Parking Battery-Power Station, 3X capacity and 3X cheaper than dedicated options + extra functionality

[GPak]

Thanks @kawayanan , my unit is on the way an scheduled to be here on December 4-5 (also not prime)

Adapter: 16V - 4A
Solar Panel: MPPT 12-25V/64W MAX
Car port: 12V - 4A 48W MAX

So, the best rate with dual charging USBC(PD)+DC would be 65+48=113W
However, if using small DC to DC, 12V to 24V, 5A boost converter on DC side then the best charging rate could be 65+64=129W, realistically probably 120W, and that makes me happy because in my original parking demand analysis I did not account for PS self-consumption.
BTW that is better then Dedicated Battery packs with max charge rate about 115W

 

[DigitalCorpus]

Look what I found, TechnoAmp N300, Power Station, review and Teardown!
It is in some Asian language, but English text comments help to understand essential info

Necespow N300 is improved version of TechnoAmp N300:
TechnoAmp N300 is using 32650, qty 16, 6.0Ah cells for 16*6Ah*3.2V=307.2Wh
Necespow N300 is apparently using 32650, qty 16, 6.3Ah cells for 16*6.3Ah*3.2V=322.56Wh

The review provides some answers, you guys been looking for:

@Nigel - Standby power used by the control board is 0.7W (AC inventor turned OFF)
@DigitalCorpus – No hanging thermo-sensor between case and battery pack, all wires are coming out from inside of Battery pack, at-list one of them must be thermo-sensor

Filipino/Tegalian is the language with a smattering of English dropped in. This isn't uncommon as Mandarin/Japanese/German speakers do with in the tech industry somewhat. Good find on the video.

The strip of 6 black wires that go from the top of the board to the pack are likely for balancing. The pair of black wires on the left likely go to a/the thermistor or NTC, whichever is used:

Thanks @kawayanan , my unit is on the way an scheduled to be here on December 4-5 (also not prime)

Adapter: 16V - 4A
Solar Panel: MPPT 12-25V/64W MAX
Car port: 12V - 4A 48W MAX

So, the best rate with dual charging would be 65+48=113W
However, if using small DC to DC, 12V to 24V, 5A boost converter. then the best charging rate could be 64+65=129W, realistically probably 120W, and that makes me happy because in my original parking demand analysis I did not account for PS self-consumption.

The idle/standby power draw of the BMS + accessories isn't easy to account for unless you open the thing up like he did and 5.7 W definately needs to be accounted for as that is about as much as an N4P, for example. Is the inverter something you can toggle on/off as I don't remember. If yes, then the 0.7 W from the BMS/control board is practically negligible at this point, imho.

 

[GPak]

The idle/standby power draw of the BMS + accessories isn't easy to account for unless you open the thing up like he did and 5.7 W definately needs to be accounted for as that is about as much as an N4P, for example. Is the inverter something you can toggle on/off as I don't remember. If yes, then the 0.7 W from the BMS/control board is practically negligible at this point, imho.

Inverter is always OFF, it has a dedicated switch to turn it ON, so we don't have to worry about it.
It is only 0.7W self-consumption for DashCam use, however that 0.7W is still needs to be accounted for, it is about 16.8Wh loss in 24 hrs.

 

[kawayanan]

Filipino/Tegalian is the language with a smattering of English dropped in. This isn't uncommon as Mandarin/Japanese/German speakers do with in the tech industry somewhat. Good find on the video.

I finally got around to watching the video. I'm not a native speaker, but at one point was pretty proficient in Tagalog (source of my forum name). The mix of Tagalog and English is very common, and when I was there ATMs actually gave you the choice of Tagalog or Taglish. It was an interesting video to watch. One thing I noted was that he listed a con of the inverter output as being 50Hz. I don't have a way to check, so I don't know what it is actually outputting. I find it strange that the Amazon listing and the manual both claim the AC output to be "110V 50/60Hz". There isn't a way to select an output Hz, so it doesn't make any sense to me that it claims 50/60Hz. An input could accept either so 50/60Hz makes sense there, but an output is either on or the other (unless it has a way to be changed. Am I wrong on that?

