How to Make a DIY Portable Power Station

Build Your Own DIY Portable Power Station!

Hello everyone. I am Astute, a 14-year-old high school student from India. Today, I'm excited to share my first instructable, which will be about building a DIY Portable Power Station that is both economical and customizable. Our DIY Portable Power Station will include all of the features that off-the-shelf power stations have, such as fast charging USB ports, an ac plug to power our appliances off-grid, and the ability to charge directly from solar panels.

It will be a really fun and helpful product for your outdoor gear, so please follow me.

Here is the outline:

We will use a LiFePO4 12V battery, which is superior to lead acid batteries in terms of capacity and charge speed.

We will have an inverter to power our appliances and two 12v USB outlets for charging phones, computers, and other gadgets.

A SAE connector and a solar charge controller which will allow you to charge your batteries directly from solar panels.

Finally, a Battery Monitor which will provide information about battery charge percentage, temperature, and current.

Safety Precautions:

Remember to double-check before connecting wires when using power tools or working with wiring to ensure that they are where they are intended to be. Take your own precautions.

I am working hard to develop meaningful and affordable initiatives that others may do. I think that with the correct direction, anyone can reach their DIY objectives, and I'm here to assist you do so. I am thrilled to share this project with you, and I am confident you will appreciate it.

Keep in mind that you can customise most of the parts of the project, such as out of this project, what all features do I need, what all can I add, and so on. Be creative.

So Let's Get Started!

Materials Needed

These are components I have used you can modify your list a bit by referring to the use of each component that is basically add or remove a feature.

Once again I am gonna say ,keep in mind that you can customise most of the parts of the project, such as out of this project, what all features do I need, what all can I add, and so on. Be creative.

Note: It is not necessary for you to purchase the goods from the same firm; instead, you can choose cheaper options with positive ratings or even buy locally, which will most likely be much cheaper.

Please keep in mind that I purchased my items locally in India and have included links to similar things from Amazon US for reference, which may be more expensive, so, I do advise to go for alternates or choosing a local vendor which can save you a significant amount of money, as my construction cost was around $250.

1. 12V 100Ah Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4) Battery

I used this battery specifically since it has a high current output and is highly energy dense when compared to lead acid batteries, etc.

1. Solar Charge Controller

This is for managing the charge of the battery using solar power (via the SAE connector).

1. SAE Port to Extension.

This is the port for connecting the solar panels.

1. SAE to SAE Extension.

This is for connecting the output of the Solar Charge Controller to the battery

1. Battery Monitor

This is for monitoring the battery's temperature as well as its charge %, which includes things like voltage.

1. 12V Fuse Block

This is not absolutely necessary, but it adds extra safety, and I used it here to fuse all of the battery connections while also distributing electricity.

1. 12V Sockets(2x USB Socket)

This is for charging our mobile phones or laptops, which accept either USB-C or USB-A.

1. 12v Cigarette lighter socket(x1)

This port is essential for us to connect the external inverter, which will provide 110v AC to our large appliances.

1. Heavy-duty power cable (14 AWG or similar)

Not primarily required it is just in case like if we need to extend some connections I have not used here but yeah it is for those who need to make a few adjustments.

1. Battery box or enclosure(Apache 2800 used here)

This is our main enclosure, which will house all of our components and eventually change into a portable power station.

1. Cigarette lighter port to 110V AC inverter of suitable rating (read step 7 for detailed explanation)

This is the external inverter that I mentioned previously; it provides us with 110V AC to power our equipment.

Tools Needed

1. Wire crimper
2. Wire stripper
3. Soldering iron (optional)
4. Drill
5. Screwdrivers
6. Multi-meter

1. Find a nice case/box; I'll be using an Apache 2800 case here. Make sure the box is durable and can hold everything.
2. Then, clean and dry the battery box to avoid moisture and debris from harming the components.

1. Place the 12V 100Ah LiFePO4 battery into the battery box. Make sure it is securely fastened to prevent any movement when the box is being transported.
2. Use screws, bolts, or adhesive to secure the battery to the box.

