Portable Power Station Question

[MessyDeal]

Hi, we have a 2007 Airstream Interstate 22 that does not have solar or an inverter. We only have one lead acid battery and limited storage space. For boondocking, we are thinking about getting a small 600 Watt portable power station with a 120 watt solar panel. However, we are not sure if these will power our coffee pot (600 watts) or our space heater (1500 watts). We have not looked into converting to solar with an internal inverter or lithium batteries. So for now, we are looking for something affordable and portable.

Any suggestions on how others have managed similar situations?

Thanks!

[jeffmc306]

MessyDeal, you’ve got the right idea, just not the right size. Several forum members have done what you’re suggesting.

GOUSC comes to mind. He’s got a GoalZero 1000 unit and uses it for high current appliances like hair dryers and microwave. . Click on that hyperlink and scroll down to post #9.

The key is finding a unit with a large enough inverter, at least 1500W.

Good luck!

[jeffb831]

It definitely won't power a 1500W appliance.

A 600W power station probably won't power a 600W appliance - the surge/startup load will be too much. Also, most 600W power stations only have 250Wh to 300Wh of capacity so the most you'd get is only 30 minutes max of runtime.

[SandKSmith]

Originally Posted by MessyDeal

Hi, we have a 2007 Airstream Interstate 22 that does not have solar or an inverter. We only have one lead acid battery and limited storage space. For boondocking, we are thinking about getting a small 600 Watt portable power station with a 120 watt solar panel. However, we are not sure if these will power our coffee pot (600 watts) or our space heater (1500 watts). We have not looked into converting to solar with an internal inverter or lithium batteries. So for now, we are looking for something affordable and portable.

Any suggestions on how others have managed similar situations?

Thanks!

Hello,
I’ve done the same, but with a Goal Zero 1400. It is great, and the technology is getting better all the time. Another source:Search for Ptech’s Yeti 1000 installation if your looking for something built in rather than sitting in the counter.
These work best if loads don’t last too long. Small Coffee pots, small microwaves, laptops, etc. Just make sure the power station output is greater than what you’re powering, and look at total power capacity. A 600 watt hour power station will run a 600 watt device for an hour at best and may shut down at 20% charge. Feel free to PM if you want to talk more.
Steve

[GOUSC]

Originally Posted by jeffmc306

MessyDeal, you’ve got the right idea, just not the right size. Several forum members have done what you’re suggesting.

GOUSC comes to mind. He’s got a GoalZero 1000 unit and uses it for high current appliances like hair dryers and microwave. . Click on that hyperlink and scroll down to post #9.

The key is finding a unit with a large enough inverter, at least 1500W.

Good luck!

Messydeal,

To elaborate on high current use, mine is good for short term 120V powers uses. I.e wife drying hair, heating water, making coffee. Mine eventually kept tripping after a minute with the microwave so I quit using it for that. Using for a space heater would not last long enough to keep your RV warm. You could watch TV forever. I used it at home to keep my refrigerator going for 10 hrs through a power outage but it doesn’t have the power draw of a space heater. YMMV

[Bill M.]

Affordable and portable that will power a coffee pot is a generator.

[DavePDX]

It may be more than you want or are willing to spend, but I've been using an EcoFlow Delta Max 2000 as supplemental power on my 2022 Interstate 19 with great results. It'll run the entire rig, as it's basically 200amp of lithium with a built-in inverter in a portable box. I wanted to be able to run the microwave, coffee maker, hair dryer, etc without shore power or running the generator. It does all that and more easily. It fits in the rear garage under the sofa, and I just run an extension cord into the cabin. The iPhone app tells me exactly how much power is left, and much more. It recharges very quickly as well.
Just make sure that whatever you get has enough wattage for your needs. As others have note, for a portable space heater, a 600 watt unit probably won't cut it.

[InterBlog]

Welcome to Air Forums, MessyDeal.

The portable power stations mentioned here by other posters may be what you need for your present objectives. However, in the 2007 Interstate, there’s the question of, what are you going to do with that giant lump of a power station? How are you going to keep from tripping over it? Where do you store and secure it for travel?

In case you decide longer-term that you want to DIY an electrical system upgrade, here is a link to the electrical posts in my blog which is unimaginatively named The Interstate Blog. My husband and I DIY’d a solar and lithium system which basically gave us energy independence, which was essential in our case because we boondock for up to a month at a time. Whether or not a first-generation Interstate owner needs to take their van mods as far as we have… that is a question that must be answered in the context of, what are your goals for the use of the vehicle? And - how much time and money are you willing to invest?

