I’ll be straight with you – when I first heard about this, I thought someone was having me on. Charging your EcoFlow Delta Pro or Allpowers portable battery from the same charging points used by Teslas and Leafs? Sounds mental. But it’s not only possible, it’s actually being done by campervans and motorhomes across the UK right now.
The question is whether it makes any bloody sense for the rest of us.
The Technical Reality (It Actually Works)
Here’s the thing – those Type 2 EV charging points you see scattered around Tesco car parks and service stations? They’re not outputting some mystical EV-only electricity. They’re providing standard 230V AC mains power, just with a fancy connector and some communication protocols to talk to electric cars.
Which means with the right adapter, you can tap into them.
Companies like Bobil Vans and Tough Leads sell Type 2 to CEE adapters (that’s the blue camping hookup connector) for around £180. You plug one end into the EV charger, the other into your standard campsite hookup cable, and Bob’s your uncle – you’re drawing mains power to charge your portable power station.
Can You Charge Your Portable Power Station From An EV Charger? Yes. Should You? That’s Complicated.
I’ll be straight with you – when I first heard about this, I thought someone was having me on. Charging your EcoFlow Delta Pro or Allpowers portable battery from the same charging points used by Teslas and Leafs? Sounds mental. But it’s not only possible, it’s actually being done by campervans and motorhomes across the UK right now.
The question is whether it makes any bloody sense for the rest of us.
The Technical Reality (It Actually Works)
Here’s the thing – those Type 2 EV charging points you see scattered around Tesco car parks and service stations? They’re not outputting some mystical EV-only electricity. They’re providing standard 230V AC mains power, just with a fancy connector and some communication protocols to talk to electric cars.
Which means with the right adapter, you can tap into them.
Companies like Bobil Vans and Tough Leads sell Type 2 to CEE adapters (that’s the blue camping hookup connector) for around £180. You plug one end into the EV charger, the other into your standard campsite hookup cable, and Bob’s your uncle – you’re drawing mains power to charge your portable power station.
What You Actually Need
The shopping list is straightforward enough:
The Essential Bit:
- Type 2 to CEE adapter (£180 from Bobil Vans or similar)
- Your existing campsite hookup lead
- Your portable power station’s AC charger
The adapter has switches that trick the charging point into thinking a car is connected. Turn switch A on to tell it something’s plugged in, switch B to start the juice flowing. Some chargers don’t even need this faff – they just start when you connect.
The Catch: This only works with untethered Type 2 chargers – the ones with a socket where you bring your own cable. Those rapid chargers at motorway services with the cable permanently attached? Forget it. They use different connectors (CCS, CHAdeMO) and even if they didn’t, they’re designed for high-voltage DC fast charging, not this sort of bodge.
Let’s Talk Money (This Is Where It Gets Interesting)
Right, the maths. Because spending £180 on a cable demands proper justification.
UK public EV charging costs as of late 2025:
- Slow/fast chargers (7-22kW): Around 52p per kWh
- Rapid chargers (50kW+): Around 76p per kWh
For comparison:
- Home electricity (standard tariff): ~26p per kWh
- Home off-peak (EV tariffs): ~7-9p per kWh
Let’s say you’ve got an EcoFlow Delta Pro with a 3.6kWh capacity. Charging it from empty costs:
- At a slow public EV charger: £1.87
- At home on standard tariff: £0.94
- At home off-peak: £0.32
So you’re paying roughly double what home charging costs, assuming you hit a slow charger. If you somehow end up at a rapid charger (which probably won’t work anyway), you’re looking at £2.74 for the same juice.
The Break-Even Calculation:
If you’re thinking “I’ll use this instead of campsites,” let’s run those numbers. Average campsite hookup costs anywhere from £5-15 per night, but you’re also getting a pitch, facilities, and typically unlimited power.
With the EV charger adapter, you’re paying:
- £180 upfront for the adapter
- 52p per kWh every time you charge
- Plus the ongoing cost of convincing EV owners you’re not a complete bellend for blocking their charging space
To break even against simply charging at home (where most van lifers do their power top-ups): £180 ÷ (£0.94 – £0.52) = 428 charging sessions
That’s 428 times you’d need to charge away from home where an EV charger was both available and more convenient than waiting until you got back to your driveway.
The Practical Problems Nobody Mentions
It’s Controversial As Hell:
Let me paint you a picture. You rock up to a Tesco with four EV charging bays. Three are occupied by actual electric cars. The fourth has your diesel Sprinter parked in it, cable snaking out to charge your leisure batteries.
An electric car pulls up. Their battery’s at 8%. They need to get to Manchester. And you’re sitting there topping up so you can run your coffee machine.
The van life community is already dealing with enough negative perception without adding “EV charging space hoggers” to the list. Some charging networks explicitly state their points are for electric vehicles only. You might not technically be breaking the law, but you’re absolutely breaking an unspoken social contract.
It’s Painfully Slow:
Most portable power stations charge at 1-2kW maximum from AC. Even if you’re plugged into a 7kW charger, your battery’s internal charger is the bottleneck. That 3.6kWh Delta Pro? You’re looking at 2-3 hours minimum to full, assuming you started from empty.
During which time you’re occupying a charging bay that could be getting someone’s car to 80% in 30 minutes.
Limited Compatibility:
You need untethered Type 2 chargers. Tesla Superchargers? Nope – wrong connector and they’re rapid DC chargers anyway. Ionity? Same problem. Pod Point at your local supermarket? Maybe, if they’re the older untethered type.
The newer rapid chargers being installed across the UK are almost all tethered CCS or CHAdeMO. This adapter trick only works with the slower, older-style Type 2 AC chargers, which are gradually being phased out.
Where This Might Actually Make Sense
I’m not going to sit here and tell you this is completely barmy in every situation. There are edge cases:
Emergency Power: Your solar’s knackered, you’re in the middle of nowhere, and you desperately need to charge your fridge battery. An EV charger could save your bacon. For £1.87 to top up 3.6kWh, that’s cheaper than finding a campsite just for hookup.
Long-Term Wild Camping: If you’re posted up somewhere for days and there’s an EV charger nearby with low usage, topping up for a couple quid beats running a generator or finding a campsite. Just don’t take the piss and hog it during busy times.
Scotland in Winter: When solar’s giving you sod all and you’re too far from home to drive back for a charge, having this adapter in your arsenal could be the difference between a functioning fridge and warm beer.
The Verdict: Clever Backup, Terrible Strategy
Here’s my honest take after working through all this: buying a £180 adapter to charge your portable power stations from EV chargers is a solution looking for a problem for most van lifers.
If you’ve got home charging, solar, and a B2B setup, you’ll probably use this adapter about three times before it lives permanently in that box of “seemed like a good idea” kit under your bed. The break-even point is so far away that you’d have paid off a proper solar expansion instead.
But – and this is important – as an emergency backup option for people who spend serious time off-grid? It’s not completely daft. Just don’t kid yourself it’s saving you money compared to sorting your primary charging properly.
My recommendation: Fix your main charging setup first. Get decent solar, sort your B2B, maybe add a second battery. Then, if you regularly find yourself in situations where you’re genuinely stuck for power and there’s an underutilised EV charger nearby, consider the adapter.
Just don’t be that person blocking the only working charger at a motorway services with your diesel van while you charge your bloody coffee machine.
The technology works. The maths is questionable. The optics are terrible. Use your judgment.
