Just so impressed. My Dad, may God rest his soul - he'd be all up into all this solar if he were still alive. Today is his Heavenly Birthday - and I can hear him going "Babe! C'mon now, let's do this!" haha - thank you so much for sharing your technique!
Great DIY. Some notes: the Walmart deep cycle (lead acid) will be damaged if it’s discharged below 50%, so it’s really 50AH unless you want to ruin it. Also the Yeti is pure sine wave 110VAC. Pretty important for electronics. Pure sine wave inverters cost a bit more. Still DIY is the way to go on these.
I love the home built units. When something goes belly up you can fix it yourself. I built quite a few battery/inverter boxes and my drive is to cram more into a smaller space. Ain't cheap!!!!! The last unit I built fits in a MinnKota trolling motor box and has a 200 amp hour lithium battery inside. That's 2560 watt hours, equal to 4 of the 87 pound deep cycle batteries. There's no solar charge ability (yet) and I added a 300 watt PSW Bestek inverter on top held there by Velcro. But I can strap on the 1200 watt Bestek inverter if needed with a jumper cable. It can run a 4 cu ft fridge/freezer for up to 8 days before needing recharge. Lithium batteries are coming down in price but still a lot of $$$$$.
Partner, that thing looks like something the Doc would have made in Back To The Future. And I mean that as a compliment !!!! It’s great . Thanks for sharing. You did a great job !!!!!! 👍👍👍👍👍👍
Great build. I have made the same but used a Stanley tool box. the plastic one on wheels from Walmart. Also I used a 100 watt solar panel. The best part about it is i have the top of the box for carrying extension cords and other solar related things. 12 volt light, 12 volt fan...
Just wanted to point out that the 30Ah one is likely lithium, which means you can use pretty much 100% of it's capacity. The 114Ah one is lead acid, which means you can really only use about 50% of it's capacity, so it's really 57Ah of usable power.
Loved it, people helping people. I'm going to try this method. I had a whole different plan but seeing this had me in a new direction. Vanlife coming soon. I appreciate you sharing your build with everyone. ✌🏽&🤎
I found old used UPS with pure sine inverters. I would get one without the battery, get a new battery, a solar controller and a solar panel and I'm good to go. I can use it as backup at home or use it in my car camping.
Nice build I like that you have more power and spent little money. I am working on a solar generator as well for back up power at my homestead and for on the go.
I agree. I have found a nice sealed battery for about $225 US dollars so that will up the cost a bit, but well worth it I think! They are able to drain more and hold a charge much better. Still a much cheaper option than say a yeti or jackery I think.
Thank you! I just finished another one but with a better battery. I got the 1500 watt inverter at a garage sale for $10 American! And the battery just down the street for $30 at another sale!! Pretty happy with it so far!
Goal 0 is pure sine wave, pretty sure Stanley is modified wave, Wal Mart doesn't have full watts available only half without damaging the battery. (About 52 watts), in your case, you'd be better off buying a small lithium battery and adding it to the goal0, you can also add outlets for cheap. Yours (DIY) is much heavier than the goal0. But, for those without, you did good showing a DIY build!
I will definitely be upgrading when I do my trailer solar. I'm still learning and this was just a experiment that turned out to work quite well! My goal zero with a daisy chain to another battery is great, but not convenient to pack 2 separate units for me in the truck. This provides 3x the power as my goal zero as is. I'm not even slightly impressed with the yeti I paid twice as much for.....
Harbor Freight has 750 Watt inverters for less than $30. However, these are modified sine wave and not true sine wave, so you probably wouldn't want to use it to power computers and such, causes a horrible noise in the electronics.
I didn't know they had them that cheap! I understand what you mean about powering the device, but could still charge a laptop and unplug it to use it! Lol
I do recommend a sealed battery if you can afford it! And of course the sine wave inverters are far superior. I just used what I either had or could buy cheap! The inverter was on sale for something like 70% off so I had to get it....lol
What would you like to see? I didn't go into great detail on this video because I wanted to make it short and to the point, but I could probably do a full tutorial! I want to build another one soon anyways! Lol
This is simple compact and easy, thanks for inspiration to keep inverter on top so your design doesn't need an internal cooling fan, simpler design, cheers. Most the time I won't use the inverter anyway for car camping; I'm running a 12V DC fridge/freezer, a few USB LED string lights, a USB fan and purposely cutting back on electronics during car camping so only sporadic charging of phone or laptop. Any town sells used refurbished batteries if you ask around (I asked a nice guy at Batteries Plus who pointed me to American Battery Corp), or even the junk yard sells used refurbished, so I'm betting I'll come in way under $200, cheers.
You did a good job but do you know what is different between pure sine ware and modified wave power inverter? All power station using pure sine wave inverter.(pure sine wave inverter much expensive than modified wave inverter. Price almost double.
I am aware this was a very cheap inverter. It was a experiment that I wanted to try as cheap as possible before I went crazy on a good inverter and battery. Now I know I like it and it is extremely handy, I will be building a much nicer one in my trailer as well as another portable. This inverter was on sale for $35 so I really couldn't go wrong....lol
Correct. And although the battery is not the best (easy upgrade when money allows) the unit puts out twice what the goal zero does, meaning I can at least run a saw, which I can't say for the goal zero....
