How I Turned Wasted Space into a PowerBank
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- Опубликовано: 6 фев 2025
- DR PREPARE POWERSTATION
Discount Code: BATTERY10 (10% off)
Link: drprepare.com/...
ABOUT ME
I sold all my belongings to move into a van in the summer of 2022. Vanlife in New England is not easy but I figure it out. I also showcase the heck out of this beautiful part of the USA.
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CONTACT
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CREDITS
Music: Epidemic Sound
Photos & Video: All taken by me unless noted
Nice setup. I recharge everything while I drive using a 2000w inverter. Charges all my batteries, two jackerys, bike battery, PC, phone, and runs my fridge.
That must be a lot of driving.
@@undertheradarvan not nearly as much as if I were trying to charge with 12V
I have used this battery for two years now.
It has run my 12v refrigerator/freezer for 180 plus days each year.
This battery withstood some serious weather and got very wet a few times.
It is a great battery.
I woud suggest buying a solar mppt charger for it.
Glad to hear it's working out so well for you!
I pulled the trigger and purchased one. It ticks all of the boxes, especially now with all of the latest tech electronics pretty much migrated to USB-C and USB-C PD is a game changer. Plus, you can use it like a normal 12 volt 100 Ah battery to boot.
I have an 100 Ah AGM battery that I use for temporary power projects and I dread dragging it around since it weighs close to 75 lbs vs 30 lbs.
The extra bonus is that one of the outputs utilizes the Anderson Powerpole which is kinda the defacto standard for connecting and powering up amateur radio equipment and accessories. I have to kick the tires on that part when it arrives to find out if the internal protection electronics causes any radio frequency interference to the connected equipment, or vice versa.
I'M SO EXCITED ABOUT SOLAR! I can't wait to see what you do.
Awesome video bro! Be safe and peace out.
Peace out yourself!
Might consider DC TO DC alternator charger for winter months with little sunshine
One of the first things I installed.
Hi Matt! Great battery hack! I was wondering about your “office” setup in the van. The pull out draw is super cool and it looks like you sit on the edge of the bed to work. How about some lower-back support while you are sitting? Cheers and all the best for the New Year! PS - loving the 6.81k subscribers! Ever upward!
Happy Holidays. Thanks for the videos
And peace to you too…have a happy and safe new year…can’t wait for your next video
Thanks! 2025 is off to a good start!
Some solar panels come with mounting feet and you can screw them directly to the roof and use caulking to seal the screws. It's too permanent for me and I prefer a roof rack, but it is an option.
I don’t want to penetrate the roof
Hey Matt! I built my own rack using
mounting brackets from Tecvan and 2"
aluminum angle from my local metal
shop. By far the cheapest route and
does the job great! After a ton of
research I went with 2 of the Rich
Solar mega 250 panels. We watch all
of your videos and love them!
Happy New Year Matt!
Same to you!
You could make a living doing voiceovers and audio of books. I really like your voice.
I hate my own voice lol thanks though!
I hope the new battery system serves you well in 2025. It is good to have a back battery should your van's starter battery die. Best of luck in the new year and thanks for sharing.
You can never have enough charge AND contingency plans! Thanks and happy new year to you too.
looks pretty good.
Works great so far!
Happy New Year!!! Good information. Thanks. I’m always learning something from you. 🙋🏼♀️
Thanks for watching Ruth, happy new year
As much driving you do a bluetti dc to dc charger will charge your jackery from zero to 85 percent in 45 minutes of driving.
Bro, Jackery has those portable foldable solar panels you could use for now if your parked somewhere for a few hours like when you go on one of those long hikes your battery is going to be getting charged.
Awesome video!🙌
Thanks Marla, happy new year!
Happy New Year 2025🎉 thanks for the great battery charging info.
Thanks Mark, hope your 2025 is off to a great start!
Buy a 40 or 50 amp charger. Not the one that came with Jackery. What took me 16 hrs to charge my 100ah takes me 2.5 hrs.
It has a fan for a reason I have one also
Something I would be concerned about is the temperature of your Jackery inside that case. Are there outlets for heat and if so I would cut some more holes so your Jackery can breathe. In winter it would not be of so much concern but in summer that will change.
I'll do that pronto!
i have jackery 1k also.. loving it ☕😀
It's been great for me! Survived on that thing for a year before my system was built out!
Glad you didn't pull the trigger on that Orion roof rack. DIYVan has roof mounts where you can affix your own 80/20 or unistruts to mount your solar panels. Aaron and Liana does a great video on their custom roof rack, which I've followed myself. Happy new year and cheers!
thanks for the advice
🎉🥳🤩
nice video! Hope 2025 is great for you
Thanks!
