The new Wildax Voltpac the van with no gas.

Fisherman

Fisherman

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Just watched this new Wildax video, and it's got me thinking.
One of the things that put me off these vans was LPG, which is getting harder to find these days.
Now I would very much appreciate if those with much better knowledge than me would look at this video, and give their honest opinions on it.
Not that I will be buying one soon, but you never know;)
If Phil and David (Wildebus) could give an opinion that would be great.
Duncan starts to explain the voltaic 5 minutes into the video, if you don't want to watch the whole thing.

I reckon this is quite innovative, but would it do what it says on the tin, Jurys out.

Thanks in advance.

 
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colinm said:
It strikes me that 300w of solar and 100amp of lithium battery will be pushed to it's limit with this van, the fridge and heating should be fine, but that hob and microwave will suck power, start boiling plenty of kettle full's of water for tea and coffee then cooking meals.
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you actually get 2x100a lithium batteries Colin.
Also do induction hobs not use less electricity.
 
An Electric/Diesel Motorhome as opposed to an Gas/Electric motorhome is certainly doable, and there have been a couple of US RVs released like that.

Personally speaking, I think they have skimped on the battery installation. A pair of 100Ah Lithiums will not be enough for off-grid camping except in summertime unless you are moving every day.
The 50A B2B is not bad but hardly massive. If the idea is to push an electric based Motorhome I kinda would have expected a 2nd Alternator to charge the batteries.
I don't know if the 3kW Inverter they fit is a straight Inverter or a Charger/Inverter, but I would have gone with a Victron Multiplus which has a built in Transfer Switch and power assist feature which makes the electric side very flexible compared to a straight Inverter.
I bet there is a fair old price premium over the LPG version but in truth there should not be much difference in price
 
Fisherman said:
you actually get 2x100a lithium batteries Colin.
Also do induction hobs not use less electricity.
Click to expand...
induction hobs are great :) much faster than gas, less power than the electric ring on a motorhome cooker. I have one on my Campervan and carry two portable 500W ones in the Motorhome.
 
Fisherman said:
you actually get 2x100a lithium batteries Colin.
Also do induction hobs not use less electricity.
Click to expand...
True, but that hob can draw up to 2.3Kw, ok that's only for the time to heat up saucepans and then it will reduce power, but then if like us you drink a lot of tea/coffee, it adds up through the day.
 
I like the idea of a gas free MH and the Voltpac has some good features, particularly the induction hob, we have one at home and the're the best cooking hob imho. I would have liked to have seen the bathroom and exterior too.
Some questions need answering, size of vehicle, payload, garage or not, external lockers etc., guess there will be another video coming soon that covers this?
 
izwozral said:
I like the idea of a gas free MH and the Voltpac has some good features, particularly the induction hob, we have one at home and the're the best cooking hob imho. I would have liked to have seen the bathroom and exterior too.
Some questions need answering, size of vehicle, payload, garage or not, external lockers etc., guess there will be another video coming soon that covers this?
Click to expand...

You can get all of that on their website Ral. They have various vans that this can be fitted to. But on payload well there’s no need for a 40 litre tank and lpg now.
I was not thinking about that specific van, more interested in the voltpac system.
I would be thinking more of the Elara with this system.

wildaxmotorhomes.com

Elara Range - Wildax Motorhomes

wildaxmotorhomes.com wildaxmotorhomes.com
 
wildebus said:
An Electric/Diesel Motorhome as opposed to an Gas/Electric motorhome is certainly doable, and there have been a couple of US RVs released like that.

Personally speaking, I think they have skimped on the battery installation. A pair of 100Ah Lithiums will not be enough for off-grid camping except in summertime unless you are moving every day.
The 50A B2B is not bad but hardly massive. If the idea is to push an electric based Motorhome I kinda would have expected a 2nd Alternator to charge the batteries.
I don't know if the 3kW Inverter they fit is a straight Inverter or a Charger/Inverter, but I would have gone with a Victron Multiplus which has a built in Transfer Switch and power assist feature which makes the electric side very flexible compared to a straight Inverter.
I bet there is a fair old price premium over the LPG version but in truth there should not be much difference in price
Click to expand...

David he mentions a more powerful charger when driving, with faster charging time.
I would reckon they would fit the inverter you mentioned if requested.
 
I think electric & diesel is the way if you don't want LPG, or double up the batteries on the Wildax, maybe more? As mention all depends how much the kettle goes on. Or get a Jetboil for brews :LOL:
Not that diesel is great for a quick brew with it's warm up time, although people I know who have diesel cookers say it's not that long.
 
I don’t think this is bad as a weekend summer van but 200Ah of lithium is not enough for the level of usage implied in the video. I struggled in the winter with 400Ah and 1280watts of solar, I know I use a lot but no more than this van would if you are cooking with electric and using an electric kettle.
 
in terms of effect on payload, a pair of 100Ah Lithiums woud pretty much the same as a 100Ah Lead Acid. saving around 20Kg of weight by not carrying 30L of gas plus the weight of the tank would pretty well cover the weight of the Inverter. Appliances probably no real difference. More solar would be a little more weight - maybe 6kg?

So all in all, no difference :)
 
Philip Tomlinson said:
I don’t think this is bad as a weekend summer van but 200Ah of lithium is not enough for the level of usage implied in the video. I struggled in the winter with 400Ah and 1280watts of solar, I know I use a lot but no more than this van would if you are cooking with electric and using an electric kettle.
Click to expand...

Thanks Phil,
 
wildebus said:
An Electric/Diesel Motorhome as opposed to an Gas/Electric motorhome is certainly doable, and there have been a couple of US RVs released like that.

Personally speaking, I think they have skimped on the battery installation. A pair of 100Ah Lithiums will not be enough for off-grid camping except in summertime unless you are moving every day.
The 50A B2B is not bad but hardly massive. If the idea is to push an electric based Motorhome I kinda would have expected a 2nd Alternator to charge the batteries.
I don't know if the 3kW Inverter they fit is a straight Inverter or a Charger/Inverter, but I would have gone with a Victron Multiplus which has a built in Transfer Switch and power assist feature which makes the electric side very flexible compared to a straight Inverter.
I bet there is a fair old price premium over the LPG version but in truth there should not be much difference in price
Click to expand...
Did you not tell me that alternators dont charge batteries, now they do, twenty lashes and walk the plank twice. 😂
 
My concern over lpg is future availability, I would stick with gas if I was sure in future years it was still available, but I have my doubts.
 
The Dometic fridge with the twin hinges is very smart - and I think is about the same price as the 3-way fridges. This is one area where I think makers really should be switching to compressor fridges regardless.

I wonder if the change from Gas to Diesel is a little late anyway? with the drive to electric and hybrids - which tend to be petrol/electric, diesel might start to get harder to source as well?
 
trevskoda said:
Did you not tell me that alternators dont charge batteries, now they do, twenty lashes and walk the plank twice. 😂
Click to expand...
they don't - they are a source of energy. A 2nd Alternator could be tuned to be able to drive a bigger charger and in the case of a lithium battery is more ameniable to a straight voltage feed from an alternator so on that type of setup, it is ok without a B2B.
But I see I did appear to contradict my stance there ;)
 
The problem with this van is it's low payload, which may well be why they've spec'd it as they have, us 'old codgers' with C1 are ok, but trying to keep below 3.5t is a problem especially on a van aimed at young families.
 
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