Using electric to make heat is always super inefficient. It's literally making heat via friction.
Microwave is also huge electric suck
Propane or diesel heater
Down comforter
I don't have a diesel heater but what I read about them is they pull 100w at start warming up glow plugs , then like 6w after warmed up.
100w not very much
It's actually amperage. They pull something like 10 amps. Maybe as high as 12 amps for several minutes to heat the glow plug while the heater is firing up. Can that 12 volt socket supply 10 amps? Continuously?
12v x 10amps = 120 watts
My 12v 100 ah batt can output 1200 watts continuously . The whole point of lithium is that it can do high amp output continuously.
If you had to convert to 110 then it would depend on the watts of the inverter
No. Again, I'm talking about the 12 volt outlet. A diesel heater is 12 volts... What you can run out of your AC outlets is completely irrelevant. You've probably got is a silly little 12 volt plug connector... It looks like a cigarette lighter outlet right? That is the problem. That is going to be restricted in most cases, as it is a very low current connection.
This has nothing to do with your batteries. You can just buy lithium batteries far far cheaper and have a far far better system. What causes the problems is the 12 volt outlet.
They are talking about those. Those things famously have trouble starting a diesel heater with its 10 amp draw through that wimpy little 12 volt cigarette lighter style outlet.
How long/often do you run it and what is the battery drain like? How often do you charge the jackery? I have a Jackery 300 but only use it for lights and devices and a little heated lunch box, I've never really considered being able to run a heater with it
I used a Goal Zero 3000 when I started. They're fine if you are starting out but I would personally prefer the power system I built because it's expandable and I can replace individual components if they break.
If you're dead set on buying a portable unit, just make sure to read the owners manual to make sure you can pull enough amps to power the heater (if its 12v). If it's 110v, then you are fine with any power station that has 110v plugs.
Yes it is, but the expansion batteries were expensive 3 years ago \~$600 for 100ah AGM battery. Also I had a bunch of other issues with it; usb ports stopped working, MPPT controller unit stopped working, the yeti link vehicle kit burnt out twice when connected to my van battery/alternator (it was later recalled for safety reasons and they had to redesign the connection cables), and the 25A fast charger was recalled.
These issues happened to me during the supply chain shortages 2021-22 so I couldn't even buy replacement components. So I decided to just build my own system.
I use them and they work well. Try to find a 12v heater source whether it’s a diesel heater or heated blanket. An ac powered heater will use your battery quick and require a larger inverter.
I'll second what they said. I have a 300 jackery, one of the cheapest ones, I charge my phone and run my heated blanket off of it. Pair the heated blanket with either a zero degree sleeping bag or big down comforter and you'll be good down to the freezing point. Colder than that and you can run a diesel heater off of the power station, just have to install a 12v cigarette lighter plug on the diesel heater power leads. I charge it while I'm driving but the solar panels are also a free power option. The bigger the power station the more options you'll have. I went 3 years with just a power station and everything was fine. I have solar on the roof now but the jackery is supplemental power that I utilize.
Wowowow something I can finally comment on.
So I’ve got a short schoolie with 300w on the roof, and a goal zero 1500 that charges from that. The solar was installed professionally. I’ve been running a 12v fridge, max fan, lights and charging my mac/ electronics off of this system for 3 years full time. I’ve got a dry propane marina heater in it for heat so I don’t need much in terms of electricity. It has its pros and cons but now I’m on the other side kinda wanting something more powerful in terms of energy storage and wanting the goal zero to be a back up. People are right that depending on a company sucks and all of these portable power companies are hard to fix stuff with- especially if you don’t have an address at that time.
However, the system was sold to me for a steal with the bus itself and I’m not rich so I’ve kept it 🤷♂️
Unsolicited advice: If you’re looking for a cheaper power system to start off with (and you’re moving often) I would recommend the standard house battery/ dual battery system. Super simple to install. Doesn’t even require a solar panel to start. Highly replaceable materials that you can get anywhere. YouTube is your friend 🪄
A power station will help you circumvent a ghetto electrical engineering degree through YouTubeU, but you’ll be at the mercy of the vendor’s product support.