Hey Matt, I'm going to go into fully building a van soon and going full time living in it starting May 2025. I'm also in the Boston/Greater Boston area. How did you get over the fear of sleeping in your van initially, do you have any recommendations or tips for someone like me just starting out in the same area? Great videos! Thanks!
I got my van 6 weeks before my lease expired. I practiced by sleeping in it on the street in front of my apartment, and slowly ventured outward.
I went with Bluetti 1000w because it charges in about 2 hours. It lasts 3 days when using my fan and CPAP machine. I'm very happy with it.
Great video bro looking great all you need now is an ol lady :) keep up the great work!
Maybe in 2025!
@undertheradarvan I hope so! Prayers for you and your future!!
Brooklyn Campervan is a great place to have your solar insulted
Do you ever play checkers on your counter top ?🤔
Roof racks can get real expensive. I just received the final parts I needed for a Yakima roof rack for my van. I'm planning to attach four 100w panels and still have room for bikes and possibly a cargo box. For now I've been charging my Jackery when driving by plugging it into the dashboard 12v outlet.
😎
I built my own roofrack from 1.5 inch aluminium square tubes from the local metal store. I also bought roofrack adapters that attach to the vehicle's roofrack attachment points. Came out really good and superior to some expensive stuff they're selling. It cost me less than $400 3 yrs ago.
The tube stock? Great idea!
What about gluing flexible solar panels to roof? Even stealthier than panels on racks!
Don't forget libraries for power station charging.
Oh yeah they are another great source! Also for zoom calls!
That battery is pretty cool. The only downside I saw on them is that the little adapter thing only lets you charge it at 100 watts. So it will take forever to charge if it gets low.
Yep
Thanks for the video to introduce power system. The critical factor is to have HIGH Power Charging system from your vehicle with a secondary alternator . This may be a permanent solution on the top of solar panels
A second alternator? Do you mean a dc-dc charger? I can't imagine where you could cram a second alternator in the guts under the hood of the transit.
Hey Matt. Happy New Year. Mickey here. I'm deciding against solar because of its inefficiency. What I'm deciding on, and this will be a great choice because you also drive a lot, is a charger. Here are a few economical options you can look into. ETAKER Alternator Charger Fleet 1000, PECRON 500W Car Charger DC1242-500, or the BLUETTI Charger 1. With all the driving you do your battery bank will be charged to 100% in no time.
I have a viltron dc-dc charger, they are a must imo. I need to drive about 1 hour per day to sustain my use.
I see. Well it's something to look into. I'm most likely gonna purchase the ETaker F2000 which can charge up to 1000w via the alternator and up to 1000w solar. That way I'll have the option to add solar if I wanted. That's about $430.
You don't need a roof rack for solar panels. Just bolt the panels to the already factory installed holes on the roof VIA the brackets that mount to the panels. There's all kinds of different length size and style brackets you can buy as well.
I didn't see any factory holes on the roof of the ford transit,
@@undertheradarvan im like 99% sure those square things evenly spaced out are covers that you can pop off - and threaded holes are in there for bolts. thats how aftermarket roof racks are installed
Check my other comment about nomad brad. I think he can suggest how to do it without drilling. I mighy be wrong but he could tell you @undertheradarvan
So how much battery power do you have total now?
530Ah in the house setup, and 170Ah in the auxiliary setup, the two are not connected.
That Dr Prepare battery is actually a very good deal thanks for that. I will say that you may want to investigate a dc-dc charger and an upgrade over the Jackery as your primary power source vs. a solar set up which can be expensive/time consuming/weather dependent . Bluetti and others have great sales going on right now. Its very possible you could charge your setup minimum 5 to max10 times faster than what you have right now and increase your total watt hours and max watt output for about a thousand to fifteen hundred plus time investigating/planning and installing yourself. I hear ya on $5k.😬 Even $1k is nothin to sneeze at. Check out some vids. Can get a little overwhelming with all the possibilities but the AC180(1100 watt hours and 1800 watt max inverter) for $499 paired with a Bluetti 500 watt dc-dc charger for $249 working in tandem with the setup you already have would give you massive flexibility. No carrying Jackery into bldgs for charging anymore. So about $800 minimum would give you a big upgrade. Or just the dc-dc charger, if the Jackery can utilize that set up. Best wishes and good vids
I have a dc-dc charger and it is my primary charging source
@@undertheradarvan Excellent!! I see, now you have about 700 AH. Yeah thats a good amount of charging. Plus you think the dc-dc charger contributed to or caused the alternator failure I saw on one of your other replies. Ouch. I guess Im a little surprised I havent seen more of that on dc-dc chargers. I saw one reply suggested a second alternator but I think I have read about more commonly seeking a more powerful alternator replacement.Youve probably been down this road already but its a good discussion. Best of luck and see you on the next
Have you considered flexible solar panels and just glue them to the roof with 3m tape
No, I've heard they fail more often and I don't want to have to build out a solar system twice. Maybe they've improved since I last researched.
