HOW WE POWER OUR VAN // Solar Power The Easy Way (Bluetti EB240) Wiring and Install How To
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 31 ธ.ค. 2021
- Explanation of how everything electrical works in our van! One of the most daunting tasks of a van build is the electrical side of everything. I tried to do everything in the simplest way possible, hope this video is helpful!
If you haven't watched it yet, here is our VAN TOUR:
• VAN TOUR // 1991 Chevy...
Below are links to almost everything I used to hook all this up. If you purchase on Amazon through my links, I get a small kickback from that. So that's an easy way to support my channel if you find it helpful!
BLUETTI EB240 POWER BANK - This is the exact model I have:
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BLUETTI AC200 POWER BANK - Newer model, can handle a draw of 2000w at once, but storage capacity of the battery is slightly smaller than the EB240.
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BLUETTI AC200MAX POWER BANK - Similar to the AC200, but you can link it to additional batteries to expand the capacity. If you have a lot of money to spend, this is your best option.
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BOUGE RV 180W SOLAR PANELS - Exact panels that I have.
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RENOGY 200W SOLAR PANELS - Same width as my panels but slightly longer. this could be an option for getting a little more power.
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SOLAR PANEL CABLES
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SHORE POWER INLET - The black inlet plug I installed on the outside of the van.
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AC to DC ADAPTER
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HEAVY DUTY 12V POWER SUPPLY CABLE
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12V FUSE BOX
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100ft of CABLE FOR 12V CIRCUITS
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12V LED CEILING LIGHTS
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TOUCH PANEL LIGHT SWITCH
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10FT POWER STRIP
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DUDE I was looking all over for a tutorial like this 10 months ago, so stoked to see people actually showing how to use a solar generator with a 12v fuse box, etc. Sweet.
Love this, waaaaay simple to understand for someone that knows nothing about electrical work and I'm just a girl that wants to build my own van simply....
Right! Same here but Jesus it’s complicated!
I know, I try and watch videos about doing the solar power electrical stuff and I just don't understand, I'm like How much is it to hire somebody to do it? (Can i afford it) Or what is the simplest way like....I would love to do Van life, but with the electrical part, It's just completely intimidating to me and I have 2 pets and yes, I live in upstate New York so summer is only a few months per year but I also work a full-time job so I need to keep them cool,when I'm away. They are my children ❤
I can see that you did this video 2yrs ago. BUT I just found it and it's what I've been looking for!! Thank you AMAZING!!!! Job well done!
Same! Haha! I’m on a mission to figure out all this electrical stuff and batteries inverters and power bank! Ha
The Dash mini griddle/grill/waffle maker cookers only use 350 watts and Nostalgia has a 520 watt sandwich maker. Dash also has a 200 watt rice cooker. I use these products with my solar power stations and they`re incredible and cook fast. You can make a huge pan biscuit with the griddle. These make waffles fast too.
I came across that Dash rice cooker the other day, definitely going to get one!
Nice setup. I like you have all the amenity but not complicated. It truly doesn't have to be. Thanks for sharing. You've helped a lot of people
You are something! Maybe "not an electrician" but...approaching one?? And, such nice work - of all nature - throughout. Lovely!
3 years ago, I bought a Bluetti 1500 unit. I just wanted to see if it could do what I needed it to do, for my van build power needs ... it works so well that I didn't hesitate to buy the bluetti 2400 unit, especially since it happened to go on sale last month. There are many other power bank units out there, and for the money, they offer a lot of flexibility, but when you really compare the dollar cost value to the Bluetti units, you can't beat them. I would say the most important feature of any power system is definitely how much power capacity they offer ... there is no such thing as "too much battery power"! The Bluetti 2400 pack is a lot of power for a little dollar cost ... the sun doesn't always shine! Thanks for your videos!
A 12v 300ah LiFeP04 battery rated at 3.8 kwh is about 1000 bucks now. Way better option and lasts way way longer. Plus you can use a 2500 watt inverter with it and set up more solar panels with an MPPT charge controller. This thing is a waste of money by comparison. When it stops working say bye bye to your money.
I swapped my microwave for a toaster oven years ago, and never looked back! But thanks for this extremely informative video!
And I thought solar would be more complicated. Thanks for the info!
