"regular" solar system or portable power station?

Sorry for the question to be so unclear.

I have a sailboat and 1200w of solar panels.
I will be living off grid in the bahamas

I was going to go the solar-mppt-inverter/chareger-400Ah Lithium LifeSp04
12v

Now I am thinking: what about those big power station that can use solar to charge like EcoFlow and others?
3.6-25kWh expandable capacity
3600W-7200W AC output for 99% appliances

1- does anyone use one?
2- how do I compare what my solar MPPT system would produce vs a power station? I don’t know what numbers looking

Thanks!!!

Don't know what you mean regular solar system. Or you really mean DIY like buying stuff from sig solar and building what you want?

From all the mixed stories on here abut sig solar. I opted to stay away from them and I got a EcoFlow Delta 2 Max for our cabin and the extra battery. I love it... It works great and if I want to take it somewhere or use it an RV I can very easily.

I will tell you right now though. There solar panels or any portable solar panel are not that great. I got a deal on it with two 160 watt panels with the ecoflow and I never took them out of there package I read too much where they are worthless. I bought used 340 panels and run 4 of them. I can power the cabin just from solar. I also got 4 365 watts panels I plan on playing with soon.

Your on a boat so your panel conf is going to be limited.

As for the ecoflow I have been super pleased with it. Maybe someone on here that has sailboat experience on mounting solar can chime up.

Good Luck

kendive said:

Don't know what you mean regular solar system. Or you really mean DIY like buying stuff from sig solar and building what you want?

From all the mixed stories on here abut sig solar. I opted to stay away from them and I got a EcoFlow Delta 2 Max for our cabin and the extra battery. I love it... It works great and if I want to take it somewhere or use it an RV I can very easily.

I will tell you right now though. There solar panels or any portable solar panel are not that great. I got a deal on it with two 160 watt panels with the ecoflow and I never took them out of there package I read too much where they are worthless. I bought used 340 panels and run 4 of them. I can power the cabin just from solar. I also got 4 365 watts panels I plan on playing with soon.

Your on a boat so your panel conf is going to be limited.

As for the ecoflow I have been super pleased with it. Maybe someone on here that has sailboat experience on mounting solar can chime up.

Good Luck

Click to expand...

what I meant by regular is connecting the solar panels to MPPTs, then Inverter/charger, BMS, B2B and lithium batteries. A lot of parts to buy and many opportunities to mess up. The EcoFlow seems a great option. I just wonder why nobody in the liveaboard world talks about it. Everybody is putting their system together...
I know in a boat need more power that in a cabin because we have a water maker and a bunch of electronics.
Thx for the input!!

xavpil said:

what I meant by regular is connecting the solar panels to MPPTs, then Inverter/charger, BMS, B2B and lithium batteries. A lot of parts to buy and many opportunities to mess up. The EcoFlow seems a great option. I just wonder why nobody in the liveaboard world talks about it. Everybody is putting their system together...
I know in a boat need more power that in a cabin because we have a water maker and a bunch of electronics.
Thx for the input!!

Click to expand...

Yea your talking about building your own batteries and all. If you have the time and want to play / experiment go for it.

Me I already have too many other hobbies and don't need another one. LOL So I went for the ecoflow. I might one day get a rack mount battery and an all in one mppt/inverter if I decide to get a connex box and set it up with power and a split unit hvac. will see

As for now I like the ecoflow unit. It does what I need and more.

kendive said:

Yea your talking about building your own batteries and all. If you have the time and want to play / experiment go for it.

Me I already have too many other hobbies and don't need another one. LOL So I went for the ecoflow. I might one day get a rack mount battery and an all in one mppt/inverter if I decide to get a connex box and set it up with power and a split unit hvac. will see

As for now I like the ecoflow unit. It does what I need and more.

Click to expand...

I bought the batteries, I am just putting the puzzle together to get the solar energy to the batteries.

xavpil said:

what I meant by regular is connecting the solar panels to MPPTs, then Inverter/charger, BMS, B2B and lithium batteries. A lot of parts to buy and many opportunities to mess up. The EcoFlow seems a great option. I just wonder why nobody in the liveaboard world talks about it. Everybody is putting their system together...
I know in a boat need more power that in a cabin because we have a water maker and a bunch of electronics.
Thx for the input!!

Click to expand...

