My Leisure Battery Setup. (1 Viewer)

[LesW]

Our recently acquired Inca came with a 75amp hour battery (down from a standard 85ah!?) and a 100watt solar panel, plus a fancy controller..

I read on the forum about others having literally hundreds of amp hour batteries fitted..!! it makes ours look a bit feeble, we have no TV, just use lights and water pump etc..

So the 'long piece of string' question for the more experienced ... does this sound sufficient for two or three days without EHU?

 

[hilldweller]

Plenty !

Make sure you have LED lights, saving 90% current.

You should go a week on that with no sunlight.

Do you have blown hot air ? That takes a few amps when blowing.

 

[funflair]

Yes


And that's from someone with hundreds of ah's and hundreds of watts of solar, but if you don't use lots you don't need lots it's only extra weight.

Martin

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[LesW]

Excellent replies chaps! many thanks... we do have blown air, but tend to use just the 'radiation' heating (I think that's what it's called).
Fills me with confidence... off to France next month for at least three weeks, will be using aires and some sites.

Les.

 

[hilldweller]

Fills me with confidence... off to France next month for at least three weeks, will be using aires and some sites.
Les.

Excellent plan and good timescale. Some think they can do France Spain Italy Germany in that time. Whereas the old hands....."Hey this is good, lets stay".

The question you did not ask: we manage a month on one 12kg gas tank in the better weather.

 

[WillH]

Before we had a solar panel a 100Ah battery would last us for 5 days without EHU if we were careful. Since we've got the panel there is no problem. Only if you intend to use the van in the depth of winter would you have a problem as the heating would eat up the power and there is little sunlight.

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[LesW]

I forgot about the gas.. we have two 11kg 'GasIt' refillable bottles too.

One of the benefits of buying used I suppose, previous owners have already improved things, also has LED interior lighting (just discovered that).

 

[Two on Tour]

Your hab battery should be charging while your on the move will help thing along.

 

[Just smiffy]

I forgot about the gas.. we have two 11kg 'GasIt' refillable bottles too.

One of the benefits of buying used I suppose, previous owners have already improved things, also has LED interior lighting (just discovered that).

Just make sure you have the adapter for France, you'll have a great time...

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[Geo]

75 Amps Id take 3 spare AAAs with me too
My torch needs more that that
Where am i going wrong? can i run my Jacuzzi pumps on solar will that help

 

[magicsurfbus]

Probably be OK at this time of the year with no telly if you're moving around every few days and not parked forever under a tree. Out of curiosity it might be worth looking online to see if the battery has a NCC rating (A, B, or C). Some batteries are better suited than others to living away from the mains. Our factory fit battery was a C type (EHU dependent), so I switched it for a B type.

If you're on aires you'll be using gas for your fridge more often. We've just spent a month touring France using mainly aires, fridge on gas, a bit of water heating plus the usual cooking, and based on a gas refill half way through I reckon we were easily using less than a litre of gas a day. An 11Kg cylinder should get you though 3 weeks, especially if you occasionally have EHU.

Afterthought - as the vehicle is second hand, have you checked the resting voltage of the leisure battery when there's no solar input? 12.7v or above would be good news, whilst much lower would not.

 

[LesW]

Afterthought - as the vehicle is second hand, have you checked the resting voltage of the leisure battery when there's no solar input? 12.7v or above would be good news, whilst much lower would not.

The control panel shows a constant 14+ volts without EHU.. but with solar input, I haven't tried turning off the solar panel (leave sleeping dogs..etc)

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[magicsurfbus]

The control panel shows a constant 14+ volts without EHU.. but with solar input, I haven't tried turning off the solar panel (leave sleeping dogs..etc)

No need - just take a look at the panel last thing before beddie byes