Bluetti’s latest car charger can quickly charge power stations at a very fast 1200W — about 10 times faster than plugging it into the 12V cigarette lighter outlet. The Charger 2, as it’s called, can also reverse the flow of electrons to jump-start your vehicle or maintain its starter battery when used with a Bluetti power station like the Apex300.
For perspective, I typically consume about 1.6kWh per day from power stations when vanlifing around Europe. So, in perfect conditions (that don’t exist), I’d only have to drive about 75 minutes to recoup a day’s worth of energy if using the Charger 2.
The DC-DC charger hits that maximum 1200W charge rate by simultaneously combining up to 800W of spare capacity from the vehicle’s alternator and up to 400W from any installed solar panels on the vehicle’s rooftop. When parked, it can feed up to 600W of solar power into a connected power station without draining the starter battery.
Installation of the Charger 2 — like most alternator chargers — is pretty straightforward, making it a DIY project for many Verge readers, so long as your comfortable snaking cables through your interior panels and connecting them to your starter battery. Things get more complicated if you want to add solar panels or expand the system with a separate DC Hub from Bluetti that can feed 12 volts to devices like lights, a fridge, or a Starlink terminal wired into your rig.
Bluetti says its Charger 2 is compatible with 95 percent of power stations available on the market. However, the reverse charging aspects only work with Bluetti power stations. Almost every maker of power stations — including DJI, Jackery, and EcoFlow — now offer alternator chargers, and they typically work best when used within their own product lineups.
The Charger 2 is available now for a CES special price of $349, rising to $599 after February 7th. Bluetti’s original, and less capable, Charger 1 alternator charger cost $399 at launch, which was usually discounted when sold in power station bundles. The Charger 2 can reuse the old cabling of the Charger 1, making it a drop-in replacement for anyone looking to upgrade. Charger 1 owners are being offered a $99 upgrade price good for three days.