I've been pretty busy at work and still haven't had a chance to mess around with it in the car yet. I am traveling next week, and was thinking of trying to do a simple setup to have parking mode run while my truck is parked at the airport and see how long it will run on the 322Wh system. I was just thinking I would connect my dashcam via USB to the power station once I parked, and manually start parking mode (don't have time to complete the hardwiring). Unfortunately, it look like outsmarted. I'm still comparing and reviewing a Viofo A229 Duo along side a Vantrue S1 Pro. Strangely enough, it looks like there is no way to manually start parking mode on the Viofo. I have it hardwired currently only to a ACC fuse tap (no parking mode, it just shuts off with the car). I did it that way because I didn't want to run it off the vehicle battery (hence this project). This means I can't just connect it to the power station as a test without doing the hardwiring (power from power station DC out plus ACC fuse tap to tell it the state of the vehicle). The Vantrue on the other hand does allow you to manually start parking mode, so I could use it while parked at the airport without hardwiring it.

As for my plans to hardwire everything, right now my plan was to do a fuse tap to this USB adapter for the 65W PD input (I already have 100W USB-C cables) . I would still want to use a secondary 12V input (probably leave it without a boost converter that GPak mentioned - I wouldn't get the maximum wattage, but hopefully good enough). I also need to setup a DC output to the dashcam hardwire kit (which would also connect to the ACC to get the vehicle state). This means I need to get barrel connectors for these connections that match the power station. The output needing a a 5.5x2.1mm barrel connector (DC5521 I think). Not having a ton of DC wiring experience, I want to make sure I have heavy enough gauge wire (both the 65W PD adaptor and the 12V DC, which could be should be pulling 4-5A at max I think). My preference would be 14awg or 16awg. 18awg just makes me a little nervous and I don't have enough experience to know if I'm just being paranoid or it really could be bad. Anyway, I can find 5.5x2.1mm connectors with 14awg wires, but that fits the output side of the power station (probably overkill for the dashcam draw). Finding a good DC input connector (3.5x1.35mm) with sufficient wires seems harder as most either don't have wire gauge listed or they are 18awg or 22awg (smaller than I would want for the ~4A I would expect for the DC input). The 3.5x1.35mm stuff I can find seem more geared towards DC security cameras, so built for lower power demands. I could use a 3.5x1.35mm to 5.5x2.1mm adapter and use the 14awg connectors with wires linked above, but its probably useful to keep the DC inputs and outputs with different connections so they don't get plugged into the wrong place. Anyone have a good suggestion for wiring the DC inputs and outputs, or better sources than I found in my quick searching?

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[GPak]

I am traveling next week, and was thinking of trying to do a simple setup to have parking mode run while my truck is parked at the airport and see how long it will run on the 322Wh system. I was just thinking I would connect my dashcam via USB to the power station once I parked, and manually start parking mode (don't have time to complete the hardwiring). Unfortunately, it look like outsmarted. I'm still comparing and reviewing a Viofo A229 Duo along side a Vantrue S1 Pro. Strangely enough, it looks like there is no way to manually start parking mode on the Viofo. I have it hardwired currently only to a ACC fuse tap (no parking mode, it just shuts off with the car). I did it that way because I didn't want to run it off the vehicle battery (hence this project). This means I can't just connect it to the power station as a test without doing the hardwiring (power from power station DC out plus ACC fuse tap to tell it the state of the vehicle). The Vantrue on the other hand does allow you to manually start parking mode, so I could use it while parked at the airport without hardwiring it.

Viofo A229 will enter parking mode automatically after 5 min of no activity (based on GPS input)
Just make sure to setup parking mode in settings including "parking recording timer" to 48 hr or "OFF" for unlimited recording
Power Station's USB port efficiency is about 0.76, hence usable energy would be about 244Wh.
Viofo A229, 2ch parking consumption in low bit-rate is about 5W and PS self-consumption is about 0.7W, for total 5.7W.
So, it should record for about 244/5.7=42hr
Fully charge PS and simply plug A229 with USB and check/test parking recording duration.

 

[forcefed]

So i just tried to use my ecoflow to power the a229pro and it didn't go so well. I used the full length of viofo hardwire cable, took out the 12v regulator and reconnected the rest of the single red/black/yellow wires and used around 2 feet of a regular usb cable and the camera just kept turning off. I figure the thin wire gauge in the usb cable was the issue here, i'll solder in some 16awg wire to the usb plug tomorrow and try again.

