Road Tripping with SOK lifepo4

[ecaryn]

We are planning a road trip that we expect to last about 3 months across a range of different temperatures and elevations. Pretty rustic outdoorsy experience with tent camping in remote wilderness locales with just the occasional hotel stay every now and again when necessary. We've got an SOK 12v 206AH lithium battery (purchased for a different purpose) that I want to take with us primarily to operate my husband's CPAP machine each night but also to charge rechargeable lights, batteries, laptop, etc as needed. What's the most basic setup recommended to keep the SOK charged and in good condition? A couple solar panels on the roof and the battery just sitting in the back of our SUV kind of simple set up, nothing really built out. Thanks for your help!

 

[Nobodybusiness]

We are planning a road trip that we expect to last about 3 months across a range of different temperatures and elevations. Pretty rustic outdoorsy experience with tent camping in remote wilderness locales with just the occasional hotel stay every now and again when necessary. We've got an SOK 12v 206AH lithium battery (purchased for a different purpose) that I want to take with us primarily to operate my husband's CPAP machine each night but also to charge rechargeable lights, batteries, laptop, etc as needed. What's the most basic setup recommended to keep the SOK charged and in good condition? A couple solar panels on the roof and the battery just sitting in the back of our SUV kind of simple set up, nothing really built out. Thanks for your help!

If your going to use panels you need some type of Charge controller.
Can’t just plug the panels into the battery.

 

[mikefitz]

A charge controller will be needed to charge the battery either from the vehicle when the engine is running or from solar panels.
Power use discussion.

Battery Operation of CPAP Devices for Sleep Apnea Treatment, Part 3--Very Technical Notes

If the CPAP is AC powered then a converter from battery volts to the AC volts is needed, this device in called an inverter.

Unless you have electrical skills or access to help in this area may be better to consider using one of the many available 'power stations' .

Mike

 

[rmaddy]

Depending on your daily power usage and on how often you will be driving, it might make things a lot simpler to charge the battery while driving and forget about solar.

 

[12VoltInstalls]

Depending on your daily power usage and on how often you will be driving, it might make things a lot simpler to charge the battery while driving and forget about solar.

True, but if boon-docked in a tent a few days… you might want some recharge.

Personally I hate the portable power stations. A lot of money for not much and you have a great battery.

More panel watts would be appropriate for a “good system” but not necessarily for your goals. For <$300 you can get two 100W panels, cables, and a basic charge controller programmable for your battery. That’s going to keep you going for days assuming the cpap is 12VDC.
Add a small pure-sine inverter that includes usb charging as a bonus for only $50

If the cpap is 19VDC or 24VDC, you’ll probably want a larger 12V-120VAC inverter capable of enough watts to run it but it sounds like you already have it figured out for 12V? Which is the most efficient way if possible to run off 12VDC directly.

In short, you’ll have way more usable flexibility if you add 200W of panels and a charge controller with that small inverter and spend less than the suitcase battery powerstation thingies. You have a good battery already!

ADDED STUFF
On amazonian the windyNation 200W kit with the P30L pwm charge controller might be worth looking at. I believe you can program out the ‘equalize’ (death for lithium) and I know you can set the voltages, etc. That was my first solar purchase and it did very well for the two years I used it.
But if you bought the two pak of windyNation monocrystaline panels they are smaller, and the 10A Epever charge controller I think is like $60. Buy some cables and that inverter, and come up with something to hold the panels (bungee cords to a tree!) and you’re in business for not much money.

 

[Tim Tim]

We are planning a road trip that we expect to last about 3 months across a range of different temperatures and elevations. Pretty rustic outdoorsy experience with tent camping in remote wilderness locales with just the occasional hotel stay every now and again when necessary. We've got an SOK 12v 206AH lithium battery (purchased for a different purpose) that I want to take with us primarily to operate my husband's CPAP machine each night but also to charge rechargeable lights, batteries, laptop, etc as needed. What's the most basic setup recommended to keep the SOK charged and in good condition? A couple solar panels on the roof and the battery just sitting in the back of our SUV kind of simple set up, nothing really built out. Thanks for your help!

I see you have been given one technical link but here is another explanation on calculation of power that you use.

https://cpapsupplies.com/blog/power-cpap-rv

Solar panels on roof means they may not get the best output for you plus you have to consider where you park your SUV and shading. 12Volt Installs has given you some good pointers regarding panels or maybe a suitcase style portable panel with preferably a solar controller that is suitable for Lithium to make any programming easier for you. Plus of course an extension cable to give you flexibility of where you place the panels. A pure sine wave inverter with a wattage slightly higher than any appliance that you are using.

If you tell us the make and model of the CPAP machine we may be able to calculate the approximate power usage for you.