Hello all.
We have just moved to a small village and have been told we can get a few power cuts every winter , and as we are all electric we wondered is there such a device out there that can run an air fryer, or TV, or fan heater , even a fridge / freezer until the power is restored. Something that we can use in the caravan too when away on site?
Thank you for your help.
We live in a similar location.
We keep a petrol generator for use during prolonged power cuts. They're generally frowned on on camping sites due to the noise and pollution.
For the caravan we use solar power to keep the battery topped up then run the fridge, hot water and heating on gas.
We have a power bank that we won in a UKCS Advent calendar draw. It lives in the garage, handy for running electric tools (or presumably during power cuts) but it’s really really heavy. The beefy delivery driver struggled to put it down at the front door. We’re retired & feeble (well, not quite, but we’re not weight lifters). No way we would move it out to the MH without a pulley system.
So - I’d suggest one piece of kit might not do both, home & away, for practical reasons only.
The trouble is, domestic appliances tend to be high power users compare to often lower powered camping kit, which means it'll need to be a big Powerbank to give much duration at home, that potentially makes it a bit of a weighty monster to go camping with! - As Fiona pointed out, she can't move hers!
I've just bought a modest sized Ecoflow Delta3, that weighs 12.5Kg, which is manageable but noticeable to be carrying and lifting around! It's a 1Kwhr unit, delivering up to 1800W with surge up to 3600W so can power a lot of things, but only for short periods of 20 - 40 mins at the higher power load end! Benefit of the Delta3 is that it can be modular with additional battery packs boosting it's capacity to 4Kwhrs, so whilst it all adds up to a heavy set up, no individual unit weighs more than 12.5kg, BUT it's relatively expensive to buy the extra battery packs, so a big outlay.
Of course how big a Powerbank you need depends hugely on the duration of your power cuts! We used to get several a year some time ago, but usually only 10-15 mins at a time, had one or two that ran into an hour or two. No such thing as Powerbanks back then, but a small generator kept the lights on and the TV running! Fridges and freezers should be OK if not opened for at least 8 hours off power. Heating, whether at home or camping, is always the big power user, small fan heaters can be had with less than 1kW load. Air fryers can be near 3Kw, so careful choice of Powerbank may be necessary!
As said generators if not outright banned (probably the majority of sites), are not popular on formal campsites due to noise and exhaust fumes. Off grid, rally fields etc. can be more tolerant, but don't forget you have to live with the noise and fumes yourself! - and don't forget they gobble fuel, so maybe 5-10L a day, which means either carrying a lot of fuel with you, or frequent trips to buy more fuel!
A Powerbank to see you through serious power cuts and keep your home running as normal may be a bit at odds with the sort you may want to take camping! With a camping set up, you may want more modest power, and maybe a solar panel to recharge each day.
Another vote for Ecoflow. We have Delta 2 & the expansion unit which triples the capacity. Great back up at home in power cuts.
I use one or both in my microcamper depending on length of trip.
Take the main unit as extra redundancy in main van or for occasional use as a standalone invertor
Good point above on the weight trap. One reframe that helps once you're choosing: think in kWh, then divide by the appliance's kW for rough run-time. That shows the fridge/freezer is the easy win - it only pulls power when the compressor cycles (maybe 1-2kWh across a day), so even a modest 1-2kWh pack can nurse it through most cuts. A fan heater is the opposite: resistive heating is the worst load for a battery - a 2kW heater empties a 1kWh unit in under half an hour. I'd keep the pack for the fridge, router, phones and short air-fryer bursts, and heat with bottled gas.
Two things nobody's flagged: if you want the fridge covered while you're out or asleep, look for a true UPS/pass-through mode - it switches over in milliseconds so the fridge never drops out (worth testing when it lands). And for a unit sitting as home backup for years, LiFePO4 cells earn their keep - many more charge cycles, and happy stored charged indoors.
The modular route others mentioned also solves the home-vs-caravan weight clash: carry the head unit camping, leave the expansion battery at home. Happy to rough out sizing for your actual appliances if that helps.
A day of all things motorhome and campervan. The show is held both in the main indoor arena and across the grounds. Catering, hot drinks and food options are available. Easy access to the site and free parking included. Win one of five pairs of day tickets
Topic: Power. Pack for caravan AND home
via mobile 21/6/2026 at 5:37pm