You motivated me to buy the blue Eddie and now that’s what I used to power mine. I got the AC 200 P.
Great to see the wires, cables and fuse box
Ok it’s official . I’m an idiot . But I’ll watch this video 237 times and do just what he did . Thanks
Exactly what I'm doing. It's a bit more upfront, but so much easier and safer.
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! ❤
This was super helpful my friend! I'm building out my van now and just ordered the Eco Flow Delta 2 to run my essentials. I've also been wanting to do my shore power the same way. I've been searching for all of this info and you summed it up in one video! Thanks for the help! Safe travels!
Thank you for this video. I was wondering how to hook up a solar generator in a van. Well done.
So thankful to have found your video 🥰
It's really cool how one brand can manufacture solar generators, condenser microphones, and mugs.
😂 love this
We power our 2018 Ford Transit MR 148" van using two Ecoflow Delta 1300s and a Delta Max. Works great and my van build episodes about the setup are rather popular. I have solar and a Victron DC to DC charger as well. Be safe out there.
Very cool! Seems like a similar set up to mine, I watched your 4 minute video. I have done a lot of work on mine since this video, just have not had time to put together any more videos. Wired up some switches so I no longer have to unplug or switch anything around when going from shore power to solar power. And a much neater appearance
@@brianrbraxton1494 Dude yeah I would love if you did an updated video on all the wiring and switches! I just got an 89 G20 and want to do something similar to you so I don't have to deal with all of the dual battery headaches but there's not many videos on full power bank set up conversions so I'm still trying to figure out how I will do all my wiring. Thanks for all the info and great vid! Cheers
Looking at Bluetti to add to my home solar system.
that's cool that the solar panels create a shade so the top of the van doesnt get as hot plus the fans get to draw in cooler air
This was super helpful. We are going to be converting a cargo trailer for camping and not to live in full time. I’m really wanting something easy like this hook up. And you actually gave some details
I really needed to help make a decision!!! Thanks!
Great job setting all of this up and well explained!
Great video, will make a similar build with my new expedition truck. Greetings from the Netherlands
Excellent video. Thank you!
Keep up the Great work family.
Really nice
very helpful thanks so much!!
How about a little more of those outside vents for zero breeze. Thiey look like some stainless ones I saw on Amazon. The exterior only flashed for a sec but your venting looks like what I was considering
Kool!!! I use a EB240 with a B300 Battery and 800 watts of Solar. Works well - I will have to look into the AC - my work around for the microwave is an Inverter Microwave on power setting 4. Have not tried to do the fridge yet. - That is coming later. Looked at several and the power requirements for them. My next task is a hot plate - I think I will use a cast iron top cooktop that works at 500 watts.
very cool! personally I would just stick with a butane stove rather than a hot plate just to avoid draining so much power. but still cool to have an electric one that works in a pinch!
I got a BIG learning curve from July 1 - Nov 1 - we had a "Drought", Burn Bans, Big FINES and fires too that were very destructive. I kinda like to eat too - LOL So with no open flame, including camp stove, etc... I went to looking for 500ish cook appliances. Yes, I still have gridded house that I so want to divorce, but it was there for this SHTF time, and I was ok. But next time, I can cook in the Cabin [My Place of Peace] - just the Chickens and I. So I may look into that fridge you have, and the AC too or the Echoflow Wave2. I now have 5 KW to work with restricted at 1000 watts. I like to run the inverter 50%ish so I can get some life out of it. But I see a OUPS or another Bluetti in my future. As I really need 3000 watts, and around 6KW to be in a more secure poster. But for now, this minimalist system is working well. I really need 999999999WH or like 20KW - LOL - NOT!!!! Glad you are enjoying your van - keep us posted please. In two year from now - I hope to get more towards full-time at the Cabin.
This was really helpful, thanks!
Nice van. I like the look of it and everything you done
I don't know if you got the inverter thing figured out, but I wired in a 30 amp cigarette plug that I got off of Amazon, The brand is "YCIND". Female cigarette lighter socket dual USB charging power outlet 30 amp 12 AWG With a 10' cord that i wired directly to the battery. I use it to charge a couple of different units that I have including other batteries that I made while driving around. Works fantastic. Very nice man you built.
Great video! Thanks!
