NIX WEEKLY #01 — More Power, Less Hurry
The week at NIX • 30 September–7 October 2026
Some weeks I come away with a few photographs. This week I seem to have acquired an electrical department, a coastal expedition and a loaf with ketchup in it. Vanilla has been at the centre of almost everything: how she stores power, how she keeps me warm, how much living space she can borrow from a bag of canvas, and what all that means when I finally turn the engine off. Somewhere between the battery graphs and the breadmaker, a rather satisfying thought emerged. The upgrades are beginning to join up.
Welcome to the first NIX WEEKLY. This opening edition looks back over the seven days ending on Wednesday 7 October, before we settle into our Sunday rhythm. It has been a busy stretch on the site, but there is a story running through it: making the little grey van a better place to stay, then finding somewhere worth staying.
VANILLA / CAMPERVAN — A BETTER REASON TO STAY PUT
The most revealing piece I published was my look back at the European Drift. Europe had already proved that Vanilla could travel. What it left me wondering was how comfortably she could stop travelling. A lovely view is less lovely when part of your brain is calculating how soon you ought to drive somewhere to recharge.
That distinction explains the whole summer of tinkering. Vanilla already had solar and the Victron Orion before Europe; the story is about improving what was there. The bigger 200W panel, the 105Ah Fogstar lithium battery and the monitoring now work towards the same aim: less background battery worry, more time enjoying the place outside the doors. Torque and Towzer extend that idea beyond the van. Park the house, take the bike, come back for tea. I like that sort of transport policy.
The power stories show how I arrived there. The rolling microgrid piece set out the roles of the Fogstar, Victron equipment, solar and portable Jackery reserves. It was written as the upgrade plan; the later Drift reflection describes the battery now in place. Reading them together gives the journey from intention to a more complete system, rather than one miraculous box arriving to solve everything.
Then came the evidence. In the 720-hour analysis, I followed a precise month of pre-upgrade battery behaviour, including the reassuring recoveries and the awkward lows that an average can hide. The separate 47-day report opened the lens wider, looking at a longer battery record and its solar history. Those are different analysis windows, so their totals belong to their own stories. I am keeping that distinction: a good-looking number still needs a date attached.
What mattered was the change in how I thought about the van. I could see the effects of sunshine, overnight use and charging in the records. The new battery has a useful baseline to be measured against. My enthusiasm for graphs now has a respectable excuse. Several, actually.
READ THE FULL STORY → 720 hours inside Vanilla’s electrical brain
The newer energy-system story pulls the pieces together: where the electricity comes from, where it goes, and how a warm night fits into the picture. Its heated-night figures are a record of the conditions analysed, rather than a promise that every winter night will cost the same amount of battery. That is precisely why I want to keep measuring. The next useful result will come from using Vanilla, not polishing the specification sheet.
AUTUMN COMFORT — THE VAN EARNS HER KEEP
Warmth has been the other half of the conversation. Autumn Armour looks at what happens when the easy summer conditions disappear and temperature, moisture and power all start demanding attention. A heater and a capable battery make far more sense together than they do as separate purchases: the diesel provides the heat, while the electrical system supports the heater’s workings alongside the other habitation loads.
The earlier heating-cost story gives that comfort a wonderfully ordinary scale. For the mild night described there, the diesel estimate was roughly £2–£3. It was an estimate, not measured fuel consumption, and the conditions matter. Even so, it is an appealing picture: an autumn evening outside and a warm little room inside, without a campsite electricity bill dictating the conversation.
READ THE FULL STORY → Vanilla’s Autumn Armour
READ THE FULL STORY → the estimated cost of a warm autumn night
And this week I looked again at an appliance that had been quietly waiting for its moment. Vanilla’s Panasonic is a microwave-and-grill, and the useful discovery was how it fits into the wider off-grid arrangement. A bowl of leftovers becomes considerably more interesting when you can warm it after parking somewhere without conventional hook-up. It is familiar kitchen kit finding a new role.
Alongside that came the Jackery hook-up proposal: using Forge with Vanilla’s existing mains installation rather than making the interior an obstacle course of extension leads. The article sets out the intended arrangement, including isolating the onboard charger. I am treating it as the system-specific plan it is, rather than presenting a short adaptor lead as a universal electrical solution. The attraction is straightforward enough: use the van’s fitted facilities with a portable reserve of power.
TRAVEL / PHOTOGRAPHY — DORSET IN MY HEAD
All this improving the basecamp would become rather academic if I never left it. Fortunately, the Jurassic Coast plan provides a very good reason to close the spreadsheet. The proposed journey runs west to east, from Orcombe Point towards Old Harry Rocks, with three pub nights and plenty of walking and camera stops between them.
The dates published are Tuesday 13 to Friday 16 October. The important word remains proposed: the article says the overnight spaces have not been booked and the New Inn needs final confirmation. The route has shape, but it still needs those practical arrangements. I would rather earn my dinner than arrive waving a beautifully formatted itinerary at a full car park.
READ THE FULL STORY → the proposed three-night Jurassic Coast pub run
Durdle Door received a story of its own because I am already thinking about the photographs. The arch is the obvious subject, but the published plan also makes room for texture, water, the curve of the shore and time spent watching the light. That feels like the right ambition: bring back something of the place, rather than merely proving I stood in front of it.
