four days off grid (1 Viewer)

Nov 18, 2011
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well we had a fantastic time at uttoxeter and spent four days off gride with out any power issues.

we had have three leisure battery's and still had lodes of power left think we could have went another few days if only we had taken more gas.:Blush:

well think we will be OK if we go touring during the winter without hookup now and never stay on a camp site.

and summer will be a so essay with different problems of corce.:RollEyes:

so wild camp Europe her we come fingers crossed.::bigsmile:
 

Janine

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Spending the evenings in the hall saved on power usage in the 'van.

The 6kg bottle of gas fed the cooker, water heater and fire without running out but our leisure battery was just on the verge of dying when we left yesterday. Charged up on the way home so all ready for the next big adventure! ::bigsmile:
 
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Wildbill
Nov 18, 2011
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Spending the evenings in the hall saved on power usage in the 'van.

The 6kg bottle of gas fed the cooker, water heater and fire without running out but our leisure battery was just on the verge of dying when we left yesterday. Charged up on the way home so all ready for the next big adventure! ::bigsmile:
well the next big adventure is on the horizon but have to go back to work in the next few days just got to unload the van now.:Sad:

then drain down the system before freezing takes hold. :RollEyes:

but had another fab weekend:thumb:

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hilldweller

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we had have three leisure battery's and still had lodes of power left think we could have went another few days

On the basis we manage that easily on a single battery you should have managed a week at least.

Gas can be a problem in freezing conditions. We've only one 11kg tank and I think that would be our weakness once below freezing.
 
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Wildbill
Nov 18, 2011
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On the basis we manage that easily on a single battery you should have managed a week at least.

Gas can be a problem in freezing conditions. We've only one 11kg tank and I think that would be our weakness once below freezing.

our gas looker seems to be warm even when it gets very cold as it is right behind the gas fire.

the problem we have is we can only fit a kg tank in the locker but never seam to have problems with freezing of the gas.

any way if you have blown air heating why don't you redirect sum of the heat to you're gas locker use sum-thing the size of hover hose that i Wait i used

it may work it worked with the water tank on my first van and i warmed the gas looker to as the pipe went thought the locker.

and we went camping in sum pretey cold Werther in that sum times well below freezing.

i stayed in it during the winter of 1998/99 in Scotland up near invegordon when i was working on a rig up there and as you know it gets dam cold up there.
 

thehutchies

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We had over 600Ah of battery power on board for the meet.
Lasted about 5 hours :roflmto:

I'm beginning to wonder if there's a problem...

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hilldweller

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our gas looker seems to be warm even when it gets very cold as it is right behind the gas fire.

Sorry, did not make that clear, it was quantity of gas not the gas freezing. When it's cold and heat is on 24hrs it shifts some gas. From memory, less than a week out of a full tank. But in the summer we barely empty one tank, which is how it should be.
 

haganap

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Well my batteries lasted no problems at all.

A couple of times running the engine and firing up the superb b2b charger and all was good. We microwaved something every morning or tea time via the inverter, our heating remained on all the time. Not once did our Honda Genny come out of its locker.... Could be coming to an eBay near you :winky:

So skiing here we come....
 
May 12, 2011
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I was quite pleased to get through New Year at Uttoxeter on the batteries. We had the heating on quite a lot of the time and the usual consumption.
When I saw there was a horse called Ohm's Law running, it seemed an omen - it came 4th!

Evening usage was kept down as we spent the time in the hall with good company and Janine and Barry's excellent entertainment.

Haganap did offer his generator as my batteries started to dip, but then he produced the sun to allow the solar panels to kick in....blue skies in Uttoxeter

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haganap

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Great Picture Detnor, How do you get it big like that in the forum?:RollEyes:

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Wildbill
Nov 18, 2011
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detnor have you got any more pictures if so can you mack a folder this one i fantastic
 

jonandshell

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well we had a fantastic time at uttoxeter and spent four days off gride with out any power issues.

we had have three leisure battery's and still had lodes of power left think we could have went another few days if only we had taken more gas.:Blush:

well think we will be OK if we go touring during the winter without hookup now and never stay on a camp site.

and summer will be a so essay with different problems of corce.:RollEyes:

so wild camp Europe her we come fingers crossed.::bigsmile:

Sounds like you're hooked on NOT being hooked-up Bill!::bigsmile:

When are we going to see you on some skis?:roflmto:

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Wildbill
Nov 18, 2011
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Sounds like you're hooked on NOT being hooked-up Bill!::bigsmile:

When are we going to see you on some skis?:roflmto:

was hoping to go in February but maybe before the skying season finishes
just have to do sum work now after Christmas to get sum Penny's in the bank::bigsmile:
 

thehutchies

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The sauna we've fitted in the rear slide-out would be great for the après-ski but it's a bugger on the batteries.

Seriously, though, we are having problems that mean we need to drive with the 8.1 litre engine AND the 5.5kW generator running at the same time.

