12V Power Box DIY with 100Ahr LiFePo4 Battery
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- Опубліковано 14 січ 2023
- This is my first UA-cam video. One error is that I neglected to mention the connection to the Epic PWRgate from a solar panel. I am not going into wiring detail. You can find many examples. I primarily want to show you the end result and the design of the inputs and outputs. I used 10 ga. wire from the battery to the Epic PWRgate, 12 ga for all 12V connections and 18 ga for the USB and lights.
Also, I primarily operate 5-10 watts CW on my KX2 or KX3. In those cases I use very small 3 to 6 Ahr. LifePo4 batteries. This Power Box is for emergency use, or if I want to operate the rare QRO. Note that most of today's QRO rigs require 13.8V for full 100W output. This battery will not provde that much voltage. In my tests, my K4 or my KXPA100 amp will operate at 50-70 watts easily for many days on this battery.
Here are links to some of the parts for the power box.
Dewalt TSTAK tool box:
www.homedepot.com/p/DEWALT-TS...
PowerPole connectors and switches:
powerwerx.com/
West Mountian Epic PWRgate:
www.westmountainradio.com/pro...
Fuse Panel:
www.amazon.com/dp/B07PLC53MQ?...
LED lights:
www.amazon.com/dp/B01ADHUXGU?...
Power Analyzer:
www.amazon.com/dp/B07GB71YSB?...
Toggle Switch is a DPST 20A switch.
100 Ahr. Power Queen LiFePO4 Battery:
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09...
Looks good and I got some useful ideas. You might consider adding a small sine wave inverter (100-300w) and a couple 12v fans to draw cool air through the unit. Having the current meter on the outside would be useful as well,
One of the nicest builds I’ve seen up until now! Cheers, Albert
Well done, the unit turned out looking just great.
Great little power box. I built one years ago with just a standard lawn mower battery and solar set up. Doing it all over again with the new equipment that is out there. I now have two power queen mini 100AH and a 1500 watt pure sign wave inverter. Going to build my own box for this system. Nothing on the market fits. What I am interested in is a fuse system for safety. Cool Video. I got a lot of ideas. Thank You.
nice build. im on the process of building something similar in a front runner wolfpack box. thank you for the inspiration
I have an Epic PWRgate that I use for powering my ham radios, and the Anderson power pole connectors are used by many hams but are a great idea for use on projects like this one, they afford quick connections and easy replacement or repairs if needed.
Nice little setup! I use that same battery in my small solar system at home. Greetings from Jamaica.
I did something similar with a 8D Noco battery box for single 200ah LifePO4 batteries. I made it so i can add capacity easily through bus bars on top of what i call the master battery box. The master battery box has all the hardware that additional battery's can be wired to parallel. 2500-5000watt inverter, charge control,kill switch and a 30 amp outlet installed flush to the battery box. I used silicon pads and the same packing material that came with the battery so it does not shift and hit the sides of the box. The Noco box was a little pricey but it is a well built box that allows me to mount hardware to it without compromising the structure at all and remaining very light weight.
Let's see your build ?
For the diyers.
I used a simular sized box from ridgid.
I was able to fit 2 -80ah lifepo4 batteries in the box with a 5" gap in the middle. As i needed a 24 vdc system for a kayak motor
looks great. years back I made them with AGM and was heavy. I got bigger Anderson on mine. SB 50/SB 175 . and power pole as well even the 75 amp ones. MAXI and ANL fuses . I use the same powerworx stuff. eathere direct from them or amazon . I am using victron MPPT with bluetooth . super great charge controller just add ferrite to PV and battery leads. was getting HF noise. you can charge that powerqueen and leave it for months and will stay charged. I got the smaller one and the big 190AH 200 amp BMS one.all super. 73's
Not bad. Lots of power for DC devices. The PWRgate is pretty cool. I built a milk crate with a 10 A PWM, 1 100 watt panel, a lead acid deep cycle battery, and a 1000 watt inverter for my shed, and then have purchased LiFePO4 solar generators for the house, but I'm always looking for ways to expand my capacity with LiFePO4 batteries since they're getting cheaper now. Thanks for the video.
Great job buddy! 👌
Nice build!
