Dave in AZ
Active member
This thread is to help consolidate info on what solar generators also called power stations, will work well for small truck popup campers who plan on using some light AC cooking tools (like Tune M1, OVRLND, AT Summit, GoFast, Topo Toppers, Project M, Hiatus, LonePeak, Super Pacific, etc.) Many power stations have poor DC outputs or solar inputs for this use or can't support normal light AC appliances used for cooking.
Please note, this thread is for the GOOD or BEST ONES, not ones you could maybe eke by on of you didn't use any AC power device ever and scrimp hard. Anything will work for that, so 500-800 wh mini stuff to recharge a phone and run LED will not be listed. The intent is someone setting up an actual camper system with this probably with a fuseblock, so more of an RV style. Self-built 2nd/house battery systems can be expanded, but power stations you are stuck with the limitations you buy, so this thread is for buying stuff that future proofs you in case you someday want to boil with a small electric kettle, say. Certainly you could minimalist camp with any power station, but this thread IS NOT FOR THAT.
(Again, If you don't ever want to run 1000-1500w AC, or a diesel heater+ lights +fans, then any 500wh or more small power station will work fine. Or for self built, a 100Ah 12v Lifepo4 battery, dc fuseblock, 1000w inverter, and dcdc with mppt charger.)
Here are the parameters:
1. Weight matters and payload is usually critical, driving towards 1000-2000Wh units.
2. Minimum wasted parasitic power loss, like just running invertor.
3. Good high Amp DC output, so that Max loads can be run off DC without invertor loss or noise.
4. Solar inputs, Able to accept broad solar voltage and amps, so series panels can be run for best efficiency early/late and many different panel options. At least 4x 100w panels, so 80v needed. 12v to 95v at least.
5. High solar charge wattage, to allow full recharge in 1 day, 3 hrs better. So 500w min for a 1500Wh station.
6. At least 1000Wh for two or three days use with no recharge power.
7. Multiple charge controllers able to use MPPT solar and car or battery. So 12v minimum. Lets you run 2 different portable solar panels, or a panel plus car alternator, or another battery used as an expansion feeding into the station.
8. Regulated dc output at least 12.5v, higher is better, 13.4 lets you charge other LiFePO4 batteries to > 80%. Also ensures ability to run diesel heaters.
9. DC ports must allow actual 30A use, so must have an XT60, an Anderson PowerPole, or an RV plug. Cigarette lighter only flows 10A, and 5521 or 5525 barrel style ports only do 5A. USB do less and USB-C not good to feed dc block.
10. Common loads expected to run concurrently are:
Maxxair type fan, 2-36W
LED lights, 10-75W
fridge/freezer 20-45W
Diesel heater 120w start
(20-40W running)
USB charging 100W.
Roughly 360W possible, thus 30A 12v dc source required.
11. LiFePO4 battery chemistey, not Lithium ion, for better recharge cycles and safer in probably jacked-up mobile setups. That cuts many Jackery products immediately.
12. > 2000w Inverter, higher surge desired. Lets you run most common AC camping accessories you might want to support, like 1500W electric kettle, 1800w induction burner, 700-1000w small microwave (get Inverter microwave!) It is possible to get a 1000w kettle, a 700w output microwave that uses 1150w (or an inverter one that can use 700 to 800 on lower settings), and a 1500W induction burner. The induction probably needs a bit more to actually run, so I would say that 1800W inverter is minimum to run that. But 1000w inverter would be doable otherwise.
Of all these, having a high amperage DC output is critical, and 30A is what I will use as a no-go amount. That gives 360W to 400W dc power, depending on output voltage. This will let you feed a dc fuseblock that you can connect and run the items listed in #10 above. You could turn off Maxxair when starting diesel heater to stay in limits etc.
Actual testing of these power stations output and input can be found here:
ReeWray Outdoors
Jasonoid
Hobotech
Recent build your own exactly as you want, box w all parts, and also a super DC multiport to add:
To get this started, here are the power stations I have identified as good:
1. Pecron e1500LFP. My choice. 1536Wh, 2200w Inverter, 800w solar at 32-95v and 12-25v, 2 mppt controllers, xt60 30A dc output at 13.4v.
