10. Campervan Lithium and Inverters, So What? Game changer or waste of money?
Вставка
- Опубліковано 4 тра 2022
- Just for a bit of fun, a light hearted look at some things you can do off-grid without electric hookup with the Lithium and Inverter.
“So What” with some of the things it’s enabled us to do, and an odd one for a bit of daft 😳
Hope you find it useful too!
On a serious note, it makes no sense to charge your electric car from your camper inverter 😀
#campervanning #campervan #elddiscv20 #lithium
#offgrid
Check out the playlist for the full series on the things we installed.
• Upgrading to Lithium b...
For reference we have a 3kw inverter and 460Ah 12V LIFEPO4 Lithium leisure battery which replaced our agm battery;
12V 460AH Lithium (LIFEPO4) battery from Roamer Batteries:
roamerbatteries.com/shop/p/12...
The Inverter I chose was a GIANDEL 3000W
www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07G2Z34B...
When working with electrics, please ensure you’re confident in what you’re doing and switch the power off before making any changes, make sure connections are secure and appropriate size fuses or breakers are used to protect your van and equipment. Be particularly careful when working with or around mains electric also.
If you decide to do this yourself, this video is just a guide on how I have gone about it to suit my specific purposes and may not be the best way of going about it. Any mods you undertake you need to personally assess the risk before going ahead and whether it’s needed or right for you. Do so at your own risk.
Everything I purchased is a personal purchase and not sponsored in any way.
Thank you for watching our videos. We hope you find them useful 👍.
Follow David, Rachel and Roxy 🐾, our Labrador, as our story unfolds of our adventures and travels in our Elddis CV20 campervan/motorhome 🚐 to campsites, stopovers, day trips, motorhome shows and more, predominantly across the UK 🇬🇧 .
As well as our adventures, we do reviews, hints and tips, mods, camping tech, a bit of camping cuisine cooking and much more, even sometimes build a bit of tech!
The channel is focussed on the theme of campervans and motorhomes along with caravanning, camping, leisure and associated technology.
We publish new content regularly and would normally publish (as applicable) our Adventures on a Tuesday evening and Features on a Thursday evening, but can vary occasionally. We strive to publish at least one new video every week.
Check out our UA-cam channel and hit the Subscribe button to subscribe to our channel (It’s free to do so). Please also feel free to like, share, leave a comment and hit the bell to get notification of our new content so you keep up to date.
/ leisurebit
▶️You can also visit our website for more information:
www.leisurebit.co.uk
▶️Follow us on Social Media:
Facebook: / leisurebit
Twitter: / leisurebit
Instagram: / leisurebitcv
▶️ Our Motorhome/Campervan:
Elddis CV20 Classique Auto (2021) in Grey from Cleveland Motorhomes.
The Elddis CV20 is a Fiat Ducato based 2 birth van conversion by The Erwin Hymer Group.
Thank you for watching LeisureBit ❤️ - Навчання та стиль
You are not nuts David, you have done what is right for you and as you said its a personal choice. It's a nice set up and gives you some great flexibility. The cost may be inhibitive for some butyou can do in stages I'm sure. Thanks for taking the time and effort to show this. Not sure I will ever need the hairdryer 😃. Kind regards
Straighteners? I don’t mind sharing 🤣🤣
Great feedback though - thank you!
I was howling at his bike whizzing over the drive … furthest it’s been in months! 🤣
@@LeisureBit it's a brilliant set up that works for both of you Rachel. Being a slap head no need for the straighteners either 🤣🤣. Take care .
Great vlog guys, thank you for sharing. It really makes you think, we are looking to go off grid a bit more and this kind of set up would really work.
Thank you. There are a number of options and you certainly don’t need to go as big on the battery capacity - I bought it as a longer term investment at that size rather than a need as I hope it will last me a decade or two and I can transfer it to a new van at the right point. There’s also the power bank option if you don’t want the faff of fitting for mains power to consider too. Definitely worth a good think before starting the job if you decide to go ahead. All the best, David 👍
Looks like a great set up. Thanks for sharing this information.
You’re welcome - it’s certainly coming in useful. All the best, David 👍
We've only just seen this! Awesome, thank you so much for sharing your experience!