Good build sir.. stay safe 🏴
This an awesome build!
Been thinking about making something like this that would charge comms equipment.
73s!
Magnifique monsieur très belle station d'énergie !
Excellent video!
Great job, the only thing I don’t like about batteries in boxes is heat, heat effects performance and will eventually kill the battery, especially where I live! Good idea I’m going to use having led lights so you can see what your doing when the lights go out!
That is a fact I considered. At 75 years old and these batteries having 4000 discharges or more the way I am charging, I expect the battery to outlast my lifetime. If not, I can buy another. This one was only $299.
Batteries themselves shouldn't heat up much unless you are at high charge or discharge rates.
@@n7tb 75!! Wow I’m impressed! I’ll probably be in a nursing home drooling on myself by 75!
Good job. Thanks for the video brother.
Really nice work.
You’re not even done explaining the project and I already like it. I can tell immediately that you included everything probably just looking at it. Now I’m gonna go look at your parts list and maybe I’ll order a bunch of stuff. The only thing I might like better is making at 200 amp hour version, but can I actually carried around. I probably want an inverter in mine. Still a nice build. Oh, KC5ENC 😂. Now I see why you didn’t need an inverter. You had a specific purpose to just run 12 V mostly.
My first box was a 12v 100ah agm build. I've been getting everything together to build 2.0 box with 2 of the 100ah power queen LP4 batteries and a 1000w inverter. Finding a box to fit the batteries, inverter, and the 30a power queen mppt charge controller has been a task. It will be lighter weight then my AGM box.
change the lights to 2700k color, cut out a spot for a small computer fan that toggles on/off when you charge or turn on your circuitry, add a 120ac plug and a small inverter to power laptops or other fairly low-draw household electronics. Plenty of room left in that case for a few upgrades.
Neat! Love the fuse box, I stole the idea :)
The $15 fuse box is the weakest link. You can open the fuse box (may be opened only half the bottom cover), and use light can see the inside whether the thin wire connects the metal seat with the metal plate.
T
his is an old school guy , that label maker is from the 1960's
This is a cool project but all of our links in the description are cut off.
Very nice. I like this
100Ah, LiFePO4 👍
Nice.
That is an awesome build. I have been considering building one myself. Will definitely be using some of your ideas.
I have a Bluetti AC200P and love everything about it but one little thing. The solar charge start voltage is 34 volts! Very unhandy for solar charging off a small camper.
Wow....that is absolutely beautiful. Very well done. Are you sure this did not come off of a production line somewhere. :)
I have two 200 AH plus Power queen batteries. That’s cool you use the same brand my wife and I have.
I like
Very nice setup! 1 year later, anything you would change or add to it?
Great project; I'm working on a TSTAK based one too. Have you tried clamping another TSTAK box to the top? Do the switches and power outputs stop it, or just fit underneath the next box?
Looks good. How do you keep the battery from moving around in the box and what's your method with mounting the MPPT and other items within the box? Thanks!
Hi Jason,
For holding the fuse box and the Epic PWRgate, I attached them using dual lock fasteners. Here is the link.
www.amazon.com/dp/B09G5L4LSF?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1
These things hold FIRM.
I made the assumption that the Power Box would never be inverted, although there is only about a half inch clearance from the battery to the top of the box where the connectors stick down. I attached the battery on the bottom with two stri[ps of hook and loop velcro with adhesive on one side..
Probably an improvement would be to add vertical foam spacers between the battery and four sides of the box to cushion it in case the case fell on its side.
I hope this helps.
73,
Terry
What's keeping the battery in place? It looks like it is not strapped down and could slide into the back of your connectors.
Can you carry that using the top handle or is it too heavy?
I've got one of those boxes. Looks like a good setup.
yes, no problem. I really like that LiFePo4 batteries are so light weight.
Okay the question I had on the powrQueen what you going to do about it freezes
Eco-worthy battery AGM I stuck my hand in the freezer pulled it out while I was still cold I was still drawing amps but if you put a queen in there like I did there is no voltage
I am not a Ham Radio person, so I've no knowledge of the PWRgate device. Could you please expand on what it can do and how you are using it? And are you able to use it to charge your battery from the Wall socket (I assume through some AC to DC power supply converter?).