2. Bluetti AC200Max
3. Bluetti ac200P, has 25A 12v dc
4. Oupes Mega2, 30A 12v anderson port.
5. Dabbson 2300plus. 30A 12v anderson.
NOT THESE ONES:
Not Bluetti AC200L, no good dc ports, no 30A
Not Bluetti AC180 or 180P, no 30A port, no good dc ports
Not Ecoflow Delta Pro, its 30a port doesn't work
diysolarforum.com
Not Yeti Goal Zero1500x, it is Lithium ion NMC and 50v max charge inputs... old tech and expensive, much better out there!
NOT the Ecoflow Delta 2 Max, it only has a 10A cigar lighter output for 126W, and some 3A 5521 barrel plugs for 38W. The USB A and C all are 5v, or must negotiate with a smart chipped device to negotiate higher 12v, so not available to run LEDs, fans, etc.
NOT the Anker Solix F2000 i.e. Powerhouse 767. This station has almost no 12v DC outputs, just two cigarette lighter ports at 10A. All else are USB A and USB C, all 5v unless usb c negotiates higher voltage with a smart chipped device like cellphone. No dc barrel ports 5521 or 5525, no high amp dc port like xt60 or anderson. Additionally, it only has one input charge controller--so you can't charge from solar and from a car hookup at same time. That one input, an xt60, only lets you do 10A to 32v, so just 320W, or 20A from 33 to 60v, 1000W max. So you'll have issues charging it and have to swap input cords from car charger while driving to solar, and have to feed all your dc camper needs from just 2 cigarette lighters 20A total. And just running a diesel heater from a cigarette lighter port is very iffy and probe to throwing voltage errors-- they are a loose sloppy connection with high voltage drop, and have trouble supplying the required 10A startup current without dropping voltage too low.
NOT the Goal Zero Yeti 1500x. Expensive, old chemistry, 500 cycles vs 3000+ for competition, for 60% more $$! HOWEVER, MAAAYBE...
If you don't mind buying something for 60% more that lasts 1/6th the time, then the ports and functionality of the 1500x is actually excellent. And the company name and solid history is good.
Please note, this thread is for the GOOD or BEST ONES, not ones you could maybe eke by on of you didn't use any AC power device ever and scrimp hard. Anything will work for that, so 500-800 wh mini stuff to recharge a phone and run LED will not be listed. The intent is someone setting up an actual camper system with this probably with a fuseblock, so more of an RV style. Self-built 2nd/house battery systems can be expanded, but power stations you are stuck with the limitations you buy, so this thread is for buying stuff that future proofs you in case you someday want to boil with a small electric kettle, say. Certainly you could minimalist camp with any power station, but this thread IS NOT FOR THAT.
(Again, If you don't ever want to run 1000-1500w AC, or a diesel heater+ lights +fans, then any 500wh or more small power station will work fine. Or for self built, a 100Ah 12v Lifepo4 battery, dc fuseblock, 1000w inverter, and dcdc with mppt charger.)
Here are the parameters:
1. Weight matters and payload is usually critical, driving towards 1000-2000Wh units.
2. Minimum wasted parasitic power loss, like just running invertor.
3. Good high Amp DC output, so that Max loads can be run off DC without invertor loss or noise.
4. Solar inputs, Able to accept broad solar voltage and amps, so series panels can be run for best efficiency early/late and many different panel options. At least 4x 100w panels, so 80v needed. 12v to 95v at least.
5. High solar charge wattage, to allow full recharge in 1 day, 3 hrs better. So 500w min for a 1500Wh station.
6. At least 1000Wh for two or three days use with no recharge power.
7. Multiple charge controllers able to use MPPT solar and car or battery. So 12v minimum. Lets you run 2 different portable solar panels, or a panel plus car alternator, or another battery used as an expansion feeding into the station.
8. Regulated dc output at least 12.5v, higher is better, 13.4 lets you charge other LiFePO4 batteries to > 80%. Also ensures ability to run diesel heaters.
9. DC ports must allow actual 30A use, so must have an XT60, an Anderson PowerPole, or an RV plug. Cigarette lighter only flows 10A, and 5521 or 5525 barrel style ports only do 5A. USB do less and USB-C not good to feed dc block.
