Charging Leisure Batteries via EV points.

[AndyWill64]

Yes, it says that. The wiring inside the van is to the same standard as a hookup cable.

Indeed, but the general public outside the van can't touch what's inside.

 

[Geek]

I dont think a hookup's 240v is any more harmless if they chew it.

 

[CriftinsCampers]

I am curious, I wonder how many people have bought this rather expensive cable?

I have only seen one caravaner using an ev charge point and his cable was a bodged up combo of a type 2 head and a standard mains hookup cable, much black tape was also in evidence!

 

[dobbielated]

Thanks for the post Phil. If anyone has any questions, please post them and I will do my best to answer them.

Hi Bruce, I am moving into my Doblo micro camper full time in 4 weeks and I'm curious about the EV charging cable Juicy Brucie. I have an Ecoflow Delta 2 1800w power pack and wondered if I could attach a hookup cable to it (with built in RCD) to charge my ecoflow? I have seen some van builds that attach this cable to the plug in port on the outside of their van as an easy way to charge at camp sites. If the cable is not considered 'safe' enough is there a way around it?
Air bnbs and regular campsite are going to be out of my budget but I might be able to blag a cable as a Xmas present if its viable.

Thx in advance
Deborah

 

[Pudsey Bear]

Hi Bruce, I am moving into my Doblo micro camper full time in 4 weeks and I'm curious about the EV charging cable Juicy Brucie. I have an Ecoflow Delta 2 1800w power pack and wondered if I could attach a hookup cable to it (with built in RCD) to charge my ecoflow? I have seen some van builds that attach this cable to the plug in port on the outside of their van as an easy way to charge at camp sites. If the cable is not considered 'safe' enough is there a way around it?
Air bnbs and regular campsite are going to be out of my budget but I might be able to blag a cable as a Xmas present if its viable.

Thx in advance
Deborah

WOW! good luck with that, I'd be looking for a lot bigger van than that in less than 4 weeks.

 

[Bruce Lauderdale]

Hi Bruce, I am moving into my Doblo micro camper full time in 4 weeks and I'm curious about the EV charging cable Juicy Brucie. I have an Ecoflow Delta 2 1800w power pack and wondered if I could attach a hookup cable to it (with built in RCD) to charge my ecoflow? I have seen some van builds that attach this cable to the plug in port on the outside of their van as an easy way to charge at camp sites. If the cable is not considered 'safe' enough is there a way around it?
Air bnbs and regular campsite are going to be out of my budget but I might be able to blag a cable as a Xmas present if its viable.

Thx in advance
Deborah

Hi Deborah,

Thanks for your interest in The Juicy Brucie cable. If you have put in your protection such as an RCD or RCBO, then The Juicy Brucie cable is basically a hookup cable but it connects to an EV Charge Station.

So if your setup is able to charge at a campsite, you should be able to use the cable without issue.

Hope that helps,
Bruce

 

[dobbielated]

It's basically a 3 plug extension lead with built in RCD from the camping shop

 

[dobbielated]

WOW! good luck with that, I'd be looking for a lot bigger van than that in less than 4 weeks.

I've had it 2 years and spent months away in it at a time, both summer and winter, and it fits me fine. Both size wise and financially.

 

[Geek]

Leaving aside the issues arou;t taking up charging spacesv using an EV charger for hookup power is a pretty expensive approach. Generally they run at 69p to 120p per KWh, on top of the cost of the cable. It'd be cheaper to go to a cheap campsite to charge.

 

[dobbielated]

Cheapest campsite with EHU is ~£25 in.
The cable is an expensive outlay but could pay for itself in the 1st year.

 

[wildebus]

Leaving aside the issues arou;t taking up charging spacesv using an EV charger for hookup power is a pretty expensive approach. Generally they run at 69p to 120p per KWh, on top of the cost of the cable. It'd be cheaper to go to a cheap campsite to charge.

A motorhome with a pretty big battery bank is maybe 5kWh - so the charge cost is maximum £6 in your worst case scenario.
cost of cable would be covered in maybe 5 visits typically, or 10 visits at a cheap site with EHU.

