Bluetti Power Pack
I'm prompted to post this after contributing to @PhilDK 's post about portable solar panels when I told him about the Falcon Technology one, I bought last year.
I've just bought a Bluetti power pack - AC180 - which is essentially a LifePO4 battery and PSW inverter with the option to charge from 240v, 12v or solar. It can deliver up to 1800w - and 2700w on boost for short periods.
I have to say, we don't go totally off grid that often but am more interested in minimising use of metered electricity on sites that have that facility - and I suspect these will only increase in the future. Plus, I haven't done it to save money - I will be long gone before I recoup the investment I have already made! I do, however, enjoy technical challenges and since I had a load of Amazon vouchers to spend, I thought I would put them to good use on yet another 'toy' (according to Ros)!!
My plan is to plug the power pack into the normal 16A EHU socket on the van and thereby energise the normal 240v ring main in the van from which we could run selected 240v appliances. The power pack would be charged by solar, although I would have the option of sticking it in the car if going out and charging it from a 12v socket although I suspect this wouldn't be that effective.
Heating and hot water would run from gas (Safefill) and I'm undecided as yet as to what to do about the fridge / freezer. I would probably continue with the mains battery charger - but if that didn't work out, I still have the option of transferring the solar panel to charging the battery directly.
I admit it isn't the most energy efficient way of doing things - but it's the easiest - because, in effect, I've installed a lithium battery and inverter without having to do anything to the van.
I haven't tried any of this in anger yet and am interested to know if anyone else has, and what their experiences have been. Plus if anyone can see anything daft or dangerous in what I'm proposing - please shout out😀
Thanks - Richard
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Thanks @LLM - I did have a look at quite a few - but being of a certain age and suffering from back and hip problems at the moment, decided on something a bit more manageable (and cheaper!). Everything's a compromise!!😂
There certainly are some pretty powerful units out there, though.
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I was a bit reluctant to resurrect this post since it didn't attract much of a response - but for @PhilDK 's benefit - I will.
Ran into a bit of a problem with the Falcon solar panel. Whilst I thought the wires going into the controller were connected via the usual screw-in terminal block - thereby permitting me to by-pass the controller and put a new lead direct from the solar panel output to the Bluetti - I couldn't since they are sealed in. Didn't want to cut the wires since that would have invalidated the warranty - so I bought a Bluetti solar panel designed for the job and it just plugs directly into the power pack. Although only 10w less output, it's a great deal lighter and quite a bit smaller when packed away. Doesn't have a built in controller, though.
Nothing lost - I will charge the power pack from the Bluetti panel and keep the battery topped up from the Falcon one.
Intend going for a week off-grid, later this week. I'll let you know how it works out in practice.
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Hi I am very interested in this. I have a caravan and solar on the roof for leisure battery. I brought an BLUETTI AC180 to keep leisure battery charged in winter when solar is poor. My tracker and alarm seem to use what little the solar produces. But like @PhilDK i am hoping to go off grid at end of June. I have the lead to plug into caravan socket but no foldable solar panel for AC180 yet. Is there any update on how it’s going?1
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Sorry I got confused it’s @richardandros who mentioned about caravan lead0
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@barkntrunk - mixed feelings, really. I went into this with an open mind and wanted to do it, just because it was technically possible. I really didn't expect to get something for nothing and in that regard, I wasn't disappointed!! (Not really 'nothing', either, if one considers significant expenditure involved buying the kit!)
My biggest mistake, perhaps, was in running the Bluetti down by using the microwave - just to see if it would work. As a consequence it needed serious re-charging using the panel which took forever. Plus I put some charge back into it using the car if we went out for the day. I think the lesson I learned was that although the power pack seems to have a large capacity, in reality, it's not that good other than for charging / running small items. I think it would cope with Ros's hairdryer which was the original intention, but nothing more serious.
Plus, it was too easy to revert back to EHU since we were on a site with metered electricity and therefore I took that option on occasions. However, our daily usage was only just over £1 per day so I suppose that was a positive outcome.
Perhaps that experience will allow me to manage the situation better in the future.
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