Thank you and you’re welcome - the battery and it’s capacity and capability has certainly been a game changer for us - really opens up flexibility on how you can choose campsites and for off grid with on grid capabilities - all the best, David 👍
Brilliant video Dave can’t wait to get my new Roma battery at the end of May I also have a Hyundai 240 V unbelievably quiet On-board compressor Use it quite regular to blow the sand out of my van as well as blowing up my paddleboard no problems
Thank you - really appreciated. The batteries are spot on - decent BMS capacity too. Ideal for anything like that isn’t it. Let me know how you get on when you get your new battery - all the best, David 👍
I’m a bit useless with stuff like this ☺️ but good video & I’ll pass it on to hubby 😎 Thanks for sharing. Em x
Thank you - it’s made a big difference in flexibility for us without loosing your hookup comforts when not in hookup. Thanks for watching. Have a lovely weekend, all the best, David & Rachel 👍
Coffee machine and toaster...Brilliant 👍
It’s all the little luxuries - the coffee machine gets well used and toast much easier than with the grill, you don’t need to turn it over 😄 thanks for the comment, really appreciated, all the best, David 👍
Hi both, we’re still North of the border, great to watch your vlog and how you have used your modified onboard system. I do envy you having so much power available off grid. With my setup I would loose valuable garage space fitting a much larger battery, I wouldn’t be able to carry my spin dryer, and that is invaluable when away for a long time, queuing for machines is a thing that drives me nuts. You can always hand wash and the spinner allows the washing to dry so quick. I think it’s great not to have eggs in one basket. With the rising cost of electric on sites you are able with a bit of solar and alternator to cut down on your grid consumption. Many sites in Spain now charge per unit and you end up with a bill at the end of your stay. My addition of an Eberspacher 2.2kW diesel heater has worked well for reducing our grid consumption as well. Sitting here in sunny but fresh Forfar Loch the Eberspacher soon warmed us up at 7:30am. You have done a great job and your explanations are very good as well. Keep them coming David, cheers from Mike🥃🥃👍👍PS last stop in Scotland heading South after the Queen’s funeral on Monday☹☹
There’s a few sites seem to be starting to charge per unit which makes sense (Pier Cottage did earlier in the year) as then folks are paying for what they use.
Bet the dryer is handy as you say - enjoy the rest of your trip - sounds great - lovely area.
All the best, David & Rachel 👍
Good video you are correct it's not for everyone. The most important thing for us off grid is to be able to power the electric pump side of the whale heating for off grid during spring or autumn. With only a 80ah of lithium I suppliment with a bit of extra from a small power bank. Using the power bank for TV and phone charging etc and the onboard small lithium for the blown air. I have 80w solar. All a little under powered in the autosleeper range but will take the plunge for more capacity and bigger charging system....cheers
Thanks Paul, you raise a great point there ref power banks as they are a great way to achieve similar results without the complexity of an install. Also in spring, autumn and winter is when you will likely have the biggest power drain isn’t it. If the suns shining on the solar panel will keep things nice and topped up. All personal preference isn’t it based on how you want to use your van. All the best, David 👍
Great bit of bit there. Its a game changer for most. We are basic no toaster etc for off grid.
Thanks for the comment. It’s all a personal choice isn’t it and what works best for you. There are so many options on what to do for cooking, entertainment, etc, that’s what makes van life great I think, you can make it your own. All the best, David & Rachel 👍
Seems to be a really flexible system. Well presented .
Thank you very much - appreciate you taking the time to comment - certainly helps enabling more flexibility - have a great weekend, All the best, David 👍
Great video....wondered when the hair dryer would make an appearance....that's the reason I had to install a 3kW inverter for the wife!!! 😜
Brilliant - me too - imagine if it didn’t work the hairdryer how much trouble there would have been haha
All the best, David 👍
@@LeisureBit Happy wife, happy life 😊 take care 👍
We must get an inverter this year to get the use out of our 400wh lithium.
