Looking to create a system or buy a portable power station that offers direct solar/battery as backup.

[Nonlin]

It started with looking at buying a portable power station as an all in one system that is missing only the solar panels.

From there I learned that some systems don't offer solar charging while battery is discharging.

And from there I learned while some systems do that, other portable power stations won't let you skip the battery while solar is still going strong to save you on some battery cycles.

So if there isn't a perfect portable power station with those features, what exactly could I buy to build my own version of what I want? or does it not exist?

Note I'm looking to start small so I already have two 450 Watt Solar Panels.

A build like this

is tempting but I need a Hybrid Inverter/Controller than can handle just two panels in series roughly 80 VOC.

 

[chrisski]

Price wise, the all in ones are hard to beat, all with some you may not be able to charge your batteries and take solar from the SCC at the same time.

Building one yourself gets you what you need.

I built a 300 watt constant solar generator so I could cook with a crock pot. I wanted enough solar to be able to run it without dipping into a rather small battery pack.

I ended up with a 24 volt 50 h battery pack built from top brand 25 ah cells, a Victron 75/15 SCC, combiner capable of up to 9 X 100 watt panels built 3S3P so I only need to hook panels up as needed depending on how long I will cook for and how long it’ll be out for and the weather. I have no need for a charger, but could easily add one.

Crate Build: 1200 wh, 24 Volt, 300 Watt Inverter.

I have finished my crate build: Originally a Crate Build: 600 wh, 24 Volt, 300 Watt Inverter, and put a second battery pack to make 1200 wh Goal was to continuously supply 250 watts of power which could get recharged simultaneously by 600 watts of panels. I will call that a success with a test...

diysolarforum.com

 

[Pi Curio]

It started with looking at buying a portable power station as an all in one system that is missing only the solar panels.

From there I learned that some systems don't offer solar charging while battery is discharging.

And from there I learned while some systems do that, other portable power stations won't let you skip the battery while solar is still going strong to save you on some battery cycles.

So if there isn't a perfect portable power station with those features, what exactly could I buy to build my own version of what I want? or does it not exist?

Note I'm looking to start small so I already have two 450 Watt Solar Panels.

A build like this

is tempting but I need a Hybrid Inverter/Controller than can handle just two panels in series roughly 80 VOC.

What kind of devices are you looking to power with solar, power audit?

 

[SamDeleted]

All you need is an 'all in one' inverter (hybrid inverter), a battery , fuses and some cables

 

[Nonlin]

What kind of devices are you looking to power with solar, power audit?

Trickle charge my car with its slow 120V-15-20amp AC charger for as long as there is sunlight with a small 2-3kWh battery for backup should we need it during an outage.

 

[Nonlin]

All you need is an 'all in one' inverter (hybrid inverter), a battery , fuses and some cables

Yeah I'm looking around to try and find something to suite me, but all the All in one inverters I find seem to require > 120 VOC which I'm not looking to do atm with just two panels.

Looking for separate parts but trying to make sense of MPPT Charge Controllers + Inverters. This will also be done for learning as I'm still coming to grips with terms/setup.

My confusion is IDK if any MPPT CC + Inverter will charge a battery and then once battery is fully charged skip the battery and just power devices direct from solar with no manual intervention required saving on battery cycles.

 

[SamDeleted]

My confusion is IDK if any MPPT CC + Inverter will charge a battery and then once battery is fully charged skip the battery and just power devices direct from solar with no manual intervention required saving on battery cycles.

Yes mppt will supply loads directly and as a priority

So long as solar production is sufficient to the cover load, battery will be unaffected

This is all automatically done by voltage levels

 

[AZ Solar Junkie]

It started with looking at buying a portable power station as an all in one system that is missing only the solar panels.

From there I learned that some systems don't offer solar charging while battery is discharging.

And from there I learned while some systems do that, other portable power stations won't let you skip the battery while solar is still going strong to save you on some battery cycles.

So if there isn't a perfect portable power station with those features, what exactly could I buy to build my own version of what I want? or does it not exist?

Note I'm looking to start small so I already have two 450 Watt Solar Panels.

A build like this

is tempting but I need a Hybrid Inverter/Controller than can handle just two panels in series roughly 80 VOC.

