We love living off-grid and still having all the luxuries of a powered site; hair dryer, straightener, coffee machine, induction cook top, air fryer, Thermomix and even air conditioning/heating … all with no power connected to the van! How do we do this? With a full off-grid Enerdrive Lithium Battery system in both our caravan and Chevy. We also have the Simarine Digital Monitoring System to keep us up to date with how our system is running, state of charge/discharge and even how much water we have in the tanks.
Enerdrive delivers independent and mobile power solutions including power inverters, battery chargers, solar power & lithium power systems. These boards are designed and built by the Enerdrive production team. They have a large range of options and solutions configured to fit in different spaces and to meet any need; some are scaled up in terms of charge rate or functionality and some are scaled back. Enerdrive has no limitation. The only limitation is budget.
Head over to SUNCOAST CARAVAN SERVICE TO GRAB YOUR ENERDRIVE BATTERY BUNDLES AND POWER SYSTEMS
OUR ENERDRIVE POWER SYSTEMS
Recently teaming up with Titanium Caravans to launch our brand new completely gas-less, diesel/electric model caravan, the Destination X, has called for a re-think on what system and solar setup would best suit. It was decided that twin 300aH B-Tecs, a 2600w inverter and twin solar controllers topped off with a whopping 1.45kw of solar on the roof was the way to go. We have been living full time in the new van for quite a while now and find this system more than capable of not only keeping us powered up, but with all that solar, the batteries replenish quickly. With this system, on a sunny day, we can run the air conditioner WHILE simultaneously charging the batteries!
Watch these videos for a rundown on the system in our 2nd Titanium Caravan – the Destination X.
THE SYSTEM IN OUR FIRST CHEVY CONSISTED OF
Enerdrive and GCI Traytec’s design teams worked together to create a fully integrated lithium battery power system. This entire system is housed on the driver’s side front wall. Our system consisted of the following:
• BTEC 300AH Generation 2 Lithium Battery (located under false floor)
• ePower DC2DC Charger capable of producing in excess of 40 amp per hour while traveling and supporting up to 800watts of solar.
• ePower Battery Charger that charges at a rate of 60 amps per hour via mains power or generator.
• ePower Inverter – suitable for running 240V household appliances rated to up to 2000W, complete with remote switch & RCD.
• Simarine Battery Monitoring System.
• External GPO in between spare wheels
• 6 x double GPOs
• 6 x double USB sockets
• 1 x standard 12v socket
• 2 x Anderson plug sockets
Key benefits of Btec Lithium:
- Weight & Space. The savings are incredible. A BTEC200AH weighs in at 25KG….. A comparable AGM battery bank at 320AH totaling in excess of 95KG.
- Lithium charges faster than any other battery on the market. In fact, they can receive a bulk charge until full, unlike an AGM system which would begin to slow down the charge rate after the battery exceed approximately 75 – 80 % . The last stage of charging on an AGM can in some cases take longer than the entire charge process of a Lithium Battery.
- They are also exceptional for discharge. They handle big loads which is why we can easily run our aircon, coffee machine, Thermomix, air fryer, kettle, toaster & induction cook top.
If you don’t know exactly what you need, contact Dave and ask how Enerdrive can help make your off-grid experience as enjoyable as possible. Make sure to let them know we sent you so they can look after you 😉 Be sure to purchase from Suncoast Caravan Service to make sure you get the best price!
PREVIOUS SYSTEMS
The System in our 1st Titanium Caravan Consisted of:
ePower DC2DC Charger Part# EN3Dc40+ – Capable of producing in excess of 40 amp per hour while traveling and supporting up to 800watts of solar.
ePower Battery Charger Part# EN31240 – Charge at a rate of 40 amps per hour via mains power or generator. This is by far the most efficient charger on the market. Meaning it will run from smaller generators than other chargers.
ePower Inverter Part# EN1120S-X – Suitable for running 240V household appliances rated to up to 2000W. Complete with remote switch & RCD (Dead Man switch just like the one you have in the meter box at home). This will soon be upgraded to a 2600W so we can run the air fryer!
Simarine Battery Monitoring – Numerous parts contribute to this solution. However the key parts in our build are SI-PICO3 (Screen), SI-SCQ25T (4 individual shunts to display 4 individual loads such as fridge, lights etc) & the SI-SC301 (Main shunt which allows for the entire load display). This system is viewable via the Simarine App suitable for Android and IOS devices.
Solar Array
Enerdrive 720 Watt Solar array Part# SP-EN180W We run 4 x 180 watt solar panels on the roof. These are a high quality Enerdrive solar panels perfect for the rugged conditions we experience in the Australian Outback.
Battery System
BTEC 400AH Lithium Battery Capacity Part#EPL-200BT-12V-G2 – Qty 2 pieces. Totaling 400AH. Including the free Enerdrive Bluetooth App suitable for monitoring the status of each individual battery. This system can be set up with either 1 x 200AH BTEC Lithium or 2 x 200AH BTEC Lithium totaling 400AH like ours. All of the AGM boards including ours are also suitable for AGM Batteries assuming Lithium is not required.
