Off-grid - Trials and Triumphs

Bav

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Took delivery of our new campervan in early May and have now been on a couple of camping trips to try it out. The first trip - a two-nighter in Northumberland on EHU - was a general shake-down of the conversion and a familiarisation exercise. The primary purpose of the second trip - a 6-nighter in Cornwall, without EHU - was to test how long we could comfortably exist off-grid with the installed power system.

The power system consists of two 110ah LiFePo4 batteries, a 300W roof-mounted solar panel, a Victron 30A DC/DC charger and a Victron MPPT, which all sounds plentiful, especially considering the wall-to-wall sunshine we've had this last week and the day-tripping we did most days. However, on the load front we have a 3kW inverter, a Quooker boiling-water tap, a portable induction hob (2.1kW on max setting), a [domestic] toaster and the usual array of phones, tablets, fridges and lighting (not to mention the possible future addition of wifey things such as hair-straighteners and a hairdryer:grin bounce:).

The biggest power test was probably on the very first night. After a nightmare 10-hour journey, we managed to get set up just before it got dark. At this point we had a 100% SOC, but obviously no prospect of solar input until sunrise and we weren't going anywhere in the van as we were too knackered, so no alternator input either. We then made our evening meal - a pre-prepared curry (heated on the induction hob), naan breads (toasted in the toaster) and pot of tea (courtesy of the boiling-water tap). The inverter managed just fine (although, admittedly, at no point was the hob on full chat) and when we went to bed with the SOC sitting at 80%.

I was quite happy with that - even with little sunlight, zero van movement and a hot meal/drink each day, that would mean at least 4 days off-grid, maybe even 5 days at a stretch. Even better, when we got up at 8am the following morning, SOC was already back up at 100%. Obviously SOC went back down as we prepared breakfast but, again, it was back at 100% before we set off on the days travels. providing the tantalising prospect of unlimited off-griding subject to either sunny weather or an amount of touring in the van. Happily, it was like that for the remainder of the trip - that's what I call a result. :mexican wave:

Apologies for the long post and thanks for reading 'til the end. :)

PS, Apologies also to any old-schoolers on here who probably think induction hobs and boiling-water taps are an abomination to the camping ethos. Sorry if I've made your p!ss boil. :rofl:
 
Sounds like an ace set up there @Bav
That quooker tap would be the best thing ever.
Thanks. We wanted more useable worksurface and only wanted to cook in the van as a last resort (i.e. when the weather was too poor to cook outside), so we chose not to have a sink or a gas stove and instead went with the Quooker tap, a portable induction hob and an underslung gas tank for a BBQ set-up.

We love it, but the tap is quite power-hungry, so you need to be on EHU or driving if you want to have it on 24/7.
 
Have we seen this van yet @Bav ..... Been eagerly waiting to see but may have missed!
+1 I don't feel like we have actually seen it yet!
Very nice....

Now start posting pics of the van and your setup.
Guys, I hear you. Apologies for not providing any post-conversion pics yet, despite promising that I would. The reason is that I have a number of "quality issues" with my conversion and I'd like these resolved before I reveal. I don't want to say anything further about the issues atm, as the converter hasn't yet had an opportunity to resolve. Once they're resolved, I will post pics - I promise.
 
We've had one or two flashes @Drive Wayne not seeing the pop top but heard about it tonight! Need to keep eyes peeled for a quick glance here and there :)
 
Been considering the all elec route so found this thread quite interesting!
 
It wasn't my intention to tease and I fear I may have set expectations waaay too high :rolleyes:, but I've previously posted these...

And here's a few more pics (but, shh!, keep them to yourself :confused:)...
20230719_155545.jpg20230719_155933.jpg20230719_160334.jpg20230719_160420.jpg
 
What model of Quooker did you go for Paul ?
Hey Chris, I'm not sure tbh. I'll look through the conversion bumph and get back to you. I suspect it isn't actually a Quooker at all and that I've used that as a genericised term for a boiling-water tap.
 
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