TV Usage Off Hook Up? (1 Viewer)

[Stevewheel]

Go easy on me folks...newbie alert + I am a little bit dim when it comes to all things electrical. My quandary is this.....my second hand MH came equipped with a lovely self seeking maxview satellite dome, maxview control box and pretty new Avtex 19inch LCD TV/DVD. None of these are things I would have purchased but since they came already on the van it was a nice extra! What I don't have a good handle on is how much power this all consumes. No problem on hook up of course but can anyone tell me in laymans terms" how hard these are likely to be on my leisure batteries? I have two pretty new 95amp hour AGM leisure batteries which are in tip top condition and, when the sun shines a little help from a 100w solar panel. Is it possible to say in very rough terms how many hours of TV I could watch per day without threatening the health of the batteries? Or do you experienced folk only ever watch TV when on hook up? As always I throw myself on the mercy of the great knowledgeable crowd...many thanks.

 

[Citysafe]

Solidstate electronics do not use very much. The screen itself is likley to be the largest consumption point. Its not clear if you are stepping up to 240V through an investor or if all your equipment is 12V. Invertors generate heat and therefore an overhead. I would sit in the van when you have the ability to hook up - but dont and measure the decay - its probably easier than trying to work out all the variables, when your test has finished simply plug in!!

 

[dabhand]

You could probably do with posting the power draw of the appliances!

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[DBK]

Someone else should know the power requirements of the system but I am pretty sure the solar should be enough to top up the batteries indefinitely, though if you watch TV 24 hours a day in winter perhaps not!
A battery monitor, which shows voltage and current is an invaluable accessory if you don't have one already. The pukka well known ones are £100+ but there are some Chinese ones available at £15 which seem to be good.

 

[DavidG58]

we have a near identical set up, the nice thing about the sat tuner, once tuned in it can be turned off so uses no power at all

I am not good at working out the maths side of things, but am blessed with a controller that displays the drain on the battery, our TV seems to take about 2.5A, so in theory 5 hours continuous use would take 12.5A out of your nominal 95 available

In reality, even if we sit in on a wet evening and watch 5 hours of TV we have never yet an issue with the battery levels, even allowing for lights and heating as well

There will be a proper sum you can do to calculate the Amps, but hope this helps

 

[beltsandbraces]

I run an inverter from 2 x 130amp batteries, tv and satellite according to my inverter uses 1 to 2 volts after about 3-4 hours watching and that is with other electrics being used, lights etc.
Not a very mathematical answer but it might give you some indication.

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[Richard n Ann]

Our 18" LED back-lit TV takes about 1.5 - 2 amps depending how bright the picture is.

 

[tonka]

If you look on the back of the TV it will state the watts that is uses, divide this by 12 (volatge) and you will know how many amps per hour it will use.. ie 48 watts / 12 = 4 amps per hour..
The Satellite receiver will also have a label so add that to your maths..

2 x 95 amp batteries BUT recommended not to deplete more than 50% So at best and "in theory" you have 95amps of power.

Please complete this homework and hand in by Friday...

 

[Stevewheel]

I am grateful to all respondents, thank you. Just to clear up a few things - No inverter, 12v only - @DavidG58 many thanks...I didn't know I could switch off the box after it had done its satellite finding thing! @ DBK Yes, I have the control panel gauges so I'm keeping a good eye on those. @tonka - sorry, dog ate the homework! Once again thanks to all those that provided helpful info.