We have certainly found it a game changer for us and helps you get the most out of your lithium also opens up more options either off hookup overnight or even stopping off on route for a cuppa or lunch. The auto change over so just one button push and all the plugs work as if you are on hookup I’m pleased I did and worth considering (didn’t add much to the cost, maybe £30) as you don’t have to unplug and plug things in and uses existing sockets - I find I’m a bit lazy and don’t use stuff if it’s not easy to use when fitted so would recommend that too 😀 thank you for the comment, appreciated and hope you both have a lovely weekend- all the best, David & Rachel 👍
Good video, what size DC to Dc charger are you using, also do the know the amperage of your alternator ? Thanks :)
Thank you. I am using a fairly small DC to DC charger (25A) which was fitted with the van already and I just needed to change it from AGM to Lithium setting - I need to check the size of the alternator as if I use more off grid it would be good to increase that. All the best, David 👍
great stuff /// i am on lead acid and try not to exceed 350 watts so a microwave is too nuch for me.. i should upgrade ,,, maybe i will when i upgrade the van ...
It’s whatever works best for you isn’t it - I took over a year to decide and then ended up getting more capacity than I believe I needed just by chance. Many folks are quite happy without needing to add anything else too. Agree ref not hammering lead acid as much - very sensible - enjoy the rest of your weekend -
All the best, David 👍
Good to hear your take on lithium. We love having it. Even though it’s expensive initially, we have no regrets. Very eco friendly. Where do you store your coffee machine? We have a pop up toaster in the van too. Very flexible having lithium. Goodness, you can charge a car!!! Who’d have thought it? Be interested to see how you sort out heating the water using electricity. It’s quite easy to balance and ration the power when off grid. We’ve never had a problem. Nice clear summary of lithium. 😊🧙♂️
Thank you for giving us the confidence with your experience of it as it is a big investment and one thing I always try and avoid is a big investment which you are disappointed in (it’s a double whammy)- you were the pioneers and inspired us after watching your vlogs while we waited for our van, and we saw how pleased you were and that gave me the confidence to be bold and go for it. Again, It’s a big investment but also opens up options when you wish to use them as you know and biggest one is I’m not worrying about things such as have I left the inverter on or whatever as worst case you just need to charge it up again not deal with the hassle of potential replacement. We’ve never looked back and like you love having it also.
Hopefully it will serve for many years to come and then it replays its investment and costs in as well as the other advantages.
I keep the coffee machine in the wardrobe on a shelf, I used to keep it in an overhead locker but found it more convenient in the wardrobe but I am going to make a slide out ‘thingy’ to save needing to lift it in and out of the wardrobe - whether that will in practice be a good idea remains to be seen. Concept like some of the hotel hostess trays which come out like a draw was the inspiration for that - on the to do list 😀
Going to have a look at the heating of the water on electric in the next week so will keep you posted on how I get on with it and whether it’s practical to do with the CV setup (I think it is but want to check to make sure before I buy the bits all be it don’t see it costing too much to do)
Thanks again. All the best, David (& Rachel)👍
@@LeisureBit your tech vlogs are rapidly becoming the Goto place. That’s very well explained and should enable people to see the advantages. I do get a bit fed up with people saying it’s not needed. They are not wrong but they also don’t appreciate the plus points. Flexibility. We hardly use gas now. We just love free power. Thanks again David. You explained it much better than I could. 🙏🚐🐶🐶👍
One question, the CV turn off the system when the engine is on, have you changed that? or still the same configuration? I wonder if the inverter could be use while the van is running so you can charge laptop etc without wasting energy of the battery.
I’ve not changed the disablement feature of the CV electrics, that still switches off the habitation electrics when the engine is started. However, the inverter is connected to the leisure battery so if it’s switched on it won’t disable (currently) so you can use it in motion if you wanted to.
Hope that helps, all the best David 👍
Good video very clearly explained useful information can you tell me the wattage of your inverter please thanks
Thank you - the inverter I have fitted is a 3Kw (6Kw surge). The reason I chose the 3Kw was to give some headroom incase it was needed as in the past I’ve had issues with other types when running close to the limit so I felt it best to have enough capacity to run whatever I needed.
Hope that helps, All the best, David 👍
Hi David so I see you use the roamer 460ah and it will run the van for a week is the fridge on all the time . Thanks
Hi Gareth - yes that’s with the fridge on all the time - I set the fridge to ‘2’ and don’t bother with night mode etc. obviously depends on how often you open the door and ambient temperature etc but gives plenty of capacity in that size
Ok great info there’s a roamer pre order discount on at the moment on the battery you have I can save £200 ish you might want to mention it on your channel hopefully you will get a kick back , meant to ask what fried do you have David . Thanks fridge not fried sorry
@@garethwatts_ Mines the Dometic one - I managed to get a pre-order discount when I purchased mine - was worth the saving for the wait :) Been really pleased with it so far, All the best, David 👍
Could you tell us what your set up is. Ie wattage of solar panels, ah of batteries and wattage of inverter.
