OV9

So all being set for some more camping I want to be able to go without electrical hook-up but still be comfortable.

I’ve seen lots of videos of people making power packs but have been particularly disappointed with the ones you can buy. £500 seems to be the starting price for anything half decent and that still won’t ultimately last as long as we want.

So here is mk1



It has 4 x 12v 7ah sealed lead acid batteries. So in truth a genuine 15ah of power. This will be connected to solar during the day (I have a 100w panel which will keep this topped up on even the cloudiest of days. Through an MPPT solar controller so it doesn’t discharge the batteries to a damaging level.



It will only power the fridge and charge up anything by USB with a continuous 2amp charge. It’s not got enough to power an inverter of any power.

If this is fine on some camping trips we have lined up I’ll build one with Lithium Ion Phosphate batteries. For the same battery size I could have 50ah of useable power but does mean a more expensive solar controller. This would have more than enough power to run a full sized electric fan and anything we would possibly need when camping.

If that goes well I’ll then build a 100ah useable unit which won’t even need to be plugged in over a week, maybe top it up with solar as it’s free but it shouldn’t need it.

I’ve a small 125 watt inverter which will be wired into the shed when I get home to run the pool pump for free as I want to learn more about inverters as they are not an efficient way to use 12v really.

Electric cars bore the shit out of me but a shed powered for free gets me quite excited, so may even make a decent battery set up for the garage too to run my dehumidifier for free.

Dave!

When I say for free, I mean no running costs, these little set-ups will never re-coup what they cost to install. I’d love to build a proper sized workshop with no mains connection though, it’s definitely possible with modern batteries.

That's brilliant!

I watched some LiThium phosphate batteries produce a continuous 100a load, incredible.

It amazes me the technology isn’t pushed more in homes, you can do far far better than a Tesla Powerwall for the same money.

Dave!

That's in a nerdy way.

Have you got more details of what you've done e.g. parts used etc.?

Last week I changed the 12v battery on mine. In a total brain fart I forgot the correct order to disconnect everything from the MPPT and unplugged the battery first. A 240 watt panel, on an overcast day, in the canopy of the woods is still producing enough power to instantly combust the MPPT
So yeah, don't do that.

Type Portable Power Pack into YouTube and loads come up.

Some are so shoddily built, batteries not secure, bad connections etc but you will soon see what’s what.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BzwWy2Es2_M

This video is nice as he shows how to wire it properly. For example some have wired it so the trickle charger is connected to the solar input, which simply doesn’t work.

This guy does lots of testing, interesting builds and is clearly very clues up on batteries, solar and controllers etc. His practical skills suck though so some of his stuff looks sketchy but you learn lots from him.

https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCoj6RxIAQq8kmJme-5dnN0Q

Dave!

Mito Man wrote: Wed Jul 07, 2021 5:05 pm Last week I changed the 12v battery on mine. In a total brain fart I forgot the correct order to disconnect everything from the MPPT and unplugged the battery first. A 240 watt panel, on an overcast day, in the canopy of the woods is still producing enough power to instantly combust the MPPT
So yeah, don't do that.

I’m guessing it can’t dump the load quick enough ?

I always disconnect the panel first but I should really put a proper Anderson plug on it.

Did it dry the controller completely ? I’m only using 20/30a controllers and small panels.

Dave!

Yes, but then this makes me wonder how it functions with a fully charged battery on a sunny day.

I have a similar MPPT to yours but 40a to deal with the panel, had a flash of smoke then flames coming behind the USB sockets. To be fair its worked perfectly since March and the controller was just a cheap one off amazon.

Same as mine then a cheap Amazon one.

When I go Lithium they will be much more expensive but that will require a lot more reading.

It’s a wonderful and easy to do bit of technology.

Dave!

Yep recent advancements in tech are pretty cool, I used to use a all in one lithium battery but it was overkill so now I’ve saved that for camping in the cabin and I’ve just got the solar panel and 12v battery for running 4G and the cameras.
Only caught one deer this whole time though who comes over to drink from the fire pit whenever there’s a heatwave so I’m thinking of digging a hole and chucking some pond liner in for it

And here’s me thinking I’m clever taking a usb adaptor for drill batteries lol

I have the same one, it’s ace!!!

Dave!

Won't be long before a manufacturer includes a camping facilility in their EV, which kind of betamaxes this stuff.

mr_jon wrote: Wed Jul 07, 2021 8:42 pm Won't be long before a manufacturer includes a camping facilility in their EV, which kind of betamaxes this stuff.

Hyundai ionic 5 has 3 pin sockets in it now

Edit- can supply 3.6kw of power, so basically a small generators worth

This.

Just take a 6h piss break at a services on your way to the camp site to make sure the car has enough charge to get their, power your toys and get you back to another service station for a 6 hour piss stop so you can get home

Well there is that…….

Be interesting to see camp sites start to improve their electric hookup facilities so that you could plug an electric car in. Wouldn't expect rapid chargers, but for a reasonable premium you could get a 7kW pitch.

Or to look at it another way, fire up your EV and travel the 200+ miles from some shithole in Norfolk to Cornwall without charging, visit the local farm shop for some cider and sausages and top back up to 80% on their 100kWh charger in 30mins, then camp for two weeks with fridge, lights and cooking appliances using the car battery.

There is a reason we don’t want electrical hook-up, it’s the same reason we don’t want to camp in a glorified car park surrounded by awnings, TVs and everything else people insist they bring when camping. So many people now bring a car with the stuff in and a car with the people in, it’s ridiculous.

Campsites should have car parks to put your cars and then the camping area. Plus if you plug it into your car, what do you do when you go out for the day?

Fridge, charge devices, something to move air.

Dave!