1. To attach the battery monitor, pick a spot on the case that you desire, ideally in the front, then make a marking to cut out
2. Now carefully make a cutout for the battery monitor while using the marking you made as the guide.
3. After that, shove in that Battery Monitor like in the image and from inside the case use any adhesive to secure it in place.

1. Drill three holes around 3cm in diameter for the two USB ports and the 12V cigarette lighter port
2. Remove the nut behind the ports and arrange them in the order of your choice.
3. Then, from within the case, screw the bolts/nuts back on to secure them.
4. Re-connect the positive and negative leads.
5. Drill a forth hole of about 2.5cm in diameter for fixing the SAE port this won't be having any nut so you need to secure it using some adhesive

The following image is the schematics or a reference for how to construct the connection; simply ensure that your connection matches the schematics above and ignore the overlapping wires in the image or if you want you can refer to the text below for help with the connection.

Wiring the Battery Monitor:

1. First, there will be four wires coming from the monitor, two wires connected to a temperature probe, and two more wires that will be red and black, representing positive and negative leads, respectively.
2. First, connect the probes' Positive and Negative leads to the battery's respective leads, i.e., the positive (red) end of the battery monitor to the positive (red) end of the battery, and the negative (black) end of the battery monitor to the negative (black).
3. Next, we'll attach the temperature probe. For this, we will simply slap the probe on any side of the battery, except the top and bottom, with some adhesive on the sides of the probe, but make sure the glue is not between the probe and the battery, this is important to make sure the sensitivity of the probe is not affected.

Wiring Fuse Box and distributing power to the 12V Ports(USB and Cigarette Lighter Socket)

1. We must first secure the fuse block and set it somewhere accessible; it is not necessary to be in a specific location.
2. After that, we need to connect it to the battery first. Connect the battery's positive (red) wire/lead to the fuse block's positive IN lead, then connect the negative (black) wire/lead to the fuse block's negative IN lead. For this portion, see the figure above, which contains a separate wiring diagram for the fuse block.
3. Now we need to distribute power/connect the remaining 12V USB port and the Cigarette Socket to the fuse block. Follow these steps:
4. Connect the negative lead (black) from one of the USB ports to one of the fuse block's negative (black) OUT leads.
5. Connect the positive (red) lead from the same USB port to one of the fuse block's positive (red) OUT leads.
6. In the same way, connect the remaining ports to the fuse block.

Wiring the SAE port and Solar Charge Controller:

1. Now we need to connect the SAE port to the solar charge controller and then the Solar Charge Controller to the battery, for that follow this:
2. First, connect the SAE port on the opposite end to the solar charge controller's IN side; this is rather simple and requires no equipment.
3. Next, take the SAE to SAE extension cable and cut it halfway to expose the positive and negative leads.( use the attached image as reference )
4. Connect the extension's non-exposed side to the OUT section of the Solar Charge Controller, and connect the extension's exposed leads to the battery's positive (red) and negative (black) terminals.(You can accomplish this by soldering the exposed lead to the battery's terminals)

To power your appliances, attach the inverter (such as the one shown) straight to the cigarette lighter port that we installed earlier. Consider the following variables when purchasing an inverter for your appliances:

Output Rating: Ensure that the inverter's output rating fits the power requirements of your equipment(Remember that the rating cannot exceed the rating assigned to your Cigarette Lighter port.)

Outlet Style: Choose an inverter with an outlet style that corresponds to the plug type of your appliances (for example, American, European).

1. Once you've completed all of the wiring and connected it, double-check the connection using a multimeter to guarantee continuity.
2. After doing a simple test of charging your phone, launching any appliance and making sure it works, or debug the issue based on the following:
3. Is everything hooked properly?
4. Is the battery charged up?
5. Is one of the components faulty?

If none of the above apply to your situation, reach out to me at astutesyndicate@gmail.com, and I will be delighted to help you.

Once you've confirmed that everything is operating properly, you may continue to secure the case tightly and prepare for your excursions.

I hope you liked this project; please support me by liking it and following me for more DIY projects!

Thank you.