Power banks

[Jo662]

Hi
I have the Ecoflow,but I also have 2x100ah lithium batteries . I had the EF before I upgraded,but I still use it when iv been at THS for 5 or 6 days to recharge the batteries when there’s not been enough solar to replenish the lithium.
And as you say it’s good to use away from the motorhome,which iv done many times.

 

[POH]

What do you use electricity for ?
Light (12 volt presumably)
TV (240 or 12 volts) and how many hours a day
Presuming not for fridge as that wont last long
Charging phones laptops ? how many how often
How long do you stay in one place before doing how many miles to the next stop ?
Do you have solar and if so how much - 100 watts just noticed
Do you use motorhome in UK in winter or just in summer - just noticed youre concerned about April in France - Whereabouts in France and how long ?

Hi, we use electric for hairdryer ,TV, , small induction hob single plate, 2 phones ,1 tablet, normally the fridge , we are doing about 3 weeks travelling down to the south of France then into Spain, we do use the van in the cooler months .

 

[bigtwin]

but I still use it when iv been at THS for 5 or 6 days to recharge the batteries

And for how long does it put a charge into your batteries?

Ian

 

[suavecarve]

"normally the fridge" ?
Does fridge run off gas ?
If so use gas for fridge and 2 batteries should be good for you with 100 w of solar and get one of those 20-30 quid battery banks.
You ll be good as long as the wife doesnt have super long hair !

 

[Jo662]

And for how long does it put a charge into your batteries?

Ian

Depends how depleted they are. But tops them up enough not to run the engine.

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[Neckender]

I have 220 ah of AGM batteries, and my usage is lighting, recently fitted diesel heater, compressor fridge freezer, CPAP machine, 12 volt cooler in awning and electric supply to awning.
Last year I saw a brand new unopened Jackery 1000 explorer at cash converters for £575 and I snatched it up, I’ve bought 200 watt of portable solar panels and a Victron 75/15 solar charger, as I make sure that I’ve enough power for my CPAP.

John.

 

[Lenny HB]

I myself have just recently bought a renogy 1000w inverter, two 200w panels and two 95a gel batteries and a victron 100/30 controller for £930

And if you had bought a power bank you would still need to buy and fit solar panels to charge it.

 

[bigtwin]

Depends how depleted they are. But tops them up enough not to run the engine.

If they’re almost fully depleted?

Ian

 

[Jo662]

If they’re almost fully depleted?

Ian

i have never let them deplete completely,but if I did I would think they would get up to 50%.

 

[CazPaul]

People have been going to Europe for 100 years and always seemed to have managed without one.

Agree, and also they have managed without 6 solar panels and 400AH of lithium.

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[autorouter]

i have never let them deplete completely,but if I did I would think they would get up to 50%.

The Jackery 1000 has a 1002Wh battery, equivalent to 1002/12 = 83Ah at 12V. That would top up your 2x100Ah lithium batteries by about 83/200 x 100 = 41%. So 2 full Jackery charges would take them from 20% to 100%,

 

[Lenny HB]

Agree, and also they have managed without 6 solar panels and 400AH of lithium.

But you miss out on all the fun of installing it and then monitoring it every hour.

 

[bigtwin]

The Jackery 1000 has a 1002Wh battery, equivalent to 1002/12 = 83Ah at 12V. That would top up your 2x100Ah lithium batteries by about 83/200 x 100 = 41%. So 2 full Jackery charges would take them from 20% to 100%,

On that basis it’d be much cheaper to add another lithium to the bank.

Ian

 

[bigtwin]

i have never let them deplete completely,but if I did I would think they would get up to 50%.

A bit like having a petrol generator then. Some have them but find that they never really need to use them.

It’s a good argument for having one then.

Ian

 

[Mixyblob]

I have a Noco boost GB40, it can be used as a small 12v back up supply/charger as well as its main function, starting your vehicle if your battery is flat.

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[chaser]

A bit like having a petrol generator then. Some have them but find that they never really need to use them.

It’s a good argument for having one then.

Ian

I honestly think a petrol generator is a far better bet even if you never use it, less than half the price of these power pack things and never goes flat even if it disturbs your neighbours.

 

[suavecarve]

I would have thought you could charge one of those jackery things overnight in a camping car park for 12 euros or an aire with electric option for 4 euros or even free electric at some.

 

[Tonks]

I'd have thought it'd be much more expensive to upgrade the batteries and add an inverter. For example Costco was recently selling an EcoFlow Delta (1260Wh battery, 1800W PSW inverter, surge to 3300W) for £900 - can you really get all those upgrades for less than £1k?

No. I looked into it last year. I had a 180w solar panel installed, and my battery replaced with a larger capacity one and moved for better power resources in the van. Swapping to Lithium would've involved ancillary costs as well as the cost of the battery/s. I also bought an Ecoflow River Pro, which I used in February when away in the van when solar is more limited. Part of the reason for buying it was the capability to use it when I'm not travelling in the van, so it has wider flexibility of use. Power is 'horses for courses', like most other things in motor homing.

 

[Tonks]

And if you had bought a power bank you would still need to buy and fit solar panels to charge it.

I've got a separate solar panel for mine, but you can make a fairly easy adaptation so that you can plug it into the van's solar setup and charge from that. I've seen at least one other van set up that way.

 

[Hoovie]

The Jackery 1000 has a 1002Wh battery, equivalent to 1002/12 = 83Ah at 12V. That would top up your 2x100Ah lithium batteries by about 83/200 x 100 = 41%. So 2 full Jackery charges would take them from 20% to 100%,

Just to get picky, the Jackery will have a Lithium battery, so it is more correct to say it is equivalent to a 78Ah value (the Ah value of Lithiums are based on a voltage of 12.8V rather than the 12.0V of a Lead Acid)

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[Jo662]

You can a Ecoflow Jon , as they take about an hour to charge.