...continuing, would that be better and afford me the higher wattage? And would a larger battery enable producing the 1000w that the inverter is capable of? I hope these ??? makes some sense. And thank you for sharing your creativity.
You are correct it would be redundant. My yeti is also inside the unit. However the yeti is 400 watts and a 33 amp hour battery, and is recommended to discharge no less than 20%. With the 800 watt I have a much larger battery with 114 amp hour storage, and should be ok to run near dead if necessary. The inverter eats battery life fast, so I have a 12 volt fridge and such. The inverter we only use for small stuff. The yeti 400 will NOT run a power drill for instance, but the DIY 800 watt will, and for substantially longer. For instance I have a projector that we watch movies on. I can watch about 5 hours with my yeti using 110 volts. I can watch probably 3x that with the DIY. My solar panels and control came from harbor freight. To use them with my yeti I did have to make my own plug because they make them special so you have to buy their panels...
Hi Overlander Benny, outstanding video and not because you're standing outside I really appreciate this video as well as other people I'm sure it's very knowledgeable in many different areas all tied together to help anyone. I was just wondering I'm going to get the harbor freight kit as well and a deep cycle battery size 29 as well as a lower watt 400 modified sine inverter but I'm just curious as to your separate fuse block is that only connected to the cigarette lighter ports for protection or is that for the whole system like the inverter, because I understand you connected the inverter to the battery posts but does it tie into the fuse block at all, I'm thinking of leaving out the cigarette lighter addition and the fuse block do you think that would work? Or is the fuse block a necessity I'm just not to certain on this, thank you for your time.
Yes the inverter goes directly to the battery. The fuse panel is for the cigarette plug in and anything else I may add in the future, and completely unnecessary if you are only using the sine wave inverter.
@@overlanderbenny3789 Thanks Benny. A simple hand drawn circuit diagram would be great, to include fuses. And closeups of connections in good lighting. The diagram could be a comment here or a new video to include showing drill working, adding a kilowatt reading would be fun to watch but not necessary. your circuit diagram could be as simple as a hand drawn version of the 2nd to last picture diagram shown in this solar panel richsolar.com/collections/rigid-solar-panels/products/200-watt-solar-panel. You could also explain in the next video that because your inverter is on the outside, you didn't put a fan inside the box. You mentioned elsewhere that you'll do a detailed video of a more elaborate system, probably for your 6x12 cargo trailer, but more details in this build would help folks. Even if you didn't want to wrench yours apart, you could just do close up photos of connection pieces off Amazon ads to help folks out.
The lighter only has a positive and negative so I ran the positive to the fuse and the negative to the grounding block. The fuse box is powered from the battery so add a fuse and done! Thank you for watching!
I’m impressed with your charging system. Would like it for myself. However, I’m perplexed about how you can utilize 800 watts. I’m at a disadvantage because I don’t know enough. I’m stumbling over understanding how your inverter can dispense so much wattage when your batteries are so small. Was it you who also mentioned lasting 50 watt hrs? I have a 230 watt portable panel connected directly to a 500 watt Tacklife solar generator. I’m not utilizing my charge converter nor an inverter. They are integrated into the Tacklife so I believe they would be redundant. If I were to build a system such as yours with an actual battery, would
That would be perfect! I feel anything under 1000 watt is nearly a waste of time for anything but charging devices. At 1000 I think it opens up more options. But I couldn't pass up the price of the inverter for this experiment!
There is venting from holes in the back I drilled and where wires go in I didn't seal them. Battery isn't a sealed battery so must be kept upright. If you can afford a sealed battery you wouldn't have either issue!
Yeah we've lost power a couple times due to storms or Transformer fires Underground down here in Baltimore City Fells Point area so I built a power box myself for home emergency power but not as portable as yours going to start working on something like that that I can Grab & Go
That's awesome! We are in the pacific northwest and do a lot of overlanding. It will run my fridge 4 or 5 days without a charge, and with only 50 watt of solar it will run it forever! I wanted it portable though so I can use it in a future trailer build I'm planning as well. If you didn't want the fuse panel, it would be super easy to just use a in-line fuse for the cigarette plug, but I figured it would be nice for the trailer eventually so just did it now.
@@overlanderbenny3789 Yes, I guess my Tacklife“solar generator “ would be considered an all in one. On seeing your “Power Box” with a the small batteries and you say only 50 watt solar panel, I’m envious. My main use is to keep my 45 watt freezer/cooler running for several days. Maybe occasional use of 200 watt elec blanket or small appliances. I especially like the small footprint depending on which box is used as my vanette is space limited. ? So with the charge controller you can keep the solar panel connected continually and mount it permanently somewhere? Will rewatch your vid many times. Kudos for posting and answering 👍🙏
@@rocknmamma2666 I normally run 100 watt of panels but I broke 2...so right now I'm at 50 watt on my truck with 100 watt set in the box for my trailer build. (Stay tuned for more!) The problem is the inverters take a lot of power. So although I can run my 12v fridge for a long time, once I start using 110v power the battery dies pretty fast. Yes I can keep my panels plugged in at all times and the controller regulates the charge. I strap it in my truck and plug in the panels so it will charge during the day as I drive. A lot of panels are Portable and not permanent, but I didn't like that since I'm driving during the day and want it to charge for the night ahead. So....I mounted my panels to my canopy and it works great! (Keep the bolts tight so not to have 2 break loose and shatter) lol
FYI : your not supposed to run ordinary auto type deep cycle batteries below 50% without damaging & shortening the life cycle. So in technically a 100Ah battery only has 50Ah of use before needing to be charged IF USED PROPERLY. A Lithium battery can be ran down 80-90% & last MANY several thousand more charge cycles than a lead acid or gel.
