Unpopular opinion: Power Stations/"Solar Generators" are…
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Unpopular opinion: Power Stations/"Solar Generators" are now cheap enough that they are cost-competitive with a DIY system for 90% of people's electrical system needs
**FIGHT ME BRO.**
I know that historically everyone loves to crap on these things as being too expensive for too little capacity. Personally I think there's a lot of gatekeeping in there because a lot of people here are 'sperging nerds who insist that everyone who doesn't enjoy spending hours crimping cables isn't a "real" van-dweller, but whatever.
But over the last few weeks I've been looking at these more as I help a couple friends out with their new vans, and I'm very surprised at how there's a *lot* more options out there and they've gotten *way* less expensive. To the point where for I think for probably 90% of people's needs, one of the medium-to-large power stations can do everything. They'll probably be about the same price as building a system yourself, and they're *SO MUCH EASIER* and faster. Which is a really important factor for those of us who *aren't* autistic nerds who really enjoy doing electrical things.
Up front the cost is probably still a bit higher than just getting some lithium batteries, a charge controller, and inverter, a DC/DC charger (for alternator charging), a shunt, and a bunch of USB ports. But I'm pretty sure that once you add in all of the ancillary crap that we love to pretend doesn't exist (Bus bars, lugs, big fat finger-thick copper cables, circuit breakers, fuse boxes, blah blah blah), the cost differences get a lot smaller.
And again, SO MUCH FASTER and easier.
NOT SPONSORED, NOT AFFILIATION LINKS, but here's a few that I've been looking at as I help friends with builds that seem like they're really decent for great prices.
https://www.pecron.com/collections/power-station < These are what I'm probably helping my friends set up
https://www.ecoflow.com/us/vanlife-roadtrips
https://www.bluettipower.com/collections/power-stations
Historically there were three major limitations to these power stations, but now it seems like they've been solved.
**1. Really lousy capacity/short run-time**
Solution: Now most brands have auxiliary battery packs, vastly expanding the capacity. Again, yes they're expensive compared to a raw battery, but not THAT much more and you don't have to mess with cables and crimps and blah blah. Example here for medium systems: https://www.pecron.com/collections/outdoor-recreation-protable-power-station/products/pecron-e1500lfp-expandable-power-station-2200w-1536wh?variant=42900153565372 or this for a larger system: https://www.pecron.com/products/pecron-e3600lfp-portable-power-station-3600w-3072wh?variant=43882473881788 (again, NOT SPONSORED, not affiliated)
**2. Limited 12v charging**
Many stations can't charge very quickly from 12v power, usually only offering a cigarette lighter plug and the associated 120w limitation. Which would take *freaking days* to charge most stations, making alternator charging while driving very impractical.
Solution: Most MFRs now offer "Alternator Charging" adapters, either built into the units or as an add-on.
Really all these are is a big 12v buck/boost converter that steps voltage up to 20v-40v, and then you input it to the Power Station via the Solar input. Most are in the 500-800w range, which is probably the max I'd recommend pulling off of most vehicle alternators (unless you've got a dual-alternator setup or aftermarket high-output alternator or something.)
Examples:
https://www.pecron.com/products/pecron-500w-car-charger-dc1242-500-for-car-rv-van
https://us.ecoflow.com/products/800w-alternator-charger?variant=41064248836169
**3. Limited 12v Output**
This is probably the least-solved problem. Many power stations don't provide anything more than a cig lighter 12v outlet, which is a maximum of 120w. It's enough for lights and maybe a small fridge, but the biggest problem is you can't run a diesel heater (as their startup/shutdown process takes ~180w to run the glow plug).
A *few* power stations are now offering 30amp 12v outputs, usually via an XT60 connector. Pecron is the brand I've seen be the best about this, starting with their kinda medium-sized units and up. I think this is their smallest unit that I've seen offer it: https://www.pecron.com/collections/outdoor-recreation-protable-power-station/products/pecron-e1500lfp-expandable-power-station-2200w-1536wh?variant=42739059327164
That gives you a 360w 12v capacity, which is a lot more capable in terms of running a small house power system with some lights, a 12v fridge, diesel heater, phone/table charging, kitchen water pump, etc. The assumption is here that any of your other large power needs (gaming laptops, electric tea kettles, etc) will be connected to the power station directly.
**Situations where a power station will still CLEARLY not work**
I think the larger your electrical needs are, the less viable a power station will be. The two biggest use cases I can think of where building your own system will be *so much* cheaper is going to be:
* Running Off-Grid 12v A/C systems
* Doing extensive cooking with electricity
But for anyone who's doing anything smaller than that . . . I'm seeing less and less reason to built your own systems.
I built my van in 2021/2022, and did the entire thing myself. And honestly I'm happy with it, it works, and I'm a giant nerd so I *enjoy* wiring and cabling and the logic of it all.
But I think if I were starting over from square one these days . . . I'd just do a power station and some battery packs. It would take what was a 1-week project and turn it into a 20-minute job.
ANYWAY! DISCUSS! Flame me with your hatred for these power stations and let's make up all sorts of whackadoodle edge cases why you absolutely *CANNOT* use a power station and *MUST* spend an entire month of your life diagramming and planning and connecting to fit your weird little special-snowflake fire hazard electrical systems!
