Portable batteries have revolutionized the world of camping. An excellent LFP chemistry to charge your devices and power any type of equipment. We have tested the Bluetti EB70 as a power source for a camper van with a fridge, lighting and much more.
The camper world has evolved enormously in recent years. But we still need power in our camper vans, caravans and motorhomes. And now the ideal solution is not only lithium batteries, but rather portable lithium batteries. Why? For versatility, for simplicity in the installation of any electrical system and also for homologation.
For some time I have been enjoying the Bluetti EB70, a 716 Wh capacity portable battery, which translates into 60 Ah working at 12 V. However, it is a battery that also works at 220 V and delivering up to 1,000W because it has a powerful integrated current inverter, among many other things that we will see little by little in detail.
A portable battery… why?
In a camper van, one of the biggest problems is the homologation of the camperization. It is quite tedious to have to homologate each modification. So a portable battery simplifies this to the extreme, to the point of not having to standardize our electrical installation. Why? Because, since it is not fixed, it is considered to be simply a load. So there are no hassles of workshops, projects, certificates or ITV. And if the day after tomorrow you want to size your installation and give it more power, or energy storage capacity, you won’t have a problem of any kind.
But in addition, opting for a portable battery, such as the Bluetti EB70, also gives you the possibility of using this same device on your trips in a camper van, at home as a power backup for a computer or several, for example, and as a power station. when camping in a tent, or as a portable power source to work with drills and other tools.
In a portable battery you have the battery, but you also have a built-in power inverter; that is, you have 12 V, 220 V connections, and all the electrical installation you need, including USB-A, USB-C connections and even wireless charging for devices such as your smartphone. And all in a ‘package’ that is relatively compact and quite light.
What can a portable battery like the Bluetti EB70 do?
With me, the Bluetti EB70 has worked giving energy to a stationary heating and, above all, feeding a 12 V compressor refrigerator 24 hours a day. Specifically the Alpicool T50, which has a part of a refrigerator and another part of a freezer. In addition, it has also served to charge the laptop -a MacBook Pro M1-, to charge the iPhone, the Apple Watch, the iPad and the LED lighting system of my camper van. And it has even come to serve us, during some days that we have not wanted to go out for lunch or dinner, to feed an air fryer that we had installed in our advance of the van. A hyper simple way of cooking, and very clean in every way, but for which you need quite a considerable amount of power from the power supply. Oh yeah, and it’s also powered a small desk fan.
The key is that this battery has two AC outlets of 220-240 V that can serve up to 1,000 W, two USB-A outlets of 5 V and 3 A maximum, two USB-C outlets with Power Delivery 3.0 of up to 100 W , a 15 W wireless charging port and two 12V and 10 A DC outputs. And to power or recharge, we have the AC outlet at 200 W maximum, the 12 V outlet -for the car- at 8 A maximum and a solar panel socket of 200 W maximum.
Our experience with the Bluetti EB70, opinion and analysis
The Bluetti EB70 measures 320 x 217 x 222 mm and weighs 9.7 kg. And with this it offers us 716 Wh of energy capacity, which, as I mentioned, is 60 Ah at 12 V and can be discharged at a maximum of 1,000 W, but this is at 220 V. In short, it is an energy device with a fairly high in relation to its weight content, taking into account that the current inverter and all the connectivity are already integrated.
In the 12 V socket of our camper van it has been charging at no less than 100 W, so that during the entire trip – more than 6 hours, by the way – it has been powering the portable cooler and charging at the same time. When we arrived at our destination, due to the difference between loading and unloading, it reached 100% power and with a perfect temperature. We do not have air conditioning in the box, where the battery goes, and in the middle of July it has not had temperature problems, not even when it was feeding the air fryer.
It has an active cooling system, by air, with low consumption fans. It remains at a stable temperature at all times despite the fact that we even put it directly in direct sunlight. In this sense, the reality is that it is a wonder how they have managed to make the battery go at your camping pace, and you do not have to accommodate yourself to the limitations of the battery. And with an LFP chemistry (LiFePo4, specifically) that is a guarantee of safety and stability.
It is a battery that matches perfectly with the solar panel power supply that is sold separately. With a solar panel, combined with the cigarette lighter socket of the van itself, we can count on having practically unlimited energy. And due to its capacity, the truth is that for intensive use in camping we should not have problems of any kind.
Our experience has been frankly satisfactory. It charges at a good speed, its maximum discharge is very loose, it has a contained size and weight, the battery chemistry is excellent and its connections are even more than necessary. Having an emergency light is really interesting and having wireless charging is convenient, above all, to use the smartphone without fear of running out of battery. It is, without a doubt, a recommended product. Of course, my ideal product in the catalog of this brand is the Bluetti AC200P, which is almost the same product but with a 2,000 Wh capacity.