Hi!! Don’t forget to clear the air vents in your batteries 😮
In the jackery you mean?
@@undertheradarvan He thinks they're lead acid. Lithium batteries don't have air vents.
My mistake. My ac/dc lithium battery has vents,,
Jackery has portable solar panels.
Charge your batteries while driving with a BLUETTI Charger 1. Delivers Max. 560W of power-6 times faster than traditional car cigarette lighter chargers. Safety Features: Protect your vehicle battery and power station from short circuit, reverse connection, under-voltage, over-temperature. Automatic turn on/off functions prevent your vehicle battery from draining. Easy Installation: Quick to connect and setup with a few simple steps.
I already have a dc-dc charger putting strain on the alternator while I'm driving so to charge the jackers on top of that will kill my alternator. In fact, that's exactly what happened and it cost $900 to have my first alternator replaced. Now I run a 20A dc-dc charger on a 30A fuse.
The anker Solix F1200 has 1229 Wh and it has fast charging. I go from 0% to 100% in 1 hour and 8 minutes. I believe the C1000 also has fast charging. I'd consider upgrading your setup to a newer anker if your only concern is it taking 8 hours to charge. New tech has improved a lot since you bought the jackery
edit: at least as a temp solution before you go out and spend multiple thousand just to be able to get some juice from the sun (obviously recommended if money is new issue)
Good to know, maybe it's time to replace the jackery.
Where does your income come from to be able to purchase all of those things??
He has a full time job.
He has a job, but maybe from the rent he's not having to pay? Work the math, then come back and tell us what you found.
@@jm-um1txcan"t work the math if we don't know the numbers of his situation. His income vs. all his expenses.
@@homesteader2839 Yeah, but you can know that the cost is trivial compared to renting an apartment in a large city like Boston. Just do a quick search for rents in Boston, then look around for the innumerable vanlife channels that have done cost breakdowns. If the total for the purchase plus the operating cost is less than a couple of years of rent, you have your answer. Every month of vanlife after the van is paid off is free money.
I like the color red but damn the interior is abit much on the red side
You don't need a roof rack for your solar panels. Bougie RV sells 200W CIGS solar panels with self-adhesive tape on the back. Peel and stick. I did 4 on my rig and it works great. CIGS panels are more expensive but you can walk on them. Research CIGS panels and you will see how great they are.
How much power are you getting in real world conditions with the CIGS panels? What latitude are you on?
I'm pretty sure you need a cushion of air between the panel and the steel of the roof. It gets catastrophically hot up there.
@@undertheradarvan Yes sorry I forgot to mention I got some a 4'x8' by 1//2" thick sheet of Dual Wall Polycarbonate and cut it into 4"wide x4' long strips. The tape that comes on the CIGS panels is 4 inch wide so I got 4" wide double stick tape and elevated the panels off the roof with the Polycarbonate for air cushoin.
@@jm-um1tx I get between 650W and 700W on a clear day in the summer. 200W in the Winter.
Stop, research. Don't get panels yet. You don't need rigid panels. If you use flexible panels, you also don't need a roof rack. You tape them directly to the van roof. That's more aerodynamic, and with a black van, it's much more stealthy.
Early flexible panels had longevity problems, but the current generation is much improved. They're more expensive, and less efficient per square foot, but you don't need the excessive power that luxury vanlifers do. There's plenty of roof space for what you need to charge. Take a look at CIGS panels. They're much more forgiving of partial shade, so in real world conditions, they perform better than you'd expect if you're just looking at efficiency %.
Oh, and most CIGS panels are all black. No white lines, no aluminum frames. Even if somebody is casually looking down from an upper floor window, they'll blend in with your black paint job so well they might not notice them.
I'll look into that brand, but I've heard the fox panels fail more often. Yours hold up ok?
@@undertheradarvan Heh, still in the box. I haven't mounted them yet. One thing to watch out for, their open circuit voltage is higher than regular panels so you have to make sure you get a controller that can handle it.
I gasped at the price of pre made roof racks. I ended up building my own out of aluminum unistrut for a fraction of the cost.
Probably what I'm going to do
Bro is a walking advertisement
Your going to ruin your jakery it needs ventilation especially on hot days
Nah, roof is fine and I don't weigh much.
I can't believe you crawl 🐒all over the roof ... you don't care about dents?
Happy New Year Matt!