The BatBlock 25 with the Kings 120Ah lithium battery has been in the back of our Prado for a year, and it has been working awesome. It’s a battery box with the charger, monitor, sockets and switch already wired in: you put the battery in, plug your solar panel into it and it keeps the battery topped up. We paid $780 for the combo deal, the BatBlock and the battery together.
What’s in the box
The BatBlock 25 is a black battery box with a blue carry handle, made for batteries up to 120Ah. Built into it are a 25A DC-DC charger with a solar input, a digital battery monitor, a 15A cigarette socket, USB-A and USB-C ports, quick connect plugs, a master isolator switch and positive and negative terminals. The combo adds the Kings 120Ah lithium battery, a 12 kg LiFePO4 battery with 1,536 Wh.
What we like
- Plug and play, pre-wired
- 25A DC-DC charger with solar input
- Monitor shows the Ah left
- 120Ah lithium, 1,536 Wh
- Isolator switch and 15A socket
- A year with no issues
What we don’t
- Heavy with the battery in
- Solar input max 300 W
Quick Specs
| Spec | Details |
|---|---|
| Brand | Adventure Kings |
| Model | AKEP-PREMBATBOX25A_01 |
| Weight | Battery 12 kg |
| Size | 44.1 × 23.6 × 34 cm |
| Battery | 120Ah LiFePO412.8V1,536 Wh2,000+ cycles |
| Charging | 25A DC-DC from the alternatorSolar input up to 300 WMPPT |
| Output | 200A terminals50A quick connect plugs15A cig socketUSB-A and USB-C |
| Warranty | 2 years |
Our setup: solar on the roofOur setup
The BatBlock is permanently installed in the back of the Prado. Our Kings 160W semi-flexible solar panel sits on top of the rooftop tent, and a Kings 6m solar extension lead with Anderson plugs runs from the roof to the back of the car. We just plug it into the BatBlock, and the panel keeps the battery topped up while we drive and while we’re parked in the sun. We’ve written up how we set it up, step by step: how to set up a Kings BatBlock.
When we park in the shade, our Kings 240W solar blanket goes out in the sun on a second lead and plugs into the same solar input. In full sun in the middle of the day we measure 12 to 14 amps going into the BatBlock, plenty to keep the battery topped up through a day at camp.
From there it runs our camp. Our Kings 40L fridge plugs into one of the quick connect plugs, and it kept going on our three-week outback trip in over 40 °C heat. Our XTM 12V/24V distribution panel runs off it through an Anderson cable, and the 12V and USB sockets charge our phones and lights.
The 120Ah lithium battery
The Kings 120Ah lithium is a LiFePO4 battery: 12.8V, 1,536 Wh and rated for over 2,000 charge cycles. It weighs 12 kg and fits the BatBlock exactly: the box takes batteries up to 330 × 173 × 220 mm, and the battery is 330 × 170 × 220 mm. A strap holds it down inside.
The battery can take up to 120A continuous and 150A for five seconds, so it has plenty in reserve for a fridge, lights and charging.
Charger and battery monitor
The charger is a 25A DC-DC 3-stage charger with a solar MPPT input, behind a clear cover on the front. You set it to the type of battery you have (LiFePO4 for ours, or calcium, AGM, gel or standard) and three lights show what it’s doing: Fault, Solar and Alternator. It takes up to 300 W of solar, so our 160W panel is well within that. The charger can also charge from the alternator while you drive, through the quick connect plug and a Kings wiring kit, but we’ve never needed it: ours runs on solar only.
The digital battery monitor on the side shows how much is left in the battery, in amp hours or as a percentage. That’s the thing we look at most: a quick glance tells us whether the solar is keeping up.
Sockets and switch
On the side there’s a 15A cigarette socket and USB-A and USB-C ports, each with a cap. Quick connect plugs rated to 50A take Anderson-style plugs like our fridge’s, and the positive and negative terminals take up to 200A for bigger things such as an inverter. A red master isolator switch turns everything off.
BatBlock 25 vs BatBlock 40
Kings makes the BatBlock in two versions, and the label inside the lid compares them. The difference is the charger: the BatBlock 40 charges faster from the alternator and takes more solar, and Kings recommends it for bigger batteries. The outputs are the same. On Amazon, the BatBlock 40 comes with a 100Ah Kings lithium battery rather than the 120Ah in our bundle.
| Tested BatBlock 25 | Bigger charger BatBlock 40 | |
|---|---|---|
| Alternator input | 25 A | 45 A |
| Solar input | 300 W | 500 W |
| Terminals | 200 A | 200 A |
| Quick connect plugs | 50 A | 50 A |
| Cig socket | 15 A | 15 A |
| Recommended battery | 60–250 Ah | 120–400 Ah |
| Battery in the Amazon bundle | 120 Ah | 100 Ah |
| Shop | Amazon | Amazon |
Conclusion: Kings BatBlock 25Conclusion
The BatBlock 25 with the Kings 120Ah lithium battery has been a great buy for us. It’s plug and play: the charger, monitor, sockets and switch come wired in, the battery fits exactly, and the solar panel on the roof plugs straight into it and keeps it topped up. A year on, it has run our fridge on every trip with no issues. It’s heavy with the battery in, and the 25 takes no more than 300 W of solar, but for a single panel and a fridge it’s all we need. At $780 for the box and battery together, we think it’s good value.
A plug-and-play 12V system that has just worked for a year.
The BatBlock 25 with the Kings 120Ah lithium battery lives in the back of our Prado, the solar panel on the roof plugs straight into it and keeps the battery topped up, and it runs our fridge and charges everything else.
- 4WD tourers
- Car campers
- Van-lifers
Yes. $780 got us the BatBlock and a 120Ah lithium battery that fits it exactly, and after a year of trips it has kept our fridge running with no issues.