 

[GPak]

So i just tried to use my ecoflow to power the a229pro and it didn't go so well. I used the full length of viofo hardwire cable, took out the 12v regulator and reconnected the rest of the single red/black/yellow wires and used around 2 feet of a regular usb cable and the camera just kept turning off. I figure the thin wire gauge in the usb cable was the issue here, i'll solder in some 16awg wire to the usb plug tomorrow and try again.

A229 Pro is high power demand Dash Cam, compere to Mini2.
So, voltage drop in cables and associated power starvation with 5V system could be a concern.

HK4 cable is 20AWG, however, its 12V voltage regulator outputs approximately 5.5V, so even with some voltage drop Dash Cam still probably gets around 5V.
That is why, along with better PS efficiency, 12V system is preferred.

In my setup, I used this 18AWG USB cables:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/B09ZQNJ2DJ

 

[GPak]

Anyone have a good suggestion for wiring the DC inputs and outputs, or better sources than I found in my quick searching?

On Dash Cam side, the max current is about 2A, so 18AWG cables should be adequate to extend HK4 if needed. (see my previous post)

On power side, for individual realistic 60W USB-CPD or DC draw, the max current would be around (60W/12.5V)/0.9 = 5.3A. (0.9 is charger efficiency, assuming 15ft long, 12V wire runs all the way from fuse box or cigar lighter to charger adapter located within 3ft of PS. (3 ft. for USB-CPD cable)
Then wire gauge for about 15ft long cable should be 14AWG

For single wire to be used for both USB-CPD and DC combined, the max current would be a double, at approximately 10.6A.
Then wire gauge for about 15ft long cable should be 12AWG.

 

[forcefed]

HK4 cable is 20AWG, however, its 12V voltage regulator outputs approximately 5.5V, so even with some voltage drop Dash Cam still probably gets around 5V.
That is why, along with better PS efficiency, 12V system is preferred.

Good info, if the 16awg usb cable won't work i'll switch to using the 12v regulator.

 

[kawayanan]

On Dash Cam side, the max current is about 2A, so 18AWG cables should be adequate to extend HK4 if needed. (see my previous post)

On power side, for individual realistic 60W USB-CPD or DC draw, the max current would be around (60W/12.5V)/0.9 = 5.3A. (0.9 is charger efficiency, assuming 15ft long, 12V wire runs all the way from fuse box or cigar lighter to charger adapter located within 3ft of PS. (3 ft. for USB-CPD cable)
Then wire gauge for about 15ft long cable should be 14AWG

For single wire to be used for both USB-CPD and DC combined, the max current would be a double, at approximately 10.6A.
Then wire gauge for about 15ft long cable should be 12AWG.

I don't plan on having anywhere near 15ft. Our calculations are reasonable similar though - I was assuming ~5A per charging input. Right now I have the power station under my front passenger seat (fuse box is in the front passenger foot area). I have the charging side running through a 3ft USB-C, and the cords are much longer than needed.

For the dashcam power side, I dug through my tote of old electronics and found an old Netgear router power cord with the 5.5x2.1mm barrel connector. I clipped off the AC to DC brick and used the wires for the DC output from the power station to the dashcam hardwire kit. Not sure what the wire gauge is but I think it should be fine for powering the dashcam (it the power station charging side I am more worried about). Since I am using the power station DC output I left the dashcam hardwire kit 12V converter (and set to to the lowest voltage cutoff, 11.something).

For the charging side ran a fuse tap to a USB adapter to charge the power station via the USB-C PD (this fuse tap is ACC and also took the dashcam hardwire kit ACC sensor lead). I don't yet have a way to do the DC input (haven't gotten a 3.5x1.35mm barrel connector yet). Everything functions as expected - when I start the car the A229 Duo starts normal recording, when I stop it goes into parking mode. The USB adapter tells me the vehicle system voltage, as well as what it is outputting. I had the power station pretty much fully charged, so I think the power station had dropped to minimal charging just to top it off. The USB adapter identified that it had boosted to 20V for the PD and was outputting 0.71A. I'll have to see what it does when the power station is not fully charged. Its running tonight in parking mode (event detection), so we'll se how much of the battery it consumes.

