Is there one portable power station (brand/model) that stands out above the others?

I'm looking for a solution for my mother who's battling with her Mecer inverter with 2 lead acid batteries... The solution works, but, the 4 hour sessions are worrying her for battery life...

Essential she want to be able to run her TV, with router/modem/ONT for the full 4 hours, and not have to worry about battery degradation. 

And cost is an ongoing concern.

My mom was also using the Mecer unit and it worked very well for a good couple of years.

They have now via a supplier in CPT upgraded the system to a Mecer 1.5kva with a 12v 100AH LiFePO4 They used the old metal battery box and just bolted the new inverter to it.  Happy as can be and they easily run for thr 4 hour loadshedding sessions.

The above option is WAY WAY WAY cheaper than the EcoFlow type solutions out there.  And it is way more power for the price.

I can put you in touch with these guys if you want - they in CPT though.

Cheers

Douw

Edited January 25, 20242 yr by Douw G. Gerber

https://www.takealot.com/mecer-1200va-1000w-12v-dc-ac-inverter-with-lcd-display-mppt-buil/PLID91165653?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAqsitBhDlARIsAGMR1Rjanwo9hGhlBzwZVxr2ronDvhCd-bAQXfO4P9gZsqN44cRgkgM8nZ0aAi3KEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

This is the inverter.

@bobmabena Is the only concern battery life? If so, what about just swapping the existing batteries for Lithiums? (Does the Mecer model support this?)

7 hours ago, Douw G. Gerber said:

https://www.takealot.com/mecer-1200va-1000w-12v-dc-ac-inverter-with-lcd-display-mppt-buil/PLID91165653?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAqsitBhDlARIsAGMR1Rjanwo9hGhlBzwZVxr2ronDvhCd-bAQXfO4P9gZsqN44cRgkgM8nZ0aAi3KEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

This is the inverter.

One thing that keeps coming up is noisy fans. 

Here is a clear warning from a great on line seller. 

17 hours ago, bobmabena said:

Is there one portable power station (brand/model) that stands out above the others?

I'm looking for a solution for my mother who's battling with her Mecer inverter with 2 lead acid batteries... The solution works, but, the 4 hour sessions are worrying her for battery life...

Essential she want to be able to run her TV, with router/modem/ONT for the full 4 hours, and not have to worry about battery degradation. 

And cost is an ongoing concern.

So, an update on the situation... Turns out the inverter is toast... Which is the reason things aren't so rosy at they moment.

Will look at the inverter above and see if it'll suit.

Thanks

3 hours ago, bobmabena said:

So, an update on the situation... Turns out the inverter is toast... Which is the reason things aren't so rosy at they moment.

Will look at the inverter above and see if it'll suit.

Thanks

I'll get my mom to take a pic of theirs

55 minutes ago, Douw G. Gerber said:

I'll get my mom to take a pic of theirs

I can confirm it is this one, she has in fact told me that this unit is much quieter than the previous Mecer unit they were using. Only makes noise when charging

On 2024/01/25 at 1:05 PM, bobmabena said:

Is there one portable power station (brand/model) that stands out above the others?

I'm looking for a solution for my mother who's battling with her Mecer inverter with 2 lead acid batteries... The solution works, but, the 4 hour sessions are worrying her for battery life...

Essential she want to be able to run her TV, with router/modem/ONT for the full 4 hours, and not have to worry about battery degradation. 

And cost is an ongoing concern.

The one ring...uhh i mean...inverter to rule them all...

Don't think that exists mate, but you can checkout geewiz's trolley options.

https://www.geewiz.co.za/2464-geewiz-inverter-trolleys

Without knowing the usage of the TV (router/modem/OTN should be less than 10watts each), you would need to check the required watts per hour times the number of hours plus check which one falls in your budget. But fairly sure most of the offerings there should cover the requirement

3 minutes ago, Eugenevz said:

The one ring...uhh i mean...inverter to rule them all...

Don't think that exists mate, but you can checkout geewiz's trolley options.

https://www.geewiz.co.za/2464-geewiz-inverter-trolleys

Without knowing the usage of the TV (router/modem/OTN should be less than 10watts each), you would need to check the required watts per hour times the number of hours plus check which one falls in your budget. But fairly sure most of the offerings there should cover the requirement

If there is a multi media TV then even a 100Ah Lithium could fall short. If it is a basic TV and a good intelligent charger is used even lead acid will do st2 but not st4 LS due to the longer charging time. 

Beware some trolleys that limit charging to 10A might also not charge a lithium fast enough in St 4.

On 2024/01/25 at 1:05 PM, bobmabena said:

Is there one portable power station (brand/model) that stands out above the others?

