Let’s talk electricals for remote off grid travel.
The two most influential questions are:
1 Do I need / want the functionality?
2 What power source?
I had decided on lpg for hot water and cooking although I’ve ended up using the induction cooktop supplemented by butane cookers as they are more versatile for outdoor cooking and the spin off is that the lpg is saved for hot water duties. This is important as the gas bottle is limited to 3.7kg. The induction cooktop is fantastic in the wind.
12v, 18v or inverter driven 240v?
12v
All lighting,
Fridge,
Diesel heater fan,
Cooking area exhaust fan,
Ensuite exhaust fan/light & toilet,
House cooling fan,
Water pump,
Bar fridge,
HEPA filter,
Vacuum sealer,
Electric blanket,
Fuel transfer pump,
Water transfer pump,
Back up compressor,
TV (rarely carried).
18v Ozito
Chainsaw,
Hammer drill,
Impact wrench,
Reciprocating saw,
Blower,
Side grinder,
Vacuum,
Spotlight.
240v via 1600/1800W inverter (twin 120Ah LiFePo batteries each capable of 150A continuous discharge)
Air compressor, 550W
Ozito battery charger, 70W
Microwave, 1000W
Pizza oven, 2*650W switchable elements
Induction cooktop, 1100-1350W
Kettle, 1000W
Toaster 750W
Mini air fryer 900W
Heat gun, 1600W (electrical repairs)
Stick mixer, 200W
Soldering iron, 40W
My DCDC charger can take up to 600W of solar input with 200W fixed panel on the roof plus two direct input points on the outside of the van. This means I can bypass the panel controller and feed raw power into my central DCDC charger.
I carry:
2x100W Voltech fixed panels the same as the roof panel to which I added fold out legs. These run high voltage and are very efficient,
120W Kings fold up mat c/w regulator to charge the vehicle battery on long stays
NB I have tried quite a few portable fold out units but most run max voltage of 18.6V whereas the Voltech run at 23.4v and the Kings mats 19.2v. It’s best to match voltages for efficiency therefore my Voltech gets used the most. It’s also the lightest and easiest to set up.
As always, questions welcome.
#vanlife #rockwallaby #sprinter4x4
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| 12v HEPA filter |
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| 12v Brass monkey 15L bar fridge |
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| 18v Ozito tools |
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| 240v compressor |
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| 240v pizza oven |
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| 240v Ozito charger |
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| 240v microwave |
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| 240v induction hot plate |
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| 240v kettle |
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| 240v soldering iron |
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| 240v stick mixer |
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| 240v heat gun |
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