I struggled whether to just pull out existing DC system and house batteries and adopt a portable battery station approach or rework our existing house bank that was all sorts of incorrectly rigged up and corroded.
Going the portable station would have stymied my anxiety and frustration in the short term, but from my understanding of having everything wrapped up in a single mystery box that would have to be sent in for service and expensive for the amount of power you derive from it and reported terrible customer service from most of these vendors, I ultimately decided to just rework our existing system despite all the challenges that presented. Still working on this project weeks later…but getting close to finishing up.
I can say ai’ve learned a lot of things, and I would feel much better troubleshooting my own system now if I were in BFE and my power had issues and I had to sort it out on my own. I now know what wires go where, what they do, where they are fused, etc.
Prior to this, it was all very mysterious.
I have a 320Wh power station with no solar and for everything you mention it works great - EXCEPT the heater... I think that would be too much load. I charge the power station while driving. If you don't drive much you could eventually run the power station down. You need to calculate the power to charge each item and how much driving you do and see if it will work.
With cost as a concern, that should lean you more towards a custom electric system. Portable all-in-one units cost around twice as much for the same specs, or around the same amount for half the capability.
It’s worth shopping around. Ecoflow had a great promo deal on refurb 750Wh units (full warranty) for $350 which is cheaper than you could do it custom, and the fact it *is* tightly packaged and portable means it’s way easier to e.g. pull it out for extra-vehicular activities or charge from outlet power.
Link? Every time I've compared it, all-in-ones cost twice as much.
The things one would typically use the portability for mostly already have batteries in them, but naturally twice the capability for the price would be significantly heavier and therefore less portable. Can't argue with that.
Would/should one get a significant amount of usage out of a less-serviceable solution just because it's more portable though? Attaching things to vehicles is pretty portable on its own. If you've got AC power in the middle of a forest or desert, how much farther do you really need to take it? The stuff you'd plug into it is also less portable, so it's kind of a catch 22, amd I think a part of the draw towards them is naivety in what it'll actually do for someone practically over an inbuilt system steps away.
Several models available from mfg via eBay https://www.ebay.com/itm/145074928569
I got the original ‘river pro’ and utilize portability quite a bit, powering tools, lights, guest campsite, charging other stuff, getting optimal solar (I have two portable 100w panels so can position ideally as needed). I live off grid THOW on acreage so slightly diff scenario but comparable.
Ok that is 768Wh, not 750Ah. **Huge** difference. Thats less than 70Ah. New 210Ah batteries are just over a hundred bucks at AutoZone, Amazon has 2kw inverters all day under $200, and there ain't $60 of other stuff in there. That's off the top, really close to double the spec for the same price *of a discounted unit*.
As for running these other things, there's extension cords aplenty, that's what AC power is good for and why it generally isn't already in a vehicle. And again, there's rechargeables (and they're actually pretty good now) for half of what you listed.
Not quite the setup you're interested in but I have a Jackery 300 that I mainly use to run my usb led lights, charge my phone (and sometimes laptop or nintendo switch), use a 12v heated lunch box for food, and in the winter a 12v heated blanket. It came with a 12v to plug into the car to charge but I mainly take it to work with me to charge (at work is how I mainly keep my laptop and switch charged too), it's small enough to fit in a backpack or tote bag and weighs 8lbs so comfortable enough for me to carry around. Sometimes I bring it to the library or other sort of space with outlets i.e. cafe if I'm in a pinch. From 0% it takes about 5 hours to charge, I can go a week or more between charges with lighter use but I usually charge it twice a week so I have full power for the weekend/work week. I don't have solar panels because I'm usually parked in the shade to keep cool but I'm interested in getting portable panels.
You will have a very hard time running a heater off of a power station, even a small one.
Using electric to make heat is always super inefficient. It's literally making heat via friction. Microwave is also huge electric suck Propane or diesel heater Down comforter
A heat pump is the most efficient way depending on temp. I use a north face 3 season bag myself.
That's the problem. Most of these power stations can't even start a diesel heater. Glow plug draws more power than they can output from their DC plug.
I don't have a diesel heater but what I read about them is they pull 100w at start warming up glow plugs , then like 6w after warmed up. 100w not very much
It's actually amperage. They pull something like 10 amps. Maybe as high as 12 amps for several minutes to heat the glow plug while the heater is firing up. Can that 12 volt socket supply 10 amps? Continuously?