I'm looking for a solution for my mother who's battling with her Mecer inverter with 2 lead acid batteries... The solution works, but, the 4 hour sessions are worrying her for battery life...

Essential she want to be able to run her TV, with router/modem/ONT for the full 4 hours, and not have to worry about battery degradation. 

And cost is an ongoing concern.

Howzat, I got my mum a EcoFlow River Pro last year...using it predominantly for a 32" LED TV and DSTV Decoder. She will also charge her phone from it at times. She got 11hrs from this device running these two devices and the odd phone charge within that 11hr period. Its been running for about 8-9months or so now and have not had any issues. I use the EcoFlow app to monitor it remotely.

So for your use case adding the router and ONT as well...you will comfortably get 4hrs from it.

8 minutes ago, Carl Anthony said:

Howzat, I got my mum a EcoFlow River Pro last year...using it predominantly for a 32" LED TV and DSTV Decoder. She will also charge her phone from it at times. She got 11hrs from this device running these two devices and the odd phone charge within that 11hr period. Its been running for about 8-9months or so now and have not had any issues. I use the EcoFlow app to monitor it remotely.

So for your use case adding the router and ONT as well...you will comfortably get 4hrs from it.

Yeah normally this would be my recommendation too as they're fantastic portable power stations - probably one of the best all-rounders on the market (I've had nothing but positive experience from them myself) - but they're comparatively pretty expensive. Which unfortunately is a bit of a concern for the OP:

On 2024/01/25 at 1:05 PM, bobmabena said:

And cost is an ongoing concern.

 

6 minutes ago, JayMardern said:

Yeah normally this would be my recommendation too as they're fantastic portable power stations - probably one of the best all-rounders on the market (I've had nothing but positive experience from them myself) - but they're comparatively pretty expensive. Which unfortunately is a bit of a concern for the OP:

 

Yeah look if you are able to...I guess you also need to factor in cost over long term return on investment vs cheaper solutions that will require replacing/maintenance more frequently.

@bobmabena an aternative just for the ONT and Router is look at the Gizzu Mini UPS' devices - I had a few these which kept my ONT, Router and 3 x AP's alive during LS (before I got solar) got about 6hrs+ on the one I had running the ONT and Router. These are like R1000 - R1300 or thereabouts. But then that still leaves the question about the TV...

Edited January 26, 20242 yr by Carl Anthony

While we talking Ecoflow. What we also need to factor in is that these units can only supply 70% of the Wh quoted. This from their technical support staff. 

On 2024/01/26 at 6:41 AM, bobmabena said:

So, an update on the situation... Turns out the inverter is toast... Which is the reason things aren't so rosy at they moment.

Have you tried getting a quote for repairs? There must be somebody who can do that. Your location says "Melkbos" so I'm not making recommendations. If you lived in my neck of the woods then I could give you a pointer.

On 2024/01/26 at 3:19 PM, Carl Anthony said:

Yeah look if you are able to...I guess you also need to factor in cost over long term return on investment vs cheaper solutions that will require replacing/maintenance more frequently.

@bobmabena an aternative just for the ONT and Router is look at the Gizzu Mini UPS' devices - I had a few these which kept my ONT, Router and 3 x AP's alive during LS (before I got solar) got about 6hrs+ on the one I had running the ONT and Router. These are like R1000 - R1300 or thereabouts. But then that still leaves the question about the TV...

So it turns out, the ONT already has it's own mini ups... so, solution is for just a 32" tv and media box.

On 2024/01/27 at 9:19 AM, Bobster. said:

Have you tried getting a quote for repairs? There must be somebody who can do that. Your location says "Melkbos" so I'm not making recommendations. If you lived in my neck of the woods then I could give you a pointer.

My mom lives in George... not sure if that's "your neck of the woods"?
But she's planning on taking it to "someone recommended by the people in her retirement village" so we'll see.

Thanks

27 minutes ago, bobmabena said:

My mom lives in George... not sure if that's "your neck of the woods"?

I live in Randburg. The specific company I'm thinking of is in Kyalami. Both locations are a long way from George. Though if people want service badly enough...

As I have told many times, I used to work on a bench for a distributor of electronics goods. One day a man arrived and asked if I could look at his electronic organ straight away. I was warming up for the usual speech about how there's a backlog etc, but then he told me he'd come from Zambia and he needed the organ for a church service this coming Sunday. And he said he'd wait whilst I did my investigations. So you help out a guy who is in that sort of position (he showed me the stamp in his passport as proof that he wasn't just taking a chance).

After I'd dislodged many insects and spiders and a scorpion, and blown all the dust and webs out, I found a blown transistor. I had to impose the minimum charge of one hour's labour, but he was happy enough, loaded the organ back onto his bakkie and set off on the return trip.

Edited January 30, 20242 yr by Bobster.