On the Road Again!

It looks like weeks of neglect have led to Vera Strom's battery dying. When I say that, I mean not riding. I started and ran the engine a couple of times. Not enough. It seems to coincide with my dbPower jumper pack also giving up. It shows 100% charged but when connected to the bike nothing happens. No output. Maybe time for a new one? I have the battery on charge with the power provided by the Bluetti AC70. I'll keep a check on it during the evening and see how it goes. It could be a new battery and if it is, I'll look at another Motobatt. It looks as though the MBTZ14S is the fitment.

I planned to leave around 3.30pm for the three hour drive across the south to Wantage in Oxfordshire. The destination is Off Grid Power Solutions to have work tomorrow to make the van more off grid usable. Over the morning, when I woke with terrible stomach pains, we put all the stuff I need for two days away from home.  So, everything was going far too swimmingly up the motorways and around the M25. As usual, despite the A3 junction work being completed, everything slowed to walking pace.  TomTom was actually working at this point to say that the M4 was blocked in several places. Without a co-pilot I had no idea where and why. Instead the route changed to the M3 and Bracknell to the M3 and Hook near Basingstoke. I stopped at Fleet Services to check everything was working and th n set off again. Across country to Reading on the M4 and then Reading Services where I had planned to stop.  At Reading Services I had avoi...

"Was a sunny day, not a cloud was in the sky" It's the first day this year we have had some almost summer weather. It's April 8th and the temperature was nudging 20°C. I checked the Bluetti and it was showing 86% full. So out with the folding Allpowers Solar Panel and plugged that in. The panel is rated at 100w and so to get 80w peak input seemed pretty decent. It was moving between 70w and 80w for the hour and a quarter it took to get the battery up to 100%. It's the first time the panel has been out since last summer.

We called it "big boy" as it weighs an awful amount. Basically it's a huge lithium battery in a case with some electronics. We also have a smaller one from Allpowers that's really just for charging stuff and boiling the low power kettle. Allpowers also makes the solar panel we have.  Big Boy has been in the van for three weeks and when it went away it was 100% charged. It's down to 92% just by sitting. It's been very cold with temps down to -6°C a couple of times. I thought lithium was less susceptible to cold than conventional lead-acid batteries. Anyway, I charged it up today. I have had a problem connecting to it by Bluetooth from my phone. The VPN shouldn't affect Bluetooth but once I turned it off, the phone and big boy found each other. We have to decide whether to take both power banks to Spain with us. We also need space for the solar panel.

 ... and we will be deep into France and on our way to Spain. After the birthday celebrations (let's hope the French do zero alcohol beer and wine!) we will be setting off for the first campsite. I know that "real" vanlifers would be looking for a wild camping site or the very least a bit of scrubland to park up for the night.  We won't be doing that at all.  Why not?   Because it's our holiday that's why not! I have nothing against the occasional wild camp. We do it at Motor Caravanners Club Rallies and at some festivals. But when we are on holiday I like to be able to switch the kettle on and not rely on gas (LPG!) or the Bluetti AC70. Not all the time anyway. So we have chosen, or rather I have chosen! When I say we it's usually me that does the planning... We have chosen Camping La Gaviota near Roses not that far into Spain in the Girona province.  It's not the cheapest at around €33 a night, but it's well placed for walks and is dog friendly....

Having to lug the Bluetti AC70 around in its bot isn't that easy. As the box started to fall to pieces it was getting difficult to lug it around. Plus it was huge and took up a lot of unnecessary space. Enter... the Bluetti carry case for the AC70!  Not cheap. Well made and it is padded to protect the investment, plus it's way smaller than the box and foam inserts.  There's enough room for the charger cables inside too.

It's sunny today. It's March 18th so it's not going to be sunburn weather, but still looking to see if it will charge the AC70. It's not easy in our garden to avoid the tree and that shades a bit of the panel but the breeze means it swings back and forth.  The panel on the AC70 shows that it is charging at between 17w and 40w.  I doubt that the panel ever manages to charge at its full potential 100w though. I wonder if this seems okay for this time of year and the quality of the sun's rays? Hopefully, when we get to France in the summer we'll be able to use them linked together. The AC70 also charges from the mains at home and also has a 12v charger as well.

Why?  We have the Bluetti AC70 power bank as a backup power supply and I have been looking for a solar panel setup.  The idea is that we can try some wild camping and ensure we have a power supply if there's no EHU. So a folding solar panel is a good idea. I asked a few questions on the Bluetti owners site and it looked that Allpowers panels were good value and also waterproof just in case it rains.   Various Google searches showed that the 200w panels are in excess of £200. For what we need that's simply too much. This make and model ranged from £89.95 at Amazon to £149.95 at other sellers. You can guess which I went for, with next day delivery... Why go for 100w? Cost I guess plus the reviews from users have been claiming that the 100w Allpowers was putting in up to 80w really into the power bank from the sun.  It might not sound much but when connected to the AC70 when we are on a site in the summer it will be out all day. Now all I need is sun to test it!!! ...

Tuesday Finally I have bitten the bullet and bought a Bluetti power pack. Basically a lithium car battery in a pretty box. It's due on Saturday.  More then when we get it and charge it up. https://bluettipower.co.uk/products/ac70-portable-power-station Update - Wednesday I ordered it yesterday from Amazon as they had two different vouchers that brought the price down.  It with arrived DPD today at 2pm.  I didn't order it Prime either.  First thoughts that it is heavy. Plugged it in to the mains and it showed 57% charge. Leaving it to see how long it takes to get to 100%. Then test it by using it to power a few things we take in the van. Maybe I should read the instructions.