Power Your Next Adventure
Forget buying an over priced power station like a Jackery, Goal Zero, or other pre-built solar battery bank for your outdoor adventures. Instead, follow this guide and I’ll make sure to answer all your questions about putting together your very own DIY power station.
I started out like any other camper, overlander, or van-lifer by shopping for a power station that could both power my gear and be charged with a solar panel. I quickly realized how expensive they are, especially for any decently sized battery bank. This is why more and more people are ditching the pre-built units and instead are opting to construct their own customizable power stations.
My DIY power station has 1,464 watt hours of energy. Keep in mind, if you choose to build your power station with a flooded lead-acid battery like mine, you should never use more than 50% of its capacity to avoid damaging your battery. See the Important Note section of this page for more information.
Follow My Wiring Diagram (PDF)
Gathering Your Supplies
Here’s a complete list (with links) of everything I used to built my power station:
The Battery Used in This Project: 122 Amp Hour Battery
Upgraded Battery I Recommend (AGM): 100 Amp Hour AGM Battery
Upgraded Battery I Recommend (LiFePO4): LiTime 100Ah Deep Cycle LiFePO4 Battery
100 Watt Solar Panel from Harbor Freight
Alternative 100 Watt Solar Panel from Amazon
USB Socket Panel (I Purchased 2)
The next supplies I already had. Here are links to similar products:
The Build
Now that you’ve gathered everything you need for your DIY solar power station, it’s time to get building!
I began by drawing up a crude wiring diagram on just a small notecard. Don’t worry, I’ve included a formal wiring diagram I created for this project. It’s quite simple, yet you can follow my wiring if you so choose. The link to the diagram PDF is below.
I opted to install two USB panels, each equipped with a USB port, a USB type-C port, and a standard cigarette style 12v port. This gives me plenty of plug-in options to charge my laptop, phones, and any other accessories such as an air pump for a mattress. Charging multiple devices at once is no problem for this build. These ports are ran through the fuse block by 10amp fuses.
The battery capacity screen I installed was much smaller than expected. However, the price and simplicity of its design makes me well satisfied. The display is so light, I was able to secure it with a strip of heavy-duty Velcro with the wires ran through a small hole I drilled into the tool box behind the screen. Learning how to program the display to a lead-acid battery took some careful reading and interpretation since the English inside the manual is…well…lacking. If you’re using this same display and need assistance with the setup, reach out and I’d be happy to help.
For charging with my solar panel, I installed an SAE port in the back of the toolbox that runs to the solar charge controller.
*Important*: The SAE port switches the polarity of your wire, meaning you must connect the negative (black) wire to the positive side of the charge controller. I figured this out through trial and error. (See Wiring Diagram)
Everything is ran through the 12v power switch that I installed into the side of our unit. USB ports can have what is referred to as “parasitic draw”. This means they draw small amounts of power even when not charging anything. To stop this, having a main shut-off switch completely disconnects the ports when not in use. Additionally, the solar charge controller draws constant power and has a few small lights that stay lit consistently. This is why I have run the charge controller through this main 12v switch as well. No more parasitic draw!
Important Note
One important factor to consider when building this DIY solar power station: Since I’ve gone with a flooded lead-acid battery, it is extremely important to not drain the capacity past 50%. This is due to something called depth of discharge (D.O.D). Flooded lead-acid batteries can be damaged if used beyond the 50% mark, and even killed completely if used to 0%. Following this rule, our power station is actually about 732Wh if used properly and not used past its recommended D.O.D. If you want to spend a little more money and get a greater use of your battery capacity, you can instead purchase an AGM battery which has a greater D.O.D, or purchase a LiFePO4 battery with an even greater D.O.D. This all comes down to how much you would like to spend. Below are links to alternative battery options that I would recommend for this project.
Renogy 100Ah Deep Cycle AGM Battery
- This AGM battery will have a D.O.D of 80%, giving you about 960Wh of energy.
LiTime 100Ah Deep Cycle LiFePO4 Battery
- This LiFePO4 battery will have a D.O.D of up to 100%, giving you a whopping 1,200Wh of energy without having to worry about letting your power station die.
Show Us Your Project!
We’d love to hear from you and see how your DIY power station turned out! DM us a photo or video of your project in action.
Have any questions? Leave a comment down below!
GREAT project! MORE capacity at half the price of “power stations”!