All Electric.

bigfred

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Not quite an old codger yet but not far off and we are starting to think about travelling. In post Corvid world flying no longer seems appropriate. Looking at motorhomes with end bath, couple single beds and not too long.

I want everything from the toilet (slopping out is out of the question) to the heating to be fully electric, i dont want any gas on board as its bad for the environment. Being a techie ive done some bag of the fag packet calculations to see whats possible.

Using some of the modules from the tesla car (6 of them) would give an energy budget of 22.4 KWH per day, recharged of a high output 24v alternator (would take 2 hours tops). Anyone done this already - gone down the all electric route?

tesla module - 5.3kwh 24v x 6 32kwh (22.4 @ 70% charge) 156kg total
alternator 24v - 500a - 12kw


shower mira digital (non heating) 100w - 10 mins 1kw of hot water
underfloor heating - 220w/m2 10m2 - 2.2kwh on max

domestic combi microwave/oven bosche CMG676BS6B 3.6kw
domestic 2 zone inductoin hob smeg max 5kw on boost both zones 3.2kwh max normal
hot water instant unit 9kw
liginting/tv/charge phones etc - 2kwh per day
fridge freezer domestic A+++ 230kwh per annum ~ 0.65kwh per day


24 hour energy budget for 2 people

2 showers = 3kw
fridge = 0.65kw
heating (assume cold on high for average of 5 hours throughout the day/night)) = 8kwh
liginting/tv/charge phones etc - 2kw
cooking for around 1 hour - 4kw
hot water tap 5 mins continuos - 1.5kw
Incinertor toilet - 1kwh average


total budget - 20.5kwh

left in battery 1.9kwh

time to charge approx 2 hours
 
Gas on board is nowhere near as bad as driving a Diesel vehicle (I assume it is) anywhere. How do you intend to power the alternator? Are you considering solar power in addition to anything else? With the correct roof layout it could make a substantial contribution. I like your thinking but I'm not sure there's much to be gained by not using gas - a higher energy source than anything else.
 
And there lay your first problem, finding a Tesla charging point on a aire or campsite.
All the Dutch were plugging their Teslas into the standard 16 amp supply on the campsite we stopped at last year with no problem!
 
All the Dutch were plugging their Teslas into the standard 16 amp supply on the campsite we stopped at last year with no problem!

Aire with a 16 amp are not the norm !

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And there lay your first problem, finding a Tesla charging point on a aire or campsite.

no you misunderstand. All charging from the engine while travelling.
 
I look forward to viewing an all electric self emptying toilet. ;)
Going to need deep pockets and a long wait for your requirements.
Welcome to the forum.w2f

they are widely available. Cant spend 60k+ on a motorhome and then have to slop out. not going to happen!

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For clarification, are we talking a vehicle propelled by electric here or just the habitation being all electric?

If the vehicle is diesel powered, it seems that producing heating and hot water from the diesel would not add massively to the carbon footprint and everything else could easily be accommodated by sufficient solar power. And indeed that seems to be the way that most go for to get to a gas-free solution. And by "not wanting slopping out" does that mean you are looking at a combusting toilet (which are generally gas-powered in the mobile mode rather than the land-based electric version)?
 
Gas on board is nowhere near as bad as driving a Diesel vehicle (I assume it is) anywhere. How do you intend to power the alternator? Are you considering solar power in addition to anything else? With the correct roof layout it could make a substantial contribution. I like your thinking but I'm not sure there's much to be gained by not using gas - a higher energy source than anything else.

i did look at solar but the amount of panels required to make any significant dent would be something like 12 van roofs. So just using the engine as we will be travelling anyway, will take a hit on mpg's of course but im happy with the compromise.
 
For clarification, are we talking a vehicle propelled by electric here or just the habitation being all electric?

If the vehicle is diesel powered, it seems that producing heating and hot water from the diesel would not add massively to the carbon footprint and everything else could easily be accommodated by sufficient solar power. And indeed that seems to be the way that most go for to get to a gas-free solution. And by "not wanting slopping out" does that mean you are looking at a combusting toilet (which are generally gas-powered in the mobile mode rather than the land-based electric version)?

yes normal diesel, electric vans are a way off due to the weight. Licences will have to be changed to accomodate the electric drive train.

