Mains charger finishing in absorption
NIX STORIES · DISPATCH 039VANILLA
VANILLA
UNPLUGGED.
THE SATURDAY I DISCOVERED 13 AMP-HOURS COULD BE GENUINELY EXCITING
29 AUGUST 2026 · A FIVE-HOUR OFF-GRID TEST
There are certain sentences guaranteed to make normal people slowly edge towards the door.
“Look! I’ve only used thirteen amp-hours!”
If you do not own a campervan, have not spent an unreasonable amount of time looking at solar panels, and do not get a small thrill from opening VictronConnect, thirteen amp-hours probably ranks somewhere below watching paint dry.
But on Saturday 29 August, that little number told me something rather exciting: Vanilla was beginning to prove that she could look after her own electricity.
THINK OF VANILLA AS HAVING A
TANK FULL OF ELECTRICITY.
The leisure battery is the tank. The fridge, lights, Webasto heater, pump and USB sockets all drink from it. Eventually it needs filling again.
The interesting question is not whether one solar panel can run absolutely everything. It is whether Vanilla can keep finding intelligent ways to replenish what daily life removes.
FROM FULL TANK
TO FIVE HOURS FREE.
The starting line: a genuinely full tank
Mains disconnected; solar clocks on
Fridge, lights and the system at work
Five hours unplugged; 100Wh harvested
FULL BATTERY.
SOLAR STANDING BY.
The 110Ah AGM was already at 98% and the Victron Blue Smart charger was in absorption—the final careful stage. Its current gradually fell from 3.8A to 2.9A, 2.7A and finally 2.0A as the SmartShunt reached 100% and 0Ah consumed.
Meanwhile, the new roof solar fell from 15W to 9W, 4W and eventually 1W. Nothing was broken. With a full battery and mains already looking after it, Vanilla simply did not need the roof to work hard.
12:27 · I PULLED THE PLUGNO HOOK-UP.
NO HOOK-UP.
NO ENGINE.
JUST STORAGE + DAYLIGHT.
Within minutes solar rose to 16W. Then I turned on the fridge, the lights, all the lights, and the Webasto. At 12:33 solar reached 29W and the SmartSolar returned to bulk charging.
Demand had arrived, so the roof got to work.
NOW WE COULD SEE
THE BATTLE.
1.8ASOLAR+4.88ABATTERY=6.68A≈ 84 W LOAD
The fridge, lights and other systems wanted roughly 84W. The sun supplied part of it; the battery quietly supplied the difference. Solar did not need to run everything to matter. Every watt through the roof was a watt the AGM did not have to surrender.
17:09 · THE NUMBER THAT MADE MY DAYNEARLY FIVE HOURS
NEARLY FIVE HOURS
UNPLUGGED.
The Webasto, fridge and lights had all been used—the things I actually want when camping. It was not even a fair full-day solar test: for much of the morning the full battery and mains charger had deliberately kept the panel throttled back.
SEVERAL ANSWERS
TO ONE PROBLEM.
🚐 DRIVINGALTERNATOR → ORION → AGM
☀ DAYLIGHTSOLAR → SMARTSOLAR → AGM
🔌 HOOK-UP230V → BLUE SMART → AGM
🔋 PORTABLEJACKERY RESERVES → COOKING + GADGETS
The SmartShunt is the accountant watching what actually enters and leaves the battery. It is not one giant power bank. It is an energy ecosystem, built from dependable parts with distinct jobs.
WHEN THE SUN DISAPPEARS,
THE NUMBERS CANNOT HIDE.
A reading before bed and another in the morning will show what a real night of refrigeration, heating and background systems costs. Then daylight returns and the roof gets another shift.
Do that over several days and Vanilla’s off-grid capability stops being guesswork. We will actually know.
ELECTRICAL
RESILIENCE.
Drive and we generate. Park in daylight and we generate. Find mains and we generate. Keep surplus portable power and we have another answer.
That’s why I’m excited about thirteen amp-hours.
When I find somewhere wonderful, switch everything on and decide I do not particularly fancy going anywhere tomorrow… how long can I stay?