this post was submitted on 02 Dec 2024
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Recommendations for portable power stations? (for camping, power outages, etc.) (lemmy.ca)
submitted 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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I took a look around and a lot of comments mentioned to get one that uses 'LiFePO4 Batteries', and that seemed like a reasonable requirement.

They're supposed to have a longer life span, be safer, light weight, and better charge/discharge efficiency which is in line with what I'd be looking for.

Some brands/models that I saw recommended:

  • BLUETTI came up in more recent posts
  • Ecoflow (specifically the RIVER 2) came up a lot
  • Anker was suggested a few times, but the comments weren't that detailed

edit, added an image of what I'm referring to

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[–] EpicFailGuy 6 points 1 month ago (5 children)

If price is your main concern make one yourself. Specially if you don't need 110

  1. buy a 12v battery of your choice (deep cycle are best, but car batteries will do in a pinch, UPS batteries if you want small)

  2. buy a tool box of adequate size for your battery, allow for extra room

  3. order a "float charger"

  4. Order USB and cigarette lighter ports as desired

  5. wire it all up inside the toolbox

I've made a few with minimal effort, they're great for camping and my latest one even allows me to jump start a car

There are plenty of guides out there with more detailed steps

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49Do__99Yr4

I'm currently making one for a friend, let me know if you guys want to see pics of the components

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Yes, please!

[–] EpicFailGuy 4 points 1 month ago

This one is a very small 3Ah battery because my friend is using it as a proof of concept. He wants it to power a very small Wi-Fi spectrum analyzer / packet capture device when he goes war driving.

The beauty of Lead acid batteries is that they're very cheap at the cost of additional weight and volume If I used 18650 Lithium Ion cells I could probably get more than twice the battery capacity, but it gets more expensive and more complex (You have to do some math to figure out how to wire the batteries to add up to 12V and calculate how many amps total so you can fuse it correctly)

In the pic you can see that there's already a float charger I've taken out of the case to reduce the volume it takes (I normally encase them in epoxy) and an Inverter I'm going to wire externally for him to test 110 with a battery this small

I still have to cut holes for the USB adapters and float charger port, and I have to shop for a volt meter monitor that fits his needs.

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