I was recently sent the Maxoak Bluetti AC50 to try out and use in the van. With 2020 being the way it’s been I’ve not managed to use it as much as I’d of liked, but I’ve given it a bit of a test and used it for a few applications and am excited to use it more in the future. Until I’m ready to give a full review I’ve put together some info on the specs, and how it’s performed for me so far. The end of this write up contains links and codes that will get you a discount on this and other Maxoak products
What is it?
The Maxoak Bluetti AC50 is basically a huge portable power bank. Its 500W lithium battery can be charged up via mains electricity, through solar panels, or by the 12v port in a vehicle (to get a full charge you’ll need a 24v system, but you can still partially charge it with 12v).
Once charged the Bluetti AC50 can be used to charge and power small appliances such as laptops, hairdryer and small power tools through 2 AC 230v mains sockets, as well as using DC to power smaller items – phones, cameras etc – through its 4 usb ports and a 12v port such as you would find in a car. It also has a wireless charging pad on the top which is quite a nice feature.
In addition to this the Bluetti AC50 has a built in carry handle, a digital display showing its charge level as well as its output as it charges your devices, and a very powerful LED light.
For the technical specs you can click here to view the Maxoak website.
My thoughts
For me the AC50 was the perfect excuse to not bother delving into the depths of campervan 12v electric systems (just yet). I’ll get there one day, but for now I can run small appliances and usb lights as well as recharging my phone, cameras and laptop without needing to scratch my head too much, which is a pretty welcome situation to be in. It’s helped get me on the road faster than I would have, and in comfort, without really having to think about anything; I can just charge it up and then plug in without any concerns.
Clearly building your own personalised electrical system is going to be more tailored to your specific needs, but this also requires time and money, even more of the latter if having it put together and fitted by someone else. With the AC50 I was ready to go the day it arrived and I’ve had no complaints yet.
The fact that you can pick it up and take it with you when you leave the van is also an interesting concept. It can be shared around a group of mates – passed from van to van – or taken on a short walk (it weighs around 6kg so you’re probably not taking it on the Lands End to John O’Groats) to a camp spot where it could power appliances to make your trip more comfortable.
I’ve managed to do a small amount of testing and found that powering a pretty poorly laptop for 6 hours of continuous work only dropped the battery to 60%. At 500W it should happily charge a 60W laptop around 8 times.
Uses
The AC50 is perfect for a quick electrical system in a van and paired with some solar panels it could keep you going for a long time before the need to upgrade. Even then it’s small enough to not take up much room and be a really versatile back up. I used the built in light to help see what I was cooking one night when my fairy lights in the van weren’t quite cutting it and it made me think what a useful back up it would be to have in a house in the event of a powercut. On a car camping trip it would certainly add a good level of flexibility to charge electrical items, and even on a campsite it might save you a few quid on electric hook-up, or just the inconvenience of there not being a free plug socket when you have something you need to charge.
Limitations
One potential drawback is the size of appliances you can charge through it – you cant plug a TV or something like that in – but this still isn’t a huge issue as plenty of people get by without such large power-hungry appliances in their vans.
Another mark against the AC50 (in terms of use in a van) could be that if one component breaks it may write off the entire system. In a purpose built 12v leisure battery system this would rarely be the case as individual parts could be swapped in/out. But this is only really the case if you’ve built the system yourself and have an intimate understanding of it, and the skills to diagnose and then repair/replace parts.
Summary
All in all the AC50 has served me well and I have virtually nothing to complain about it. I’ll be writing another more in-depth review after a few months use, but so far so good! It’s a leisure battery, solar charger and inverter in one and retails at around £500. However at the moment you can use these codes to get discounts:
UK AC50 Poweroak Bluetti 500Wh/135200mAh Power Station
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08168PGXF
￡40 off Code: 5poweroak
US AC50 Maxoak Bluetti 500Wh Power Station Clearance Price
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07Z7BFRYX/
$12 off code：MAXOAK100 coupon :$40 ,in total $52 off
DE AC50 Poweroak Bluetti 500Wh Power Station
http://www.amazon.de/dp/B07ZR9DQ45
40€ off Code: 5poweroak
Is there anything else you’d like to know? anything that I should cover in a more in-depth write up? Drop me a comment and let me know