 

[DangerMousy]

A combination of circumstances and a lack of self-control has led us to picking up an Ecoflow Delta from Costco last night

We're about to go away for 3 nights without EHU and know from previous trips that the ebikes won't last long enough for everything we want to do. So rather than having to carry the chargers with us and try and find somewhere that'll let us charge, and seeing as Costco has the Ecoflow Delta on offer at the moment we decided to go for it. At just under £670 (after Costco Exec and Amex cashback) I think its a pretty good deal - its about the same kind of price as two Specialized range extenders, but should be much more versatile

I've got a separate solar panel for mine, but you can make a fairly easy adaptation so that you can plug it into the van's solar setup and charge from that. I've seen at least one other van set up that way.

The Delta came with a cigarette lighter cable and one for solar panels.....and as we already have a solar panel on the roof I'm interested to know what I need to do to charge it from there?

 

[autorouter]

One option is to charge it from the leisure battery, and let the solar panel fill up the leisure battery whenever there is enough sunshine. Is your Ecoflow Delta the one with a battery of 1260Wh? That's equivalent to 1260/12 = 105Ah at 12V. How many watts is your solar panel? You'll get about 30Ah to 40Ah per day from 100W of solar panel.

You'll get slightly more into the Ecoflow by wiring the solar panel directly into it, but probably not worth the effort of messing about with all the connections. Is your leisure battery lithium or lead-acid? Lithium has a more efficient charging process, over 90% of the charge going in is usable, but for lead-acids only about 75% is usable. In other words to fully charge a 100Ah lead-acid will require an input of about 130Ah.

 

[Langtoftlad]

A combination of circumstances and a lack of self-control has led us to picking up an Ecoflow Delta from Costco last night

Must resist, must resist

 

[DangerMousy]

One option is to charge it from the leisure battery, and let the solar panel fill up the leisure battery whenever there is enough sunshine. Is your Ecoflow Delta the one with a battery of 1260Wh? That's equivalent to 1260/12 = 105Ah at 12V. How many watts is your solar panel? You'll get about 30Ah to 40Ah per day from 100W of solar panel.

You'll get slightly more into the Ecoflow by wiring the solar panel directly into it, but probably not worth the effort of messing about with all the connections. Is your leisure battery lithium or lead-acid? Lithium has a more efficient charging process, over 90% of the charge going in is usable, but for lead-acids only about 75% is usable. In other words to fully charge a 100Ah lead-acid will require an input of about 130Ah.

Yep its the 1260Wh one (as per usual for Costco, its slightly cheaper in store than it is online).

We've no idea what size our solar panel it is....it was already on the MH when we bought it, the dealer said they didn't know, and there is no documentation. We have two batteries which I believe are 80ah gels....but I can only see the ends and I've not actually had them out to have a look at them (too heavy & too awkward). A lot of unknowns here........ which is why I'm not keen on the idea of charging the Delta from the leisure batteries. Partly because of the unknowns, but mostly because the basic functions (powered by the leisure batteries) are much more important than the the luxuries (powered by the Delta) and I don't want to risk running them down.

To be honest, its not that often we spend long period off grid so in all likelihood we'll probably just recharge it when we're next at a place with EHU, but I was just curious how easy it would be to use the existing solar panel to recharge it. To be honest this is somewhat of an experiment in how useful the thing will be....being Costco we can always take it back for a refund if we decide its not worth it in the end

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[DangerMousy]

Must resist, must resist

Its ok, you only need to resist until Sunday...it goes back up to the normal price on Monday.


......not sure that helped any?

 

[RM_Marine]

I brought this from costco all the units recharge from dead to 80% on 240v demestic in around an hour

Costco

www.costco.co.uk

I have to say that it's not bad as I didn't want to install loads of things in the motorhome and not be able to use them elsewhere

I do which Id gone for the bigger unit but I wouldn't of gotten the solar which I've used quite alot

Anker 757 PowerHouse 1229Wh Portable Power Station | Cost...

Keep your home running during blackouts or take the comforts of home out and about with the Anker 757 Power Station. From camping essentials to microwaves and other appliances the Anker 757 Portable Power Station is perfect for when you need power. 6× Longer-Lasting Rated to provide 3,000...

www.costco.co.uk

Anker 767 PowerHouse 2048Wh Portable Power Station | Cost...

Anker PowerHouse 767 brings power to any place you need it. Thanks to tough 4.72-inch wheels that can travel up to 125 miles, no obstacle or terrain can stop this portable power. The portable power station packs a punch with a massive 2048Wh capacity and 2400W AC output, making it easy to power...

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Costco

www.costco.co.uk

 

[Langtoftlad]

So I already have a portable [luggable] 120w panel which has a pwm controller attached and is connected via an Anderson Plug.

Could I plug this solar panel [no doubt needing an cable adapter] directly - or would I have to disable/bypass the existing attached solar controller?

Which is a better unit - the Anker or the EcoFlow other than price
Or doesn't make much difference

See how my resistance is working

 

[DangerMousy]

The Ecoflow comes with solar panel cables ending in a pair of MC4 connectors (presumably designed for their own solar panels). But it
also has the following instructions for connecting to other ones:

 

[autorouter]

We've no idea what size our solar panel it is....it was already on the MH when we bought it, the dealer said they didn't know, and there is no documentation.

Solar panel watts depends mostly on the total area. So if you measure the panel, calculate its area, and compare it to sizes of solar panels in online ads you won't go far wrong. The voltage, if you want to know it, depends on the number of cells, so you could count the cells. Popular layouts are 9 x 4 = 36 cells and 10 x 6 = 60 cells.

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