It's great when we drive through Glastonbury; wave after wave of tree-huggers and dolphin-fondlers slam to the ground, unconscious, as we pass.
:Smile:
 

jonandshell

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was hoping to go in February but maybe before the skying season finishes
just have to do sum work now after Christmas to get sum Penny's in the bank::bigsmile:

Make sure you have a word with Haggers about preparing your van for the conditions Bill.
You might find, with enough gas to burn, the old girl will keep you warm, but your water system will be unusable.:Sad:

Having said that, take enough beer and you could spend all your time being 'entertained' by Paul and Nikki in their nice warm (now fully-winterised) Bessy!!!!:thumb:

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Wildbill
Nov 18, 2011
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Make sure you have a word with Haggers about preparing your van for the conditions Bill.
You might find, with enough gas to burn, the old girl will keep you warm, but your water system will be unusable.:Sad:

Having said that, take enough beer and you could spend all your time being 'entertained' by Paul and Nikki in their nice warm (now fully-winterised) Bessy!!!!:thumb:

hi john most if not all of my water syten is in inboard i have routed sum of the blown air to the locker under the bead Ware the pump and water tank is.

i will only have to box in the wast tank so i can get sum of the hot air round the tank to stop it freezing or lag it and just put a hot air pipe in the wast tank and leave the drainer open or leave the big dump open.

i only have to keep the tank at deg to stop freezing.
the previous owners used to go to French Alps with it.

the only thing that will give me concern will be the engine compartment.
 

oldun

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Spending the evenings in the hall saved on power usage in the 'van.

The 6kg bottle of gas fed the cooker, water heater and fire without running out but our leisure battery was just on the verge of dying when we left yesterday. Charged up on the way home so all ready for the next big adventure! ::bigsmile:

What is your typical load on the 12V each day? We all have vastly different requirements so it's hard to judge how long we could survive with a single 110Ahr battery and, as yet, no solar panel. Your are lucky to be able to have three batteries, many motorhomes would not have the space or payload to carry such a large and heavy load.

We have no telly but we do use the computers rather a lot and our Kindles so our 12V demand is very low.

We are often assessing campsites for a guide and when on site as assessors we have the good fortune of getting an ehu.
 

haganap

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What is your typical load on the 12V each day? We all have vastly different requirements so it's hard to judge how long we could survive with a single 110Ahr battery and, as yet, no solar panel. Your are lucky to be able to have three batteries, many motorhomes would not have the space or payload to carry such a large and heavy load.

We have no telly but we do use the computers rather a lot and our Kindles so our 12V demand is very low.

We are often assessing campsites for a guide and when on site as assessors we have the good fortune of getting an ehu.

Much will depend on your own needs.

It is almost impossible to predict.

You have a battery, you try it, it fails, you add another, you try it, it fails, you add a solar panel, then another, then a generator and in our case swop that for a B2B charger. We have an inverter, a microwave, laptops, hair dryers, straightners all sucking power art some point during our adventures.

However, we have been away 5 days just now, no hook up at all, fired up the b2b for an hour or 2 and survived no problem, we had the heating on constant which in our van is a massive drain (through the blower)

It's taken years for us to get it right, so long in fact that the kids rarely come with us no more :roflmto: so could probably get away with much less. ::bigsmile:

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jonandshell

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As Haggers has already said, tuning your 12V system to your own requirements is the key. If you aren't into extreme winter use, you will need less battery capacity and fewer recharging gadgets.
During the summer months, we use a 240V kettle to save gas. Our battery bank will stand the abuse so why not?
We have the capacity because we never use EHU and our system is tuned towards ski trips and winter use.
In the alps we have an endurance of about 4 days and a recharging time of less than 3hrs.

Our vital statistics are a 160A Alternator to Battery charger and 345Ah of traction batteries.

Blown air heaters are a big draw in winter conditions. They have to be run 24/7 to prevent freezing. Despite that, we are able to have 2 or 3 hours of telly each night without unduly harming battery endurance.

If you don't go off-grid in winter, then don't listen to us geeks and use the extra payload you have for beer!:roflmto:
 
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Wildbill
Nov 18, 2011
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As Haggers has already said, tuning your 12V system to your own requirements is the key. If you aren't into extreme winter use, you will need less battery capacity and fewer recharging gadgets.
During the summer months, we use a 240V kettle to save gas. Our battery bank will stand the abuse so why not?
We have the capacity because we never use EHU and our system is tuned towards ski trips and winter use.
In the alps we have an endurance of about 4 days and a recharging time of less than 3hrs.

Our vital statistics are a 160A Alternator to Battery charger and 345Ah of traction batteries.
Blown air heaters are a big draw in winter conditions. They have to be run 24/7 to prevent freezing. Despite that, we are able to have 2 or 3 hours of telly each night without unduly harming battery endurance.

If you don't go off-grid in winter, then don't listen to us geeks and use the extra payload you have for beer!:roflmto:

turning out to be a good thread this full of info:thumb:
 

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