It is anticipation so far, not a travel report. The camera cards have not suddenly filled themselves with Dorset. But the prospect of walking somewhere spectacular and returning to a warm van makes all the practical work feel rather well aimed.
DRONES — THINKING ABOUT THE WHOLE FILM
Norway From Above explored another kind of travel planning: how I might tell a journey through aerial footage. The interesting idea was continuity. Roads, ferries, waterfalls and the small shape of Vanilla could become parts of one film, rather than a folder of unrelated drone clips.
That published Norwegian flight concept belongs here as a creative study from the week, not as a claim that flights or travel arrangements are confirmed. Its strongest principle travels anywhere: choose the shot carefully and be prepared to keep the drone packed when the location or conditions do not permit it. The landscape gets the leading role. The propellers are supporting cast.
FOOD / PN100 — BREAKFAST HAS DEVELOPED AN ATTITUDE
Meanwhile, the Panasonic breadmaker has been dragged into the experiment department. The Cotswold Crunch muesli loaf starts with a breakfast-friendly idea: malted grain, honey, fruit and cereal brought together in the bread itself. The recipe sets out the intended texture and the toast test I want from it; I am not awarding a baking trophy before the result has earned one.
Then restraint left the kitchen. The Red Leicester Riot takes wholemeal bread towards ketchup, cheese and a decidedly orange serving suggestion. That article explicitly calls it an experimental formula and explains that the dramatic hero represents the ambition rather than a documented finished bake. A useful distinction, particularly when the photograph looks ready to headline a cheese festival.
The newest arrival is NIX Payload: Elvis Juice ketchup and mature cheddar in a soft white loaf. The attraction is partly the flavour idea and partly the uncomplicated approach — load the ingredients and let the little machine get on with it. Across all three recipes, I have been looking for everyday food with enough character to make breakfast or a sandwich feel like a small event. The actual bakes, and how they behave in my machine, are where the interesting follow-up lives.
READ THE FULL STORY → NIX Payload — Elvis Juice and cheddar white
CARAVAN — CAROLINE JOINS THE PICTURE
Caroline’s introduction widened the view beyond Vanilla. The Swift Conqueror 480 brings a different sort of touring comfort: a generous front lounge, a proper rear washroom and Alde heating, with a kitchen that takes staying in seriously.
What I enjoyed writing about was the partnership. Vanilla supplies the familiar travelling-home character; Caroline offers more room for a slower evening. The article imagines those shared campsite moments without pretending the imagined weekend has already happened. Warm windows, something cooking and no hurry to clear the table — it is a very persuasive prospect as the evenings draw in.
READ THE FULL STORY → meet Caroline, the Swift Conqueror 480
NIX HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK
The Drift Changed Everything gets my first weekly highlight. It gives all the individual upgrades a reason. A battery, a solar panel, a bike rack and a curtain are easy to treat as separate purchases; looking back at Europe turns them into answers to things I learned by actually travelling.
That is the memorable change this week. I am becoming clearer about what I want from Vanilla: somewhere I can arrive, settle and explore from. The equipment matters because of the days it makes possible. Even I can occasionally admit that the best part of a battery graph is putting the phone down afterwards.
READ THE FULL STORY → this week’s highlight — The Drift Changed Everything
ELSEWHERE IN NIX...
Vanilla also acquired an architectural discussion. The Fiamma canopy and Vango Faros Air story explores a covered space outside the sliding door leading into a separate room, with the drive-away possibility keeping the van mobile. More places to sit, stash wet gear or spread out — and still a setup that eventually goes back into bags. READ THE FULL STORY → Vanilla’s Fiamma and Faros extension.
The three-speaker comparison found a surprisingly sensible justification for a cupboard full of audio kit. My B&O, Sonos and Bose discussion was about choosing a speaker for the moment: settled listening, music inside the van, or something small to take outside. I appear to have written a defence statement for my gadget collection. READ THE FULL STORY → three speakers, three different jobs.
And the minced beef Balti kept dinner grounded while the bread experiments wandered off. Beef, onion, pepper, garlic and a two-step sauce provide a practical supper with a little extra spice. Some evenings simply need something hot in a bowl. READ THE FULL STORY → the easy minced beef Balti.
NEXT WEEK ON NIX
The most immediate published plan is the Jurassic Coast run on 13–16 October, subject to securing the pub stops and checking the practical details. If it comes together, the Durdle Door camera ideas can finally meet the coast itself. Until then, they remain plans, with plenty of anticipation attached.
The logical follow-ups are closer to home: keep building the Fogstar-era record against the pre-upgrade baseline, see how the autumn setup behaves in use, and find out whether the breadmaker experiments taste as good as their names suggest. I cannot promise sunshine, empty parking spaces or perfectly risen loaves. I can promise that the interesting bits will be worth writing about.
That is the first week in the NIX diary: a warmer basecamp, a coast to aim for and a kitchen showing worrying signs of imagination. Put the kettle on and come back next Sunday. There will be another week to untangle.