Thank you! Love your van 😊
cool cos when i was searching about solar power got the same problem too many things to be connected ... but with oe power bank seems the deal. cheers !
very nice van
Thank you brother 🙏
Great video.
Lol you say you're not an electrician! ! Well you have a natural talent and should take electric up as a trade
My dude thanks man!!! Love this vid I’m goin to do this in my van build so simple for my brain to warp around thanks!🤙🏽
Great video!! For those of us with less space for many of the solar systems out there, this is an incredible option. Definitely liking and subscribing! I look forward to seeing what you and your wife experience on the road.
By the way, I started in a PT Cruiser, went to a Silverado, and am now in a Hyundai Entourage minivan. On the road since Jan 1rst, 2021.
Very informative great channel
Thanks Brian! I'm not sure I got all of the directions, but I think it'll make more sense once I have it in front of me. I've saved this video and that way I'll be able to come back and reference what I need to know👍👍
love these videos! I just bought a van just like yours. I would love to see how you did your build. I am not sure how to do floors and walls
Thanks ton for this
Nice vav great video
Great video,!!I feel like I’m you tube certified, thanks to you😊
did you have to buy extra cables did the bluetti come with everything you needed?
Best Video!
Love the way you built that. It will be my blue print. Super nice. Exactly all the info I needed. What fridge is that?. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Hello, thank you for the video, they are very helpful. We also just bought a 93 chevy g20 to convert. Do you happen to have videos of your demo phase until your final conversion? That would be so helpful! THank you!!!
I have 2 of the 2400 power banks.
I bought one at full price when they first came out.
Just bought another at a much reduced price.
They're not cheap. But dollar/pound per watt hour power. Probably the cheapest power bank you can buy.
Also these will outlive me, as l think you can charge it up over a 1,000 times.
I could be wrong on the number but l know its a lot, and enough for one person or a couple.
The only 2 slight downsides are of course the weight of this.
And the tech for usage is a little basic.
Other than that l don't think you can beat this generator.
Very cool vid. I'm in a '01 Ford Excursion I've been in about a year. I have everything set up but solar. I'm like you, I think keeping it simple is best. Looking at bluetti ac200 max for mine with 3 200w panels.
Great video. Thank you! Can you tell me about the air conditioner that you have installed? How did you get solar panels on your high roof? I have a ‘96 Chevrolet Express 1500 conversion van. I have a bluetti so I’m very interested in solar to charge it. Thank you.
Bro i have the exact setup except i got a bouge rv solar charge controller and no solar power is coming in? Do i need a fuse box too?
Thanks for the great video. Where did you buy your fridge? Do you recommend it?
Your Fridge is so Dolly! Where did you get that! Who makes it? I love it and all your van - thank you I've been looking to see if anyone has used these power stations to power their lights and other fixed item in the van.
Excellent and informative video! You won a subscriber today! Would you consider a video on your user experience with your appliances and the solar power? Run times, charge times, that kind of stuff. It would be great to know how that Bluetti stacks up against real usage! Thanks again for the great video!
Thanks! Yes I could definitely do some videos like that
Excellent clear explanation which I will definitely follow in my conversion. Am I right in thinking you can also connect your 12V dash outlet (lighter) to a 12V charging input on the Bluetti? It would be a handy alternative while driving, just in case we have an occasional dull rainy day here in the UK....
I’m watching this a year after you posted this video. I’m extremely curious if it’s burned down yet.
Hey how did yall get the walls up I'm wanting do my van like that?
I wish you would do a video on how you installed your solar panels. It would really help to see how you installed on the fiberglass roof. Thanks so much
I used VHB tape. Sounds crazy but it works. I got the idea from HoboTech, he has lots of videos on it. His have been on that way for over 5 years and still going strong. th-cam.com/video/qghxSwUgxEc/w-d-xo.html
@@brianrbraxton1494 thanks for your reply. I have the Bouge 180 panels too but not sure about install with the pitches of the roof of my 2000 Ford E150 Econoline. Your electrical setup was really nice. I have the EB240 and will follow your setup. I hope you make more videos. Not everyone explains so well. Thanks !
Your setup is amazing, congrats! Do you also charge the Bluetti with the car's alternator when you're moving?
