Leccy Question (1 Viewer)

Oct 1, 2013
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We do a bit of wild camping in Europe but usually stay on a site every 3 or 4 days to recharge batteries etc.

But I wanna increase our options and get another leisure battery. Currently we have one of these and it's been great for about 18 months.

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So plan to get another the same.

Now I know bugger all about that leccy trickery stuff so would like advice about how to wire it in. Nice and simple please :roflmto:


And I'd like suggestions on a suitable inverter. It will only be used to power a laptop and maybe a tablet.
Again, I don't understand the technical side, so actual suggestions of suitability would be great. Oh and fitting advice appreciated.
Do they have a 3 pin plug to just plug things into ?



Cheers
 
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flatpackchicken

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If you are only using it for charging laptop etc then no need for an big inverter. Better off with a solar panel or 2 for the cost of a big inverter and will keep your batteries charged up so you don't even need to go into a paying site ever. Yes good idea to have a 2nd battery as well but not good idea to put new battery with old one better have 2 new ones together and maybe Banner type or similar about 110a or more the better but watch your weight if you are weight sensitive laden weight I mean lol. You only need a small inverter about 300w type to charge laptop etc but make sure it is turned off whilst charging as draws less power this way also only charge if possible when engine going/travelling or in the morning if parked up so solar panels can recharge during the day. Also when parked up only use the habitation battery to charge stuff and engine battery when engine running Regards Garry flatpackchicken
 
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magicsurfbus

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If you've not already got a solar panel I'd say get one. We have just one 110Ah leisure battery with an 85W panel and haven't had to charge up on a campsite between spring and autumn for years.

As for inverters, ours is gathering dust - I just buy 12v adapters for any electric kit I want to charge, including mobile phones, cameras and the laptop.

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Jaws

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Rather than use an inverter ( as such ) for lappy's and the like, I bought one of these..

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$(KGrHqZHJEMFG5gpPB!kBRwr1rPEHQ~~60_12.JPG


Does it all.. easy to use and above all cheap !
Been using mine for the past 3 or 4 years now...
 
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Yorick
Oct 1, 2013
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Rather than use an inverter ( as such ) for lappy's and the like, I bought one of these..

Broken Link Removed

$(KGrHqZHJEMFG5gpPB!kBRwr1rPEHQ~~60_12.JPG


Does it all.. easy to use and above all cheap !
Been using mine for the past 3 or 4 years now...
Hey, that looks the business and just what I need.:Smile:

I don't believe all what they say about you. I think you are OK :Smile:
 
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Yorick
Oct 1, 2013
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If you've not already got a solar panel I'd say get one. We have just one 110Ah leisure battery with an 85W panel and haven't had to charge up on a campsite between spring and autumn for years.

As for inverters, ours is gathering dust - I just buy 12v adapters for any electric kit I want to charge, including mobile phones, cameras and the laptop.
Dare I ask the cost of the system ?

And is it easy to install ?

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hilldweller

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Two choices....

1 buy another battery = double off hook time.

2 buy a solar panel = maybe never need hook up again.

You can even do 1+2.
 
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Yorick
Oct 1, 2013
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Two choices....

1 buy another battery = double off hook time.

2 buy a solar panel = maybe never need hook up again.

You can even do 1+2.
Do fancy the idea of a solar, but the fridge does get a lot of hammer keeping all the beer cool ;D

In UK maybe not enough sun to power it. And in hot places, the fridge will be flat out fighting the heat.
 
Apr 9, 2013
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Do fancy the idea of a solar, but the fridge does get a lot of hammer keeping all the beer cool ;D

In UK maybe not enough sun to power it. And in hot places, the fridge will be flat out fighting the heat.

Um, typically your fridge is only wired to use 12V from the alternator when driving. It's never powered by your batteries at other times due to the high power consumption.

You couldn't run it on solar even if you wanted to.

Tim

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Yorick
Oct 1, 2013
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Rather than use an inverter ( as such ) for lappy's and the like, I bought one of these..

Broken Link Removed



Does it all.. easy to use and above all cheap !
Been using mine for the past 3 or 4 years now...
Initially that looked OK till I realised that it would need the ignition leaving on and would be drawing power from vehicle battery, rather than the leisure battery :Angry:
 
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Yorick
Oct 1, 2013
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Um, typically your fridge is only wired to use 12V from the alternator when driving. It's never powered by your batteries at other times due to the high power consumption.

You couldn't run it on solar even if you wanted to.

Tim
Aha. We also take a portable fridge that doubles as a cooly box with ice from supermarket to keep beer & wine cool :roflmto:

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Jaws

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Initially that looked OK till I realised that it would need the ignition leaving on and would be drawing power from vehicle battery, rather than the leisure battery :Angry:

Why ? Do you not have any 12v sockets in the hab area ?
If not why not ! !

They are a darn site easier to fit than an inverter !
Any half decent small car parts shop can supply them for about £3.00 a go..

In fact about to add another one or two in my van as this new one only has thee..
 