#lifestyle
source
**FIGHT ME BRO.**
I know that historically everyone loves to crap on these things as being too expensive for too little capacity. Personally I think there's a lot of gatekeeping in there because a lot of people here are 'sperging nerds who insist that everyone who doesn't enjoy spending hours crimping cables isn't a "real" van-dweller, but whatever.
But over the last few weeks I've been looking at these more as I help a couple friends out with their new vans, and I'm very surprised at how there's a *lot* more options out there and they've gotten *way* less expensive. To the point where for I think for probably 90% of people's needs, one of the medium-to-large power stations can do everything. They'll probably be about the same price as building a system yourself, and they're *SO MUCH EASIER* and faster. Which is a really important factor for those of us who *aren't* autistic nerds who really enjoy doing electrical things.
Up front the cost is probably still a bit higher than just getting some lithium batteries, a charge controller, and inverter, a DC/DC charger (for alternator charging), a shunt, and a bunch of USB ports. But I'm pretty sure that once you add in all of the ancillary crap that we love to pretend doesn't exist (Bus bars, lugs, big fat finger-thick copper cables, circuit breakers, fuse boxes, blah blah blah), the cost differences get a lot smaller.
And again, SO MUCH FASTER and easier.
NOT SPONSORED, NOT AFFILIATION LINKS, but here's a few that I've been looking at as I help friends with builds that seem like they're really decent for great prices.
https://www.pecron.com/collections/power-station < These are what I'm probably helping my friends set up
https://www.ecoflow.com/us/vanlife-roadtrips
https://www.bluettipower.com/collections/power-stations
Historically there were three major limitations to these power stations, but now it seems like they've been solved.
**1. Really lousy capacity/short run-time**
Solution: Now most brands have auxiliary battery packs, vastly expanding the capacity. Again, yes they're expensive compared to a raw battery, but not THAT much more and you don't have to mess with cables and crimps and blah blah. Example here for medium systems: https://www.pecron.com/collections/outdoor-recreation-protable-power-station/products/pecron-e1500lfp-expandable-power-station-2200w-1536wh?variant=42900153565372 or this for a larger system: https://www.pecron.com/products/pecron-e3600lfp-portable-power-station-3600w-3072wh?variant=43882473881788 (again, NOT SPONSORED, not affiliated)
**2. Limited 12v charging**
Many stations can't charge very quickly from 12v power, usually only offering a cigarette lighter plug and the associated 120w limitation. Which would take *freaking days* to charge most stations, making alternator charging while driving very impractical.
Solution: Most MFRs now offer "Alternator Charging" adapters, either built into the units or as an add-on.
Really all these are is a big 12v buck/boost converter that steps voltage up to 20v-40v, and then you input it to the Power Station via the Solar input. Most are in the 500-800w range, which is probably the max I'd recommend pulling off of most vehicle alternators (unless you've got a dual-alternator setup or aftermarket high-output alternator or something.)
Examples:
https://www.pecron.com/products/pecron-500w-car-charger-dc1242-500-for-car-rv-van
https://us.ecoflow.com/products/800w-alternator-charger?variant=41064248836169
**3. Limited 12v Output**
This is probably the least-solved problem. Many power stations don't provide anything more than a cig lighter 12v outlet, which is a maximum of 120w. It's enough for lights and maybe a small fridge, but the biggest problem is you can't run a diesel heater (as their startup/shutdown process takes ~180w to run the glow plug).
A *few* power stations are now offering 30amp 12v outputs, usually via an XT60 connector. Pecron is the brand I've seen be the best about this, starting with their kinda medium-sized units and up. I think this is their smallest unit that I've seen offer it: https://www.pecron.com/collections/outdoor-recreation-protable-power-station/products/pecron-e1500lfp-expandable-power-station-2200w-1536wh?variant=42739059327164
That gives you a 360w 12v capacity, which is a lot more capable in terms of running a small house power system with some lights, a 12v fridge, diesel heater, phone/table charging, kitchen water pump, etc. The assumption is here that any of your other large power needs (gaming laptops, electric tea kettles, etc) will be connected to the power station directly.
**Situations where a power station will still CLEARLY not work**
I think the larger your electrical needs are, the less viable a power station will be. The two biggest use cases I can think of where building your own system will be *so much* cheaper is going to be:
* Running Off-Grid 12v A/C systems
* Doing extensive cooking with electricity
But for anyone who's doing anything smaller than that . . . I'm seeing less and less reason to built your own systems.
I built my van in 2021/2022, and did the entire thing myself. And honestly I'm happy with it, it works, and I'm a giant nerd so I *enjoy* wiring and cabling and the logic of it all.
But I think if I were starting over from square one these days . . . I'd just do a power station and some battery packs. It would take what was a 1-week project and turn it into a 20-minute job.
ANYWAY! DISCUSS! Flame me with your hatred for these power stations and let's make up all sorts of whackadoodle edge cases why you absolutely *CANNOT* use a power station and *MUST* spend an entire month of your life diagramming and planning and connecting to fit your weird little special-snowflake fire hazard electrical systems!
#lifestyle
source
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