I am planning on buying one of those 300W (or slightly bigger) portable power stations. Something that will allow me to charge phone and run small refrigerator for a few hours when I am not connected to the grid. Most of the time, the power station will be recharged from AC but there will be days when I will be doing lots of driving. For those days, I would like to run a simple DC to DC charger to maintain the power station. I have a 12V cigarette outlet in the back of the car or can run a designated wire from a main battery though a simpler setup would be better. Any recommendations for a budget DC to DC charger?
Need recommendations for budget DC to DC charger for portable power station
- Thread starter drabina
- Start date
Martinjmpr
Wiffleball Batter
WRT a "budget" DC-DC charger I paid less than $120 for my Renogy 20a DC-DC charger. Or to put it in modern terms, it cost me less to buy that DC-DC charger than it does to fill the tank on my truck. 
(current record: $144 and some change.)
I don't think you can get much cheaper than that. 300W is pretty minimal though. Thats, what, a 25 AH battery? My home-built power box uses a 90AH FLA battery and it sometimes struggles to keep its charge above 50% on long trips.
(current record: $144 and some change.) I don't think you can get much cheaper than that. 300W is pretty minimal though. Thats, what, a 25 AH battery? My home-built power box uses a 90AH FLA battery and it sometimes struggles to keep its charge above 50% on long trips.
Thanks. I did find the Renogy charger on Amazon yesterday. They actually have a sale at $97 now for the 20A model. As to the power bank, it will only be needed for when we are in transit and that will be time where I can charge the battery while driving. We usually stay at places with power and water so no need for a battery at the campground. I can always upgrade later when needed. Good point with the charger that comes with the power station. Forgot about that. I guess I will try how it works first before spending money for a different charger.