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Yorick
Oct 1, 2013
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Why ? Do you not have any 12v sockets in the hab area ?
If not why not ! !

They are a darn site easier to fit than an inverter !
Any half decent small car parts shop can supply them for about £3.00 a go..

In fact about to add another one or two in my van as this new one only has thee..

Do you wire them to the leisure battery ?

We do have 3 in the cab, but all to the vee hickle battery
 

magicsurfbus

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Dare I ask the cost of the system ?

And is it easy to install ?

Solar panel prices have been dropping since ours was installed - best guess is a couple of hundred for panel and charge controller plus fixings and cabling, then labour if you pay someone else. There are different types of panel - Monocrystalline is generally considered the most effcient.

You need to secure it on the roof without letting any water through then run a suitable width of cabling through the roof or side panel to the battery via a charge controller using the shortest convenient route.

Personally I paid for a dealership to do it and they managed to cock up the electrics, much to their embarrassment and my annoyance. I got some discount off servicing for that. I'm sure most fitters would do a competent job of it.

I hasten to add that the dealership in question was not one routinely mentioned on this forum.

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Nov 18, 2011
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Why ? Do you not have any 12v sockets in the hab area ?
If not why not ! !

They are a darn site easier to fit than an inverter !
Any half decent small car parts shop can supply them for about £3.00 a go..

In fact about to add another one or two in my van as this new one only has thee..
john 12v sockets do you mene the cig lighter type?
 

hilldweller

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Do fancy the idea of a solar, but the fridge does get a lot of hammer keeping all the beer cool ;D.

If you go 3 or 4 days on 110Ah it's not hammering it that hard, unless you are always on the move and charging.

I've been amazed how much we get out the sun in the UK using a single 100w panel.

The only time we hook up is to cool the fridge at home, ours will not run on 12V and why use gas when we have the 240v.
 

Jaws

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Do you wire them to the leisure battery ?

We do have 3 in the cab, but all to the vee hickle battery

Yep.. just wire them to any 12v feed you can find in the hab area.. Simples ::bigsmile:


john 12v sockets do you mene the cig lighter type?

Cig lighter ones Bill :thumb:

If we meet up at a show or something ( or if you are in my neck of the woods ) happy to nail what you need in place :)

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Sep 10, 2012
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Find a cigar lighter type socket and wire it back to the L/battery with a suitable fuse if you cant find a live 12v wire where you want to charge already connected to the L/b.

Not sure what sort of 12v power distribution/controller system you have in the van but would be better to find a supply from there that is already fused.

Dont leave charger connected all the time - just when its needed.

hth.
 

Jaws

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So can I just wire it up to a leisure battery and leave it attached permanently ?

Yup.. just be sure to put an inline fuse close to the battery .. Easy as an easy thing :thumb:

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sedge

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Mark (CLS) stuck our original one on, dealers transferred it to the Pilote and dunno really what went wrong or who was at fault if anyone, but we landed up needing a new controller and basically refitting and rewiring by a nice independent Moho dealer we happened to come across several years ago near Valras Plage last year. (we'd tried nearly every Pilote dealer we found, they all reckoned they didn't have any technicians. As did Narbonne Accessories in Narbonne. In other words Go away, we can't be bothered.) (We can take a hint. Though we don't notice each other's BO, obviously! :roflmto:)

After that Pete fitted another panel on his own by himself LOL
 
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Yorick
Oct 1, 2013
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Gonna fit a second leisure battery and see about solar panels a bit later.

So how do I wire the new one in ?

I remember summat about series and parallel from school, but it's a bit vague :roflmto:
 
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In our van we have a 12 volt two pin socket by the side of the 240 one so I have wired a double cig socket into the back of the socket box in the side cupboard brought the wire up the back and stuck the cig socket to the table top on the cupboard with super glue, works a treat no screws or wires showing:thumb::thumb:
 
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Yorick
Oct 1, 2013
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Cheers. I'd never have thought of that.

And do I need heavy duty wire ? What size diameter ?


Oh, and if I did fit an inverter or cigar lighter, would it matter which terminals I use ?

I really would like an answer if possible. I know naff all about electrics

Could I use something like this ?

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I seem to remember that there is a length limit ?
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DBK

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I really would like an answer if possible. I know naff all about electrics

Could I use something like this ?

Broken Link Removed

I seem to remember that there is a length limit ?

My instinct is you need professional help (take that how you like!) because get things wrong and you could cause a fire - even with 12 volts. This may be why folk are reluctant to give you replies! ::bigsmile:

However, you should use cables no thinner than the ones already connected to the existing battery, but that assumes they are the right size originally. Look under the bonnet and see how thick the cables are going to the vehicle battery - you need ones like that.

If you want to run an inverter they can be connected to any terminals but to keep the cable lengths as short as possible just connect it to the battery which is closest. I would also add a fuse in the cable going to the inverter. The rating of the fuse will depend on the rating of the inverter.
 
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