Brand new member here and have somewhat of info. overload from researching. I am beginning to purchase a few things for a 10-12 week trip through British Columbia and Ak. I will be truck camping most days with a few Airbnb’s and hotel/motels mixed in. I will more than likely only camp in one spot for a couple of days and will be driving at least a couple of hours most days.
My question is would an AC180P be sufficient to run a 12v fridge and a few other things if I am charging most every day? My thought was to pass through charge the AC180 whenever I am driving. The fridge I’m looking at states 0.708 kw/h. I think the AC180P states 1,140 w/h. So 708 watts per 24 hours (fridge only in a perfect world) plus whatever else I plug in? Seems a little marginal if I camp for more than two days.
This is all w/o solar panels of course. Please advise. Thanks
Hello，Relying solely on the AC180P (1152Wh) to power that refrigerator and meet the basic power needs of other devices is theoretically feasible if you drive several hours almost every day and have an efficient DC-DC charger. However, it operates at its absolute limit with minimal room for error. Slightly less-than-ideal conditions (like higher fridge consumption, increased usage of other devices, insufficient driving/charging time, or cold weather) could easily lead to power depletion. We strongly recommend adding at least a solar panel (200W+) or, ideally, upgrading to a larger capacity power station. May your adventure through BC and Alaska be filled with incredible memories!**
The AC180P (like every other portable Bluetti unit) has a 90% Depth of Discharge (DoD) which means of the 1440Wh, 1296Wh is usable and 144Wh is reserved for preservation of the battery via the battery management system (BMS). If you are planning on going soon, the weather this time of the year in upper BC/lower Alaska region will be below 70 degrees most likely, meaning your fridge will not go through as long of a duty cycle as during the summer.
For reference, I have a 58 qt dual zone 12V fridge (Iceco APL55) and I performed a test when low was around 50-55F and high around 70F. I observed around 300Wh over 24 hours for just fridge set to 35F and around 500Wh for both fridge and freezer set to -4/35F. Assuming 85% efficiency the Bluetti battery burned around 350Wh in those conditions on fridge only. Your consumption goes way up with heat obviously. In the brutal heat this summer, my Bluetti AC180 was completed depleted in just 20 hours, which equated to 1.2kW burned in 24 hour period when on fridge and freezer mode.
Solar potential will be very weak as characterized by lower angle of Sun and inclement weather predicaments. You will be hard pressed to get good amount of solar anyways. You can optimize by traveling on non-peak sun days only. Stay put and recharge from camp when its sunny, and drive when its cloudy/raining out.
Admin. and Sealy I appreciate the detailed response. This trip will actually be in the summer of 26 so temps will be summer temps getting from home to Canada and then up into Ak. From both of your responses I think I will upgrade to a larger size to include solar panels when the weather is cooperating.
Any advice on a DC-DC charger or inverter to install. From what I have read I don’t think I need to rely on charging my unit with the 12V plug especially while using the “pass through” option.
The only DC to DC charger I would recommend is the first party Bluetti Charger 1. Other systems are only compatible with their first party counterparts (i.e. Victron with Victron, redarc with redarc). With that said, since you are pulling around 45-56A all the time from the alternator so be sure to only charge the Bluetti battery when you are driving and not idle, as it will prematurely kill your alternator. Also, you will slowly lose a net charge from your starter battery with extended idling… Very simply, you can only use it if you drive. Never idle it constantly.
Great info. I will heed your advice. I actually watched a really good video of a guy showing the actual % draw on his alternator while utilizing a fast charger. When he was at idle with several things running on the truck (max AC, radio, wipers, ect) he was really pushing his alternator.
Since I have several months to get this all put together, I may just replace my alternator (original) and definitely the battery. Thanks again for your help.
You are talking about this video. An alternator under 80% stress generates heat. The reason why you get a heavy duty alt is to lower the duty cycle/load. Lesser stress = more miles. Let’s say the standard for the life span of an alternator is 100,000 miles. Under 80% load all the time the lifespan could very well be only 50,000 miles. Assume you drove 65 MPH. 50,000/65=769 hours (or 32 months) of excessive idling before you kill your alt. Cost of replacing them would be starting out $400 USD.
Yes, that is the exact video I was talking about. It makes perfect sense to me with the data to back it up. I’m not sure why anyone would argue the point as he mentioned in his opening remarks. I’m sure there is a heavy-duty alternator available for my truck, and I am leaning that way.
Thank you again for taking the time. I appreciate the info.
My plan is Bluetti AC200, a charger 1, new battery, and an upgraded alt. Fortunately, my brother has a shop so we should be able to knock this all out for the cost of the equipment.