I thinking of doing this with a 60AH lithium deep cycle. Any concerns with the foam and electrical? I was concerned for it to be a fire hazard, but I could be wrong. Thanks ahead!
You mentioned you were going to use your vehicle, Altadena to recharge your batteries while you drive, if you have not already done, so I caution you please put in a DC to DC charger rated for that lithium ion batteries. If you don’t you will fry the alternator on your truck and possibly damage the batteries
Thanks for the comment. I agree that a DC to DC charger is always better for the batteries (giving them the exact voltage / amperage profile that they want). However, for this box, there would not likely be any issue with damaging either the vehicle alternator or the batteries for the following reasons: 1. BMS Charging Limits. The battery BMS's will limit charging to 10 amps each. There are 5 batteries so that's 50 amps max charge total for the box. A 50 amp draw s not going to damage your alternator. The batteries would fully charge in 1 hour. 2. The relatively small capacity of the box / battery bank. There are 5 of the 10 ah batteries in the box. That's 50 amp hours total. Even if the BMS's would allow an unlimited charge rate (they wont, see #1 above) and could charge at the full alternator capacity of say 150 amps, the box would be fully charged in only 20 minutes and quit charging. That's not enough time to heat up your alternator enough to cause damage. All that said, If you are running a large capacity battery bank (anything over, say 100 ah) in your van / motorhome / trailer you should definately use a DC /DC charger to protect your alternator. The 2 limits above would not apply and your alternator could definately be damaged due to over-work. I have DC /DC chargers in both my RV trailers for this exact reason.
Very cool I was thinking about doing something like this but didn't really know if it would be worth it but now after watching your video I will be. thank you for a great video
You could buy a better electric portable charging system. Power boxes are for on the go and disposable. Providing power to sentry weapons or anti aircraft, counter intel, etc. Go buy a jackery portable charger Lt. And that's non negotiable.. hahaha
overall a clean build but one recommendation, those Miboxer chargers are pretty bulky if for some reason you decided more NiMH/LiIon/LifeP04 charging was desirable you could probably fit an Xtar VC8 ($30 on a few websites) to have 8 slots. Storage mode puts Lithium Ion at 3.7V which doubles as LiFeP04 cylindrical charging max voltage. Would likely fit vertically. It has a max 3A charge rate for 1 cell, 2A for 2 1A for 4 and 0.5A for 8. Fits 21700's and 26650's. Powered by USB C to USB A with QC Charging 9V but can run slower at 5V. Xtar VC8 Plus also has barrel jack and I think does 2 at 3A, 4 at 3A, etc
I love the idea of alot of UI but id personally cut down on all the waste of space in the box for more battery storage capacity but i did like some of the things in your design well done !!!
Mini Solar Winter Tip: You can steplessly dim down a Beuler and all other hungry electricity consumers with a 5000W dimmer (EUR 7). I run 5 dimmers in parallel on an 850W inverter. Kettle 2.2KW at 150W runs 12 hours a day, so the water is always hot. The room is also nicely heated. 2.5KW washing machine runs in parallel with dimmed to 200...400W. Iron, dishwasher, oven, electric heater, coffee machine, all internal heating are throttled with me. Videos about it on my channel ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-eC2olbCBhh0.html The inverter stays cool, quiet and the MOSFETs remain intact because extreme current peaks no longer arrive at the inverter. Now every Mini PV Inverter is enough to sell large devices...
I used 1/4" thick ABS sheet. You can find it at Tap Plastics (or other plastic suppliers in your area). I buy full sheets (4x8) because I use it for lots of things but you could buy any size you need. I used the foam interior piece that came with the box as a template. I traced around it with a sharpie and cut out the piece with a bandsaw, and rounded the corners on the sander. Depending upon what tools you own, you could cut with a jigsaw and round the corners with a dremel or something like that.
Very nice work! Two questions; 1. How do you keep it cool inside the case? Many of those components generate considerable heat. 2. How do you prevent your vehicles alternator from overheating when using your Anderson connector to charge the pack? I have researched this issue and the alternator on your vehicle is not designed for constant high current output that LiFeP04 batteries will draw especially while your vehicles engine is at idle and air flow is low through the alternator. Thank you.
Good Questions. 1. The inverter and the solar charger both generate some heat. If I'm using the inverter, the lid is open (since there is no AC outlet on the outside of the box) so the heat does not build up. I do leave the lid closed when using the solar charger and it gets a little warm inside but not hot. I'm only using 200W of solar so your results might be different if you are connecting a huge solar array. 2. You are correct about it being poor practice (in general) to connect lithium batteries directly to your alternator as they can draw excessive amperage and cause the alternator to overheat. However, I don't think it's an issue with only a small 50ah battery bank like this. This is not a huge battery bank and will fully charge before the alternator gets a chance to seriously overheat in my opinion. On the other hand, I converted my Airstream trailer to lithium batteries (525ah capacity) and I wouldn't want that directly connected to the alternator. I installed a DC to DC charger in the trailer that takes power (at a controlled rate) from the alternator and charges the trailer batteries as we travel. Hope that helps.
That is a real nice build. I have recently built a box myself for off grid HAM radios. I also used Dakota Lithium batteries. I may change my design up a bit but want to use it a few more times before changing anything. I primarily use it for my HAM radios with solar charging or commercial charging.
Question, i just added my lower gravity feed but am deciding if i want to put my hoses were you have yours or if want to add a hole next to my stock air hole on the right side. wondering if there is a benefit one over the other. i know you lowed your rack
There are five 10ah LiFePO4 batteries from Dakota Lithium. There is link in the description for the batteries and all the other components. Amped outdoors is another good source. They have a 12ah version of these lithium batteries (same size case) for approximately the same price. Must be higher capacity cells inside. If I were building this again, I would consider those. The box would then have 60ah capacity instead of 50ah. I have used Amped for other builds and they are very high quality. Hope that helps.
There are five 10ah lithium batteries for a total capacity of 50ah. There is a link in the description for the actual batteries used (along with most of the other components).
I've used it a few times and everything is still working great. The only downside to it is size / weight. It's portable but not exactly "handy". I built a smaller version with only 20Ah capacity, no internal inverter, and less outlets. It's just a solar charger, a couple of batteries, and a couple of outlets. I intended the smaller one for camping (using my CPAP and charging electronics). I'll post a video of that soon when I get some time. Glad you enjoyed the build.
True. You run into space constraints trying to include a solar charger, inverter, batteries, outlets, etc. I have a design for an expansion box that only has batteries (6x 18ah batteries for 108 ah total capacity), a breaker, and a high-current SB50 connector. I could connect the expansion box to this box charge both boxes with the solar charger. I could also use the expansion box as a stand alone power supply for the external / high current inverter.
Wow that is a nicely built solar power box. I am just getting ready to build my first power box as well. I picked up a large ammo box that I am going to use for mine. I really like the Anderson power outlets I am going to have those in mine as well. Thanks for posting this video.
Very good set up Like it that you used Bigger wire and lots of circuit Breakers. my set up is Older more bulky but i used large Gage wire also still works but Now thinking to Make one like yours. Like the case and Set up Very Much
Hello from the high desert of New Mexico USA 🇺🇸. I just found your channel and I liked and subscribed. Very well done and nice design. Keep up the good work and stay safe and charged
