Hi!
I am a chocolatier based in the UK who has spent the last two days trying to filter the wealth of information out there on various channels to help me build a portable DIY solar battery to help power appliances on my market stall in the summer months.
As a chocolatier my product is incredibly heat sensitive and my only point of trade at the moment is the markets that I attend in Kent and Greater London. I was at a market last weekend and watched some stock melt before my eyes which made me think that trading chocolate in the warmer months coming up is not the best idea. I made some calls and have secured a fresh fruit supplier to enable me to sell melted chocolate covered fruit; kind of like a fondue.
This is all well and good except that most of the markets I attend do not supply power and will not allow petrol generators. On this basis I have been racking my brains trying to figure out the "best" solar battery to buy off the shelf out of Bluetti, Jackery, Ecoflow etc.
I was just about to pull the trigger on a refurbished Ecoflow when I wondered about building one myself. Having watched multiple videos I kind of feel lost!!! The majority of the videos are for the States (I am UK based) which raises questions regarding the viability of builds done for the States that would translate to the UK in terms of comparable parts and most importantly safety testing. This build will have to pass PAT testing if I am to use it at markets.
The equipment I would want to power are two chocolate melters which are 200w and one ikea 700w microwave. The melters would be used continuously for a minimum of 4 hours and a maximum of 8. The microwave used to initially melt the chocolate quickly to get up and running.
I could use the melters on full power (60 degrees centigrade) to get the chocolate melted and then turn them down to 30 to keep the chocolate fluid. In this case I would happily not bring the microwave at all. I was also going to only use one melter but would like a battery that would accommodate two to future proof.
I would likely want to charge my phone during the day which is a Pixel 6 30w (I think).
I would like the system to be weather resistant and rugged as I will be dragging it around markets all summer. It does not need to be waterproof as I will be trading under gazebos.
Other features that are desirable are pass through charging, charging from car cigarette lighter, portable enough (I can put it in a trolley to take it to the stall), safe enough to pass PAT testing, at least two plug points for the melters.
If anyone could give me some starting points it would be much appreciated. Even if there is more you need to know from me as i am struggling to navigate UK based specific info on Youtube.
I am a chocolatier based in the UK who has spent the last two days trying to filter the wealth of information out there on various channels to help me build a portable DIY solar battery to help power appliances on my market stall in the summer months.
As a chocolatier my product is incredibly heat sensitive and my only point of trade at the moment is the markets that I attend in Kent and Greater London. I was at a market last weekend and watched some stock melt before my eyes which made me think that trading chocolate in the warmer months coming up is not the best idea. I made some calls and have secured a fresh fruit supplier to enable me to sell melted chocolate covered fruit; kind of like a fondue.
This is all well and good except that most of the markets I attend do not supply power and will not allow petrol generators. On this basis I have been racking my brains trying to figure out the "best" solar battery to buy off the shelf out of Bluetti, Jackery, Ecoflow etc.
I was just about to pull the trigger on a refurbished Ecoflow when I wondered about building one myself. Having watched multiple videos I kind of feel lost!!! The majority of the videos are for the States (I am UK based) which raises questions regarding the viability of builds done for the States that would translate to the UK in terms of comparable parts and most importantly safety testing. This build will have to pass PAT testing if I am to use it at markets.
The equipment I would want to power are two chocolate melters which are 200w and one ikea 700w microwave. The melters would be used continuously for a minimum of 4 hours and a maximum of 8. The microwave used to initially melt the chocolate quickly to get up and running.
I could use the melters on full power (60 degrees centigrade) to get the chocolate melted and then turn them down to 30 to keep the chocolate fluid. In this case I would happily not bring the microwave at all. I was also going to only use one melter but would like a battery that would accommodate two to future proof.
I would likely want to charge my phone during the day which is a Pixel 6 30w (I think).
I would like the system to be weather resistant and rugged as I will be dragging it around markets all summer. It does not need to be waterproof as I will be trading under gazebos.
Other features that are desirable are pass through charging, charging from car cigarette lighter, portable enough (I can put it in a trolley to take it to the stall), safe enough to pass PAT testing, at least two plug points for the melters.
If anyone could give me some starting points it would be much appreciated. Even if there is more you need to know from me as i am struggling to navigate UK based specific info on Youtube.
