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

[Shiwarrior]

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

something lkike this ?
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/B09Q5DJV71
question is, how would one connect it to the battery pack?

i see you can buy XT60 to USB-c cables


Question is, when i park my car, how do I "add" more batteries to the battery pack to make it last longer ?
if I bought say that PowerStation, I'm unsure how to hook it up and would the battery pack use it?

 

[DigitalCorpus]

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.

For what it is worth, ampere capacity is based on the temperature of the wire and insulation, not the voltage drop per se. Computing the voltage drop and limiting it to under 5% for the amount of current required along the length is the typical guidance.

 

[forcefed]

something lkike this ?
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/B09Q5DJV71
question is, how would one connect it to the battery pack?

To the BlackVue battery? You can connect it but you'll lose parking mode. Simply use the car charging cable and connect it to the power station, but now the battery won't know when to trigger parking mode and you probably need to manually trigger the 12v socket on the power station.
I Would sell the BlackVue and get a bigger power station and connect it with all the info in this thread.

 

[GPak]

something lkike this ?
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/B09Q5DJV71
question is, how would one connect it to the battery pack?

i see you can buy XT60 to USB-c cables


Question is, when i park my car, how do I "add" more batteries to the battery pack to make it last longer ?
if I bought say that PowerStation, I'm unsure how to hook it up and would the battery pack use it?

I would not even try to connect B130X to any Power Station, its like mixing apples and oranges.
Since you already have B130X the best way to add capacity would be to buy extended battery (expensive though for about only 200Wh combined capacity)

On linked Anker Power Station:
I see it has dedicated ON/OFF switch for DC but no App, so DC is not usable, and I am not sure about how the USB ports function.
Also its USB-CPD charging port is limited to 60W which is not enough for 2 CH DVR and high parking demand like yours, no meter how long is your daily commute.
(Power station should meet certain functionality requirements, see my post #2)

If you want to go Power Station rout consider "EcoFlow River2max", rated at 512Wh.
Based on @forcefed reports EcoFlow River series Power Stations work just fine.
Thy also come with APP to monitor PS condition (nice), and to control DC switch.
It charges at 100W with USB-CPD or cigar lighter car adapter/charger and can be boosted up to 220W max charge rate.
For your 970X 2CH parking consumption at about 5.14W it should provide roughly 512*0.8/(5.14)=79 hrs of parking (without LTE)

And of course you get all the additional benefits of full blown Power Station for home use as needed.

 

[forcefed]

So I turn my camera off when I park the car in my garage to preserve battery life and I noticed that when I get into the car the camera turns on by itself, since the acc wire is being triggered when the car turns on is that what's turning the camera on? The ecoflow is always on.
I wasn't expecting this behavior but it's good that it's happening so I don't forget to turn the camera on myself.

 

[GPak]

So I turn my camera off when I park the car in my garage to preserve battery life and I noticed that when I get into the car the camera turns on by itself, since the acc wire is being triggered when the car turns on is that what's turning the camera on? The ecoflow is always on.
I wasn't expecting this behavior but it's good that it's happening so I don't forget to turn the camera on myself.

That is the whole idea, it works as it should.

What you missed here is that EcoFlow is not always ON, once it detects no power draw it will auto-shut-off after some period of time.
All PS do that to preserve energy and that is good, remember self-consumption?

Next time you start the engine, Power Station will wake up and start charging and provide power to Dash Cam and Dash Cam will wake up and start recording in normal mode - all automatically, no "pilot" input required.

BTW, in garage or when there is no need for parking recording, you can turn OFF Dash Cam or EcoFlow thru the App, it works either way.

 

[forcefed]

That is the whole idea, it works as it should.

What you missed here is that EcoFlow is not always ON, once it detects no power draw it will auto-shut-off after some period of time.
All PS do that to preserve energy and that is good, remember self-consumption?

Next time you start the engine, Power Station will wake up and start charging and provide power to Dash Cam and Dash Cam will wake up and start recording in normal mode - all automatically, no "pilot" input required.

BTW, in garage or when there is no need for parking recording, you can turn OFF Dash Cam or EcoFlow thru the App, it works either way.

No the ecoflow is always on, I can check it's status in the middle of the night.
Can't turn off the dashcam through ecoflow, the usb ports are always on when the ecoflow is on. Easier to press the button on the dashcam anyway.
The ecoflow uses around 24watts per day just with the usb ports on.

 

[kawayanan]

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.

Update since I'm back from my trip. The 161Wh power station ran overnight for about 12 hours. In the morning, it had dropped one of the battery status bars (>60%, <80% remaining?). I kicked of the 322Wh power station while parked at the airport (~78 hours). When I got back the vehicle, the power station was off. When I turned it on though, it showed as completely full according to the display. When I checked at home, it had done the event recording (motion and impact) for exactly 12 hours. I'm pretty sure the Viofo was set to not have a timer, and I didn't think the power station had a timed shutdown. More experimenting needed.

On a side note, the event detection is way to sensitive in my driveway. Not as bad in a parking deck, but still pretty sensitive. I'll need to adjust the settings.

 

[GPak]

No the ecoflow is always on, I can check it's status in the middle of the night.
Can't turn off the dashcam through ecoflow, the usb ports are always on when the ecoflow is on. Easier to press the button on the dashcam anyway.
The ecoflow uses around 24watts per day just with the usb ports on.

