Just picked up a Power station

[jimaok1961]

Thanks! Just ordered!

Did you get a chance to try that extension cable? How did the solar panels work for you? Mine were pretty good even though I had some trees partially blocking the sun.

 

[pastera]

Will Prowse DIY Solar on YouTube is the best channel for solar and battery info/reviews. His videos are not full of fluff and he tests everything himself and does teardowns. I built our house's off grid system using his design at the time (EG4 6500s).

LiFePO4 are the batteries to buy *if* you can keep them above 32F. They cannot be charged in freezing temps, it harms the batteries. Which is why you don't see them in US electric cars.

If you want something for cold temps unfortunately nothing beats lead acid. Golf cart batteries are the best.

An insulated enclosure and temperature control is an easy way around cold gating.
Keeping the batteries above freezing usually takes less energy than the excess loss from use at the lower temperatures.
Haven't done this with Lithium batteries but have done it for alkaline battery packs used for artic data collection.

 

[Night_solstice]

Did you get a chance to try that extension cable? How did the solar panels work for you? Mine were pretty good even though I had some trees partially blocking the sun.

I tried it the other day and worked great. I've used the panels twice now to recharge, once with and once without the extension. I just set them up and left them out so I didn't monitor how quickly it charged, but when I checked later in the afternoon it was fully charged, and one of the days was fairly cloudy (sun would go in and out). the unit worked great in the RV, we ran the TV, DVD player, Internet, and charged her cell phone all afternoon/evening, and my wife plugged in the coffee maker in the morning to make coffee, and I was low 80's - high 70's for remaining power.

 

[jimaok1961]

I tried it the other day and worked great. I've used the panels twice now to recharge, once with and once without the extension. I just set them up and left them out so I didn't monitor how quickly it charged, but when I checked later in the afternoon it was fully charged, and one of the days was fairly cloudy (sun would go in and out). the unit worked great in the RV, we ran the TV, DVD player, Internet, and charged her cell phone all afternoon/evening, and my wife plugged in the coffee maker in the morning to make coffee, and I was low 80's - high 70's for remaining power.

When these solar generators 1st came out, I thought they were junk. Why spend the money on this when you could just build a small solar set up. But now that I have one, the portability, simplicity and usefulness is off the chart. Mine is only a mid size(1000), but I only use it for small appliances like my cpap, or charging aa batteries, if we lose power. But just a little bigger and you can power your refrigerator, and if you had an electrician rig your furnace, you could flip the circut breaker and plug your furnace into it. All you would need is to run the fridge and the furnace 1 hour every 6 hours, and you would be able to keep them going indefinitely.

 

[Night_solstice]

I was really surprised how popular they are in the RV groups. Plus many of them are using the panels to charge their house batteries when not recharging the actual devices, which is something I'm looking into for next season to try.

 

[nullpointer]

An insulated enclosure and temperature control is an easy way around cold gating.
Keeping the batteries above freezing usually takes less energy than the excess loss from use at the lower temperatures.
Haven't done this with Lithium batteries but have done it for alkaline battery packs used for artic data collection.

Many current LiFePo4 batteries are self-heating. I ran a Kilovault HLX through a full winter in my off-grid NH telco shack, and it worked fine. The battery was stored in a triple-insulated foam box to help retain heat. They don't need to be vented, so easier than lead acid to keep warm. The internal BMS simply uses the solar charge power to heat up the cells to above freezing prior to applying the charge.

The insulated battery box:

 

[fshalor]

My jetboil stove boils 2 cups of water in about a minute, and packs up with fuel really small.

Can you get replacement fuel if there is no shipping network running? Asking for a friend.

 

[fshalor]

This is reminding me I need to rig my HVAC for the generator and see how much it draws...

And buy an insert for the fireplace.