10. Common loads expected to run concurrently are:
Maxxair type fan, 2-36W
LED lights, 10-75W
fridge/freezer 20-45W
Diesel heater 120w start
(20-40W running)
USB charging 100W.
Roughly 360W possible, thus 30A 12v dc source required.
11. LiFePO4 battery chemistey, not Lithium ion, for better recharge cycles and safer in probably jacked-up mobile setups. That cuts many Jackery products immediately.
12. > 2000w Inverter, higher surge desired. Lets you run most common AC camping accessories you might want to support, like 1500W electric kettle, 1800w induction burner, 700-1000w small microwave (get Inverter microwave!) It is possible to get a 1000w kettle, a 700w output microwave that uses 1150w (or an inverter one that can use 700 to 800 on lower settings), and a 1500W induction burner. The induction probably needs a bit more to actually run, so I would say that 1800W inverter is minimum to run that. But 1000w inverter would be doable otherwise.
Of all these, having a high amperage DC output is critical, and 30A is what I will use as a no-go amount. That gives 360W to 400W dc power, depending on output voltage. This will let you feed a dc fuseblock that you can connect and run the items listed in #10 above. You could turn off Maxxair when starting diesel heater to stay in limits etc.
Actual testing of these power stations output and input can be found here:
ReeWray Outdoors
Jasonoid
Hobotech
Recent build your own exactly as you want, box w all parts, and also a super DC multiport to add:
To get this started, here are the power stations I have identified as good:
1. Pecron e1500LFP. My choice. 1536Wh, 2200w Inverter, 800w solar at 32-95v and 12-25v, 2 mppt controllers, xt60 30A dc output at 13.4v.
2. Bluetti AC200Max
3. Bluetti ac200P, has 25A 12v dc
4. Oupes Mega2, 30A 12v anderson port.
5. Dabbson 2300plus. 30A 12v anderson.
NOT THESE ONES:
Not Bluetti AC200L, no good dc ports, no 30A
Not Bluetti AC180 or 180P, no 30A port, no good dc ports
Not Ecoflow Delta Pro, its 30a port doesn't work
EcoFlow Delta Pro - Anderson port power output
Hi all, the EcoFlow Delta Pro's Anderson port should have up to 378W output power (12,6V DC, 30A), according to the specs. So I was thinking it might be worth to use it for powering low loads instead of using the integrated inverter (which has a high self-consumption of 40-50W and a sub-par...
diysolarforum.com
Not Yeti Goal Zero1500x, it is Lithium ion NMC and 50v max charge inputs... old tech and expensive, much better out there!
NOT the Ecoflow Delta 2 Max, it only has a 10A cigar lighter output for 126W, and some 3A 5521 barrel plugs for 38W. The USB A and C all are 5v, or must negotiate with a smart chipped device to negotiate higher 12v, so not available to run LEDs, fans, etc.
NOT the Anker Solix F2000 i.e. Powerhouse 767. This station has almost no 12v DC outputs, just two cigarette lighter ports at 10A. All else are USB A and USB C, all 5v unless usb c negotiates higher voltage with a smart chipped device like cellphone. No dc barrel ports 5521 or 5525, no high amp dc port like xt60 or anderson. Additionally, it only has one input charge controller--so you can't charge from solar and from a car hookup at same time. That one input, an xt60, only lets you do 10A to 32v, so just 320W, or 20A from 33 to 60v, 1000W max. So you'll have issues charging it and have to swap input cords from car charger while driving to solar, and have to feed all your dc camper needs from just 2 cigarette lighters 20A total. And just running a diesel heater from a cigarette lighter port is very iffy and probe to throwing voltage errors-- they are a loose sloppy connection with high voltage drop, and have trouble supplying the required 10A startup current without dropping voltage too low.
NOT the Goal Zero Yeti 1500x. Expensive, old chemistry, 500 cycles vs 3000+ for competition, for 60% more $$! HOWEVER, MAAAYBE...
If you don't mind buying something for 60% more that lasts 1/6th the time, then the ports and functionality of the 1500x is actually excellent. And the company name and solid history is good.
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