I started out with the EcoFlow Delta 2 Max which does everything you are wanting. I moved away from it to an all-in-one with external batteries because I needed more of everything - the EcoFlow unit maxes out at 1000 watts of solar input, has a 2.1kWh internal battery (can add a maximum of 2 more external batteries with the same capacity), and I believe it's 2.8kW continuous AC output. It will charge from solar and discharge at the same time, as well as do AC bypass - sending the output directly from the AC input without touching the battery if you want.

If you don't need more capacity than those limits, I highly recommend it for its flexibility and simplicity. It has 2 solar chargers in it - each maxes out as 500 watts / 60 volts VoC. Just keep in mind you won't be able to grow the system beyond those limits.

If you had more solar voltage I would still recommend going with the all in ones, as you'll have more options and capacity and the ability to expand the system as needed, but given you don't have the minimum voltage that most of them need to charge they're probably not really an option for you...

 

[Nonlin]

I started out with the EcoFlow Delta 2 Max which does everything you are wanting. I moved away from it to an all-in-one with external batteries because I needed more of everything - the EcoFlow unit maxes out at 1000 watts of solar input, has a 2.1kWh internal battery (can add a maximum of 2 more external batteries with the same capacity), and I believe it's 2.8kW continuous AC output. It will charge from solar and discharge at the same time, as well as do AC bypass - sending the output directly from the AC input without touching the battery if you want.

If you don't need more capacity than those limits, I highly recommend it for its flexibility and simplicity. It has 2 solar chargers in it - each maxes out as 500 watts / 60 volts VoC. Just keep in mind you won't be able to grow the system beyond those limits.

If you had more solar voltage I would still recommend going with the all in ones, as you'll have more options and capacity and the ability to expand the system as needed, but given you don't have the minimum voltage that most of them need to charge they're probably not really an option for you...

The EcoFlow is almost perfect except I don't want to touch AC at all. So the AC bypass/direct isn't what I want, I'm looking for solar direct/bypass.

 

[Brucey]

I started out with the EcoFlow Delta 2 Max which does everything you are wanting. I moved away from it to an all-in-one with external batteries because I needed more of everything - the EcoFlow unit maxes out at 1000 watts of solar input, has a 2.1kWh internal battery (can add a maximum of 2 more external batteries with the same capacity), and I believe it's 2.8kW continuous AC output. It will charge from solar and discharge at the same time, as well as do AC bypass - sending the output directly from the AC input without touching the battery if you want.

If you don't need more capacity than those limits, I highly recommend it for its flexibility and simplicity. It has 2 solar chargers in it - each maxes out as 500 watts / 60 volts VoC. Just keep in mind you won't be able to grow the system beyond those limits.

If you had more solar voltage I would still recommend going with the all in ones, as you'll have more options and capacity and the ability to expand the system as needed, but given you don't have the minimum voltage that most of them need to charge they're probably not really an option for you...

You can expand the d2m but it's not totally plug and play like the d2m extended batteries. Basically you switch to using an outboard SCC and use the d2m mppt inputs for the expansion.

Connect a 48V 100Ah rack battery (one or more) to both of its 500W solar inputs. Connect solar panels to SCC connected to the 48V batteries.

The downside is the 1000W limit, if your base load is over that then the outboard battery won't be able to keep up and the d2m battery will slowly drop in charge. Versus the d2m extended battery which can support the full 2400W rated load. But you are talking $1099 for an Ecoflow 2kWh extended battery versus say $1400 for a 5kWh rack mount battery and $200 for an MPPT controller.

 

[Brucey]

The EcoFlow is almost perfect except I don't want to touch AC at all. So the AC bypass/direct isn't what I want, I'm looking for solar direct/bypass.

The d2m will do what you are looking for without grid input. Use DC input to charge, supplementing with battery as needed.

 

[MadCityJack]

You can expand the d2m but it's not totally plug and play like the d2m extended batteries. Basically you switch to using an outboard SCC and use the d2m mppt inputs for the expansion.

Connect a 48V 100Ah rack battery (one or more) to both of its 500W solar inputs. Connect solar panels to SCC connected to the 48V batteries.

