can't function if the voltage drops.
 
bdvan said:
looks scarily simple, my plan is to route the output to a BlueSea fuse panel and connect my devices into the panel. Does this setup needs any additional fuses, AC charger, battery monitoring system etc?

Edit: From what I have seen, there are quite a few tweaks required to keep a house battery system running, including setting various parameters to charge/discharge/protection etc. I am trying to understand how effectively this simple setup can function. For e.g. DC appliances in a van such has 12v DC fridge, 12v heater, 12v Fan needs regulated output and can't function if the voltage drops.
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A DALY BMS (and most cheaper BMSs) don't need to bet set - they will automatically cut-off if you try to overcharge and cut-off when you hit low voltage. Simple - nothing for you to do. You will need a charger to charge this thing up.

>my plan is to route the output to a BlueSea fuse panel
A simple fuse between the battery and the 'load' is certainly a good idea. Some might do a circuit breaker so you can actually turn the battery on/off as well.

>understand how effectively this simple setup can function.
A 4s LifePO4 voltage range is pretty flat so it will act as well as a lead-acid alternative. If the fan works on the regular lead-acid, it will likely work OK with 4s LifePO4 as well.

You can explicitly regulate the 12vdc from the battery using one of these - https://www.amazon.com/Voltage-Stab...dldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN

You do need to figure out the max amps you intent to pull from the the battery... for fuse sizing (above) and perhaps for some loads that are regulated.
 
OffGridInTheCity said:
A DALY BMS (and most cheaper BMSs) don't need to bet set - they will automatically cut-off if you try to overcharge and cut-off when you hit low voltage. Simple - nothing for you to do. You will need a charger to charge this thing up.

>my plan is to route the output to a BlueSea fuse panel
A simple fuse between the battery and the 'load' is certainly a good idea. Some might do a circuit breaker so you can actually turn the battery on/off as well.

>understand how effectively this simple setup can function.
A 4s LifePO4 voltage range is pretty flat so it will act as well as a lead-acid alternative. If the fan works on the regular lead-acid, it will likely work OK with 4s LifePO4 as well.

You can explicitly regulate the 12vdc from the battery using one of these - https://www.amazon.com/Voltage-Stab...dldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN

You do need to figure out the max amps you intent to pull from the the battery... for fuse sizing (above) and perhaps for some loads that are regulated.
Click to expand...
The combined max draw is not likely to exceed 50-60A. The diesel heater will draw the most (12-13A) during the startup then settles to 3A, fridge draws 6-7A at the start then settles down to <1A, Fan draws 1-4A at low to high speed settings, LED lights, water-pumps, phone charges will draw 10A in total. Can this setup run the load while its been charged.
 
bdvan said:
The combined max draw is not likely to exceed 50-60A. The diesel heater will draw the most (12-13A) during the startup then settles to 3A, fridge draws 6-7A at the start then settles down to <1A, Fan draws 1-4A at low to high speed settings, LED lights, water-pumps, phone charges will draw 10A in total.
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>max draw is not likely to exceed 50-60A.
Then a 100a BMS would be good - you want to leave a little head-room as BMSs don't always work 100% of the rated amps. As an example - https://www.amazon.com/DALY-LiFePO4...9Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=
Not pushing DALY, just using that as an example.

>Can this setup run the load while its been charged.
Yes sir. Notice the DALY BMS above says 50a charging in the round label on the unit (that would be the max it would support before cutting off) and 100a discharge.
 
Get yourself a victron Dc-DC converter and then set your output voltage according to the devices. If you need more output they can be paralleled to give greater amperage. Then the battery can be whatever. i have a small 400wh dc power case I use for lighting and device charging on long hunts. I keep it in my wall tent and put a small 80 watt panel out in the sun to charge it. Works great. I charge to 3.45 and discharge to 3 v per cell. It spends almost the entire battery at 3.25ish v per cell since that is where all the power is stored in lifepo4 cells.
 
Here's a straight-forward DIY 12v battery build. This guy ( @Don'sDoItYourself ) does a 4 x LifePo4 + DALY in this video and then in subsequent ones expands on it. This is not a 'big channel' but it made think that this might be the practical type of thing you're looking for.
 
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