Do you have a video about the air conditioning? I can’t find it.
Do you have an amazon link for your fridge?
Oh, by the way ... how do you like the Zero Breeze? ... can it handle dehumidifying and cooling your size of van interior?
Rad video dude. Thanks for all the explanations.
Wouldn’t happen to have a video of the build? I got a 94 g20 I’m about to tear about and would love to see any videos
Thanks man! I filmed bits and pieces as I was going, just gotta put it together into something coherent haha. I’ll be uploading some more stuff soon
One more question for you dude.
I got the bluetti eb55 and I was wondering if I had a usb hub, could I just run that to one of the ports? Assuming it would power the hub off that one port?
Hello, I'm moving into a bus full-time due to cost of living beat in too high. However, I will be running equipment such as a large compressor and other high-powered things. Do you think this could handle that or should I look for other options
Just seen this vid from UK .. good job ... are you still now running with the same setup ?
are the solar panels connected in series or parallel?
I have the same one the only downside about it is it's 1000 W inverter. I bought solar panels for it and 1000 W burner plates to boil water. If you can boil water have plenty of food set aside and collect water you are basically set for a extended period of time.
The Dash mini griddle/grill/waffle maker cookers only use 350 watts and Nostalgia has a 520 watt sandwich maker. Dash also has a 200 watt rice cooker. I use these products with my solar power stations and they`re incredible and cook fast. You can make a huge pan biscuit with the griddle. These make waffles fast too.
Tell me about your Galanz retro fridge. Lowe's has them marked down right now for 189 bucks and I'm thinking about buying one. Have you had any issues with it?
Amaaazing!!! I'm planning to build something like this and SUCH a blessing there's something like this haha all the electricity stuff made me crazy. Gonna try to build a music rig with my laptop, studio monitors, audio interface and midi keyboard that I want to have plugged in couple of hours a day. Cooking either a microwave or an instantpot with airfrying but would be nice with some kind of micro or mini-grill/oven for some dishes. But for the music stuff and computer would you perhaps advice to go with the biggest one from Bluetti or maybe Jackery or some similar brand like Pecron or would you say this satisfies the most? Would be nice to not having to plug stuff out just to use something or if the music studio is up and running I want to make food in the instapot the same time. That's what I'm thinking atm...
Buy a 300 ah LiFeP04 battery, build your own, and save a fortune.
I subbed cuz u said "all the errs"🤣🤣🤣
Do people do all that electrical inverting and using mutiple devices for electric bc its cheaper than the portable battery bank?
The window behind the sink and microwave how did you cover that?
Hey, how long have you had it & did it give you any issues yet?
Great simple solution. You should however have a heavier guaged extension cord for shore power. Get off the system folks , live tiny destroy the thieves and slave makers.
All the ers had me dead 😂
So you have no batteries except that one? Can you add batteries to this system?
Nice video! One question... Will having the bluetti on all year degrade the battery?
I think it is not recommended to be charging at all times if that is your question, which at least in a setup like this will get a break at night when there is no Sun.
Yo this is awesome! I looking to do the exact same thing for my sailboat, for the same reasons. I cant decide on which bluetti to order. I wish there was a 1000-1500W with 2,000+WH of storage. Something in between the EB240 and the AC200P/Max would be the sweet spot.
Do ya'll still like the setup, or do you wish you had gone for a higher rated inverter or more watt hours? My goal is for it to be able to handle 2-4 people + Electronics/fridge/Appliances off shore for up to a month art a time, with solar obviously lol. We have the same brain dude. Keeping simple like this is way more approachable than doing a complete battery-bank overhaul/upgrade.
Hi, if you are sailing I would suggest you look at a wind turbine. It will run day and night with no sun. and you can use solar panes also if you are becalmed for days ... just saying .....
I want to know where you got your gorgeous fridge and microwave from
Best Buy online. They had the best price I could find but that was a few years ago. Insignia is the brand
You should hard wire a inverter from the battery like 300w just to power the bluetti via ac while driving
Yes! that was actually my plan but I’ve had some trouble with it. I have a 300w pure sine inverter, and I tried just using some existing wiring that was used for the old electric bench seat/bed in the back. But can’t get it to work for longer than a few seconds. Thinking it might not be a large enough gauge of wire for such a long run. So I’ll have to try wiring it myself, just haven’t messed around when it much.
