Anyone using power packs?

[Apacheman]

So far we have managed using 120ah AGM leisure battery. Frustrating at times when on a site with EHU that the amp supply is so small you can’t even boil a 1kw kettle, especially when the EHU is not an option and built into the pitch price.
Don’t want to go down the route of high ah lithium batteries, inverters etc, but been looking at the likes of a Bluetti 180 (1800w) power pack (around £475). Would fit neatly in my locker, could be permanently plugged in for recharge when on EHU (option of wiring back to alternator for recharge) would only need to run 1 cable and fit 13a socket to kitchen area. Anyone any experience of using these?

 

[herald_400rl]

Quite a few threads open about these at the mo if you check Whats New.

Battery pack,, eco flow 2 information

Hi Is it possible to plug in a battery pack like a eco flow 2, into the EHU socket on the Motorhome, and get power to the 240v sockets, Many thanks again for any help

www.motorhomefun.co.uk

Edit:
If you do consider lithium, etc. I think the Victron Multiplus allows you to set available grid power, and then the inverter takes the rest from battery when you're using appliances.
Lenny HB will be able to supply info on that no doubt. He loves the blue stuff.

 

[MisterB]

It wouldn't cost much more for a lithium and inverter that you would get more benefit from. But if you're determined to get a power pack and are happy to wait a few months, why not wait until someone has a flash sale and jump in fast!!

 

[Jev88]

Power pack has it's uses and is portable but you'll get a far bigger lithium battery and inverter for that money. A power pack is a small lithium and inverter in an expensive box.

 

[Langtoftlad]

Same old, same old

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[Richard n Ann]

So far we have managed using 120ah AGM leisure battery. Frustrating at times when on a site with EHU that the amp supply is so small you can’t even boil a 1kw kettle, especially when the EHU is not an option and built into the pitch price.
Don’t want to go down the route of high ah lithium batteries, inverters etc, but been looking at the likes of a Bluetti 180 (1800w) power pack (around £475). Would fit neatly in my locker, could be permanently plugged in for recharge when on EHU (option of wiring back to alternator for recharge) would only need to run 1 cable and fit 13a socket to kitchen area. Anyone any experience of using these?

The only advantage I can see is that it's portable. Good for maybe tents, market stalls, buskers etc.

Motorhomes have their own power so don't need one, just upgrade the van battery if it isn't big enough

 

[autorouter]

Would fit neatly in my locker, could be permanently plugged in for recharge when on EHU (option of wiring back to alternator for recharge) would only need to run 1 cable and fit 13a socket to kitchen area.

As said already, it's getting to be more popular to fit a power pack like a Bluetti, as an easy option for getting medium power mains voltage AC sockets. There are a number of different ways to wire a power pack into the motorhome electrics, and I think what you suggest is about the easiest.

You could run two cables. One from the consumer unit to a 13A socket near the power pack. another from a 13A plug near the power pack, to a 13A socket in the kitchen. Test it by plugging the plug into the socket while on EHU, and see if it works correctly.

If it's all good, unplug it, and link in your power pack. It should do as you want, ie charge up when on EHU, and supply the full power of the power bank when required, not limited by the weak EHU supply.

 

[autorouter]

Most inverters are designed to be entirely independent of the EHU supply, and can't be combined with the EHU supply in any way. But there are systems that synchronise with the incoming EHU supply, and seamlessly blend with it. The Victron Multiplus inverter/chargers are the most popular example.

You can set a limit on the power taken from the EHU, and it will never exceed that. Any demand higher than the EHU limit is made up by the inverter from the batteries. When the load demand drops, the Multiplus recharges the batteries automatically.

For example, I have a Multiplu 3000 inverter/charger, with about 600Ah of lithium batteries. I can set the EHU limit to say 4 or 5 amps, but I can use up to 10A extra, a total of 14A, without worrying about tripping the EHU post. That's 3200W, enough to run a small kettle and a microwave or air fryer at the same time. The batteries recharge overnight when the demand drops.

 

[Otter Spotter]

So far we have managed using 120ah AGM leisure battery. Frustrating at times when on a site with EHU that the amp supply is so small you can’t even boil a 1kw kettle, especially when the EHU is not an option and built into the pitch price.
Don’t want to go down the route of high ah lithium batteries, inverters etc, but been looking at the likes of a Bluetti 180 (1800w) power pack (around £475). Would fit neatly in my locker, could be permanently plugged in for recharge when on EHU (option of wiring back to alternator for recharge) would only need to run 1 cable and fit 13a socket to kitchen area. Anyone any experience of using these?

