Portable power centres for camping

Forums › Off topic › Portable power centres for camping

Stu1

1892 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 489

ID Verified

Subscriber

#302949 6-Jan-2023 08:48

Happy new year sitting in the tent bucket down in waikanae , we have a power site which is great but looking at other options. What are some recommendations for portable power stations? . I will need it to power a 25l camping Fridge and charging devices and lanterns. Day wise probably 5 nights max. What are the power tech portable stations and solar panels like? Prefer a power station than a generator.

https://dwights.co.nz/products/42-000mah-portable-power-centre-and-40w-solar-panel

1 | 2

1181 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 605

#3017676 6-Jan-2023 09:24

Any idea on what the power consumption of your fridge is?
Is your fridge one of the newer generation of small compressor fridge or is it one of the more traditional absorption style (3 way) type of fridge.

I often camp in the middle of nowhere for 14 days at a time. I use something similar to what you linked too, but I have a 100 watt solar panel. I'm not powering a fridge, as my fridge is a 3 way and I run it on gas. A 5 kg bottle will run my 32l fridge for 14 days just.

trig42

5889 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2094

ID Verified

#3017682 6-Jan-2023 09:47

Depends on your budget - the Ecoflow Deltas (with extra batteries if needed) look pretty good:

https://ecoflowtech.co.nz/collections/delta-series

Not sure how long they'd run a fridge for though. We have done this excercise at our off-grid bach. We have a 400L standard 240V fridge/freezer that probably averages out at about 50-60W running (a lot more when first turned on and defrosting, but about 30W when just sitting there cold). We have 600+ W of Solar panels going into 2 x 100Ah 24V Lithium Ion batteries via an MPPT controller. We've found this happily runs the fridge so long as we get about an hour of two of decent sun on the panels per day (I think we could run in the dark for about 3 days). I've never seen the batteries go below about 85%, but I'm only there in Summer, and we only upgraded from Lead Acid to Lithium about 18 months ago.

Or, get an EV with V2L ;) no worries running a fridge off that (then recharge the EV when you next run into town to get beer)

Stu1

1892 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 489

ID Verified

Subscriber

#3017685 6-Jan-2023 09:51

djtOtago:
Any idea on what the power consumption of your fridge is?
Is your fridge one of the newer generation of small compressor fridge or is it one of the more traditional absorption style (3 way) type of fridge.

I often camp in the middle of nowhere for 14 days at a time. I use something similar to what you linked too, but I have a 100 watt solar panel. I'm not powering a fridge, as my fridge is a 3 way and I run it on gas. A 5 kg bottle will run my 32l fridge for 14 days just.

I wanted the 3 way but ended up with this instead , it’s a great little camping fridge it’s says average consumption 45 w .That’s great to get 14 days from gas .I wonder if it would take a bigger solar panel .

https://www.jaycar.co.nz/25l-brass-monkey-portable-fridge-with-mobile-app-control-usb-charger/p/GH2006?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIto-Kqaax_AIVDBsrCh0v-Q8qEAQYASABEgI_PfD_BwE

Stu1

1892 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 489

ID Verified

Subscriber

#3017688 6-Jan-2023 10:00

trig42:
Depends on your budget - the Ecoflow Deltas (with extra batteries if needed) look pretty good:

https://ecoflowtech.co.nz/collections/delta-series

Not sure how long they'd run a fridge for though. We have done this excercise at our off-grid bach. We have a 400L standard 240V fridge/freezer that probably averages out at about 50-60W running (a lot more when first turned on and defrosting, but about 30W when just sitting there cold). We have 600+ W of Solar panels going into 2 x 100Ah 24V Lithium Ion batteries via an MPPT controller. We've found this happily runs the fridge so long as we get about an hour of two of decent sun on the panels per day (I think we could run in the dark for about 3 days). I've never seen the batteries go below about 85%, but I'm only there in Summer, and we only upgraded from Lead Acid to Lithium about 18 months ago.

Or, get an EV with V2L ;) no worries running a fridge off that (then recharge the EV when you next run into town to get beer)

They look amazing was budgeting under 1k for the Power station, but if I can’t get something decent then would pay for a better one. Beer sounds great at a dry camp site so can only have a sneaky can at night in the tent

Nate001

677 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 465

#3017705 6-Jan-2023 10:20

I wouldn’t waste my time with what you have linked, at 155Wh it’s not going to power a fridge for long. It looks like a glorified mobile battery bank with an inverter. It’s probably fine for recharging small items but not a fridge.

I’d be looking at something like an EcoFlow River range or similar with a decent solar panel. Maybe 3-400Wh of capacity.

trig42

5889 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2094

ID Verified

#3017716 6-Jan-2023 10:43

And, given that the cooler you have can run on DC, one of the devices that can power from DC directly would be better (rather than the inefficiencies of the inverter).

Dell

Shop now for Dell laptops and other devices (affiliate link).

Mattnzl

282 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 70

#3017750 6-Jan-2023 11:42

Bluetti make some great units & use Lifepo4 batteries which should last longer, but unfortunately not easily available in NZ for some reason (despite being in Aus).

This is one I'm looking at:

https://www.cppower.com.au/products/bluetti-eb70-power-station?variant=42915632218280

Way cheaper than equivalent Ecoflow and with the arguably better battery.

tchart

2396 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 577

ID Verified

Trusted

#3017759 6-Jan-2023 11:55

RE that link 155Wh is tiny and practically unusable unless its just for charging your phone and lighting. You want to be looking at 500Wh+

I have several Goal Zero power stations and they are great. I also have an eco flow delta which is fantastic.

