A newbie here in the UK wanting to power a VW Transporter as a weekend van.
I’ve been looking over the AC200Max this is now sold out in the UK so now looking at the AC200L or AC240.
Reason behind the AC200Max was the 30amp output, i could use this to connect the large majority of items in the van whilst running through a fuse board. Now the AC200L doesn’t have this option but has the D40 as an option which i believe fills the gap, then there is the AC240, this has the 30amp output socket but has lower capacity.
I’m trying to figure out bar the unit being waterproof what the benefits the AC240 has over the AC200L with the D40.
It looks far easier to purchase a bluetti for my needs than run a leisure battery, split charger etc,etc.
welcome to the bluetti community forum and thanks for you question.
The D40 requires the AC200L, since the DC Input need the 48V Output from the AC200L. The AC240P only have 12V output.
The D40 have a PV Input too, which only requires 12V. If you dont need to hoockup extra panels, you could use this port with a AC240 too.
In my opinion, you should go with the AC200L, if you dont need to expand with 4x B210 and 2x B210 or 2x B300 would be enough, its the better choice for your case. If you dont want to use expansion at all, than the AC200L have the bigger battery pack anyway.
Hope that answer your question, if not feel free to ask any further questions
I’m in Australia, have an off road caravan and own 5 Bluetti power stations, plus an X20 (competition prize). They are 1 x AC200P, 3 x AC180 & an AC70. Their primary use is home backup during grid outages.
When powering an RV, whether the Vdub or a caravan, everyone has different needs, equipment & budget limits, there’s no one solution that fits all. The first thing to do is note your particular needs/wants in the VW, break down to 12VDC devices to run or charge and 240VAC you may want to carry. The second thing I’ll note is, in my opinion, a portable power station’s primary function is to invert DC to usable AC power. As this is done with a battery, the addition of DC outputs, USB, cig socket or a higher RV load output are secondary functions. More next post…
In my caravan, I have 2 x 100Ah LFP batteries for all 12VDC loads and LPG for cooking and water heating. The only 240VAC items are an 800W microwave, airconditioner and if available AC power can heat water as it is duel supply. I also have a small sandwich press, toaster and kettle that are lower wattage than normal household items.
They all work from the AC180, albeit not at the same time. I carry the AC180 as it is lighter the the AC2** range by almost half. I mainly use it to power the microwave, which draws approx 1,300W, but for approx 6 minutes use = 130W, which is easy to replace. I already had the caravan before buying Bluetti, so my 12VDC power needs/supply pre existed. I can run the M/W for 6 days without recharge from the AC180.
In a vehicle based RV, you already have some 12VDC sources, which may need augmenting with an auxiliary battery and outlets that suit your needs. This, then leaves you to provide VAC supply and opens up more choices re power station models. In either scenario, you still need to replace what you use, particularly for extended trips.
Here, you look to solar, DC-DC vehicle charging, such as the Charger 1.
I grew up in the UK, so I am well aware of the lack of sunshine, lol. So vehicle charging is a must. It’s currently the end of summer here, my home 6.6kW (1/2 east, 1/2 west facing) array outputs in excess of 40kWh per day from a 5kW inverter. I have 460W of solar on my caravan, expandable to 700W, so rarely use DC-DC. I use roughly 700Wh per day and fully recharged by early afternoon, excepting several days of bad weather.
My main point of these posts is to say; Work out what you power need, then what you need to provide it. Not forgetting how to replace what you use.
Should i go for the AC200L and wanted to run a diesel heater for example could i run plug an 12V/ 30am output DC/Dc charger into the 240V sockets, then run the fuse box of the 30amp connection on the charger/ Hope this makes sense?.
I’ll reply later today, I am about to go out. However, you can NOT run a DC to DC charger into an AC input. You are showing a Victron in the photo, to be more explicit, will you give it’s type/model please.
@Whittle , Andrew, I’ve perused the manuals for the AC200L & the D40. as well as your photos. If you connect the D40 to the AC200L without a house battery in the VW, the D40 can provide up to 20A load at any one time. This will be more than enough for the diesel heater and LED lights. A diesel heater start up for the glo pin, draws around 10A, then settles when running to 1-2A. LED lights are minimal load. The D40 can only take a nominal 12V panel input up to 20A at a max 36VoC, so no series connection and this is for it to charge a house battery, not the AC200L. You would be better off with more solar going to the AC200L. Apart from the Victron, add the info for the LG fridge, is it 12VDC or 240VAC?
The D40 vehicle input option will not charge the AC200L,it is for charging a house battery. Think of the D40 as a battery charger for a house battery and a power supply to a distribution box (fuse box) that can be powered from the AC200L or your start battery. Also, you can’t take loads from the D40 at the same time as charging a house battery, it appears one or the other. Mike
As @Mandp already mentioned, you cant connect a DC-DC Charger to a AC Source. What you could do is use one of the available DC Outputs. The 48V Port could output about 380W. This isnt enough for something like a microwave, but could be for a fridge for example.
Eric, with an AC200L we would use the AC output for a microwave, lol. With what I understand of his loads, the AC200L with the D40 will run an AC fridge from the 200L and the diesel heater and lights from the D40 off the 200L battery. However the D40 won’t charge the 200L from the vehicle.
A “normal” DC-DC in vehicle charger is meant to charge auxiliary batteries and as they are around the 14VDC output mark, not the best to charge the 200L.
As I already had a Victron 385W inverter and an auxiliary in the 4x4, I can use it to charge the AC70 or AC180 in silent mode as they both only draw around 280W and it works well when driving. I can’t see enough detail on the photo of the Victron to know what it is. Notwithstanding the AC200L draws up to 800W in silent mode, my sized inverter is too small. Which is why the Charger 1 would be my choice and it’s a lot cheaper than fitting a larger inverter from a LFP auxiliary.
The Victron DC/DC charger is a Victron Energy Blue Smart IP22 Smart Car Battery Charger 12V 30A,
My Thought process was to plug this into the AC outlet to a fuseboard then run the 12V Fridge lights etc from that.
I think i’m going to order the AC200L this afternoon, although the AC240 is tempting due to the more secure RV socket, this would also save the cost of the D40 but its far less capacity. I’m going to be hooked up to a EHU quite a lot but a Charger 1 could be added later .
@Whittle, Then yes this will work, if you set the Victron to power supply mode rather than battery charging.
Just be aware that, you will be changing DC in the AC200L to AC via its inverter, then transform/rectifying AC back to DC for the Victron output. This will add extra efficiency losses to the system, I would estimate total capacity would be close to 75%, maybe less due to this i.e. 1,500Wh. However this is still well over 100Ah of 12V equiv. capacity.
I’ll eventually purchase the DC.DC charger, they Bluetti don’t have stock at the moment. A shame really but all going well they will have them back in stock towards the end of March.
You’re welcome, happy travels.
As an aside, I do approx 600kms to go prospecting from my home to the Victorian goldfields. That’s similar to driving from London to Edinburgh. Towing a 2T caravan takes around 10 hours with rest stops. So plenty of time to charge every battery or power station on board, arriving fully powered, lol. I know distances and travel times are much shorter in the U.K. so factor this in when calculating capacities and charge rates.
Hi, Andy. As of the 11th March 2025, Bluetti still has the AC200 Max
for sale on their web site at £1199.00. I run my campervan with an AC200P & AC200 Max with Charger1.