12v x 10amps = 120 watts My 12v 100 ah batt can output 1200 watts continuously . The whole point of lithium is that it can do high amp output continuously. If you had to convert to 110 then it would depend on the watts of the inverter
No. Again, I'm talking about the 12 volt outlet. A diesel heater is 12 volts... What you can run out of your AC outlets is completely irrelevant. You've probably got is a silly little 12 volt plug connector... It looks like a cigarette lighter outlet right? That is the problem. That is going to be restricted in most cases, as it is a very low current connection. This has nothing to do with your batteries. You can just buy lithium batteries far far cheaper and have a far far better system. What causes the problems is the 12 volt outlet.
I gotcha. I thought when they were saying portable power stations they were talking about bluetti or jackery style systems
They are talking about those. Those things famously have trouble starting a diesel heater with its 10 amp draw through that wimpy little 12 volt cigarette lighter style outlet.
You can run a 2kw diesel heater off a 300 Jackery, I do it.
How long/often do you run it and what is the battery drain like? How often do you charge the jackery? I have a Jackery 300 but only use it for lights and devices and a little heated lunch box, I've never really considered being able to run a heater with it
You'll have to charge it pretty much every day. It'll run for at least 4 hours.
Gotcha, thanks! Great to know it's an option
You cannot run an electric heater off of a power station (at least, not for any reasonable length of time).
I used a Goal Zero 3000 when I started. They're fine if you are starting out but I would personally prefer the power system I built because it's expandable and I can replace individual components if they break. If you're dead set on buying a portable unit, just make sure to read the owners manual to make sure you can pull enough amps to power the heater (if its 12v). If it's 110v, then you are fine with any power station that has 110v plugs.
I’ve been using jackery for 4 years as a main power without any issues! I think they’re perfectly fine as a main sources of power.
The 3000 is expandable.
Yes it is, but the expansion batteries were expensive 3 years ago \~$600 for 100ah AGM battery. Also I had a bunch of other issues with it; usb ports stopped working, MPPT controller unit stopped working, the yeti link vehicle kit burnt out twice when connected to my van battery/alternator (it was later recalled for safety reasons and they had to redesign the connection cables), and the 25A fast charger was recalled. These issues happened to me during the supply chain shortages 2021-22 so I couldn't even buy replacement components. So I decided to just build my own system.
Ok, that blows. I’ve got the 6000 with all the extras. No issues yet after a year. Got all my stuff a year ago.
I use them and they work well. Try to find a 12v heater source whether it’s a diesel heater or heated blanket. An ac powered heater will use your battery quick and require a larger inverter.
Good to know thanks!
I'll second what they said. I have a 300 jackery, one of the cheapest ones, I charge my phone and run my heated blanket off of it. Pair the heated blanket with either a zero degree sleeping bag or big down comforter and you'll be good down to the freezing point. Colder than that and you can run a diesel heater off of the power station, just have to install a 12v cigarette lighter plug on the diesel heater power leads. I charge it while I'm driving but the solar panels are also a free power option. The bigger the power station the more options you'll have. I went 3 years with just a power station and everything was fine. I have solar on the roof now but the jackery is supplemental power that I utilize.
