I am looking to power power Starlink internet and charge my laptop when I'm off the grid in my tiny popup camper that stays at our off-grid campsite semi-permanently. The camper has it's own lead-acid battery and power center that powers the water pump and lights and I bring the battery home with me to charge it. The system I want to add is strictly to power Starlink and the Laptop but, if I need emergency power, it'll be there I guess.
My (preferred) idea is to buy a Renogy 100Ah LiFePO4 battery with the direct-connect monitor, a Victron 12/800 inverter, and a Victron 12/15 charger top off the battery between trips. I would permanently mount the inverter with a fuse in the compartment under one of the dinette seats, terminate the wires with an Anderson connector, and do the same on the battery side so I can take the battery with me when I leave and bring it back, charged, when I return. I'd simply drop the battery in its spot, connect the Anderson connectors, flip the switch on the inverter, and connect my devices. In this scenario, I could always add an MPPT and a couple of panels.
This solution makes sense to me but after a lot of reading, it seems like an inverter in an enclosed, non-ventilated space is a bad idea, even if the compartment is pretty large, so it seems like it's not a good (and safe) solution. The compartment is basically a ~4ft long X ~2ft wide plywood box with seat cushions on top. There might be other stuff stored in there but it would never be completely packed. Am I wrong and overthinking this? Is this the way to go? So many videos show huge inverters crammed into tiny spaces with piles of wires and these people are not all burning down their RVs.
Should I just build a portable rig? It seems a DIY in a toolbox is also a bad idea (no ventilation) so the milk crate design seems like the right (but not so elegant) option. I don't love it but it would work. I could simply rig up a battery to an inverter and be done.
I've also been looking at power stations for safety, portability, and ease-of-use but if feels like overkill in terms of the number of outlets and dc ports, which I will never need and I'm also worried about the lifespan of those units. Spending $2,000+ on a Bluetti AC200P, which would be ideal, feels risky. Yes, they use LiFePO4 batteries that will last for thousands of cycles but if anything in the unit fails, I'm left with an expensive brick I can't repair. Therefore, I'm back to my simple setup.
I'm looking for some advice, based on experience. I'm having a very difficult time making a decision because I'm not clear on whether my original idea is actually the right way to go. Thanks for reading.
My (preferred) idea is to buy a Renogy 100Ah LiFePO4 battery with the direct-connect monitor, a Victron 12/800 inverter, and a Victron 12/15 charger top off the battery between trips. I would permanently mount the inverter with a fuse in the compartment under one of the dinette seats, terminate the wires with an Anderson connector, and do the same on the battery side so I can take the battery with me when I leave and bring it back, charged, when I return. I'd simply drop the battery in its spot, connect the Anderson connectors, flip the switch on the inverter, and connect my devices. In this scenario, I could always add an MPPT and a couple of panels.
This solution makes sense to me but after a lot of reading, it seems like an inverter in an enclosed, non-ventilated space is a bad idea, even if the compartment is pretty large, so it seems like it's not a good (and safe) solution. The compartment is basically a ~4ft long X ~2ft wide plywood box with seat cushions on top. There might be other stuff stored in there but it would never be completely packed. Am I wrong and overthinking this? Is this the way to go? So many videos show huge inverters crammed into tiny spaces with piles of wires and these people are not all burning down their RVs.
Should I just build a portable rig? It seems a DIY in a toolbox is also a bad idea (no ventilation) so the milk crate design seems like the right (but not so elegant) option. I don't love it but it would work. I could simply rig up a battery to an inverter and be done.
I've also been looking at power stations for safety, portability, and ease-of-use but if feels like overkill in terms of the number of outlets and dc ports, which I will never need and I'm also worried about the lifespan of those units. Spending $2,000+ on a Bluetti AC200P, which would be ideal, feels risky. Yes, they use LiFePO4 batteries that will last for thousands of cycles but if anything in the unit fails, I'm left with an expensive brick I can't repair. Therefore, I'm back to my simple setup.
I'm looking for some advice, based on experience. I'm having a very difficult time making a decision because I'm not clear on whether my original idea is actually the right way to go. Thanks for reading.