There's a convenenience to something like an EcoFlow. I don't own one. Have heard both good things and horror stories about them. Basically, they're great until they stop working. They're very expensive for what you get. And they take up space that you may or may not have on a boat. Yes, a system you put together takes up space, too, but it can take up space where YOU want it to (via wires) not a bulky box like the EcoFlow. If you say, "But the EcoFlow is tiny", well that's because so is the battery. It has very very little battery capacity, compared to the 400Ah (or was it 800Ah in your other thread?) you're talking about.

With a modular system, you can control the quality of the components. If you don't intend to need to sail in the boat, you might be happy with the "when is this going to break because it will" EcoFlow Delta, but there is a reason why Victron brand is so popular in the marine crowd. If you build a Victron system (aside the the battery), it will last as long as your boat most likely, or longer I suppose, depending upon the condition of your boat!

Want to sell that EcoFlow? Good luck getting much of your investment back. Victron gear? Unless it's really dated and been replaced by newer technology, it holds it's resale value very well. For a reason.

Is it more complicated to build out such a system? Yes. But it's satisfying. Harder to steal, too, unlike an EcoFlow which is easy to pickup and walk away with, like a laptop.

Tomthumb62 said:

There's a convenenience to something like an EcoFlow. I don't own one. Have heard both good things and horror stories about them. Basically, they're great until they stop working. They're very expensive for what you get. And they take up space that you may or may not have on a boat. Yes, a system you put together takes up space, too, but it can take up space where YOU want it to (via wires) not a bulky box like the EcoFlow. If you say, "But the EcoFlow is tiny", well that's because so is the battery. It has very very little battery capacity, compared to the 400Ah (or was it 800Ah in your other thread?) you're talking about.

With a modular system, you can control the quality of the components. If you don't intend to need to sail in the boat, you might be happy with the "when is this going to break because it will" EcoFlow Delta, but there is a reason why Victron brand is so popular in the marine crowd. If you build a Victron system (aside the the battery), it will last as long as your boat most likely, or longer I suppose, depending upon the condition of your boat!

Want to sell that EcoFlow? Good luck getting much of your investment back. Victron gear? Unless it's really dated and been replaced by newer technology, it holds it's resale value very well. For a reason.

Is it more complicated to build out such a system? Yes. But it's satisfying. Harder to steal, too, unlike an EcoFlow which is easy to pickup and walk away with, like a laptop.

Click to expand...

Great points!!!
You seem pretty knowledgeable. For a 400w panel what Victron MTTP do you recommend?

xavpil said:

Great points!!!
You seem pretty knowledgeable. For a 400w panel what Victron MTTP do you recommend?

Click to expand...

The Victron Smartsolar 100/30. It's what I have. I have 400W of solar on it and will occasionally setup another 200W (600 total) on the ground on days when I need it or want to charge a bit faster.

Tomthumb62 said:

There's a convenience to something like an EcoFlow.

Click to expand...

The main reason for me is portability. EcoFlow is great for that. Yea you can strap all that other stuff to a dolly... Naaa

xavpil said:

what I meant by regular is connecting the solar panels to MPPTs, then Inverter/charger, BMS, B2B and lithium batteries. A lot of parts to buy and many opportunities to mess up. The EcoFlow seems a great option. I just wonder why nobody in the liveaboard world talks about it. Everybody is putting their system together...
I know in a boat need more power that in a cabin because we have a water maker and a bunch of electronics.
Thx for the input!!

Click to expand...

The issue is probably one of parts availability in case of failure. You can prob find replacement Victron parts relatively easily, while travelling globally. If your ecoflow fails while in the Caribbean, you are going to be out of luck. Because the support mechanism is to ship it back to a US address and then they ship you a refurbished/replacement.

I have a Delta 2 max. I highly recommend it, very quiet in operation, not a ton of fan noise like many portables. But would I rely on it on a boat travelling internationally? Maybe if I had a second as a spare. Now if you can rely on generator to keep you going if the ecoflow fails, prob not so bad.

Tomthumb62 said:

The Victron Smartsolar 100/30. It's what I have. I have 400W of solar on it and will occasionally setup another 200W (600 total) on the ground on days when I need it or want to charge a bit faster.

Click to expand...

Thx!

Brucey said:

The issue is probably one of parts availability in case of failure. You can prob find replacement Victron parts relatively easily, while travelling globally. If your ecoflow fails while in the Caribbean, you are going to be out of luck. Because the support mechanism is to ship it back to a US address and then they ship you a refurbished/replacement.