With solar you also need to take into account how much input it can take. My goal zeros will only take 200W max so it would take at least 2 hours to fully charge if operating at 100% and zero load. My roof panel is pretty close to spec but my portable solar panel (a fold up one, not goal zero) only operates at 25-50% of spec in full sun. So you are unlikley to find a solution that will charge it if you are drawing more power than you can get from the panel.

The eco flow on the other hand has a way better MPPT solar controller and will charge much faster - if you plug it into a socket it charges very fast (ie it will literally charge from zero to full in 3 hours).

Also one thing to be aware of that they dont tell you is that merely turning on the AC output will draw 5-10w with nothing attached - because of the invertor. So if possible stick to 12V or USB-C devices.

My set up is for my office so I dont have experience with fridges but I believe the bluettis are good for off grid use.

This is good value BTW (goal zero/eco flow attracts a premium) - https://www.equipoutdoors.co.nz/companion-rover-lithium-70ah-power-station (Note it does not have AC, which is probably why its cheaper)

TLDR

- Check what your proposed draw is calulate what 12-24 hours would work out to in terms of watt hours.

- Add 5-10W per hour for the invertor

- Overspec the solar panel (but within the input ranges)

- Use DC appliances where possible (dont forget most RV/offgrid/overlanding appliances are rigged for 12V)

- And as @trig42 mentioned start up loads matter too. The ecoflow have a good max load (comes in handy for power tools).

tchart

2396 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 577

ID Verified

Trusted

#3017764 6-Jan-2023 12:03

trig42:

Depends on your budget - the Ecoflow Deltas (with extra batteries if needed) look pretty good:

https://ecoflowtech.co.nz/collections/delta-series

Just an FYI but there is a bigger range of Ecoflow on Trademe (from authroised dealers) with some oiptions below $1k

djtOtago

1181 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 605

#3017771 6-Jan-2023 12:24

@Stu1 Do you have a rough ideal on how long it runs each day or hour? I assume it cycles on and off like a normal home fridge.

I found an article that says they use about 0.25 kWh per 24 hours. That would suggest it is only running about 25% of the time. That is lower that I would have expected.

https://outdoorexplorer.com.au/brass-monkey-fridge-freezer-review/

If the 0.25kWh (250Wh) is correct, I personally would be looking at 500Wh battery and around 150 - 200 Watt solar panel. 200 Watt panel may sound like a bit of over kill, but you have to allow for those cloudy rainy days where a panels output will only be around 25 - 30% of their rated output.

idle

176 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 74

#3017789 6-Jan-2023 12:51

There is a You Tube video by a Kiwi called Marty T, who is based in "The Sounds". This an instructive account of the use of Ecoflow Delta Max 2000. Worth a look, as are most of his videos!

Off-grid Glamping with the Ecoflow Delta Max 2000 portable power supply - YouTube

Geekzone

Want to support Geekzone and browse the site without the ads? Subscribe to Geekzone now (monthly, annual and lifetime options).

Stu1

1892 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 489

ID Verified

Subscriber

#3017803 6-Jan-2023 13:37

djtOtago:
@Stu1 Do you have a rough ideal on how long it runs each day or hour? I assume it cycles on and off like a normal home fridge.

I found an article that says they use about 0.25 kWh per 24 hours. That would suggest it is only running about 25% of the time. That is lower that I would have expected.

https://outdoorexplorer.com.au/brass-monkey-fridge-freezer-review/

If the 0.25kWh (250Wh) is correct, I personally would be looking at 500Wh battery and around 150 - 200 Watt solar panel. 200 Watt panel may sound like a bit of over kill, but you have to allow for those cloudy rainy days where a panels output will only be around 25 - 30% of their rated output.

Im not sure to be honest I brought it 3 days ago last minute purchase before driving to the camp ground , based on feedback will look at least 500wh batteries.

Stu1

1892 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 489

ID Verified

Subscriber

#3025567 22-Jan-2023 17:13

Mattnzl:

Bluetti make some great units & use Lifepo4 batteries which should last longer, but unfortunately not easily available in NZ for some reason (despite being in Aus).

This is one I'm looking at:

https://www.cppower.com.au/products/bluetti-eb70-power-station?variant=42915632218280

Way cheaper than equivalent Ecoflow and with the arguably better battery.

Did you end up getting one?

SomeoneSomewhere

1882 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1086

Lifetime subscriber

#3025598 22-Jan-2023 19:56

djtOtago:

@Stu1 Do you have a rough ideal on how long it runs each day or hour? I assume it cycles on and off like a normal home fridge.

I found an article that says they use about 0.25 kWh per 24 hours. That would suggest it is only running about 25% of the time. That is lower that I would have expected.

https://outdoorexplorer.com.au/brass-monkey-fridge-freezer-review/

If the 0.25kWh (250Wh) is correct, I personally would be looking at 500Wh battery and around 150 - 200 Watt solar panel. 200 Watt panel may sound like a bit of over kill, but you have to allow for those cloudy rainy days where a panels output will only be around 25 - 30% of their rated output.

Yeah; it looks like while the 'average running power' is 45W, that refers to the power while the compressor is operating, excluding startup.

0.25kWh/24h is 10.4W. That's pretty close to a good-ish bar fridge - 97kWh/year is ~11W.

Maximising solar and minimising battery might be an option. It's unlikely to need significant cooling overnight, and cooling requirements will be pretty closely matched to the ambient temperature & insolation. Thermal mass is cheaper than battery.

roobarb

701 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 643

Trusted

#3025616 22-Jan-2023 21:02

Stu1: camping Fridge and charging devices and lanterns

Fortunately the travel piano requires no power.

1 | 2