Power Station w/DC-DC Charger & Solar

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GTV

GTV

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Hey y'all, I've finally upgraded from a Yeti to a proper fridge and now it's time to power the thing. I have an Iceco JP30 which has a max power draw of 60w. Details on that can be seen here. I also have recently upgraded my alternator to a 180a unit from DC Power.

My power station choice is primarily based on the space I have available for it. I haven't purchased a power station yet but considering my space limitations I *think* I've settled on the Bluetti Elite 100 V2. It offers quite a lot for the size/money but isn't perfect...

The power station alone may not be enough to suit my needs but I won't really know until I start using it. So I'm trying to plan ahead if that is the case. Unfortunately this power station is not expandable with an external battery pack so, as far as I know, that leaves two options-

1) DC/DC Charger. This would allow the power station to charge significantly faster than just using the standard 12v socket. But obviously will only be effective when the engine is running.
2) Solar. Only 100w but will be effective as long as there is sun.

I'm going to start with the power station alone and see if/where it comes up short. Potentially I could see myself needing both, a fast charger and the ability to charge while camping/stationary.

The Bluetti 100 V2 comes up short in this regard as it only has one DC input. Would this mean I'd have to remember to manually unplug/plug in between solar and fast charging or is there some 2-1 hardware that would allow both the fast charger and solar to be plugged in at the same time?

Appreciate your thoughts!
 
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didn't look at your specific devices but it is not obvious to me that using a DC-DC is only "effective" when engine is running. It may not be a good idea if you're worried about discharging the starting battery, but it is certainly possible. (Some DC-DC chargers do have settings to shut them down when the alternator is not going but I imagine that could be turned off.)
You could have the solar system connected to the starting battery and have the DC-DC to the house system.
You could also physically connect both the solar controller and the DC-DC charger to the house battery at the same time, it does not have to be just one or the other. I would not do it myself unless in a pinch because it introduces some unknowns and is not "clean" wiring per my taste, but could be done safely, I think.
There are plenty of manual battery switches that allow either one of 2 or combined inputs. Think $30 for a good one from BlueSeas, or $15 for generic chinese. For automated switches it'd be more, likely.
 
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I think you will be surprised at how long the batt & solar will run the fridge without starting engine. If you find another solar panel and have a suitable charge controller ( may be built into Bluetti ) , 200w of solar will give you days standalone given moderate sun. Black friday is coming, keep your eyes out. The dc-dc and solar could both go to the 12v in. The solar power wont push back thru the dc-dc charger IIRC however, when you start engine, if solar has output, the dc-dc may see that and never kick on until solar drops off. I say keep it stand alone with solar, if your Bluetti draws down just hook fridge to start batt in an emergency.
 
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e9999 said:
didn't look at your specific devices but it is not obvious to me that using a DC-DC is only "effective" when engine is running. It may not be a good idea if you're worried about discharging the starting battery, but it is certainly possible. (Some DC-DC chargers do have settings to shut them down when the alternator is not going but I imagine that could be turned off.)
You could have the solar system connected to the starting battery and have the DC-DC to the house system.
You could also physically connect both the solar controller and the DC-DC charger to the house battery at the same time, it does not have to be just one or the other. I would not do it myself unless in a pinch because it introduces some unknowns and is not "clean" wiring per my taste, but could be done safely, I think.
There are plenty of manual battery switches that allow either one of 2 or combined inputs. Think $30 for a good one from BlueSeas, or $15 for generic chinese. For automated switches it'd be more, likely.
Click to expand...

The Bluetti charger I linked shuts off with the alternator/engine. I'm sure I'd eventually forget it otherwise and drain the starter battery down.
I'm pretty hesitant on messing with the factory electrical system too much, I like the idea of having this auxiliary system as separate as possible. The goal here is as simple and effective as possible.
 
peesalot said:
I think you will be surprised at how long the batt & solar will run the fridge without starting engine. If you find another solar panel and have a suitable charge controller ( may be built into Bluetti ) , 200w of solar will give you days standalone given moderate sun. Black friday is coming, keep your eyes out. The dc-dc and solar could both go to the 12v in. The solar power wont push back thru the dc-dc charger IIRC however, when you start engine, if solar has output, the dc-dc may see that and never kick on until solar drops off. I say keep it stand alone with solar, if your Bluetti draws down just hook fridge to start batt in an emergency.
Click to expand...

What do I need to get the DC/DC charger and solar going to the power station when there is only one DC input?

200w of solar would be awesome but it would have to live on the roof. Running wires up there is a pain and it would be in the way when my RTT goes on. The Lensun hood panel is only 100w but it uses free space and would be simple to wire which I really appreciate.
 
