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Extending life of portable power stations

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There are a number of Portable Power Stations (PPS) being sold eg Ecoflow.  In March 2023 they announced the Series 2 models. The difference was in number of cycles. Series 2 are rated at 2000 cycles whereas the earlier models were only rated at 800 cycles. 

However, none of their units have replaceable batteries, so at end of the cycle life, the whole unit has to replaced. Not clever, so be beware.

I have solved the problem by installing a second Hybrid inverter + separate 100Ah LiPo battery which feeds the Portable Power station. Unless there is very severe load shedding, the Portable Power unit will not cycle at all, extending its life from 2-3 years to 15 or 20  or more years.

The second battery will of course have a finite life, but it's quick and easy to replace only the battery. And by installing an "oversized" the amount of cycling has been substantially reduced.

The additional inverter and battery cost less than the original PPS, while having more than double the capacity so a good investment.

So why have the PPS at all? It does have some useful additional features include 4 x 12v outputs which I use to power many 12v lights, and of course it could also be used to provide power while on the move or camping, etc.

But in retrospect, I would not get the PPS and would go straight for the inverter+ separate battery combination. Takes a bit of wiring knowledge to set it up (+ appropriate isolation switches/fuses), but not difficult.

The picture attached shows my set up. Looks messy, but it all fits in a recess behind a TV and is completely invisible! 

Inverter+battery+PPS.jpg

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