 

[Geek]

A motorhome with a pretty big battery bank is maybe 5kWh - so the charge cost is maximum £6 in your worst case scenario.
cost of cable would be covered in maybe 5 visits typically, or 10 visits at a cheap site with EHU.

I was under the (possibly wrong) impression that the cable was over £100.

My battery bank is a bit over 400Ah, so that's probably about 4KWh recharge at most, so the electricity cost is not a big deal, but the payback for the cable would be.

I'd not use it except in unusual circumstances.

I can run the generator for less than £1 per hour, which easily powers the 50A charger as well as any other domestic loads. The trouble is the noise it makes.

Then again, my van is too big for an EV charging space in any event.

 

[Geek]

Cheapest campsite with EHU is ~£25 in.
The cable is an expensive outlay but could pay for itself in the 1st year.

I don't think I've ever paid as much as £25 for a campsite, but then again I hardly ever want hookup.

 

[Trotter]

As I do things now they aren’t much use to me, certainly not enough to add another cable to what I already carry. I only really go into towns to shop and when the shops are open the points could be in use. I haven’t come across any chargers on byways and such so far but who knows in the future.

Neil. I know how you travel, and that in isolated places you use your generator to top up batteries etc.
BUT
If you were starting out, would you still go for the generator, or consider one of Bruce’s leads.
I ask this because, this winter trip I been on has showed me, just how much I depend on solar. Short dark days, have depleted my battery and lpg much faster than I expected.
One of Bruce’s leads, may have helped. Okay, not necessarily on the NC500.

 

[nabsim]

Neil. I know how you travel, and that in isolated places you use your generator to top up batteries etc.
BUT
If you were starting out, would you still go for the generator, or consider one of Bruce’s leads.
I ask this because, this winter trip I been on has showed me, just how much I depend on solar. Short dark days, have depleted my battery and lpg much faster than I expected.
One of Bruce’s leads, may have helped. Okay, not necessarily on the NC500.

If I thought I was going to be in places where I would use it then Yes, I would buy one of the cables. A couple of years ago I would probably have bought one anyway but since emptying out all the stuff I don't use I try not to add more lol

It totally depends how and where you use your van. In the UK I have found solar not enough but I guess that would depend on how much you can fit on your van and if you can tilt it, plus how much power you use. The cable would be an ideal replacement for a genny if you are in areas you can jump on charging points. If you can spec up a decent size charger and have lifepo4 anyway.

 

[wildebus]

Del, what size mains charger have you got?
Obviously this EV point lead could be used with any charger, but (IMO anyway) to make it really work overall you need to have Lithium Batteries (you are covered there) and a pretty decent sized mains charger.
Lead charges too slow for this I reckon, especially when it is in the last 20% of the charge. And if you are using an EV charge point you really want to be in and out as fast as you can to avoid/minimize possible conversations with those people who think they are the only ones allowed to even look at an EV charger.

My batteries went pretty low whilst the Motorhome was away at the garage for 5 days. I got them to plug it in a couple of days ago (needed to make sure the freezer stayed working!) and it took over 7 hours to get the batteries replenished after having taken 440Ah out of them. I wouldn't really want to be sitting at an EV point for anywhere near that long. If I got one of Brucies cables I would also get another charger to work alongside the 70A one in the Multiplus to get the charging done faster.

 

[Trotter]

Del, what size mains charger have you got?
Obviously this EV point lead could be used with any charger, but (IMO anyway) to make it really work overall you need to have Lithium Batteries (you are covered there) and a pretty decent sized mains charger.
Lead charges too slow for this I reckon, especially when it is in the last 20% of the charge. And if you are using an EV charge point you really want to be in and out as fast as you can to avoid/minimize possible conversations with those people who think they are the only ones allowed to even look at an EV charger.

My batteries went pretty low whilst the Motorhome was away at the garage for 5 days. I got them to plug it in a couple of days ago (needed to make sure the freezer stayed working!) and it took over 7 hours to get the batteries replenished after having taken 440Ah out of them. I wouldn't really want to be sitting at an EV point for anywhere near that long. If I got one of Brucies cables I would also get another charger to work alongside the 70A one in the Multiplus to get the charging done faster.