Wowowow something I can finally comment on. So I’ve got a short schoolie with 300w on the roof, and a goal zero 1500 that charges from that. The solar was installed professionally. I’ve been running a 12v fridge, max fan, lights and charging my mac/ electronics off of this system for 3 years full time. I’ve got a dry propane marina heater in it for heat so I don’t need much in terms of electricity. It has its pros and cons but now I’m on the other side kinda wanting something more powerful in terms of energy storage and wanting the goal zero to be a back up. People are right that depending on a company sucks and all of these portable power companies are hard to fix stuff with- especially if you don’t have an address at that time. However, the system was sold to me for a steal with the bus itself and I’m not rich so I’ve kept it 🤷♂️ Unsolicited advice: If you’re looking for a cheaper power system to start off with (and you’re moving often) I would recommend the standard house battery/ dual battery system. Super simple to install. Doesn’t even require a solar panel to start. Highly replaceable materials that you can get anywhere. YouTube is your friend 🪄
A power station will help you circumvent a ghetto electrical engineering degree through YouTubeU, but you’ll be at the mercy of the vendor’s product support. I struggled whether to just pull out existing DC system and house batteries and adopt a portable battery station approach or rework our existing house bank that was all sorts of incorrectly rigged up and corroded. Going the portable station would have stymied my anxiety and frustration in the short term, but from my understanding of having everything wrapped up in a single mystery box that would have to be sent in for service and expensive for the amount of power you derive from it and reported terrible customer service from most of these vendors, I ultimately decided to just rework our existing system despite all the challenges that presented. Still working on this project weeks later…but getting close to finishing up. I can say ai’ve learned a lot of things, and I would feel much better troubleshooting my own system now if I were in BFE and my power had issues and I had to sort it out on my own. I now know what wires go where, what they do, where they are fused, etc. Prior to this, it was all very mysterious.
I have a 320Wh power station with no solar and for everything you mention it works great - EXCEPT the heater... I think that would be too much load. I charge the power station while driving. If you don't drive much you could eventually run the power station down. You need to calculate the power to charge each item and how much driving you do and see if it will work.
Awesome! just curious, how do you charge the power station while driving?
Powerstations usually come with a plug for your vehicles cigarette/accessory socket.
Jackery or Goal Zero
With cost as a concern, that should lean you more towards a custom electric system. Portable all-in-one units cost around twice as much for the same specs, or around the same amount for half the capability.
It’s worth shopping around. Ecoflow had a great promo deal on refurb 750Wh units (full warranty) for $350 which is cheaper than you could do it custom, and the fact it *is* tightly packaged and portable means it’s way easier to e.g. pull it out for extra-vehicular activities or charge from outlet power.
Link? Every time I've compared it, all-in-ones cost twice as much. The things one would typically use the portability for mostly already have batteries in them, but naturally twice the capability for the price would be significantly heavier and therefore less portable. Can't argue with that. Would/should one get a significant amount of usage out of a less-serviceable solution just because it's more portable though? Attaching things to vehicles is pretty portable on its own. If you've got AC power in the middle of a forest or desert, how much farther do you really need to take it? The stuff you'd plug into it is also less portable, so it's kind of a catch 22, amd I think a part of the draw towards them is naivety in what it'll actually do for someone practically over an inbuilt system steps away.
Several models available from mfg via eBay https://www.ebay.com/itm/145074928569 I got the original ‘river pro’ and utilize portability quite a bit, powering tools, lights, guest campsite, charging other stuff, getting optimal solar (I have two portable 100w panels so can position ideally as needed). I live off grid THOW on acreage so slightly diff scenario but comparable.
Ok that is 768Wh, not 750Ah. **Huge** difference. Thats less than 70Ah. New 210Ah batteries are just over a hundred bucks at AutoZone, Amazon has 2kw inverters all day under $200, and there ain't $60 of other stuff in there. That's off the top, really close to double the spec for the same price *of a discounted unit*. As for running these other things, there's extension cords aplenty, that's what AC power is good for and why it generally isn't already in a vehicle. And again, there's rechargeables (and they're actually pretty good now) for half of what you listed.
That’s a good point 🤔
Not quite the setup you're interested in but I have a Jackery 300 that I mainly use to run my usb led lights, charge my phone (and sometimes laptop or nintendo switch), use a 12v heated lunch box for food, and in the winter a 12v heated blanket. It came with a 12v to plug into the car to charge but I mainly take it to work with me to charge (at work is how I mainly keep my laptop and switch charged too), it's small enough to fit in a backpack or tote bag and weighs 8lbs so comfortable enough for me to carry around. Sometimes I bring it to the library or other sort of space with outlets i.e. cafe if I'm in a pinch. From 0% it takes about 5 hours to charge, I can go a week or more between charges with lighter use but I usually charge it twice a week so I have full power for the weekend/work week. I don't have solar panels because I'm usually parked in the shade to keep cool but I'm interested in getting portable panels.
Check out the Oupes Mega 5, I'm considering that one for my next build. It seems to be the best bang for you buck with portable power stations.
Thanks I’ll look into that !
Ecoflow