Beware portable power stations
Jim La Joie- Jan 11, 2022
- 1 min read
This message is about portable power stations that claim to be solar powered. Here is a very simple truth: If a LARGE photovoltaic panel(s) are (is) not included, you are buying only a storage battery and an inverter. Small panels mounted on the top are barely strong enough to for battery maintenance, not for charging. Once the on board storage battery is depleted, shore power will be required to replenish. You just cannot charge a large battery with a tiny panel.
There is no magic to solar power... if you really want to depend on it, even for a small system like a portable power station, you must have a large (at least one 200 -300 watt panel) to feed electricity into the battery. Some portable power stations come with large panels, some do not. Beware.
Great point! Also, the lithium ion batteries in those portable power stations can and do catch fire and they're not extinguishable. I know someone whose house burned down because of a portable power station sitting in the house. It was not being charged, but it had gotten moisture in it when it was used earlier in the day outside in misty weather. This same issue of thermal runaway happens in Teslas, e-bikes, phones. Should make people think twice about having all these lithium ion batteries around.