Power banks

[POH]

Thinking of getting one, but my other brain is asking do you really need one we mainly stay on sites but use some aires in France and Spain would use for wife's hairdryer and maybe the kettle, the one I am looking at is the Eco flow delta 2 1024 wh .Thanks

 

[bigtwin]

However ..... having experienced this method and done some research I am now investing in a full lithium setup with a Fogstar 300ah battery. It is many times more expensive at around £2500

HOWEVER, for that money you are specifying a much more capable system.

Were you to spec the system to be equivalent to the River 2 Pro, the costs wouldn’t be much different. If I have found the correct River Pro it has a mere 60Ah battery and an 800W inverter for £450. What you’ve specified for your van has FIVE TIMES the capacity.

Ian

 

[Rob Hammond]

For me a power bank is a back up power supply and like others have said can be used in the home when we have a power cut .

 

[Happy Jack]

My laptop charges at a reasonable speed from a 12v to USB C PD adaptor. It's only 30w, but that's enough to slowly charge it even when it's in use. It means I don't need an invertor or laptop power supply. One USB C cable... that also works for the phone, tablet, etc. Simples!

Mine's a lenovo, it's own charger puts 19v into it but I often use the usb in the van, slow but it gets there.

 

[h8ten]

I have an AllPowers one for use in the motorhome. Well, it will be outside with the van plugged into it, so it will work the same as EHU, but to avoid extra drain, it will only be powered on when needed. At home, I charge it up using off-peak leccy and use it to power the tumble dryer.

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[Guigsy]

Mine's a lenovo, it's own charger puts 19v into it but I often use the usb in the van, slow but it gets there.

USB C PD can deliver 19v or more. I think the latest standard will allow 200 watts! But when you use an adaptor from the van's batteries, all the units I've seen can't step up the voltage, so they're limited to 12v. USB C PD can deliver up to 30w at 12v. Which is obviously less than the average 65w laptop power supply. But it'll still slowly charge my 15" Dell with a Ryzen 7 while I'm playing games. Far less faff than worrying about inverters and the power supply when you can just use the same socket and cable you use to charge your phone and tablet (and van vacuum cleaner, drone, torches, Bluetooth speakers, etc).

 

[gus-lopez]

We will still have the deltas because if we install say a 2000w inverter we would have 5,600 watts available

& if you charge them from the solar on the van you'd have enough to back feed a house.

 

[Happy Jack]

USB C PD can deliver 19v or more. I think the latest standard will allow 200 watts! But when you use an adaptor from the van's batteries, all the units I've seen can't step up the voltage, so they're limited to 12v. USB C PD can deliver up to 30w at 12v. Which is obviously less than the average 65w laptop power supply. But it'll still slowly charge my 15" Dell with a Ryzen 7 while I'm playing games. Far less faff than worrying about inverters and the power supply when you can just use the same socket and cable you use to charge your phone and tablet (and van vacuum cleaner, drone, torches, Bluetooth speakers, etc).

Slight oops on my part.
My Lenovo stays out at home.
It's a Chromebook that we take with the van, but same principle.
It's mains charger out out 19v.
In the van I have one 240v socket outlet which is only when on EHU which is rare.
Just charge it normally with the vans 12v usb, overnight if necessary.
We don't have a telly so we stream into the Chromebook or watch whatever we have downloaded at home in it.

 

[SpeedyDux]

I have an AllPowers one for use in the motorhome. Well, it will be outside with the van plugged into it, so it will work the same as EHU, but to avoid extra drain, it will only be powered on when needed. At home, I charge it up using off-peak leccy and use it to power the tumble dryer.

I had to reject 2 Allpowers powerbanks that were faulty on delivery. Nevertheless I have two in the house, one for upstairs and one for downstairs, including garden and power gadget/tool use, even ironing. I suspected that the inverters though powerful may not provide a true sine wave because my DVD player refused to work off the Allpowers 230v socket.

 

[mgibbons]

HOWEVER, for that money you are specifying a much more capable system.

Were you to spec the system to be equivalent to the River 2 Pro, the costs wouldn’t be much different. If I have found the correct River Pro it has a mere 60Ah battery and an 800W inverter for £450. What you’ve specified for your van has FIVE TIMES the capacity.