But on the topic of said giant inconvenient lumps represented by portable power stations and most integrated electrical upgrades alike, my husband and I decided that we would splice our new electrical system into our 2007 Interstate’s existing design footprint (i.e., into its void spaces) rather than wasting any of its already-severely-limited storage space, which was no small feat. Here’s a TL;DR photo that summarizes much of how we accomplished that:

[coasttocoast]

A 600 watt system is good for charging devices, not running appliances. I have a GZ 6000x which runs my van. I would not use it to run a heater, unless I was in a jam. It will make as much coffee as you can drink. Look at going to a MUCH larger unit and DC to DC charging and MORE solar. With the 6000x, I can boondock for about 4 days with no charging. I am not using the fridge or freezer, I don’t have a TV, I don’t cook, and I keep power requirements to a minimum. There are 4 panels on the roof (400 watts) charging the 2 AGM batteries. The inverter died last year, so I have a 25 amp NOCO battery charger powered by the Goal Zero which charges the AGM’s. While the engine is running, Goal Zero’s DC charger puts power back in the 6000x. I have a Honda 1000 for backup which does get used occasionally. I did about 200 nights boondocking last year. With a quiet black van, you can park just about anywhere.

[StogieMan]

Originally Posted by coasttocoast

A 600 watt system is good for charging devices, not running appliances. I have a GZ 6000x which runs my van. I would not use it to run a heater, unless I was in a jam. It will make as much coffee as you can drink. Look at going to a MUCH larger unit and DC to DC charging and MORE solar. With the 6000x, I can boondock for about 4 days with no charging. I am not using the fridge or freezer, I don’t have a TV, I don’t cook, and I keep power requirements to a minimum. There are 4 panels on the roof (400 watts) charging the 2 AGM batteries. The inverter died last year, so I have a 25 amp NOCO battery charger powered by the Goal Zero which charges the AGM’s. While the engine is running, Goal Zero’s DC charger puts power back in the 6000x. I have a Honda 1000 for backup which does get used occasionally. I did about 200 nights boondocking last year. With a quiet black van, you can park just about anywhere.

Nice setup. Before we did our lithium upgrade, we had a Goal Zero 3000x which worked fine for us for a good while. I added an additional transfer switch to it and the Goal Zero charger from the starter battery. I added additional outlets for it and tied it to our 12V distribution panel. I would turn off the battery disconnect switch by the door and the Goal Zero would take over the 12V system. I even had a dedicated 100w solar panel for it. So we charged it from solar, alternator and shore power.

My only issue with this setup was constantly plugging and unplugging cables. It was a clean setup as I hid all the extension cords etc. A couple of times the wife forgot to unplug a cable and would blow the fuse added at the distribution panel. Not a big deal though.

Bottom line, yes it will work and work fine. I agree with you if you're going that route go bigger. We ran all of our 12v system and most of the major appliances with no issues.

I was able to run our AC for about 1/2 hour before the Goal Zero would shutdown with the overload or over heated error message. Can't remember which one it was.

Edit to add: I also now have two transfer switches if anyone needs them. Will ship for free. I added a Surge Guard transfer switch instead of the regular Airstream provided one.


https://www.goalzero.com/collections...ntegration-kit

[StogieMan]

If anyone is interested in getting a Goal Zero and tying it into your 12v system, here is the link and starting around post 15 is the info as I can remember it.

https://www.airforums.com/forums/f24...rs-229961.html

[zeekwad]

I use the Ecoflow Delta Pro units and they've been flawless. I use mine for both home backup and RV/camping. Only downside so far has been the price.

[Roadtech]

Originally Posted by zeekwad

I use the Ecoflow Delta Pro units and they've been flawless. I use mine for both home backup and RV/camping. Only downside so far has been the price.

100 lbs weight concerns me, otherwise it looks very good. I love that you can charge it at a Tesla Supercharger or other EV charging stations!

[TouringDan]

I think portable power stations are a great idea especially if you don’t have lithium batteries already or an inverter. I recommend you buy the the largest one you have room for and is worth the money to you. The larger they are the more stuff they can power.

We don’t need one as we already have lithium batteries and a 2,000 watt inverter. The inverter allows us to operate any appliance we plug in.

Dan

[Rockkrawlin]

I use the EcoFlow Delta Pro. If you can fit it, that’s what I would recommend going with. Look at Costco and see if they still have a deal for it going on. Also, check their refurbished products on EBay. Cheaper price, same warranty. I purchased an extra battery and 800 watts of solar through it with no issues.

[MessyDeal]

Thanks, This is really helpful. The Delta Max 2000 might be more than we can fit but we’ll look into it.

[MessyDeal]

Thanks! We are looking into some of the Ecoflow products as they are on sale now at Costco.

[MessyDeal]

We would love to convert our van to have in internal inverter. I’m just not sure we are comfortable DIYing it. We’ll look at your design and blog though. Thanks!

[DavePDX]

Originally Posted by Roadtech

100 lbs weight concerns me, otherwise it looks very good. I love that you can charge it at a Tesla Supercharger or other EV charging stations!

That’s why I chose the EcoFlow Delta Max 2000. It’s only 50 lbs, but still has 200a, and the capability to run the entire rig.

[Roadtech]

Originally Posted by DavePDX

That’s why I chose the EcoFlow Delta Max 2000. It’s only 50 lbs, but still has 200a, and the capability to run the entire rig.

I wish EcoFlow offered the Delta Max with lithium iron phosphate battery chemistry instead of NCM. The Delta Pro and others in their line have LiFePO4 batteries.