The details of the PWRgate are at www.westmountainradio.com by doing a search for the "Epic PWRgate". Essentially, if a 12V power supply is attached, it powers all the 12v connections on the box and with surplus power, charges the battery. you can select charging rate at 1, 5, or 10 amps. You can also designate Led Acid and SLA, AGM, and LiFePo4 batteries. If the 12 V power supply is disconnected, the battery powers everything. if a solar panel is attached, there is a built in MPPT solar charge controller and the battery can be used while the solar panel is attached. I hope this helps.
What's keeping the battery from sliding around in the box? It looks like it is just sitting there with no straps.
It now has foam around the sides. it is actually being held by industrial dual lock fasteners on the bottom to hold the battery in place.
Please put parts list in comments
If you have machine working circuit with Coil/inductor you can bring the power energy consumption back to battery source in 10 to 15 Lost,,,!!!
Could you the items in the build and place of purchase? Thanks
Sehr schön
Leider funktionieren links nicht😱
What did you use for the box/case?
That’s dewalt tstak case. I do the same but I would avoid putting anything on top so it would be still stackable
How much did it cost
most links don't work incomplete url
How much this cost you total?
what was your total cost? Is it cheaper to buy one already made?
about $600. I looked but couldn't find exactly what I wanted to suit my needs. This is one of those things that are a big expense and probably not going to pay themselves back, unless you have an emergency and then they are great to have and payback all the expense and effort to make them. This box is overkill for most of my needs, but I do use it during ARRL Field Day each summer and need the full 100 AHr. battery capacity to run my HF radioover several days.
@@n7tb have you seen the doctor prepare 100ah battery? 399. has a built in hub with an mppt charger, usb and cigarette lighter port. also has high and low temp protection. Its actually made by renogy.
none of your link sin description work
How many hours does it lasts
That depends on the rate of drain on the battery. My application is amateur radio. I can operate a radio at 50 watts on CW (Morse code) and use 4 amps approximately an hour. If I recharge after 80 amp hr. Consumption, I could operate 20 hours.
it depends on the load. i use mine to operate a ham radio transciever. I operate at about 50-60 watts and find that I use about 2.5 amps per hour, so this setup would last about 35 hours. it is really designed for use during emergency or amateur radio field day.
I have also built a smaller 15 Ahr LiFePo4 based power box that i use mostly for Parks on the Air activations. I will be posting a video of it in a few days.
anderson connectors not mc4
yes Anderson Powerpole connectors.
can i buy this
You have to build it yourself. Everyone builds a bit better than the last based on what others build.
Nice build but this isn't really a power station if you need AC power because there isn't a power inverter.
Sure it is -- it's a 12V power station.
As a ham radio operator, i don't need AC all my equipment is DC
none of your links work
how much money you have invested in this without your time.
The biggest costs were the battery at $300 and the PWRgate was $180 just a guess would be around $600. For the type of Amateur Radio portable activities I do, the PWRgate was essential. Others could eliminate that.
@@n7tb thank you for the answer
i would estimate about $600or so. The biggest cost is the battery and PowrGate
Fatal flaw you used USB-A when nothing manufactured of any substance uses that anymore. Even Apple is switching to USBC with their phones next year. You should have done it all USBC and bought $5 adapters just in case you have some old USB-A device you need to use that future proofs that device
I misspoke, they are 5A USB-B ports
Good grief. Hardly fatal. He can always add a USB-C later if he wants.
There is a USB C as well. Most of my Amateur radio chargers are USB-A. Even the newest equipment. i needed to make this to serve my Amateur Radio needs.
One minute in and I'm still staring at a closed box while someone spouts numbers in my ear. Not the way to make a video. Open it right at the start, show us what it is, how it works. Make it interesting for your viewers. Also, the heave at the intake of breath is not pleasant to listen to.
Thanks Martin for your suggestions. Was my first video. I left the box closed because all the outputs and switches were on the outside. Inside was a battery and wiring. The video was produced for 5 of my friends to look at. It was too big for email. I wasn’t looking to produce a UA-cam channel as you have.
You do know you can skip around videos with the slider, right?
There will always be one. I don't care if you are talking about pepper grain size.