I'm really not impressed with the equipment on even high end motorhomes. I think I will go all 240v and use decent domestic stuff. Same for the incinerator toilet. Question is getting one built with no gas and the wired ready for the battery packs, charger/inverters.
 
Question is getting one built with no gas and the wired ready for the battery packs, charger/inverters.
As long as you can arrange for all the 'heavy' electrics to be in one accessible location wiring (which is more like plumbing for your arrangement :giggle: ) will not be difficult or complex. Difficulties are caused when trying to add heavy duty stuff to an existing build where power supply gear is installed wherever it will fit. What size vehicle are you considering?
 
I think it is all do-able as long as the heating and hot water is done by diesel. Instantaneous hot water by electric is a stretch even for some old houses, with a shower rated at 40A and the main fuse at 60A. But heating and storing hot water almost as a by-product of travelling makes sense.

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Since a lot of your heating requirement is heating water, and you're carrying the water with you as you drive, heating it from the engine cooling system seems an obvious way to go. You may need a bigger than normal hot water tank. Vacuum/foil insulation is the best for volume and weight.

Another possibility, often overlooked, is a 'heat battery'. It's a compact heat store made of molten salts, and can be heated either from the engine cooling, alternator power or excess solar power. Its heat can be used to heat tap water or the underfloor heating you mention. It's cheaper and more compact than electric batteries for a given energy storage capacity.

Also don't overlook the simple solar hot water heating - a black panel on the roof with water circulating to heat the water in the tank, either direct or indirect, with a solar-powered pump.
 
I'm looking at something like that myself. I was thinking of going to 48V - a B2B, Charger/inverter, solar controller and batteries all 48V. Then a 48 to 12V converter to run the habitation stuff that's 12V. 240V for the rest. Sticking to 12V for high power throughout the motorhome means hosepipe-sized copper wires all over the place.

You could run two 5kW inverters in parallel for the 9kW water heater, and that's a massive 750 amps at 12V but 'only' 187A at 48V.
 
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I want everything from the toilet (slopping out is out of the question) to the heating to be fully electric, i dont want any gas on board as its bad for the environment. Being a techie ive done some bag of the fag packet calculations to see whats possible.

Think you should have got a bigger fag packet.

Firstly if using mains electric to power that lot, 40% of electricity in the UK is produced by gas. OK so you won't be able to use mains electricity, because that is similarly bad for the environment.

Secondly, charging from a diesel engine using an alternator developing at least 12kw. Diesel is far worse for the environment than gas.

Wind turbine perhaps?
 
I agree, 24v generation and storage with a stabilised 12v services supply is not hard to do using truck electrics. Even better would be 48volt although sourcing a generator less easy. Above that we run into dangerous DC voltages so greater care needed in design. As an example electric cars run on 400VDC, fire crews etc have special training on how to handle a damaged car with potentially lethal voltages present.

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My 2 penneth
24 kw battery would take about 6 to 7 hours on a 16 amp mains hook up
By an alternator....timings of 2 hours sound far fetched

a full size electric car battery is heavy as well

You have run out of free posts, I expect that will be the biggest challenge of all ??
 
Our Aldi heat exchanger works beautifully,
 
For clarification, are we talking a vehicle propelled by electric here or just the habitation being all electric?

If the vehicle is diesel powered, it seems that producing heating and hot water from the diesel would not add massively to the carbon footprint and everything else could easily be accommodated by sufficient solar power. And indeed that seems to be the way that most go for to get to a gas-free solution. And by "not wanting slopping out" does that mean you are looking at a combusting toilet (which are generally gas-powered in the mobile mode rather than the land-based electric version)?
Wallas produce the very thing a hob with habitation heater combined works off Diesel from engines fuel tank. 9 Ltr electric water heater Works off EHU or inventor We love our Set up.
 
Out of Freebies will he join??

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