I have just a 110ah Lithium battery up for sale in classifieds which you may be interested in.

 

[jumar]

Very popular with off grid campers...I've got one...great for taking power where you need it...easy to recharge...via panel, mains or 12v..good addition to our motorhome lithium and solar set up but not a substitute ...two different products..

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[U.Toadifact]

We used to use an Ecoflow DeltaMax 2 but when plugged into the hook up socket it still did not give us the capacity we needed. We recently went the complete lithium set up with a 300ah battery and all the electronic gubbins required. The Ecoflow is now our stand by at Toadifact Towers where we suffer a good few power cuts each year.

 

[herald_400rl]

You can get a 100ah lifepo4 battery & 2kw inverter with UPS bypass for sub £400. Or a 280ah battery and the inverter for sub £600.

 

[Glynn]

We have an Ecoflow Delta 3 and its excellent. Handy because it can be used anywhere too.

 

[Burge]

Bluetti AC180

 

[Apacheman]

You can get a 100ah lifepo4 battery & 2kw inverter with UPS bypass for sub £400. Or a 280ah battery and the inverter for sub £600.

But can I just plonk a lithium battery in the place of the AGM I currently use?

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[herald_400rl]

But can I just plonk a lithium battery in the place of the AGM I currently use?

Thats very much an it depends.
What settings do you have available on your current charger, solar controller, do you have a b2b or a split charge relay, etc.

 

[Apacheman]

We used to use an Ecoflow DeltaMax 2 but when plugged into the hook up socket it still did not give us the capacity we needed. We recently went the complete lithium set up with a 300ah battery and all the electronic gubbins required. The Ecoflow is now our stand by at Toadifact Towers where we suffer a good few power cuts each year.

At the mo we only use either a 1kw kettle, a tassimo coffee machine or a 800 w microwave if decent EHU available. Not reliant on them. Don’t need masses of power and don’t want to spend £1000s.

 

[Apacheman]

Thats very much an it depends.
What settings do you have available on your current charger, solar controller, do you have a b2b or a split charge relay, etc.

And that’s the problem. The van is 2020 as manufactured. It will probably need all that adding as well as lithium etc. whereas I can simply mount a power pack in my locker, plug it into a 13a plug already there to recharge when on EHU for the time being and I’m competent enough to run a cable from the power pack to the kitchen area and add a 13a plug to my existing set up to draw from the power pack.

 

[brocola]

I have an Ecoflow Delta 2 Max, plus a 230Ah lithium hab battery and a bunch of Victron gear.

I'd love to have a Multiplus + bigger lithium instead, it would have been a more integrated solution and cheaper overall, but for various reasons that wasn't a practical option for me at the time.

Like you're suggesting, initially I had one extension running from the EF to the kitchen to run the coffee machine, kettle, induction hob etc.

Eventually I plumbed the EF into an auto switch. When offgrid, the hab sockets run from the EF, but switch to mains when on shore power, completely bypassing the EF. If I wanted, I could charge the EF from mains, but so far never needed to.

The EF charges @30A from the 230Ah lithium, which then gets topped up by a B2B or solar. A Victron Cerbo decides whether to charge the EF based on the state of charge of the 230Ah hab battery, flipping on & off a Victron Smart Battery Protect to control the EF solar charge inputs (there are 2 on the Max).

With a blank sheet of paper, I wouldn't have chosen this somewhat bonkers approach, but it works brilliantly for our needs right now.

 

[Apacheman]

I have an Ecoflow Delta 2 Max, plus a 230Ah lithium hab battery and a bunch of Victron gear.

I'd love to have a Multiplus + bigger lithium instead, it would have been a more integrated solution and cheaper overall, but for various reasons that wasn't a practical option for me at the time.

Like you're suggesting, initially I had one extension running from the EF to the kitchen to run the coffee machine, kettle, induction hob etc.

Eventually I plumbed the EF into an auto switch. When offgrid, the hab sockets run from the EF, but switch to mains when on shore power, completely bypassing the EF. If I wanted, I could charge the EF from mains, but so far never needed to.

