@Crewzer posted:Charging from our truck’s back seat power port. It’s pretty slow, as the DC input limits low-voltage current to 8 Amps. The charge rate can be doubled to ~200 W by inserting a 12V / 24V boost converter between the power port and the DC input; that’s an experiment for another day.
😎
Jim / crewzer
Today was the day for the 12/24 V boost converter experiment.
I used a small Victron 12/24-10 boost converter to boost the voltage from one of our truck’s 12 V power sockets (fused at 20 A) to 20 V. The converter’s output voltage is adjustable.
The AC180 limits DC charge current to 8 A for input voltages below 30 V, so I saw 160 W input from this configuration (20 V x 8 A = 160 W).
I could probably increase the converter’s output voltage to ~24 V (for 192 W output) and stay under 16 A (20 A x 80%) from the truck’s power outlet with the engine running.
Assuming 90% charging efficiency, the 160 W configuration could fully recharge the AC180 in about eight hours. Set for 192 W, the recharge time would be about six hours.
I may ultimately go for 180 W (22.5 V x 8 A) and a seven hour recharge period, which would be almost double the “straight 12 V” charge rate (95 W) in about one-half the time.
To conclude, there are at least three options for recharging portable power stations from a vehicle alternator:
1) 12 V directly from a power port
2) 12 V boosted to ~20 - 24 V (or more) from a power port, an upfitter switch or other high-current source
3) 12 V - 24 V from a DC power brick plugged into a vehicle 120 Vac inverter
HTH,
Jim / crewzer