Ian

Indeed although the battery is a relatively small percentage of the costs so it makes sense to increase the capacity. I did originally order a 100ah ecoworthy for £200 and then swapped it for a 300ah fogstar at £550.

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[rambo]

i got the bluetti plumed into van. solar cables from roof go strait into it and all so fitted the 12v 500w alternator charger.its all so connected to the main control panel 4.200wh.at a price of 1700 pound i was a big victron fan but its all in one box now .but hey ho each to there own

 

[mgibbons]

Can I ask why so much ? Our 300ah was around £800, 18 months ago, it was just dropped in and the control panel changed to Lithium, nothing else has been added or altered. I've looked at inverter but as yet not purchased one, when I do I would expect not to pay more than £250 for a 2kw. Since fitting we have spent 90+ days away, 85 off grid, and never been short of battery power.

The major cost is the inverter at £600 plus £600 for fitting. The other aspects are as to be expected i.e. list price (all Victron kit) plus some extra for labour i.e. B2B, replacement charger and solar controller for lithium. The inverter is costly as it is a full replacement and requires running off larger cables back to the consumer unit i.e. every socket in the van will be able to run off the inverter with EHU priority. Quite honestly, if you were converting a van I would just go with an ecoflow as the all in one design makes things soooo much simpler but for a "upgrade" not so much.

 

[rambo]

The major cost is the inverter at £600 plus £600 for fitting. The other aspects are as to be expected i.e. list price (all Victron kit) plus some extra for labour i.e. B2B, replacement charger and solar controller for lithium. The inverter is costly as it is a full replacement and requires running off larger cables back to the consumer unit i.e. every socket in the van will be able to run off the inverter with EHU priority. Quite honestly, if you were converting a van I would just go with an ecoflow as the all in one design makes things soooo much simpler but for a "upgrade" not so much.

yep i reckon soon if they have not all ready new vans will be made with these power banks built in ..seems like a no brainer to me

 

[mgibbons]

yep i reckon soon if they have not all ready new vans will be made with these power banks built in ..seems like a no brainer to me

I tend to agree

 

[rambo]

I tend to agree

i think as well the trick is to find a place to fit it in the mh get some power going in and out of it and leave it there .see to many mates lifting them in and out and stepping over them fit it and leave it

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[mgibbons]

i think as well the trick is to find a place to fit it in the mh get some power going in and out of it and leave it there .see to many mates lifting them in and out and stepping over them fit it and leave it

Once again, I agree. I might even think about doing that with mine given that I am replacing two batteries with one and it might fit in the space under the sofas. The main problem is that the RP is nice and small but only 800w but the Max 2 is simply too large for that and I would only have one socket at 240v. A major advantage for me of going the full route is that the socket in the garage can now be used for charging the electric bikes off the 300ah lithium which will be charged by the B2B.

 

[Woodburner]

We have a VTOMAN Flashspeed 1500 power station with a 400W solar panel. It's like having 6 amp EHU when we're off grid. We're gadget heavy so it means we can stream TV and use laptop and devices as well as cook with our Remoska. I took this route rather than going with a lithium leisure battery setup bacause out leisure battery is under the passenger seat along with the charger so there's not a lot of room for a lithium setup as many lithium batteries are simply too big / tall. Really happy with the VTOMAN kit. Panel is superb. Generates over 350W of power in full sunlight. We do quite a lot of off-grid sports and aviation events so this has been a godsend. It fits in a gap under the sofa and I've made up a short hook up cable that drops down in to the service hatch so I don't need to put the unit outside, just the panel. We can run our laptops all weekend as well as charging up cameras etc. Keeps the leisure battery topped up too. On a sunny day the panel generates more power than the van uses! They are also useful at home too. The VTOMAN can be used as a redundant power suppy and it's brilliant for running electrical kit and powering tools outdoors. I'm a convert.

