Power Station

[davefrombc]

Anyone  carrying  a power box when  camping with their ATV?  I built  a custom  one.  I  used a  marine  battery box that  has 2  50A Anderson Grey connector  outputs (  changed one of the greys to a red), an accessory socket  and2  USB outlets,and a battery  voltmeter ..  I  added a Pure sine wave 1,000w inverter to it and A red 120A Anderson connector to the  output  posts.. To  charge the  100Ah LiFePO4 battery  I  put in the box, I added  a DC to DC charge adapter that I  made input connectors for to allow charging the battery from a vehicle's  accessory socket  or a solar panel.   

It  was a fun  project.. Besides  having a  1,000w power box for  120V ac , USB   and  12v accessories using the 10 A socket.  I  have  50  A  Anderson connectors  and the 120 A connector  to run  things like a  12v electric outboard   for fishing  trips .  The LiFePO4  battery  only allows a max output of 100A  so  it  can't be used for something like jump starting,  but  it  is half the weight and  delivers twice the capacity of a lead acid battery running accessories..  Commercial pow2er  boxes  don't  deliver  high draw 12v output to run things like  the  electric outboards.   That's one reason  I  custom  built  mine.   One box that serves for both camping and fishing.

 

Edited September 8, 2025 by davefrombc
Added the wrong picture

[jen]

Damn! Yes I have a battery box to transport my battery safely  But those coonectors yo have!  I have some of those I bought but cannot figure out hoe to insert a cable in them!  I mean I am missing some basic Gray matter or what?

[jen]

Here is my battery box. the battery fits in and there is a devider to keep it secur.  The Bat cables come out of weather proof openings at sides.  Two side handles.  I like the rope handle on yours.. much easier to grip and carry.  

The picture is the Manual control i made for my 1500 lb portable winch.  I have the 50 amp connectors like you showed but have no clue how to attach the cable to the connector.  

[davefrombc]

Maybe   admin here can  rename this thread to  Power Stations ( Power Boxes)  to  better explain  what I  built.  Anderson connectors are no  more difficult to wire than  any others but  it is much easier to  attach a link to a youtube video of one man's assembly..  You  can solder the wires into the pins as he does or  crimp them.  Anderson connectors come in various sizes and colours   to  handle  from  10A  to  450A. They're great for making Quick connectors that can't be reverse connected .  The  connectors connect   only to  matching ones of the same size and colour  to  prevent accidental cross polarity connecting and in the case of multiple  circuits,  colour coding to  prevent connecting to the wrong circuit.   Here  is a link to the video.

 

Edited September 8, 2025 by davefrombc

[jen]

OK   I should  havelooked on you tube...Thank you

[jen]

Yeah...saw that ..I did not get the crimp terminals with the anderson housing...Makes sence now...Need an anderson crimp tool. now and terminals. I  have the 50 Amp housing.

[mikeexplorer]

2 hours ago, jen said:

Yeah...saw that ..I did not get the crimp terminals with the anderson housing...Makes sence now...Need an anderson crimp tool. now and terminals. I  have the 50 Amp housing.

You can also solder the wires to the terminals instead of crimping.

 

My power box setup for camping. I used Anderson connectors to connect to the battery. Inside the battery case is a 30 amp self-resetting circuit breaker. I bring the power in to my breakout box which has the fuse block, two 12 volt accessory outlets. USB charging ports, and a cigarette lighter (also can be used for more USB ports.) battery meter with temperature reading. 

This year I replaced the battery with a 100Ah LiFePO4 battery and added two more high power USB charging ports. 

 

[jen]

Neat set up...That's one of my faults..I try to "make do with what got".   You make it look factory.  If I am getting paid I actually make it look factory.

That is the same Rig "Jumping Jack" That Mike explorer has.   Yours single axle?   Mo pics?

[jen]

Sorry Mike I was out late last night.  too much Vino..That is your rig  ...

[davefrombc]

Any of the crimp tools that handle 6 gauge crimp terminals can be  used to  crimp the  50A Anderson terminals, and as  Mike said  you can solder them too.

