Whether you’re heading to Birdsville or Byron Bay, there’s no doubt that Australian’s love a music festival. For many people there’s nothing better than being camped for a weekend, listening to great bands and spending time with friends. But a few days in, phones inevitably start to go flat, and ice starts to melt. Having even a simple camping power system can make even the best festivals, just that bit more comfortable.
Why you’d want power
For many festival goers’ power isn’t the top priority when putting together their packing list, but if you’re going to be camped up for a few days, it should definitely be considered. Whether you just want to make sure your phones, speakers and cameras stay charged, keep your drinks cold or power a coffee machine in the morning, there’s a power solution that can make even the best festival trip, even better.
Powering the basics
At many camping festivals around Australia, you set up camp right next to your car. This means that you’ve got access to everything in your car without needing a portable power solution. Because of this, having a fairly simple traditionally installed dual battery system is an easy way to keep all your devices powered.
In the simplest form, utilising a secondary battery and battery charger will mean that you can run all your accessories from your secondary battery and not risk draining your start battery while you’re parked up. This will allow you to keep a 12v fridge and all your devices powered throughout the event. Having a dual battery charger also allows you to charge up your secondary battery from your vehicle alternator power while you’re driving to the festival and home again.
If you’re wanting to keep power going into your batteries while you’re parked. Having solar power on top of your vehicle means you’ll keep your secondary battery topped up without having to drive around and use your vehicle’s alternator.
Taking it to the next level
If you’re wanting to take your power setup up a step and have enough energy to run coffee machines, hair dryers and any of your accessories from home, you’ll need a pure sine wave inverter. Inverters work by converting the DC power from your battery into AC power that you’d find in your house, meaning you can plug in any of your household accessories. Depending on what accessories you’re wanting to run, you’ll need to select the correct sized inverter, these can put more strain on your secondary batteries, so you’ll need an appropriately sized battery as well.
Portable power
So, what if you can’t park with your car but still want power? Portable power is an easy way to keep your devices charged without needing to be near your vehicle. REDARC’s GoBlock portable power system features an in-built lithium battery, AC charger, DC charger, and solar regulator. This means you can charge it at home before you go, via vehicle alternator power while driving or through solar when you’re at camp.
Having a lithium battery in-built means that the GoBlock is light enough to be carried to camp, or from your camp to the stages if you’re wanting to take power with you. Available in 100 and 50Ah options, there’s plenty of power to keep your phones, cameras, lights and fridge running for a weekend without needing to recharge. While adding a PowerDock means you can not only securely lock your GoBlock in-place, it can also take 50amp of fast-charge from your vehicle if it’s available.
Learn more about how you can setup a simple dual battery system in your vehicle with our Build Your Dual Battery System Tool.
