Portable power station

[cmedsailor]

The Best Portable Power Station

Is a portable power station like one of these worth having in a boat? Besides charging the usual tablets, phones etc could it be connected to the shore power plug for charging the batteries?

 

[Stemar]

I've never used one, but you'd need the 1000W job to start a decent sized marine diesel, and for a grand, you could buy an awful lot of properly installed solar kit and upgraded batteries which would mean you'd be unlikely ever to need it. Also, the link takes you to a 110v model, I don't know if a 240v is available

 

[cmedsailor]

I've never used one, but you'd need the 1000W job to start a decent sized marine diesel, and for a grand, you could buy an awful lot of properly installed solar kit and upgraded batteries which would mean you'd be unlikely ever to need it. Also, the link takes you to a 110v model, I don't know if a 240v is available

Opps I didn’t notice the 110v but yes only a 240v would be of any interest. Also I am not so concerned about starting the engine but mainly charging somehow the service batteries. Not as the main source of charging (I do have a 160w solar) but as an additional source or as a back up.

 

[ean_p]

The Best Portable Power Station

Is a portable power station like one of these worth having in a boat? Besides charging the usual tablets, phones etc could it be connected to the shore power plug for charging the batteries?

Check out https://m.youtube.com/c/SailingFairIsle as he has a video on portable power packs that look quite useful.

 

[ashtead]

I just wonder how long it would be before the battery inside packs up and refuses to hold charge ? Might be great for 2 years and then fail. Maybe worth looking at a number of cheap units and spreading your risk ? If charging service batteries what’s wrong with a small generator or have I missed the need somehow or is it risks of having petrol on board?

 

[diverd]

You get a very good car jump starter for £100. I have one in each car and on the boats. The biggest one is rated for a 7 ltr engine and will happily recharge or power a phone for many hours via the USB outlet. They dont have 3 pin plugs but so far i have not felt the need of one. It easily started my 4.3 volvo and small yanmar after the recent storms kept the bilge pumps busy and more or less flattened the batteries. Its keep my phone alive all weekend easily when away from power. Whether in the mountains or on the water i always have one and its saved the day many times. The cheap ones use old laptop batteries i am told, and typically dont last more than a couple of years, but once you get into decent ones they last well. I use Noco 1000 and 1500 A ones and rate them.

 

[ashtead]

I have a cheap power bank from Lidl -starts a 3.2 litre car engine and powers up phones and lights -about 50 gbp I think - the Halfords ones seem not to last though.

 

[PeterWright]

Little point in using one of these to charge a battery - basically it is itself a battery with some electronics bolted on (Voltage multiplier and inverter) to give a range of different outputs. Its capacity is 1 kWh so around 75Ah at 13.2 V. so rather than one of these you would be better off adding 150 Ah of lead / acid batteries or 80 An of LiFePO4 batteries to your domestic bank.

Peter.

 

[mjcoon]

Little point in using one of these to charge a battery - basically it is itself a battery with some electronics bolted on (Voltage multiplier and inverter) to give a range of different outputs. Its capacity is 1 kWh so around 75Ah at 13.2 V. so rather than one of these you would be better off adding 150 Ah of lead / acid batteries or 80 An of LiFePO4 batteries to your domestic bank.

Peter.

That must be true if you are never going to use the flexibility of portability and "range of different outputs"...

 

[Sandy]

The Best Portable Power Station

Is a portable power station like one of these worth having in a boat? Besides charging the usual tablets, phones etc could it be connected to the shore power plug for charging the batteries?

My understanding of a power station is somewhere that generates electricity. Clearly this does not, perhaps trading standards should be contacted.

 

[Wing Mark]

You get a very good car jump starter for £100. I have one in each car and on the boats. The biggest one is rated for a 7 ltr engine and will happily recharge or power a phone for many hours via the USB outlet. They dont have 3 pin plugs but so far i have not felt the need of one. It easily started my 4.3 volvo and small yanmar after the recent storms kept the bilge pumps busy and more or less flattened the batteries. Its keep my phone alive all weekend easily when away from power. Whether in the mountains or on the water i always have one and its saved the day many times. The cheap ones use old laptop batteries i am told, and typically dont last more than a couple of years, but once you get into decent ones they last well. I use Noco 1000 and 1500 A ones and rate them.

If your jump pack is 'saving the day' that often, I think you're taking chances. Jump packs are ideal for used car dealers and the man on the gate of the works car park, but a boat should not be relying on one.

 

[doug748]

You get a very good car jump starter for £100. I have one in each car and on the boats. The biggest one is rated for a 7 ltr engine and will happily recharge or power a phone for many hours via the USB outlet. They dont have 3 pin plugs but so far i have not felt the need of one. It easily started my 4.3 volvo and small yanmar after the recent storms kept the bilge pumps busy and more or less flattened the batteries. Its keep my phone alive all weekend easily when away from power. Whether in the mountains or on the water i always have one and its saved the day many times. The cheap ones use old laptop batteries i am told, and typically dont last more than a couple of years, but once you get into decent ones they last well. I use Noco 1000 and 1500 A ones and rate them.

They look handy. Can you just connect them to a flat lead acid battery, it sucks in 10amp hours and away you go refreshed? How long would that take

.

 

[lustyd]

My understanding of a power station is somewhere that generates electricity. Clearly this does not, perhaps trading standards should be contacted.

If you look a little closer you'll see there are inputs for solar. These are aimed at the vanlife and camping fraternity, but actually on my old 20' boat would have been extremely useful for anchoring since it includes MPPT, battery, inverter, charger, battery monitor in a neat package that could have powered all of my devices.

 

[st599]

The Best Portable Power Station

Is a portable power station like one of these worth having in a boat? Besides charging the usual tablets, phones etc could it be connected to the shore power plug for charging the batteries?

One of the RYA instructors Facebook groups has a link to someone purportedly selling this very model for £74 with 4 huge solar panels in a closing down sale.

I's avoid anything with a 92% discount on RRP.

 

[anoccasionalyachtsman]

They look handy. Can you just connect them to a flat lead acid battery, it sucks in 10amp hours and away you go refreshed? How long would that take

.

They are handy. They don't hold many Amps, so you don't use them to charge your flat battery, what they do is let you draw a big current for a short length of time - you start the car from it.

 

[V1701]

If you look a little closer you'll see there are inputs for solar. These are aimed at the vanlife and camping fraternity, but actually on my old 20' boat would have been extremely useful for anchoring since it includes MPPT, battery, inverter, charger, battery monitor in a neat package that could have powered all of my devices.

I agree - a versatile, simple and portable set up if on the expensive side...

 

[Stemar]

if on the expensive side...

That's my issue with it. For the same cost, I put more solar, more batteries, and still had enough left over to pay for my new genny furler. It's convenient, and I could see it being great for a small boat with an outboard, so limited charging facilities, on a mooring, but I just don't see the use on a diesel powered cruiser.