Always ON is somewhat unusual, and not really desirable.
I have 5 different brand portable Power Stations and 4 out of 5 will auto-shut-off if no load present.
Only Bluetty is different, it either will stay always ON, or you can power OFF from App. It also has an option to set the time (from 1 to 4 hr) for it to shut-off automatically even if load is present (Eco mode)

1W per hour self-consumption for River2 includes Bluetooth and WiFi for App
0.7W per hour self-consumption for N150/N300, with no App
2.2W per hour self-consumption for Bluetty includes Bluetooth for App and also Wireless charger

This should be added to Parking duration calculation (unless it is part of 0.8 efficiency)

 

[forcefed]

Always ON is somewhat unusual, and not really desirable.
I have 5 different brand portable Power Stations and 4 out of 5 will auto-shut-off if no load present.
Only Bluetty is different, it either will stay always ON, or you can power OFF from App. It also has an option to set the time (from 1 to 4 hr) for it to shut-off automatically even if load is present (Eco mode)

You can set the timeout for the ecoflow to 1/2/4/6/12/24 hours or never, i figured i'd leave it constantly on but i forgot that it turn's on when i turn the car on to charge so i'll play around with the timeout feature when i turn my camera off.

 

[GPak]

Update since I'm back from my trip. The 161Wh power station ran overnight for about 12 hours. In the morning, it had dropped one of the battery status bars (>60%, <80% remaining?). I kicked of the 322Wh power station while parked at the airport (~78 hours). When I got back the vehicle, the power station was off. When I turned it on though, it showed as completely full according to the display. When I checked at home, it had done the event recording (motion and impact) for exactly 12 hours. I'm pretty sure the Viofo was set to not have a timer, and I didn't think the power station had a timed shutdown. More experimenting needed.

On a side note, the event detection is way to sensitive in my driveway. Not as bad in a parking deck, but still pretty sensitive. I'll need to adjust the settings.

That is interesting, my parking limit is set at 8h, so I never get to 12h with DVR ON.
However, I noticed that N150/N300 will stay on for 12 hrs before it auto-shuts-off with no load present. (my other PS's usually will auto-shut-off in a few minutes without load)
I thought N150/N300 will stay ON as long as DVR is ON?

I just turned-on N150 with A229 1ch with no time limit, will see tomorrow morning if it will shut-off after 12h

 

[GPak]

You can set the timeout for the ecoflow to 1/2/4/6/12/24 hours or never, i figured i'd leave it constantly on but i forgot that it turn's on when i turn the car on to charge so i'll play around with the timeout feature when i turn my camera off.

That looks like Bluetty except for much wider time range.
Please check if that time-out is for no load only, or even if load is present

 

[forcefed]

That looks like Bluetty except for much wider time range.
Please check if that time-out is for no load only, or even if load is present

Here's what it says, seems it's after the load finishes, I'll test it tomorrow.

 

[forcefed]

Auto shutoff works great, turned the camera off and 30 minutes later the ecoflow turns off, Then when i turn the ignition on it starts charging the ecoflow and supplies power to the usb port and the dashcam turns on.
If i come home at 5pm and leave at 8am this will save me around 15watts of usable power on the ecoflow. Thanks for the auto shutoff tip @GPak, completely forgot about that

Here's my almost finished setup, just waiting for the left angle usb connector and wire loom to tidy up the wiring a bit.

 

[GPak]

Auto shutoff works great, turned the camera off and 30 minutes later the ecoflow turns off, Then when i turn the ignition on it starts charging the ecoflow and supplies power to the usb port and the dashcam turns on.
If i come home at 5pm and leave at 8am this will save me around 15watts of usable power on the ecoflow. Thanks for the auto shutoff tip @GPak, completely forgot about that

Here's my almost finished setup, just waiting for the left angle usb connector and wire loom to tidy up the wiring a bit.

I'm glad it worked.
I like how the EcoFlow River2 Power Station works, and will update my Post #4 to add them to the list.

 

[JAz909]

PSA - River 2 Max refurbs w/ 2yr warranty on sale from ecoflow direct on ebay for $219 rn

https://www.ebay.com/itm/144904729267
hth

 

[forcefed]

PSA - River 2 Max refurbs w/ 2yr warranty on sale from ecoflow direct on ebay for $219 rn

https://www.ebay.com/itm/144904729267
hth

And the river 2 256Wh refurb is $113 https://www.ebay.com/itm/144819918766
768Wh river 2 pro refurb is $299 https://www.ebay.com/itm/145074928569

 

[JAz909]

And the river 2 256Wh refurb is $113 https://www.ebay.com/itm/144819918766
768Wh river 2 max refurb is $299 https://www.ebay.com/itm/145074928569

The 768 Wh is the River 2 *Pro*. I considered buying that one for the extra capacity but it's not mentioned in this thread as compatible with the setup.

Can any confirm the Pro will work the same as the Max? ty!

 

[forcefed]

The 768 Wh is the River 2 *Pro*. I considered buying that one for the extra capacity but it's not mentioned in this thread as compatible with the setup.

Can any confirm the Pro will work the same as the Max? ty!

Oops fixed.
Don't worry that its not mentioned here, they all have similar functions but differ mainly with battery size and some input/output values.

 

[JAz909]

Oops fixed.
Don't worry that its not mentioned here, they all have similar functions but differ mainly with battery size and some input/output values.

Awesome! Hopefully I can still cancel my order in time. Thanks!