is a deputy editor and Verge co-founder with a passion for human-centric cities, e-bikes, and life as a digital nomad. He’s been a tech journalist for 20 years.
Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.
Bluetti’s latest car charger can quickly charge power stations at a very fast 1200W — about 10 times faster than plugging it into the 12V cigarette lighter outlet. The Charger 2, as it’s called, can also reverse the flow of electrons to jump-start your vehicle or maintain its starter battery when used with a Bluetti power station like the Apex300.
For perspective, I typically consume about 1.6kWh per day from power stations when vanlifing around Europe. So, in perfect conditions (that don’t exist), I’d only have to drive about 75 minutes to recoup a day’s worth of energy if using the Charger 2.
The DC-DC charger hits that maximum 1200W charge rate by simultaneously combining up to 800W of spare capacity from the vehicle’s alternator and up to 400W from any installed solar panels on the vehicle’s rooftop. When parked, it can feed up to 600W of solar power into a connected power station without draining the starter battery.
Previous Next
... continue reading