Test 1 of the portable power station

Well this morning I figured it was time to see if the portable power station was up to the job of powering the fridge. I plugged it in at about 8:10 a.m. this morning and let it run on the portable power station until around 3:25 p.m (7 hours 15 minutes). After letting the battery rest for an hour, the reading on the battery was 12.08 volts meaning that it is about at 50% capacity. According to what I have read, you don’t want to take a battery much below 40 % capacity (11.9 volts) otherwise it shortens the battery’s life.

This test proved a couple things. First of all the portable power station does indeed work and will indeed run the fridge without damage. Second, it would run it for at least 7 hours. The next test I will probably continue to push for 8 hours and see what that does to the battery.

Overall it was a very successful test and well within expectations of what we built. The next task is to get the battery recharged off the 2 15 watt panels. I am estimating this to take about 14 hours, but that is only a guess, and that would be under good sun, which we don’t have currently. I will be sure to post my results.

Once again, this is Life according to Troy.