I prefer the small  Anderson Power Pole connectors for  5 to  30 A connections  over the SAE ones.  The  Power Poles can  be joined to  create quick connectors that will  only connect  positive to positive and Negative to negative   the same as the  larger  connectors do..  The  SAE connectors  can  be cross connected  and let all the smoke leak out  of the electronics.  I  made a pair of adapters for when I want to power something with  SAE connectors from  my power box 

[jen]

Let the smoke out of electronics!   Yeah I love it when I see the solder Lands on PCB are raised up and burned.

[jen]

So I have seen advertised trickle chargers for batteries that claim they will extend the life of batteries.  Is that what you use on your Power Box...(Love that name)

you should copyright that name

[WeeBee]

I've used Trickle chargers on my Motorcycle ,ATV, Riding Lawn Mower batteries for years. it definitely extends the battery life!

 

[jen]

I wonder if the type /brand makes a difference?  The local battery shop sells one that is expnsive and they claim it is better.  My electric driveway gates in Fla have a charger on the battery and those batteries only last TWO years!   However, my Generac's (I have two) batteries last longer.   Those AAA bateries in personal devices don't last long.

I own Energizer stock...OMG

[WeeBee]

I 've used Schumacher battery chargers for many years, friend of mine uses the Energizer Chargers!

[jen]

Mike has professional looking Power Boxes.  I have not found a source for "project " electrical boxes.

[davefrombc]

Power box  is another common name for Power station.. Commercial  ones only  give you 120v ac  and usually  12v  dc  power socket and USB  outlets.  Depending on price,the  120v ac can  be from  just a couple of hundred watts up to 2500 or so.The all  use  LiFePO4   batteries .Power Boxes ( Power Stations) below 1,000w AC  usually   use 12v LiFePO4  batteries and from 1,000w  output  to  2500W  use 24v batteries.

LiFePO4 batteries require a charger designed for  LiFePO4 service or  one of the new ones that  have a LiPO4 setting.    Their charging profile  is different  and they charge at a higher voltage than lead acid batteries do. When   LiFePO4 batteries are used in place of lead acid ones in trailers or motor homes they need a DC to DC charge converter between them and the alternator to  charge properly  The  one I   used to  make my accessory socket  charger is one designed for below 12v up to about 36v in  and 14.2 v out to  charge the  LiFePO4  batteries.. The advantage of the one I  used is that it acts as an  MPPT charge converter that I  can  use  charging from a car alternator  or from solar panels.   LiFePO4 batteries are a lot different than  lead acid in  many respects  and far superior and half the weight of  Lead acid ones.  The  only  real disadvantage is they  cannot be  used for  high draw starting batteries in vehicles (  I  am told there are some  now but they are extremely expensive).    A 100Ah LiFePO4  battery  can  only output 100A  max.  Not the  400 to 600A  starting a large V8 requires..  LiFePO4  batteries are designed for   a long draw down to  cut off at  low current.  They're  a whole different world from  lead acid batteries..  I  made my power box so  I  have a portable power source of both 120v ac and the  USB  and  accessory socket output but also  up to 100A 12v  dc to run an electric outboard.  The battery I  used is a 100Ah LiFePO4 group 24 size.

  It was my project , not one from any "project" suggestion source.  I wanted both the AC  and ability to  run a 50# thrust electric outboard in  one portable  power station (  power box)

[jen]

Very Impressive...I am sure a lot of people will want to read this post...

[mikeexplorer]

7 hours ago, jen said:

Mike has professional looking Power Boxes.  I have not found a source for "project " electrical boxes.

The box is an electronics hobby box, you can buy them in many sizes at an electronics site such as Digikey. 

 

[jen]

Never  heard of Digikey?? I'll look that up...

[mikeexplorer]

23 hours ago, jen said:

Never  heard of Digikey?? I'll look that up...

The sell electronic parts. 

 

It takes getting used to their search engine. They stock over a million parts

 

https://www.digikey.com/en/products/filter/boxes/594

 

[jen]

OK...I need to upgrade my Box.  

[jen]

I want to use the 50 Amp connectors for my winch.

[davefrombc]

Since it appears Power has a lot different meaning to  you And others here,  I'll re-ask the question.  Does anyone else on here  have a  Power Station ? --- A portable  box with  120v AC , 12v  on an accessory socket  and  USB  outputs.  Not a distribution box wired into your  ATV but a self contained  power station.