This is my first extended winter trip in the UK. It’s not quite worked out as I would have hoped. But I will try again..
Battery? I’m pretty well sorted here. Ditched everything and replaced it all with a Fogstar 460ah. Charge, Hook up, 50ah Fogstar, B2B 50ah Orion XS, as well as 700ah of, useless in December, solar .
,..
I’ve found that in order to keep the battery charged sufficiently, running the engine, driving/static running, periods were lengthy. I’ve been using electric for cooking for over a year, and tbh, I’ve got used to it. So easy to bung stuff into the microwave or Airfryer. Easy cooking .
Without constant solar input, I’m having to revert to gas. Although the way I cook, using gas or electric makes little difference. Some people would call it, simply bodyfiller.
I had considered changing the fridge to 12v as well. Not so sure about that now. More depending on electricity?
If, and hopefully when, I do another winter trip. I will probably bring one of Bruce’s leads with me. But as I’ve said in an earlier post, on the NC500, charging points are as rare as hens teeth.


NB. At this point, I think it’s best that I say, it’s been my decision to go this route, I take full responsibility for the situation I find myself in. I’ll do what I think best to solve this dilemma.

 

[wildebus]

This is my first extended winter trip in the UK. It’s not quite worked out as I would have hoped. But I will try again..
Battery? I’m pretty well sorted here. Ditched everything and replaced it all with a Fogstar 460ah. Charge, Hook up, 50ah Fogstar, B2B 50ah Orion XS, as well as 700ah of, useless in December, solar .
,..
I’ve found that in order to keep the battery charged sufficiently, running the engine, driving/static running, periods were lengthy. I’ve been using electric for cooking for over a year, and tbh, I’ve got used to it. So easy to bung stuff into the microwave or Airfryer. Easy cooking .
Without constant solar input, I’m having to revert to gas. Although the way I cook, using gas or electric makes little difference. Some people would call it, simply bodyfiller.
I had considered changing the fridge to 12v as well. Not so sure about that now. More depending on electricity?
If, and hopefully when, I do another winter trip. I will probably bring one of Bruce’s leads with me. But as I’ve said in an earlier post, on the NC500, charging points are as rare as hens teeth.

My Fridge/Freezer takes around 50Ah/day. That will be the single biggest use of electric that you cannot change if you switch to a Compressor Fridge. Mine is a 240V model via an Inverter but a 12V one will be more of less identical.

In the summertime, your setup will give you total self-sufficiency, but this time of year, bit trickier. Campsite visits for EHU might be the answer.
I wonder if any sites do a visitor hookup service similar to visits to empty cassettes and fill water? that could be a nice earner for them along with a good service for the motorhomer?

NB. At this point, I think it’s best that I say, it’s been my decision to go this route, I take full responsibility for the situation I find myself in. I’ll do what I think best to solve this dilemma.

 

[nabsim]

In UK when there is no solar Del you only really have a limited number of choices when you use a lot of juice like you I think. I would say Juicy Brucie, Hook up or generator. I did Scotland this last winter and managed with short trips and my B2B which is only a 30A one. That said I wasn't cooking with electric or heating with it. Was first Winter I had not needed to use my genny but it was also the first winter where I kept moving lol

 

[Trotter]

My Fridge/Freezer takes around 50Ah/day. That will be the single biggest use of electric that you cannot change if you switch to a Compressor Fridge. Mine is a 240V model via an Inverter but a 12V one will be more of less identical.

As much as 50ah? Didn’t realise it would be that much

In UK when there is no solar Del you only really have a limited number of choices when you use a lot of juice like you I think. I would say Juicy Brucie, Hook up or generator. I did Scotland this last winter and managed with short trips and my B2B which is only a 30A one. That said I wasn't cooking with electric or heating with it. Was first Winter I had not needed to use my genny but it was also the first winter where I kept moving lol

To fit a 12 volt compressor fridge ?
Decisions, decisions!
I admit, I’d like the convenience of an electric fridge. No running back turning the igniter off before starting the engine.
Remembering to turn it back on again I’ve stopped. Dunno. This decision has got me flummoxed.

I’ve got belt and braces, pretty much through the van.
Heating. Gas, diesel and a small electric heater, for when on hook up or at home
Cooking. Gas and Electric
Refrigeration Gas and Electric ( 12v chest freezer)