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Charging a 1200 Watt Power Station via the rear 12 volt outlet

Local time
3:59 PM
Joined
Mar 20, 2025
Messages
9
Location
Georgia, USA
I have a Predator 1200 Power Station in the back to run my fridge, recharge my GoPro, drone, and e-bike. To charge through the inverter outlet, the power station draws 1200 watts, so that's out. It's only supposed to draw 12 volts at 9 amps through the 12-volt outlet, yet it does not work. It will ramp up to about 80 watts of input, beep, then drop back to 0 to begin the ramp up to 80 watts again. That plug should be able to charge the power station according to the specs. What am I missing?

The beeping and drop to zero happen when the vehicle isn't running. If the vehicle is running, the beeping stops, but it still seems unable to charge the power station. I do understand that the 12-volt option is pretty slow, but it's not charging at all.
 
It’s probably best to charge it with a dc to dc charger connected to the main battery which will charge the power station when the alternator is running.
 
I have no issues charging my Bluetti, Ecoflow, or arb fridge via the 12 volt outlet. Are you able to monitor the wattage with the Predator?
 
Last trips we charged our 1kW powerstation with the 12v outlet without problems (between 116W - 132W with engine running).

Have a DC - Dc charger ready to install for it, need to find the time to get to it.
 
I have a Predator 1200 Power Station in the back to run my fridge, recharge my GoPro, drone, and e-bike. To charge through the inverter outlet, the power station draws 1200 watts, so that's out. It's only supposed to draw 12 volts at 9 amps through the 12-volt outlet, yet it does not work. It will ramp up to about 80 watts of input, beep, then drop back to 0 to begin the ramp up to 80 watts again. That plug should be able to charge the power station according to the specs. What am I missing?

The beeping and drop to zero happen when the vehicle isn't running. If the vehicle is running, the beeping stops, but it still seems unable to charge the power station. I do understand that the 12-volt option is pretty slow, but it's not charging at all.

It very much depends on how the power station is wired internally.

If the 12v input is wired directly to the internal battery then the smart alternator will prevent it properly charging and may even see it trying to charge the main battery when the engine isn't running.

I would suggest your first port of call is to contact the manufacturer and ask if the 12v works if your vehicle has a smart alternator.

As others have suggested you may need to purchase a 10A dcdc charger, they run from about $70 US upwards.
 
I have a Predator 1200 Power Station in the back to run my fridge, recharge my GoPro, drone, and e-bike. To charge through the inverter outlet, the power station draws 1200 watts, so that's out. It's only supposed to draw 12 volts at 9 amps through the 12-volt outlet, yet it does not work. It will ramp up to about 80 watts of input, beep, then drop back to 0 to begin the ramp up to 80 watts again. That plug should be able to charge the power station according to the specs. What am I missing?

The beeping and drop to zero happen when the vehicle isn't running. If the vehicle is running, the beeping stops, but it still seems unable to charge the power station. I do understand that the 12-volt option is pretty slow, but it's not charging at all.
Hi.
I found a YouTube channel on using a converter to increase the charging voltage and with battery I can charge my Goalzero in an hour of driving. I ended up using a device called Etacker 1000 that uses solar and stater battery/alternator to boast charging.
 
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