battery useage (1 Viewer)

chrisgreen

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Jul 26, 2009
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parked at shrewsbury fri,sat sun, mon-morning,useing batteries as our only power,2 times 110ah batteries,wife used hairdryer 3 times through 2000 watt inverter,telly for no more than about 5 hours,waterpump used alot lights used alot fan in roof used while cooking and forgot to turn it off while eating so possibly run for an hour over the weekend,out side light used every night,and no solar or genny needed all weekend,measured batteries mon morning 12.42 volts and no chargeing,till we got home:thumb:
 
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chrisgreen

chrisgreen

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Jul 26, 2009
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so what the hell do you want that super-duper 50amp battery charger for Chris ? :ROFLMAO:
thinking that myself:Doh:
had it with me aswell but never needed it:RollEyes:
forgot to mention charged up phones,pad,and e fag,and mifi dongle aswell

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chrisgreen

chrisgreen

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so what the hell do you want that super-duper 50amp battery charger for Chris ? :ROFLMAO:
but why does anybody need solar for a four day stay off grid?
i think the biggest difference is the new four stage charger fitted to the van as the batteries were fully charged before i left and were fully conditioned:thumb:
 

pappajohn

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but why does anybody need solar for a four day stay off grid?
i think the biggest difference is the new four stage charger fitted to the van as the batteries were fully charged before i left and were fully conditioned:thumb:
That's odd Chris, I have two of them....one on the hookup and one on the solar panel....both 4 stage chargers, but still suffer from premature evacuation (of the battery volts) :winky::roflmto:

maybe my batteries are getting a little tired :Doh:
 
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Jaws

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Sep 26, 2008
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Last time out for us was a 10 day stint .. and to be fair me and woman are both telly addicts so proly 6 hours a day ( BIG telly ) +sat system + all the usual gubbings like two pumps, lights and all the usual chargers

Two 110 Ah bats with 180w ( max ) of solar power ( and I would say 7 out of the 10 days was VERY dull and overcast
 

darklord

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Apr 28, 2011
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I have two lesiures, and am about to add another one, that,ll do us for a week easily, but we dont do TV, just the laptop for a film now and then.
I,m going to upgrade the alternator....that,ll just about do us thanks.:thumb:

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canopus

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I have two lesiures, and am about to add another one, that,ll do us for a week easily, but we dont do TV, just the laptop for a film now and then.
I,m going to upgrade the alternator....that,ll just about do us thanks.:thumb:

Wonder how much you will decrease your payload by with all that lead ?:ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:
 

darklord

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About the same as a genny or a load of solar panels and a TV I would have thought:ROFLMAO:
 

JJ

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May 1, 2008
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I have been parked up on and off for over twenty years... :ROFLMAO:

SO, I have four solar panels and three 110 batteries and a genny and a B2B Sterling charger and a Battery Mate from Road Pro (not wired in yet) in the home vehicle...

...and two solar panels, two batteries and a genny in the holiday vehicle...

Solar panels and batteries are like cold beers in the fridge... you can never have too many of them... :winky:

JJ :Cool:

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slobadoberbob

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Jun 1, 2009
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yes but you are in the sun JJ

I have been parked up on and off for over twenty years... :ROFLMAO:

SO, I have four solar panels and three 110 batteries and a genny and a B2B Sterling charger and a Battery Mate from Road Pro (not wired in yet) in the home vehicle...

...and two solar panels, two batteries and a genny in the holiday vehicle...

Solar panels and batteries are like cold beers in the fridge... you can never have too many of them... :winky:

JJ :Cool:

You have a big advantage JJ - sun... in the UK we do not seem to see that much of it these days.

As long as I have plenty of fuel on board at Rutland next week I will have all the power I want.

Bob:Blush:
 

magicsurfbus

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I have 1 x 110 Amp battery, 1 x 85W monocrystalline solar panel, all LED lighting, every gadget in the van runs off the 12v (telly, sat box, laptop, various chargers, wife's hair straighteners etc), the 230v inverter is disconnected and redundant, and I can't remember the last time we used a hookup. My Aldi bargain generator is still sitting unused in its unopened box. For the last 12 months the alternator has not been putting power into the leisure battery when we're driving and we're still OK (although the fridge won't do 12v). I hope to get that fixed soon.

Typically we'll do 3-4 weeks away in summer and shorter trips the rest of the time. The battery is usually topped up by mid-day between spring and autumn. I fully appreciate that winter might be a different prospect but I have to get older and retire before I can try that option.
 
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Snowbird

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If you are constantly on campsites with hookup solar panels and extra batteries are a complete waste of money. But if you use your motorhome as it was intended ie NOT as a static caravan but as a means to see distant places and be free of the constraints of having to stop where and when there is a campsite then alternative energy is not an expensive luxury, but a necessity.
Its horses for courses, and it all depends what you use your camper for. As one funster put it a few days ago. "Some motorhomes are just expensive log cabins".
Like JJ, I have not had hookup in years and don't even know if the hookup works on the motorhome I have now as I don't have a hookup cable any more.

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Apr 27, 2008
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WE have 4x80w solar panels which was a ridiculous overprovision for France/Spain last month. We use the electric kettle all the time when away as it doesn't heat up the van like one on a gas ring, also saves gas. Solar is mainly running kettle and hairdrier but also the Turbovent (Max speed 2-3A) which was running 24/7 in the hot weather. I have thought of having some sort of switchover to run the fridge via inverter when its sunny, anyone any thoughts.
 

Snowbird

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WE have 4x80w solar panels which was a ridiculous overprovision for France/Spain last month. We use the electric kettle all the time when away as it doesn't heat up the van like one on a gas ring, also saves gas. Solar is mainly running kettle and hairdrier but also the Turbovent (Max speed 2-3A) which was running 24/7 in the hot weather. I have thought of having some sort of switchover to run the fridge via inverter when its sunny, anyone any thoughts.
The simple solution is wire the fridge 12volt side to the leisure batteries instead of the engine.
 
Apr 27, 2008
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The simple solution is wire the fridge 12volt side to the leisure batteries instead of the engine.

Simple but there is no thermostat on the 12v bit, hence wishing to use 230v via inverter. I haven't really given it much thought yet, I need to explore where the wiring goes.

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Snowbird

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Many that have large solar/battery systems do wire the 12volt side of the fridge to the leisure batteries and keep any eye on the state of the batteries, switching over to gas when they are becoming discharged. If using the inverter to power the fridge it will of course waste power.
 

magicsurfbus

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You only have to stand on your MH roof in an aire (if you're still able to get up the ladder :winky:) and look around you to see how universal solar panels are now. I woudn't be surprised if they're standard fit on some models - they certainly ought to be.

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pappajohn

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The simple solution is wire the fridge 12volt side to the leisure batteries instead of the engine.
if the fridge is an absorption type it will draw around 10amps constantly on 12v when its turned on.

240amps per day.... that's the equivalent of 5 x 110ah batteries.....that will take some replacing each day :Eeek:
 

Snowbird

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if the fridge is an absorption type it will draw around 10amps constantly on 12v when its turned on.

240amps per day.... that's the equivalent of 5 x 110ah batteries.....that will take some replacing each day :Eeek:
Thats as maybe John, but if your producing more solar power than you can use its best to divert it somewhere as into the fridge. As I said its a case of keeping your eye on the battery levels and then switching back over to gas when they get down.
 

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