Solar panel to charge portable power station containing LiIon battery

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  • Sashko
    Junior Member
    • Jun 2019
    • 1

    Solar panel to charge portable power station containing LiIon battery

    I'm planning a camping trip in a few weeks, and am planning on using a portable power station to power my wife's CPAP machine and charge the electric generator with a solar panel during the day.

    I've purchased a portable power station from Amazon which can be charged via a solar panel, with the following specs included: MPPT 13V~22V/3A.

    I purchased a 60W solar panel with the following specs for it:
    Power Rating: 60W
    Working Voltage: 17.1V
    Amperage: 3.5A

    Now according to the documentation of the solar panel (this was not mentioned in the description of the solar panel where I purchased it), it says not to use it for charging a lithium ion battery, which is what the portable power station consists of. The manual of the portable power station does not mention anything about the type of solar panel to use, aside from the specs mentioned above. Does this mean that I need to look for a different solar panel? If I do need to look for a different one, how do I know I've found one that is ideal for charging lithium ion batteries before purchasing it?

    In terms of the cable to connect the solar panel to, the instructions of the portable power station specify a 5.5 mm one. I found 5.5 x 2.1 mm one on Amazon that specifies the same brand portable power station as the cable, but I want to confirm that it'll work with my current portable power station. Is there more than one type of 5.5 mm MC4 DC power cable, or should this cable work?

    Since the diagrams specify connecting the solar panel directly to the portable power station, does that mean that the power station has a built-in power controller?

    Also, I purchased a DC-DC adapter for my wife's CPAP machine, which I've read in numerous places would increase the amount of time the portable power station's battery would last when using a CPAP machine with it.

    There are all of the items I've purchased thus far:
    Portable power station: https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
    Solar panel: https://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/coleman.../6000194357014
    DC-DC power cable

    The cable I've been looking at to connect the solar panel to the portable power station: https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07...MGL60QM1&psc=1


    Thank you for your time
  • Ampster
    Solar Fanatic
    • Jun 2017
    • 3649

    #2
    According to the link the portable power station can store 155 Watthours. You need to find out how many Watthours does the CPAP machine consume for an evening of use.
    9 kW solar, 42kWh LFP storage. EV owner since 2012

    Comment

    • Mike90250
      Moderator
      • May 2009
      • 16020

      #3
      STOP buying stuff !!

      These are questions you need to be asking before spending $.
      You have batteries, generally they are 12V
      There are PV panels which produce 20V, for recharging a 12V battery, via a :
      Solar Charge Controller. The solar charge controller needs to be compatiable with the flavor of battery you have. LFP, Li-on, Flooded lead, sealed lead, gel lead
      Get the controller wrong and you destroy the battery.
      Get the battery too small and the CPAP shuts down at 3am
      Too small of solar panel, and the battery never charges till a week after you are home.

      First, what is the load of the CPAP ? Can you get a 12V lighter power cord for car use ?

      Read this topic
      Discuss remote solar applications for homes, cabins, RV and boats. If you have a question on equipment for an off grid system, such as charge controllers or inverters, then post your question in this forum.
      Powerfab top of pole PV mount (2) | Listeroid 6/1 w/st5 gen head | XW6048 inverter/chgr | Iota 48V/15A charger | Morningstar 60A MPPT | 48V, 800A NiFe Battery (in series)| 15, Evergreen 205w "12V" PV array on pole | Midnight ePanel | Grundfos 10 SO5-9 with 3 wire Franklin Electric motor (1/2hp 240V 1ph ) on a timer for 3 hr noontime run - Runs off PV ||
      || Midnight Classic 200 | 10, Evergreen 200w in a 160VOC array ||
      || VEC1093 12V Charger | Maha C401 aa/aaa Charger | SureSine | Sunsaver MPPT 15A

      solar: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Solar
      gen: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Lister

      Comment

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