On-board VS Portable Auxiliary battery in 4x4 (what is the best?)

Is a portable auxiliary battery, like Ecoflow or Jackery, better than a fixed 12volt electrical system in a 4x4 camper?

We have a fixed auxiliary electrical setup in our Land Rover Defender and we were able to test out a portable auxiliary battery during more than 10 days while free camping in Japan.

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[Fe_lix]

All those kind of integrated battery can only recharge at a maximum of 8A because that the maximum a cigarette lighter plug can provide reliably (and they generally have a 10A fuse behind).
The limit is in the amps so with a 24V diesel 4x4 that doubles the recharge power.

But other wise not much you can do with those stations. The only way to charge fast on them is either to have a lot of solar panels or to have an inverter connected to the starter battery / alternateur to charge the station in 230VAC.

[LRDefender]

Hi Emilie,

As others have said it is nothing to do with the size of the portable battery packs, it’s the size of the 12V outlet in the vehicle, the average maximum you will get out of these 10 amp sockets is around 110 watt’s recharge rate.

The only slight way around it is to fit a ‘small’ inverter straight to the battery with the correct inline fuse and charge the battery packs using AC.

So for example, I have a small Bluetti EB3A, from AC it charges at roughly 256 watts, I purchased a small 300 watt inverter and wired it directly to the battery with an inline fuse, simply plug the Bluetti into the inverter and it now charges at 256 watts as opposed to 110 watts……..you obviously need your engine running though 😂

So in essence, you need to find out what rate your chosen battery pack charges at via AC then fit a larger inverter. In my mind this system only works with smaller battery packs for people like me who run a 650 watt kettle and a 12V fridge etc, if you are going larger with more power needed you are much better installing a system like you already have.

Kind regards

Tony

[stevewaterworth]

I have a Jackery 1000. It charges at 60W when driving and 120W off solar. It keeps the fridge running and charges phones and satellite comms OK.

[moobaz]

I've looked at these. Still undecided. I like the set up in your Defender though and want something in my new Defender 110 which is very power hungry and can quickly flatten the battery. I need a deep cycle set up but also something that will act as a second starting battery just incase. I've done this in my old D3 and D4, but my Defender is not as straight forward. If your husband wants a challenge, let me know and I'll drop it around. 😂

[rjbfreelander]

I went power station route myself but I am only one person. Last 4 day camp my Ecoflow River Max (576wh) ran a 12v fridge, phones, speaker, camp lights at night with no issue this was in colder temps though which meant the fridge cycles less often. I did have a 220w panel that I deployed on occasions and it will charge via the car also.

The issue with charging via alternator on units like these is they use the crappy 12v socket plug, those things are crap and IMO not safe to pull 10amps from. A better option would be n inverter setup to charge the power station but you are then doubling up on inverters in the car. or you could rig an Anderson connector in the car in place of the 12v sockets allowing you to pull 10amps.

That or buy a larger unit and appropriate sized solar setup in either fixed or deployable solar panels when at camp. Sounds like you have spec'd your defender system perfectly.

For my next camp I will be taking the Ecoflow River Max for main camp power and a River 2 for in tent use.

Another option for people with smaller power stations is to supplement with power banks for phones to take the smaller device load off the main unit or provide a backup.

The nice thing about these and the Ecoflow units I have is I can move them from car to car or take them elsewhere to use indoors.

[adventures]

I have a small Chinese powerstation which I replaced a twin battery set up in my land rover, I find it will power my fridge and recharge my cameras phones, etc, for a couple of days in one place.
Great for weekends off grid and when I use it for travelling it charges when driving as I run the fridge straight from the vehicles alternator.
Works for me plus being totally portable if I'm trekking away from the vehicle and camping it will come with me and power lights and recharge my electrics, without tge fridge it will last a week easily.
I have no idea on the Watts used or the discharge rate as its never been a problem..
My son is currently using it running a course in the Breacon beacons, totally off grid for a week at a time without issues.

[blaketrooper]

Field serviceability is my biggest concern with this type of battery system. With this in mind I built a National Luna battery box, to which I connected a CTEK D250SE DC-DC Charger from the alternator and possibly Solar. If any of the electronics start giving me problems I can easily bypass them and still charge and discharge from the battery directly, it won't charge as efficiently and it'll probably reduce the life of the battery, but that's something that I would prefer. Besides I'm currently still on AGM, I haven't reached the end of life of this battery, when it does I can simply buy a lithium battery and replace it (less garbage produced overall).

This solution meets the best of both worlds in my opinion, it's contained and I can move it to another car or further away from camp, but it's still serviceable enough for overlanding.

[alessandroconcas]

For week end warrior the portable cost less but in long term and in offroad use are (for me) a waste of money because at the same prestaction cost twice, the only case for me if you have more then one overland veicles, perhaps you have the money for have both onboard too. With big power juice on 220v onboard it's a must have, 12v appliances with heavy duty the onboard is better... Litium battery only, no more agm if you not have a 8 ton truck :) buying a portable power station can be considered as an investment because it allows you to understand (without doing mathematical calculations on amps and consumption) how much energy you need to be autonomous and, after you have created your fixed system in a workmanlike manner, the you can use as a backup or for when the kids want to sleep in a tent by themselves

[glennj]

Hi Emilie I have 400amps /lithium with 600w solar Victron mppt and Ctek D250se & 120 s Iv had 93 amps charging with alternator…. 3500 inverter /Dometic fridge /kettle/microwave/night heater and other batteries charging for tools and 🔦

[ianchewyy]

Its too small capacity for your use. You need at least 100Ah capacity to run your fridge, charge drone, laptop, etc. Also the 12V socket can only support 10A charging. So this is one disadvantage of portable power station.