🔋⚡ Living Off-Grid Like a Civilised Human

How I Power Vanilla for Days Using Jackerys + a Leisure Battery (Without Losing My Mind)

There’s a very specific moment in campervan life when you realise you’ve crossed a line.

It’s usually at night.

The fridge is humming.

The heater is quietly ticking away.

Your phone is charging.

The lights are on.

It’s raining gently outside.

And somewhere in the back of your head, a little voice whispers:

“This… this should not be working this well.”

Welcome to my off-grid power setup.

This is not survivalism.

This is comfort, maths, and lithium behaving itself.

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🚐 The Philosophy: Off-Grid, Not Off-Comfort

Let’s get one thing straight early.

I am not interested in:

• Sitting in the dark ❌

• Cold mornings ❌

• Flat batteries ❌

• Guessing ❌

What I am interested in:

• Knowing exactly how much power I have 🔍

• Using it efficiently ⚙️

• Sleeping warm 😴

• And quietly feeling superior at festivals 😌

The goal was simple:

Run Vanilla like normal… just without hook-up.

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🔋 The Cast of Characters (aka: The Power Department)

This system works because each battery has a job. No chaos. No overlapping egos.

🟦 The Jackery Fleet – “The Fuel Cans”

These are my portable power stations. Think of them like clean, silent jerry cans full of electricity.

Together, they give me roughly:

⚡ ~3,577 watt-hours (Wh) of stored energy

They are:

• Portable

• Predictable

• Rechargeable anywhere

• And utterly uninterested in drama

They don’t run the van directly.

They feed the system.

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🔋 The Leisure Battery – “The Buffer Tank”

Vanilla has a 100Ah AGM leisure battery.

On paper:

• 100Ah × 12V = ~1,200 Wh

In real life (because AGM batteries like respect):

• ~600 Wh usable (50% rule 👴📜)

This battery:

• Runs the fridge ❄️

• Runs the heater 🔥

• Runs the lights 💡

• Runs the van like it was designed to be run

It is the calm, steady heart of the system ❤️

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🧠 The Big Idea: Jackery → Charger → Leisure Battery

This is the important bit.

I do not try to power everything directly from the Jackerys.

That’s messy.

That’s inefficient.

That’s how you end up doing maths at midnight.

Instead:

🔌 Jackery powers a proper mains battery charger

➡️

🔋 Charger tops up the leisure battery

➡️

🚐 Van runs as normal from its own 12V system

This gives me:

• Correct AGM charging voltages ✅

• Controlled current ✅

• Accurate monitoring via my shunt ✅

• And zero sketchy wiring hacks ✅

In other words:

The Jackerys pretend to be the campsite.

The leisure battery pretends nothing has changed.

Beautiful.

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📊 The Numbers That Actually Matter

Let’s talk totals.

🔋 Total usable stored energy:

• Jackerys: ~3,577 Wh

• Leisure battery (usable): ~600 Wh

🧮 Grand total:

⚡ ~4,180 Wh usable (≈ 4.2 kWh)

That’s not a guess.

That’s not optimism.

That’s measured reality.

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🧊🔥 Where the Power Goes (Real-World Use)

Here’s the honest, no-nonsense breakdown of daily consumption in Vanilla.

❄️ Compressor fridge (always on)

• ~300–500 Wh per day

• Quiet

• Reliable

• Absolutely non-negotiable

🔥 Webasto heater (8 hours overnight)

• ~150–300 Wh per night (mostly on low)

• Uses power in short bursts

• Warmth per watt is excellent

💡 Lights, charging, background life

• ~100–200 Wh per day

• Phones

• Head torches

• Speakers

• The general hum of being alive

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📆 So… How Long Can I Live Off-Grid?

This is the big question.

And the answer is refreshingly solid.

🟢 Light to moderate use

(Fridge + lights + charging + gentle heater)

➡️ ~500–800 Wh/day

➡️ ~5–8 days

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🟡 Typical festival / winter setup

(Fridge always + Webasto ~8 hours/night)

➡️ ~800–1,200 Wh/day

➡️ ~3.5–5 days

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🔴 Heavy use

(Extra gadgets, more heat, more indulgence)

➡️ ~1,200–1,800 Wh/day

➡️ ~2–3.5 days

And remember…

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☀️ The Secret Multiplier: Topping Up

This is where the system really shines ✨

I don’t drain the leisure battery to death.

I don’t chase 100%.

I top up little and often.

That means:

• The AGM battery lives in its happy zone (60–90%) 😌

• Charging stays efficient ⚡

• Jackery watt-hours go further 🔄

Even a short top-up session makes a big difference.

Add any solar at all, and suddenly:

• A 4-day setup becomes a week

• A festival becomes relaxed

• And anxiety packs its bags

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📟 Monitoring: The Truth Teller

My battery monitor shows:

• State of charge

• Current in and out

• Voltage

• Reality

No guessing.

No “I think we’re fine.”

Just data.

When the battery drops toward 60%:

🔌 Plug in Jackery

⚡ Let charger work

😌 Carry on living

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🧠 Why This Setup Works So Well

Because it respects each component:

• Jackerys do what they’re good at → portable energy

• Leisure battery does what it’s good at → steady 12V supply

• Charger does what it’s good at → correct battery care

• Monitoring keeps everyone honest

Nothing is stressed.

Nothing is rushed.

Nothing is confused.

It’s not flashy.

It’s correct.

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🏕️ Final Thoughts: This Is Not Camping

This is infrastructure.

It’s the difference between:

• Hoping you’ll last

• And knowing you will

I can park up.

Switch everything on.

Go to sleep warm.

Wake up charged.

No hook-up.

No panic.

No compromises.

Just quiet confidence… and a fridge that never stops running.

🔋⚡🚐

Off-grid. On point. Fully powered.

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