Can Sorein be charged from a 12 volt car accessory outlet?Updated 15 days ago

12-volt accessory outlets in cars and trucks (often called "cigarette lighter" outlets) provide 12 volts at low amperage. They often can't provide more than 120-180 watts, depending on the vehicle manufacturer.

Using an accessory outlet-to-XT60 adapter

We do not recommend using a 12 volt accessory outlet to charge the Sorein Power Station, for several reasons:

• It will be very slow. For example, at 180 watts output, a 3.2 kWh Sorein stack (which is the Main Unit plus one Extra Battery) would take about 18 hours to charge from 0% to 100%.  At 120 watts, it would take about 27 hours.
• Many adapters are not sufficient to carry this wattage, resulting in them heating up. This can be dangerous.
• Some 12 volt accessory outlets don't turn off when the engine is shut off. Therefore, if you leave the power station connected after you finish driving, the power station will drain the truck's battery completely.

Using a portable inverter connected to 12-volt accessory outlet

We don't recommend using an inverter connected to a 12-volt accessory outlet. This will make charging less efficient, since the power would be converted from DC to AC by the inverter, and then from AC back to DC inside the Sorein. 

We recommend a DC-DC charger

The best option for charging from a vehicle is a DC-DC charger. These connect directly to the truck's alternator and can output much more power when the vehicle is running.

The Sorein Power Station can accept up to 1,000 watts through the XT60 input. The charge rate you actually get will be determined by the rating of the DC-DC charger you install.