I had planned on eventually doing two fuse taps - one for the USB adapter and PD charging, the other for direct DC charging. Both would need to be ACC so that charging only happens when the vehicle is running. I ran into problems though. This is for my Ford Maverick Hybrid, and it has multiple unused fuses that could be tapped. There are however a limited number that are ACC (some unused and some that do have a purpose). Unfortunately, due to the placement of the ACC fuses, there is no way to tap two different fuses - the fuse taps cannot fit is some slots due to the side of the fuse box, or the fuse taps themselves get in each other way. Essentially, I will only ever be able to tap one ACC fuse. The ones I can access are only 5A or 10A, so I wouldn't use one for both charging methods. I think my best bet may actually be to not use the fuse taps for charging at all and go directly to the battery with an inline fuse and a relay connected to the ACC fuse tap to close the charging circuit only when the car is on. It a bit more complicated, but could probably be wired more robustly. Additionally, the Ford Maverick Hybrid actually has the battery under the back seat, along with some storage. If I put the power station in the under seat storage, I could also access the battery there. Then I would just need to run a line from the ACC fuse tap to control the relay (minimal power), and another from the power station DC output to connect to the dashcam hardwire kit. Ventilation wouldn't be good under the seat though, but I assume the most heat is produced if you use the inverter (which I won't be). Does the power station produce much heat while charging or powering a dashcam? I am assuming not too much - so far I have never had the power station fan come on (except for a sec when it starts up).

I'm be running the dashcam in parking mode tonight (on the 161Wh power station). It is in event detection mode, and we will see what it consumes. Tomorrow I am headed to the airport and the truck will be parked until Thursday (3 days). I plan on switch to the 322Wh power station (fully charges) for the parking at the airport. We'll see how long it survives.

 

[forcefed]

Tested the shorter 16awg usb cable and all is good, camera doesn't turn off anymore, don't need to go the 12v route.
Just need to crimp the wires on the 12v socket for charging and usb port for parking mode to the acc fuse box and i'll be good to go.

 

[GPak]

Tested the shorter 16awg usb cable and all is good, camera doesn't turn off anymore, don't need to go the 12v route.
Just need to crimp the wires on the 12v socket for charging and usb port for parking mode to the acc fuse box and i'll be good to go.

Looks good!

So how does the EcoFlow River 2 Power Station work?
Does it automatically turn on and charging when ACC is turned on?
Do USB ports turn on automatically or do they need to be turned on through an app?
Do 12V ports turn on automatically or do they need to be turned on through an app?

 

[forcefed]

When you charge it it turns on and and usb ports are on. The 12v socket and 120v ac need to be turned on in the app or with a button, but there's a setting in the app to have 120v ac always on, haven't tried it yet though. I'll try requesting the same feature for the 12v socket to be always on.

 

[Shiwarrior]

Hi
Hope you don't mind me asking here as you guys in this thread seem to know what you are doing and i would like some advice / ideas if that's ok ?

I used to have a Cellink neo 9 along with a 2CH Thinkware Q800 PRO
when I charged the battery to 100% i would get nearly 2 days in motion detection parking mode

this stopped working in parking mode, the cameras work fine

I ended up ripping it all out, now i have a blackvue B130X and Blackvue 970X LTE 2CH and I'm not getting 24 hours and it seems slower to charge up as well, so I'm not getting the benefit of it really

as my work journey is short, I used to charge what I could before work, but when i leave work, i used to make sure it was fully charged up before returning home if I had the next day off

I've been thinking on what i could do, and i was tempted to buy the new cellink neo 8+ and EXT 7 but charge times would be too slow, so i thought about perhaps charging the EXT 7 indoors OR buy 2 battery packs and charge one indoors every day

but that's not really an option.


I was just looking at power banks / power stations , like a power station (say 20,000 mAH) hooked up to the dashcam battery pack somehow, and maybe charge the power station indoors once a week or example

any ideas?

