Easy way of adding portable LiPoFe generator

[Azamat]

Hi ,

Our stock AGM battery in our GC600 is not enough for off grid weekends. We still have a warranty and i want to find easy solution of adding some more power

Do you think that i can connect portable power station to cigarette adapter in rear of GC to power refrigerator , lights etc .? . If there is a problem with interaction with existing AGM battery under the bonnet i can switch main battery switch off to isolate front AGM battery.

Does it make sense, do you think it will work ?

There is 10A/12V output on Bleutti power station which should be enough.

Thank you for your response and ideas

Tomas

 

[GordonH]

It’s not a particularly certain way of applying power to the GCs 12V because the portable generators 12V output is not a charger and would not be expecting to see a 12V source. It may or may not charge the AGM depending on the exact nature of its 12V output and could well damage the portable generator. Using the 230Vac to supply the mains charger of the GC is the more common approach and there is quite a lot of discussion on this forum about how best to go about that. I’ve done some measurements on conversion efficiency of that approach and it’s surprisingly good at around 80%.

 

[Azamat]

It’s not a particularly certain way of applying power to the GCs 12V because the portable generators 12V output is not a charger and would not be expecting to see a 12V source. It may or may not charge the AGM depending on the exact nature of its 12V output and could well damage the portable generator. Using the 230Vac to supply the mains charger of the GC is the more common approach and there is quite a lot of discussion on this forum about how best to go about that. I’ve done some measurements on conversion efficiency of that approach and it’s surprisingly good at around 8

 

[Azamat]

Thank you for your response.

80 percent efficiency is good. But there is AC /DC conversion in power bank, and again second AC / DC conversion in GC.
So the best way is to charge agm with external outlet powered by power bank?

 

[GordonH]

Thank you for your response.

80 percent efficiency is good. But there is AC /DC conversion in power bank, and again second AC / DC conversion in GC.
So the best way is to charge agm with external outlet powered by power bank?

The 80% I mentioned is an end to end figure and accounts for conversion losses. So 1kwhr of portable generator capacity ends up as 800whr of leisure battery capacity. A portable ac power bank is an expensive but simple approach. Dedicated lithium battery/charger/inverter setups will give you more capacity per £ but need a more considered and very likely permanent installation. It comes down to what you are trying to achieve. It’s worth reading the many posts on this forum and the Grand California UK Facebook group around this well discussed topic. There are many possible solutions and it comes down to your need, budget and installation preferences.