How did you wire your lights and fans so your could just plug them in with a cigarette lighter?
Search "How I Installed SOLAR POWER in my VAN (The Easy Way)" by DualEx on youtube, I think his video explains that a little bit at the 8:20 mark
Thank you!
How has your experience been with keeping everything powered on? Ever have to start using less to avoid going all the way down to zero on the Bluetti?
How is it holding up?
Could never understand the need for people to overcomplicate their van setup by hooking up a inverter to marinebatterys when you can run monstly everything with a bluetti
I’m not sure either but I did just learn that it can work well, but you are going to need a big one to be able to power everything in the camper/ van. I’m freaking out about all these inverters, multiple large batteries to run the inverter! Idk I’m so confused by everything with electrical stuff! Haha.
I just now saw your van for sale on market place and saw the power bank. Went to youtube to do some research on the bluetti you had in it as i'm about to do my own build. Realized 1 minute in i was literally watching a video of it being reviewed in the same van, so weird!!! Out of all the bluetti reviews, what are the odds.
Ha that’s wild! Yeah and you can see in my photos I’ve cleaned up the wiring quite a bit haha. Need to make another video on it
Finally someone who understands! Lolz
What you can say today it was good choice??
I bought this and I want to feed the mc4 cable from the roof into the van but not sure how to use the accompanying cord into an entry gland. Any help?
What do you mean by entry gland? Like into your roof?
@@brianrbraxton1494 Yeah, the entry gland is that plastic housing you feed the cable through. The hole on almost all of them is 8mm but the MC4 with this unit is around 13mm. I don't want to disassemble the MC4 if I don't have to.
@@marcusabruce gotcha. I didn’t have any kind of entry gland so I just had to drill a hole in my roof and then silicone around the cord. But I didn’t want to drill it big enough for the mc4 connectors. So I just cut the cord, made the hole exactly big enough for the cord to fit, then spliced the cord back together after I fed it through. I did that with a mc4 extension cord I bought though. And then that plugged into the cord supplied with the Bluetti. I don’t know if that makes sense, or if it was the best way to do it lol but that’s what I did
@@brianrbraxton1494 Thanks for the details. For now, I actually have it running down the trim of the back door and it's still sealed so it's working.
I keep randomly getting a E006 error. Any idea how to fix that? Thanks again.
whoah
So we need two of those if you only live on microwave food lol
all the ers. i laughed way to hard at that
Near the end of the video could you not just leave the solar panels plugged in AND plug into shore power to charge the Bluetti? Why bother to unplug it as I believe it cab charge from both simultaneously?
There is only one port on the bluetti for charging, so there’s no way to plug in the AC adapter and the solar panels at the same time. I have given a lot of thought to this because I think it could be possibl. you would just have to make some kind of adapter to run the power from the solar panels and the power from the AC adapter in parallel to the same plug. I’m just not confident enough in my electricity knowledge to know if it’s safe haha.
What I really want to do is wire up a way to charge the Bluetti off the van battery while I’m driving, simultaneously to the solar power.
This is probably the biggest con with the bluetti.. lack of charging options. From what I understand it can take in up to 500w of charge, but they just failed to provide the ports or adapters to accomplish it.
Waaaaaw
That's enough solar for the zerobreeze?
Yes, not to run it nonstop. But as needed. This bluetti in theory should be able to run the zerobreeze for about 9 hours on a single charge. And even longer if there is solar power coming in simultaneously. And I also have the extra battery just for the zerobreeze that can run it for about 5 hours.
I’ll do some real life testing once it warms up outside
I would like to connect man on your build
What exactly is ur backup and how do you recharge it? Just bought a g20 and in the middle of converting it:)
Do you mean the backup battery for the Zero breeze air conditioner? If so, it’s just the battery pack that you can buy with the zero breeze. It’s made to clip onto the bottom of the unit, but I couldn’t fit it on my shelf with the battery on it so I just mounted it underneath the shelf and drilled a hole to feed the connector cable through. I’ll have to do another video all about the site conditioner.
And it just charges with the same cord that powers the Zero Breeze itself, I just have to switch it from the zero breeze to the battery. And I usually top it off when I have shore power available