Thanks

 

[forcefed]

Tested the shorter 16awg usb cable and all is good, camera doesn't turn off anymore, don't need to go the 12v route.
Just need to crimp the wires on the 12v socket for charging and usb port for parking mode to the acc fuse box and i'll be good to go.

View attachment 69609View attachment 69610

So i ran into a strange issue with parking mode, when i insert the acc/usb cable back into the ecoflow the a229 pro goes from parking mode to regular recording mode without issues. When i insert the usb into a usb port from another charger the a229 pro doesn't exit parking mode. What could be the issue here? I tried grounding the usb cable to the car battery but that didn't help. The ecoflow outputs 4.9v while the other chargers output 5v. I'll trying replacing the wiring in the second usb cable to 16awg tomorrow and try again.

 

[forcefed]

I was just looking at power banks / power stations , like a power station (say 20,000 mAH) hooked up to the dashcam battery pack somehow, and maybe charge the power station indoors once a week or example

Post a link to which one you want to use.

 

[GPak]

Hi
Hope you don't mind me asking here as you guys in this thread seem to know what you are doing and i would like some advice / ideas if that's ok ?

You just need to know 2 numbers for max parking duration:

• Battery usable energy capacity in Wh(usable) - this is Rated capacity x Efficiency
• Dash Cam’s parking mode power consumption in W(park) - depends on Dash Cam, # of channels, and selected parking mode.

If you know this 2 numbers you can calculate max parking duration for fully charged Battery as: Hrs(max) = Wh(usable)/W(prk)

In your case:
B130X is rated at 96Wh, and we can assume all this energy is usable for dedicated battery.

Searching this forum I was unable to find parking power consumption for 970X LTE 2CH, but I found for 970X 2CH, which is reported by @Panzer Platform as 5.14W at Parking Motion & Impact mode.

Then, 96Wh/5.11W=18.6 hrs max

I am not sure how much power is needed for LTE, assuming 2.5W then 96/(5.14+2.5)=12.5 hrs (max)

As for your old setup Cellinck Neo is rated at 76.8Wh in order to run 48 hrs parking (2 days) the parking power consumption should be 76.8/48=1.6W that is very low number and unrealistic for 2CH in motion detection parking mode in my opinion.

Keep in mind, that For Power Stations or Power Banks usable energy is roughly 0.8 of rated capacity, e.i. if Power Station is rated at 200Wh then usable energy likely to be about 200*0.8=160Wh

 

[GPak]

So i ran into a strange issue with parking mode, when i insert the acc/usb cable back into the ecoflow the a229 pro goes from parking mode to regular recording mode without issues. When i insert the usb into a usb port from another charger the a229 pro doesn't exit parking mode. What could be the issue here? I tried grounding the usb cable to the car battery but that didn't help. The ecoflow outputs 4.9v while the other chargers output 5v. I'll trying replacing the wiring in the second usb cable to 16awg tomorrow and try again.

I am not sure why you need to connect ACC/USB cable to Power Station?
Anyway,
What is "another charger" and is it on the same 12V outlet ACC and is ACC ON?
Is your USB-CPD cable connected when you move ACC/USB back to ACC?

Ground is interconnected thru all tree cables, meaning all three cable should be connected for the system to work

USB-A power for Dash Cam should be connected to Power Station
USB/ACC should be connected to ACC charger (the same charger or the same 12V outlet used for USB-CPD)
USB-CPD should be connected to Power Station and Charger (the same charger used for USB/ACC)

 

[forcefed]

I have a two 12v sockets connected to a switched 12v fuse, one 12v socket charges the ecoflow with the included car charger and the second has a usb charger to supply the 5v to the acc wire on the dashcam. When i connect that 5v cable with the acc dashcam wire to my ecoflow just for testing, parking mode works fine, but when i connect it to the usb charger on the 12v socket it doesn't.
I'll also try grounding that usb cable to the black wire going to the viofo tomorrow.

 

[forcefed]

I'll also try grounding that usb cable to the black wire going to the viofo tomorrow.

That was the issue, i grounded that cable to viofo's ground and now it works.
So in your case @GPak since your ground for both cables is in the same charger you don't need a ground in the usb cable that triggers acc for the camera. In my case i needed to ground that cable to viofo's ground since my usb cable with the acc wire is on a different ground and wont work.

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