 

[SpeedyDux]

We have a VTOMAN Flashspeed 1500 power station with a 400W solar panel. It's like having 6 amp EHU when we're off grid. We're gadget heavy so it means we can stream TV and use laptop and devices as well as cook with our Remoska. I took this route rather than going with a lithium leisure battery setup bacause out leisure battery is under the passenger seat along with the charger so there's not a lot of room for a lithium setup as many lithium batteries are simply too big / tall. Really happy with the VTOMAN kit. Panel is superb. Generates over 350W of power in full sunlight. We do quite a lot of off-grid sports and aviation events so this has been a godsend. It fits in a gap under the sofa and I've made up a short hook up cable that drops down in to the service hatch so I don't need to put the unit outside, just the panel. We can run our laptops all weekend as well as charging up cameras etc. Keeps the leisure battery topped up too. On a sunny day the panel generates more power than the van uses! They are also useful at home too. The VTOMAN can be used as a redundant power suppy and it's brilliant for running electrical kit and powering tools outdoors. I'm a convert.



View attachment 990643

Just wanted to ask - how much does it weigh?

I saw an Ad that said it weighs 6 Kg but that seems rather unlikely.

 

[Woodburner]

Just wanted to ask - how much does it weigh?

I saw an Ad that said it weighs 6 Kg but that seems rather unlikely.

The power station weighs 19kg. The 400W panel weighs 17kg so it's quite a heavy setup but when we're off grid for the weekend it tends to be a single location so we don't take our motorbike or mountain bikes so we're OK on weight.

 

[Tiger Bear]

We have a VTOMAN Flashspeed 1500 power station with a 400W solar panel. It's like having 6 amp EHU when we're off grid. We're gadget heavy so it means we can stream TV and use laptop and devices as well as cook with our Remoska. I took this route rather than going with a lithium leisure battery setup bacause out leisure battery is under the passenger seat along with the charger so there's not a lot of room for a lithium setup as many lithium batteries are simply too big / tall. Really happy with the VTOMAN kit. Panel is superb. Generates over 350W of power in full sunlight. We do quite a lot of off-grid sports and aviation events so this has been a godsend. It fits in a gap under the sofa and I've made up a short hook up cable that drops down in to the service hatch so I don't need to put the unit outside, just the panel. We can run our laptops all weekend as well as charging up cameras etc. Keeps the leisure battery topped up too. On a sunny day the panel generates more power than the van uses! They are also useful at home too. The VTOMAN can be used as a redundant power suppy and it's brilliant for running electrical kit and powering tools outdoors. I'm a convert.



View attachment 990643

I was going to start a thread to ask about power stations, until I found this one.

I am thinking about getting the same set up as you, a VTOMAN FlashSpeed 1500 with a 400w solar panel.
The current price from the manufacturer is £949, and at Amazon it is £987; however, with the latter I can add an extra 1548Wh battery for £167.

I'm just weighing up the pros and cons of having an extra battery. The additional weight doesn't matter so much, but the extra resilience, being able to use an air fryer more frequently for example, or keeping wheelchair batteries charged up, could be useful.

I have a couple of questions...

• can the solar panel be used to provide additional charge to the leisure battery, and have you used it as such? Or, is that not really relevant, as using the power station would reduce the drain on the leisure battery anyway?
• how have you found the charging of it from the 12v outlet, whilst driving?

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[Dave Scadding]

Thinking of getting one, but my other brain is asking do you really need one we mainly stay on sites but use some aires in France and Spain would use for wife's hairdryer and maybe the kettle, the one I am looking at is the Eco flow delta 2 1024 wh .Thanks

Eco flow delta 2, that’s the RR of power packs. I have a Jackery and dream of getting a Delta 2. I wouldn’t be without one now as like you we stay mostly on sites and airs in France, however we have been wild camping and not always through choice ie site or air full the Jackery has been a godsend although a bigger unit would be better.

 

[starquake]

Remember you can hook anything 12-60 volt to the DC input and charge a delta 2 via the solar input, you need not just be resticted to solar, or official battery packs.

We have connected our Delta2 to the van's AC input and ran the charger for the leisure battery as if on hookup using solar. Works a treat.

(you do need to manually switch the fridge to gas if you havea. auto-switch fridge, as you don't want to run the fridge on the Delta2 -> it works, but will use all of the 400W solar in summer.

 

[Reallyretired]

i think as well the trick is to find a place to fit it in the mh get some power going in and out of it and leave it there .see to many mates lifting them in and out and stepping over them fit it and leave it

Mine lives in the garage, connected to solar, mains when available and just feeds a single socket (at present) in the hab area. Used for hairdryer, electric blankets. Only occasionally off grid as swmbo likes sites.