Best in-car/4WD portable battery power bank? Bluetti AC200P review | Auto Expert John Cadogan

OLIGHT DISCOUNT! (These torches are awesome.)
12% off: Use code AEJC

AutoExpert discount roadside assistance package:

[hoffy]

as a sparkie, these things are also usefull when not camping for work as people always want to boil a kettle or run wifi when u are trying to drop power to do work.... that way u could possibly claim it on tax and use it for camping aswell....

[TheKnobCalledTone.]

Not bad, but just like an EV, you'd need to use a lot before it becomes more cost effective than an ICE-powered equivalent. A Yamaha 2000W genny with sine wave inverter is about $1k less, and a grand buys a lot of petrol.

Still, good to see what kind of options are out there for portable power, and no doubt these big-ass power banks will eventually get down to prices that are competitive with conventional petrol-powered generators.

[raymondricciardi]

The power has just gone out here, somewhere near Dingo Piss Creek. It does often. But my Bluetti AC200P that I purchased for my 4WD shitbox for touring, arrived exactly a week ago. And guess what, we are not sitting in the dark with candles wondering what people used to do before phones/You Tube/radio for kicks at night before bedtime. I'll put on the petrol powered generator tomorrow. Thanks for the review, John.

[BubblesTheCat]

This is EXACTLY what I need John. We're suffering from endless bouts of loadshedding here in Suid-Afrika.
Our grid is on the verge of collapse, so this being able to recharge with the car and solar panels is just perfect.
Please organize one for me. Please.

[wood]

Another thing to keep in mind with any second battery in a modern car is (allegedly) smart alternators. Most will need a DC to DC charger to charger them properly.

[boggedtheeyeballs]

27.5 KG ?? That means I could only travel with three Tiffany's and not four or I would be over GCM in my 3.5T towing Shitsvillian 4X4 dual cab ute. Maybe I could get a GVM upgrade? Or not include tow ball weight in my calculations? That's legal isn't it? I've never seen the cops at Dingo Piss Creek anyway....

[gregmillen]

Quite a good performing unit. After watching this video and comparing prices with similar setups using discrete components I went with the Bluetti. It took a while to arrive and there was a fair drop in price from what John advised based on the site offerings at the time of the video. A Black Friday price match (thank you Bluetti) saw the AC200P and three 200 watt solar panels arrive for just over $4k.
I ran a test using a Luna 60litre fridge. First running the fridge off the AC200P on 12v, it reduced from 100% to 70% from 4:30pm to 10am the next day. By 8pm that night it was at 50%. I stopped the test at that point and recharged the battery which took about 2 hours (funnily enough confirming John's estimate in the video!).
The AC test reduced to 60% over the same time period the DC reduced to 70%. Most likely due to losses in the inverting process.

[rileythornton]

Thanks for the honesty in regards to the commision agreement that you had with Bluetti. I just wonder why they can't just include two adapters straight out of the box.

[effbee]

Could use when powerlines down. Also these have a built in mppt controller for solar panels. Plug in some PVpanels- portable or on the ute/ van and you have an off grid power system .

[glenecollins]

For that price it should come with grid tie in.

I got a $400 120Ah 12v lithium ion and stuck a couple of 12V cigarette lighter plugs, an Anderson connector and a cheapish lithium solar charger on it cost about $500 all up and isn’t very pretty but it does work really well and keeps my campsite running indefinitely on a couple of solar panels.

If it is as good as my janky setup and comes with a good warranty etc it will very likely feel worth it pretty quickly if you go glancing for long periods (or if like me you camp for work and need to run a laptop, lights and a satellite modem. It is much much nicer than having a generator running 1/2 the night (and I suspect anyone I am camping near would agree.)

[MattBlack]

I'd like to see you endurance test it running a 70lt camp fridge. Opening and closing the fridge putting in a 6 pack of warm beer twice a day etc.

[shlomoaziz]

I was so tempted to buy this but I ultimately bought an Australian owned and built power bank / Solar Generator.. I ended up getting a Cyber Solar Portable Solar Generator for far less money than this costs, it worked out great for me, may not work out great for some people... saying that I fully enjoyed this video Thank You John great review.

[NNoradIV]

Thank you for this excellent disclaimer at the beginning. I would have liked to see more demonstrations.

[gxxxbxxx]

How capable of taking a knock is it, ie prolonged corrugated roads; dust proofing; water resistance and capability to operate in 45c+ ambient temperatures. are there spares available or any consumables ie fuses etc?
I would definitely be interested in seeing some testing vids, and any other similar alternative power sources available.

[Kaspaas]

You're a funny guy mate. Entertaining reviews 😂

[gazzafloss]

Good one John, that device could be just the thing for our short camping trips. Certainly more camp site friendly than a generator, ambience wise, and should run the Waeco fridge enough to keep things cold.
Good for lighting also. Your point about all the dual battery guff and it's cost on the vehicle is well made. I've just bought a new vehicle, the old 4x4's gone along with all the onboard electrical setup it had fitted, and went with it to it's next owner. So for 3K, its worth a try I'd think, rather than go through all the set up dramas of a system on the new rig.

[TheDavidCollett]

The biggest flaw with this unit for a lot of potential users is the very slow 12v charge rate of approx 100W. It had better be a long way between stops on the Dingo piss creek tour because it will take 20 hours of driving to recharge it in the car!

[pmacgowan]

I built my own 240v 1kw box, with solar charge input, These units would be great for tradies

[nolanjones]

John, the DIY concrete mixer hack and load/run test sounds great. Fabrication Jedi here I come. Jonesy

[allanmaccaul]

Perfect timing..
Exactly what I need..👌
I was about to install a massive system in my vehicle, this is a much better idea..