Since  the patents are expired on the  "Anderson" connectors there are several  makers of clones of them  at a much  lower price than the originals.  The connectors are available through Amazon  and  Temu.  They  may also  be available through Home Hardware and various  auto/ RV  suppliers. The ATV  end of the connection can  be wired directly to the battery  and run out and secured where  you  want to  connect  your winch.

[jen]

Good info...

[jen]

The power station is good....Do you have the recharger with station...

[davefrombc]

I used a dc to dc  converter  designed to be used in a  truck / SUV to make a charger that can be plugged into an accessory socket  in a vehicle , or as the MPPT   charge controller to  charge from solar panels.   I also  have wall chargers designed specifically to  charge   LiFePO4 batteries. I  can  charge my home built  Power Station  ( box) either from  home with  the wall  charger,  from  vehicle via accessory socket  or from  solar panels.  Most Power Stations can  be charged the same way.. The big advantage of my homemade one is I  have  12v DC output from it up to  100 A  max draw to  run things like an electric outboard motor.  I  have not seen a commercial Power Station with more than  10 t0 15A output via  accessory socket.``

I  used a  battery box with the USB outlets,  accessory socket and battery volt meter built in to  build my  Power Station..  Those boxes  are originally designed for marine use  to  power The motor starting battery and accessories like depth sounders  and electric trolling motors..  

I  have also  built a power Station ( box)  using a plain  plastic marine battery box housing a 100Ah LiFePO4 battery..  I  put two   Accessory sockets on it  and  wired  on both a 120A and 50 A Anderson  plugs.    I  also  put   the DC to DC converter on  it so  I could charge it from an accessory socket or  solar panels.  USB  out  for it is by an accessory socket USB adapter. There is no  volt meter on it  and there is no 120v  inverter attached to it  like  the  commercial box  I  used to  build the one in the picture..   Box was just a plain  plastic marine battery box  I  added the outlets to. 

[jen]

Here is a stupid question that has always troubled me.

I am most familiar with control transformers; i.e., 480 vac to 120 vac.  However, I know that Xfmrs work "both ways" . If i input 120 vac into that Xfmr i will have 480 (nominal) vac output.

For that reason i always disconnect bat chargers because i am afraid the charger will drain the battery when I unplug the charger.

[davefrombc]

battery chargers should not drain  back. The diodes / diode bridge that convert the  AC  to  DC  for the battery should prevent it.   Lead acid batteries should be kept on a  maintainer  when  not in use foran extended time because of their self  discharge and  sulfation  problems when sitting at less than full charge.   Most new  battery chargers have a maintainer function once the battery is fully  charged   but they should not  be left connecte4d and plugged in as they  could possibly end up  overcharging the battery ..  LiFePO4  batteries  are much different  then   Lead/acid ones.They  can be discharged to their cut off voltage and left sit   without damage..  a O4 100Ah  LiFePO4 battery  can  be drawn down  the full  100 Ah without hurting it ... A  Lead/ acid battery can  only be drawn  down about half way before hurting it   and  must be fully recharged as soon as possible to  avoid the sulfation problem.  In other words, a 100Ah  LiFePO4  battery can  deliver the full  100 Ah without  harm while a  lead/acid battery rated 100 Ah  can  only deliver 50 Ah's before  beginning to  damage it.

There's a world of differences  between the 2 technologies.. Lead /acid shines in high draw applications like starting batteries and operating/ charging  in sub freezing  use..  LiFePO4 batteries shine in low draw over longer  times as "house"  batteries in  RV's  and off grid applications. LiFePO4 batteries are almost 1/2  the weight of a similarly  rated  Lead/acid battery too.

[mikeexplorer]

19 hours ago, jen said:

Here is a stupid question that has always troubled me.

I am most familiar with control transformers; i.e., 480 vac to 120 vac.  However, I know that Xfmrs work "both ways" . If i input 120 vac into that Xfmr i will have 480 (nominal) vac output.

For that reason i always disconnect bat chargers because i am afraid the charger will drain the battery when I unplug the charger.

Yes control transformers *MAY* work both ways but you have to look at the KVA rating of the transformer. (Small ones will rate by VA) The available current output would be less then 1/4 of the input current. Normally control transformers are designed for step-down only. Running them reverse would cause a lot of heating on the secondary side (being used as primary) since they are not designed for it (wire gauge is too small) 

If you really wanted to do that, they make step-up transformers for that purpose.