The EF charges @30A from the 230Ah lithium, which then gets topped up by a B2B or solar. A Victron Cerbo decides whether to charge the EF based on the state of charge of the 230Ah hab battery, flipping on & off a Victron Smart Battery Protect to control the EF solar charge inputs (there are 2 on the Max).

With a blank sheet of paper, I wouldn't have chosen this somewhat bonkers approach, but it works brilliantly for our needs right now.

I’d leave everything else just as it is and operating off the original AGM battery. The sockets would remain untouched to operate only if on EHU but to be fair we only use the one in the kitchen area. I’d also have the option of disconnecting the existing kitchen socket then using that wired and connected to the power pack as if on EHU that would be constantly recharging.

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[herald_400rl]

And that’s the problem. The van is 2020 as manufactured. It will probably need all that adding as well as lithium etc. whereas I can simply mount a power pack in my locker, plug it into a 13a plug already there to recharge when on EHU for the time being and I’m competent enough to run a cable from the power pack to the kitchen area and add a 13a plug to my existing set up to draw from the power pack.

Does depend how willing and able you are to do your own install. For about £700 I've gone from 1999 electrics to modern day, new b2b, solar charger and panel, new 240v charger, battery, inverter. And 3 times the capacity of these portable AIO solutions. Don't get me wrong, theyre a good stop gap but if your investing £500 you could get the basics of van based lithium.

 

[Paulypaul]

So far we have managed using 120ah AGM leisure battery. Frustrating at times when on a site with EHU that the amp supply is so small you can’t even boil a 1kw kettle, especially when the EHU is not an option and built into the pitch price.
Don’t want to go down the route of high ah lithium batteries, inverters etc, but been looking at the likes of a Bluetti 180 (1800w) power pack (around £475). Would fit neatly in my locker, could be permanently plugged in for recharge when on EHU (option of wiring back to alternator for recharge) would only need to run 1 cable and fit 13a socket to kitchen area. Anyone any experience of using these?

We've got a Bluetti AC180. Great bit of kit and the prices have dropped incredibly since we got ours a couple of years ago Dead handy when wild camping when you want to run something that might hammer the leisure batteries running the inverter. Highly recommend it very versatile

 

[Awboxster]

Does depend how willing and able you are to do your own install. For about £700 I've gone from 1999 electrics to modern day, new b2b, solar charger and panel, new 240v charger, battery, inverter. And 3 times the capacity of these portable AIO solutions. Don't get me wrong, theyre a good stop gap but if your investing £500 you could get the basics of van based lithium.

The problem is if you are not confident on fitting all these bits to your motorhome the cost will increase rapidly when you have to employ someone to do it for you.

 

[Jeff one]

The eco flow 2 is on offer on Amazon

 

[Jeff one]

I am not sure if these are discounts, but look reasonably to some other prices, I like the idea of removing what I pay for if I sell or change the Moho
C

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[Apacheman]

The problem is if you are not confident on fitting all these bits to your motorhome the cost will increase rapidly when you have to employ someone to do it for you.

That’s my issue. I have a 5 year old van. Can I just put a lithium battery in and an inverter? No one knows. So then you start hearing of B2Bs, shunts etc etc and the only way forward is to send it out for someone else to do and the cost racks up. I’m a firm believer in keeping it simple and a power pack seems as simple as I could get it.

 

[Langtoftlad]

You can get a 100ah lifepo4 battery & 2kw inverter with UPS bypass for sub £400. Or a 280ah battery and the inverter for sub £600.

Plus fitting etc etc
As Martin jumar said, two different products

 

[herald_400rl]

Plus fitting etc etc
As Martin jumar said, two different products

Yes but additional costs such as fitting are subjective. Cost me a few tins of guinness for a job well done.

 

[leann53]

So far we have managed using 120ah AGM leisure battery. Frustrating at times when on a site with EHU that the amp supply is so small you can’t even boil a 1kw kettle, especially when the EHU is not an option and built into the pitch price.
Don’t want to go down the route of high ah lithium batteries, inverters etc, but been looking at the likes of a Bluetti 180 (1800w) power pack (around £475). Would fit neatly in my locker, could be permanently plugged in for recharge when on EHU (option of wiring back to alternator for recharge) would only need to run 1 cable and fit 13a socket to kitchen area. Anyone any experience of using these?

Bluetti all day long for us