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Ok, I think I may have figured it out. What I’ll need is a DC/DC charger that has a solar input, like this.

Got a plan:
Get the power station
If the power station alone isn’t enough, I’ll get a DC/DC charger w/MPPT.
If a supplement is needed I’ll add solar and connect it to the MPPT.
02__90571.1751529809.1280.1280.webp
 
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I do not plan on buying a Renogy charger ever again...
 
I have the 30A Renogy dual input controller and it works as advertised. There are some minor quirks but overall it's been a decent charger. If you plan on getting solar it's simple to wire up.

However, on a newer setup I'm switching over from a home brew battery/charger solution and will probably skip the solar and just use the alternator to charge. I have Ecoflow and they offer an 800W DC alternator charger which is similar to the bluetti charger 1

With one of these you probably don't need solar unless you're camping in one spot for a few days, one hour of driving will deliver more power than an entire day of solar. Or maybe you could install a switch for the house battery to toggle between alternator and solar charging. The nice thing about the Renogy dual input is that it will do that automatically, and switch from house to starting battery, but you won't get the same charging speed as the dedicated DC chargers.
 
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e9999 said:
I do not plan on buying a Renogy charger ever again...
Click to expand...

ducktapeguy said:
I have the 30A Renogy dual input controller and it works as advertised. There are some minor quirks but overall it's been a decent charger. If you plan on getting solar it's simple to wire up.

However, on a newer setup I'm switching over from a home brew battery/charger solution and will probably skip the solar and just use the alternator to charge. I have Ecoflow and they offer an 800W DC alternator charger which is similar to the bluetti charger 1

With one of these you probably don't need solar unless you're camping in one spot for a few days, one hour of driving will deliver more power than an entire day of solar. Or maybe you could install a switch for the house battery to toggle between alternator and solar charging. The nice thing about the Renogy dual input is that it will do that automatically, and switch from house to starting battery, but you won't get the same charging speed as the dedicated DC chargers.
Click to expand...

I wasn’t necessarily planning on a Renogy, the image just describes my plan.

I’m fairly confident that a DC/DC charger will suit my needs just fine but I’d hate to learn that I need solar as well so I’m planning to leave room for it.
 
thats it, thats what I was describing but with equip made to do so. Wether you go Renogy or whoever thats exactly what I would do.
I have the Lensun semi flexible 150w which gives me at least 4 days standalone with Starlink on. I'd look for a larger W hood panel, they have em. Well done thinking thru and finding the right thing for you.
 
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GTV said:
I wasn’t necessarily planning on a Renogy, the image just describes my plan.

I’m fairly confident that a DC/DC charger will suit my needs just fine but I’d hate to learn that I need solar as well so I’m planning to leave room for it.
Click to expand...
I'm not familiar with the bluetti power stations, but I don't see why you couldn't have both DC inputs hooked up at the same time. The bluetti doesn't know where the DC input is coming from, whether it's solar or alternator. I'm not sure if it has it's own built in MPPT controller embedded inside or if you'd need a standalone controller for the panel input. Worse case you could put a VSR in there to automatically switch between the two, but if you start doing that then the wiring gets more complicated and a turnkey solution becomes more attractive.

Realistically with a 100W hood mounted panel you're gonna see <300Wh per day in best conditions. Most likely significantly less unless you're willing to constantly move the car for best sun. So solar only sense if you're the type of camper that stays in one spot for multiple days without doing any driving.
 
peesalot said:
I'd look for a larger W hood panel, they have em. Well done thinking thru and finding the right thing for you.
Click to expand...

All I can find is Lensun and Cascadia 4x4, they’re both 100w. If you know where a larger one is, please share.
 
I have the same fridge and the route I went was a DIY portable power station w/ 100 amps battery that gives me over 4 days of fridge use before needing to charge it through the Redarc BCDC1225D, which takes about 3.5 hrs to charge while driving. I don't keep the power station plugged in all the time, only after I get down to about 20% so I can cycle the battery capacity.
IMG_4110.webp
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TLCOVERLAND said:
I have the same fridge and the route I went was a DIY portable power station w/ 100 amps battery that gives me over 4 days of fridge use before needing to charge it through the Redarc BCDC1225D, which takes about 3.5 hrs to charge while driving. I don't keep the power station plugged in all the time, only after I get down to about 20% so I can cycle the battery capacity.
View attachment 4013865View attachment 4013866
Click to expand...

That’s very cool. Wish I had the real estate for something like that.
 
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