The downside is the 1000W limit, if your base load is over that then the outboard battery won't be able to keep up and the d2m battery will slowly drop in charge. Versus the d2m extended battery which can support the full 2400W rated load. But you are talking $1099 for an Ecoflow 2kWh extended battery versus say $1400 for a 5kWh rack mount battery and $200 for an MPPT controller.

I have the D2M and two 12v 100ah, each separately connected to the independent DC inputs. (One battery is from my DIY solar station set up, the other from my camper in winter.) Combined I get about 375 watts input To the D2M. The AC output from the D2M goes to a 6 circuit manual transfer switch for various home appliances, including two sump pumps, two fridges, etc. Given the fridge compressors go on and off, the batteries almost keep up, but yes there is a decline in the D2M battery. I’ve been thinking about getting one 48 volt backup battery in this application but haven’t yet made the jump. I am not interested in the EF EBs because they have no separate way of charging them or have independent applications, especially for their price. I also have a couple of D2s that I alternate for camping backup and will use to supplement off grid power at home, if necessary.

 

[Brucey]

I have the D2M and two 12v 100ah, each separately connected to the independent DC inputs. (One battery is from my DIY solar station set up, the other from my camper in winter.) Combined I get about 375 watts input To the D2M. The AC output from the D2M goes to a 6 circuit manual transfer switch for various home appliances, including two sump pumps, two fridges, etc. Given the fridge compressors go on and off, the batteries almost keep up, but yes there is a decline in the D2M battery. I’ve been thinking about getting one 48 volt backup battery in this application but haven’t yet made the jump. I am not interested in the EF EBs because they have no separate way of charging them or have independent applications, especially for their price. I also have a couple of D2s that I alternate for camping backup and will use to supplement off grid power at home, if necessary.

Have you considered putting the two 12V in series for 24V nominal? And then run two xt60i connections, one to each mppt port. Should double your input rate to the d2m.

 

[Brucey]

Alternatively one of these 48V 50Ah for $460 is a pretty good fit.

https://www.amazon.com/DC-HOUSE-Perfectly-Trolling-Off-grid/dp/B0CL9BMYZW

 

[MadCityJack]

Have you considered putting the two 12V in series for 24V nominal? And then run two xt60i connections, one to each mppt port. Should double your input rate to the d2m.

I've read on this forum that if you have separate solar controllers, each has to have their own unique solar array. If you assume that the 12v batteries in series are providing input to the solar controllers as if they were a single solar array, it would not work. see: can-i-use-2-different-voltage-mppt-controllers-on-one-solar-array-at-the-same-time.22590 What are your thoughts?

 

[Brucey]

I've read on this forum that if you have separate solar controllers, each has to have their own unique solar array. If you assume that the 12v batteries in series are providing input to the solar controllers as if they were a single solar array, it would not work. see: can-i-use-2-different-voltage-mppt-controllers-on-one-solar-array-at-the-same-time.22590 What are your thoughts?

I don't believe that rule would apply to an LFP battery bank. It's steady state like a power supply versus the constant variations a solar panel(s) will have into an SCC. I will test it out next week on my d2m with a pair of 12s at 24.

 

[MadCityJack]

Alternatively one of these 48V 50Ah for $460 is a pretty good fit.

https://www.amazon.com/DC-HOUSE-Perfectly-Trolling-Off-grid/dp/B0CL9BMYZW

Good price for that many watt hours. With the D2 Max, one input could come from the above unit and the other from the 12v battery backup.

 

[Brucey]

Best bang for kWh wise is this one as far as I can find, but 12V so slow charging to d2m. Of course a few in series....

 

[MadCityJack]

I don't believe that rule would apply to an LFP battery bank. It's steady state like a power supply versus the constant variations a solar panel(s) will have into an SCC. I will test it out next week on my d2m with a pair of 12s at 24.

If I understand your proposal, if the rule did not apply (and I'm not sure why it wouldn't), you would be simply draining the batteries at double the rate by doubling the amperage pull. What you are proposing would theoretically pull 720 watts. In my configuration, I can only get half that. It's an interesting test your planning. Because one of my batteries will be going back into the camper, keeping on separate circuits, simplified the set up and take down. If I wanted higher wattage output, I would simply get a step up converter or a higher voltage battery.