It's a RV battery that is supposed to be ok to discharge more, and obviously who wouldn't prefer lithium, but it was an cheap as possible experiment and that's what I could afford! Lol
@@overlanderbenny3789 Hey, TOTALLY NOT KNOCKING IT!, great build! And budget friendly is always good! Just a thought. True, Lytham is more bucks up front but cheaper in the long run, do to having a WAY long lifespan & usable Ah.
it's cheap, which is nice, but... I'd rather pay to have a semi decent MPPT controller for better charging, LI-ION, because it's energy density is SO much greater and so many more charge cycles, an if you did a DIY pack you could have a KW of power in the same sized but lighter package. (which would take some time to save up for too because of the much increases expense) but all that is just a personal want, and has no reflection on your excellent work and walk though.
It is lead acid deep cycle RV battery from Walmart. Everstart brand. I would definitely rather have a nice sealed battery but I was on a strict budget and it actually works quite well for me at this time! Future upgrade...
PWM controller versus MPPT. MSW inverter versus PSW. 90% SOC available versus 40-50%. Don't even get me started on the weight difference, but that SLA battery is probably north of 70lbs, by itself. Your build is a very good one, but it's using components that are all last generation, with built in limitations. It's nothing at all like the Yeti.
Pure sine wave inverters are best for running thngs with inductive motors. Such as a\c, refrigerators and some fans. But modified sine wave inverters work just fine for most electronics.
Yes I would definitely have it in a box vented to the outside if possible. I highly doubt it would be harmful in the van, but better to be safe than sorry. For the van I would spend the extra money for a sealed battery so no gasses can escape. The rest of the setup could still be used! It would raise your price, but it would be minimal for that piece of mind.
@@anniebeasley92 that would be ideal for sure! But they do sell other kinds of sealed batteries that would be suitable for inside a van as well. I believe some brands like Optima have sealed batteries that would be fine, although probably not as good as a AGM.
That's a good question! I've never really thought about timing that to see. I do think it takes quite a bit more to bring this unit to full charge though, as it is much bigger. For example I can watch about 2 movies on my 7 inch DVD Player with the yeti. This will easily run the DVD all night and the fridge as well. It has substantial more power than the yeti, no Matt what the other comments may say. I run them both so I can attest!
@@scottboyte yes I do with the harbor freight 100 watt panels and controller kit. It was about $189 last I seen for the kit and comes with everything you need but a battery. I had to make my own adapter to charge the yeti from the harbor freight panels, but the yeti has a built in controller, so I go straight from the panels to the yeti. The harbor freight controller is mounted to the side of the box I made.
I know! I will be spending the money on good batteries for my trailer build but since I was experimenting I wanted to stay cheap! Definitely would go for a sealed battery if possible!
@@overlanderbenny3789 Go ahead and discharge one vs something like LiFePO4 , Lead Acid and AGM are lucky to get 50% discharge before off at a contant heavy draw (what you're saying this rated for, should last an hour yeah? No. You'll get the amps for a while but not what it says "800*). Your capacity draws will be vastly different. Don't take my word for it, check a lead acid or AGM vs basically anything else that people are using.
@@ecidemon5672 oh I'm definitely aware of the vast differences at this point! Like I said, completely experimental. I can change the battery out at any time with 2 wing nuts when I get a better idea what my final plan will be. This setup works well for the time being while I focus on other projects!
This has been brought up a dozen times. And I agree, but that obviously wouldn't be a $200 project now would it....AGM batteries are expensive! This does a great job for me to this point, and yes I would love to upgrade the battery when funds are available!
Great video! Thank you! I would have left you a comment but it says they are turned off. But I really think its a great idea and would be ideal for a small off grid cabin or something like that!
Last night I watched a video on your page of the 3000 watt build for home but it seems to be missing today! I watched it on my lady's phone so didn't comment but my question was, does the battery care If you lay it on the side? Or do you flip the battery right side up when using the box as a table? If it works in any direction, what battery is that! Lol
@@overlanderbenny3789 yeah I have to put it back up something happen actually going to just reshoot it because my new controller came in and I'm putting it on but no that AGM battery doesn't care what orientation it's in it's a sealed battery so you can put it sideways upside down doesn't matter what position it's in
Does it say sine wave? Nope! Does it say top of the line components? Nope! Everything was under $200 even with the 1980s math I did, so before you comment rude crap, make sure you know what you're talking about! Have a great day!