Many thanks John
Hi John - the solar panel (which I might expand in the future) is around 140w. The battery is 460Ah and the inverter is 3kW (6kW surge) - on the previous video in the series in the description I have popped links to the battery, inverter, etc if that helps at all. The solar is as fitted so don’t have the info in that one sorry. Hope that helps, all the best, David 👍
@@LeisureBit ah thank you. I have 500 watts of solar and just purchased a Renogy 3000 watt inverter. I was unsure how large a battery bank I would need and was torn between 200AH and 400AH of lithium. I guess that I should invest in 400AH.
Many thanks for the information
John
Wow that’s an impressive amount of solar - should keep things nicely topped up with that. Worth making sure your BMS on the battery you get can supply enough power for the inverter - you would need around 250A continuous for 3Kw but worth checking specifics - sure you will have that covered but watched a few UA-cam channels where folks have has problems due to under rated battery management systems. Looks like you’ll have a fantastic setup. All the best, David
ALLPOWERS S1500 WILL RUN 90% OF MHOME ELECTRIC DEVICES - CHARGE BY SOLAR AND WHEN DRIVING HAS INBUILT INVERTERS.
If it works for you that’s brilliant - for what I wanted it’s not suitable as it’s about 1/6th of the capacity and half the AC power output so won’t do what I need it to as I run microwave, coffee maker etc and need more capacity, imagine it works great though if you don’t have those requirements. Thanks for sharing, all the best. David 👍
Hello my friend good morning 🌄 well done
Beautiful sharing stay connected. 🍓
Hi...A tad late to the party on this one but still....Curious about the amp draw with your microwave, it says 800w on the front of it but you're drawing 120 amps ?....The math puts 800 watts at 66.6amps so even factoring in for the inverter and the losses etc I'm wondering why the 120a ?
For info...I'm UK based and have an American RV...I did a complete do over on the leisure batteries and have 4x 100a with 360 w of solar and a 3kw inverter.....I built the entire system based on toast lol....Gotta have toast !!!
I'm seeing 80amps with the toaster as well btw...I'm currently researching a diy 280ah Lifepo4 to run in parallel with the existing bank of lead acid..
Thanks in advance.
Hi, thanks for the comment - really good question- the microwave power is the cooking power from the magnetron in it rather than the mains power consumption - so the additional current is a mixture of efficiency loss which often manifests in heat and other components such as the electronics and turntable motor, lights etc. hence the cooking power being different from the consumption.
In things such as toasters it’s equal as it’s a heating element so direct translation.
Sounds like an interesting project all be it it’s not wise at all to mix lead acid and lifepo4 as completely different technologies without some form of isolation - in extreme circumstances you could end up with a fire or explosion.
Hope that makes sense -
All the best, David 👍
Thanks for the quick reply David, it makes sense now that you point out the differences between the two appliances...Re the Lifepo4...I've done a fair bit of research and it seems the two chemistries mix quite well after the separate charge cycle for each bank..so much so that the Lfp4 will happily float the lead acid. They will be separate banks, separate charger and solar panels etc but with the ability to draw off either and tie the banks together when the need arises.
Game changer .
Definitely - all the best, David 👍
Hey What's up ✌️🔔🤛
Not nuts at all. I have 200ah of Lithium in my Wildax with a 3kw peak 1500w inverter! Useful to run the microwave, but key was my wife’s hairdryer!!! Off grid is so nice and easy! More power the better!!!
Thanks very much for the comment - oh yes, hairdryer gets used and was very important for Rachel 😀 thanks again, all the best, David 👍
Did he mention how big thee battery was?
Do you mean the capacity or physical size? If capacity it’s 460Ah - the physical size is on the Roamer batteries website if that helps - sorry if that wasn’t the answer to the question.
All the best, David 👍
@@LeisureBit I meant the capacity, it's actually quite alot!