I have a Delta 2 max. I highly recommend it, very quiet in operation, not a ton of fan noise like many portables. But would I rely on it on a boat travelling internationally? Maybe if I had a second as a spare. Now if you can rely on generator to keep you going if the ecoflow fails, prob not so bad.

Click to expand...

Very great point. It is also easier harder to DIY repair where a victory system is all open and all parts accessible and visible

It also depends how much 12 or 24 volt that your boat needs.

A lot of marine stuff is 24 volt so if you don't yet have the inverter, strongly consider to go down that path.

It is easy to get all of the DC that you want from a conventional battery based arrangement, but it is very limiting in most conventional "solar generators" / portable power systems. Often this would mean having the built in inverter on all of the time, vs not needed for a conventional build.

There are a few exceptions but they will not be any lower cost than what you are doing.

One more vote for repair-ability over convenience on the ocean. At least until the Amazon drones can reach the Bahamas.

Biggest difference I see between is applications.

The portable power stations are not meant to be a 24/7 duty cycle piece of equipment. Sure it will work until component failure which is likely battery first. Use it daily and never cycle it I’m betting it dies quickly. That is where your solar panel system has a big advantage. It is also much more customizable.

I was considering a 2kw model to power big things on demand. For the price i could just tie a multiplus II into an existing system or put an AIO on a server rack with much more capacity and longevity.

The smaller ones have too small of battery capacity versus charging rates to really make it worth anything more than a temporary use item on a camping trip imo.

I'm using a Bluetti AC200MAX, as a temporary solution pending installation of a proper house bank.

It was easy enough to install. It sits on a bench, and has a 12VDC output wired to the existing 12V distribution panel, so it'll power the bilge pumps if necessary. I have it's 120VAC charger plugged into a shore power cable. And it works.

But it's far from ideal. The biggest problem is its own parasitic draw. The AC200MAX holds 2048Wh, or 170Ah at 12V. But at full charge, with no charging source, with only itself and DC output connected (the inverter turned off) it will drain itself in three days.

A proper house bank with everything turned off except the bilge pumps will maintain charge for months.

So for me the Bluetti is only temporary.

if it meets your needs and budget awesome! If it sees full charge/discharge often it might last awhile too.

Both have advantages. They are the true AIOs. Highly portable. They meet a variety of application ranges at a decent price point.

In a boating scenario, you should consider the repair/replacement strategy as well as the initial equipment format (components, or AIO-like, or Bluetti-like) & pricing. This is not unlike RV'ing, where you could be out in the middle of nowhere with stuff breaking and needing repairing.

If it can't be repaired yourself, out on the ocean or in other remote locations, and support/service is crummy, then it is problematic at best and dangerous at worst.

As mentioned in above posts, components fit well in complex spaces. Well-known brands for boating & RV'ing are a good start, and a "spares program" is next, plus knowing how to quickly replace something if and when a failure happens at the most inconvenient part of your journey.

Bluetti-like just doesn't seem to fit for many reasons, although they are very sleek, very compact, and have lots of flashing lights and connectivity for a very high price. Threads on this forum abound for the potential problems. They just don't fit in remote scenarios beyond simple camping, unless you make some serious choice trade-offs.

AIO-like is also problematic, and again, threads abound.

Power is just too critical for one to go light on the solution. I'd even consider power generators as appropriate for RV'ing or boating scenarios.

If remote, I'd build the battery-bank to be reconfigurable, using multiple 12v batteries, to get 24v or 12v configurations that you can fall back on. I'd have spare inverters & mppt chargers on the shelf or in storage. Fuses galore. And so on ...

If stationary in some location for long periods of time, I'd have a spares program set up with someone you know and trust who can get a part or replacement to you, with all the details worked out in advance, as the ultimate fallback.

I always think of the Redford boating survival movie when envisioning myself in a remote scenario (on the water) or similar movies if in remote land areas, and try to consider how I'd have backups to the backups, stuffed into every nook and cranny of whatever I was in.

Hope this helps ...

jdege said:

But it's far from ideal. The biggest problem is its own parasitic draw. The AC200MAX holds 2048Wh, or 170Ah at 12V. But at full charge, with no charging source, with only itself and DC output connected (the inverter turned off) it will drain itself in three days.

Click to expand...

Besides the horror stories about support and failures, that's the biggest reason stopping me from buying power stations.

A few portable power stations are designed for use in a high vibration application like a boat, but most are not.