Wild Camping (1 Viewer)

[Neardonny]

Read a lot recently about 'Wild Camping' my question is " How long would one Leisure battery last" ? Not that we will be doing it any time soon

 

[Eggs]

I've got a piece of string in my hand.... how...

 

[mikebeaches]

Depends on many factors:

1. How big is your leisure battery - output?

2. What condition is it in?

3. What time of year will it be?

4. Is it required to operate blown air heating?

5. How much energy does you lighting use?

6. Is all your lighting LED?

7. What time do you go to bed?

8. Do you intend to operate a TV / satellite box?

9. What will you be charging from your 12 volt supply - laptop / tablet / phone(s)?

10. Do you use an inverter?

11. What other items will operate from your 12 volt supply?

12. How long is a piece of string... ?

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[Neardonny]

Depends on many factors:

1. How big is your leisure battery (output)?

2. What condition is it in?

3. What time of year will it be?

4. Is it required to operate blown air heating?

5. How much energy does you lighting use?

6. Is all your lighting LED?

7. What time do you go to bed?

8. Do you intend to operate a TV / satellite box?

9. What will you be charging from your 12 volt supply - pc tablet / phone(s)?

10. Do you use an inverter?

11. What other items will operate from your 12 volt supply?

12. How long is a piece of string... ?

Yes realised it was a stupid question when I posted it. Can't see how to delete it

 

[Podney]

If you are really really clever you could work out the power needed for all of the things that are going to be powered by the battery. Add them up and that’s how much juice you need.
Then see how much you’ve got in the battery with your multi-meter thingy.
As you can tell,I know beggar all about it,but the principle is sound!
Knowledgeable people will be along to give you the proper answers/calculations,but mikebeaches is spot on.

 

[mikebeaches]

Yes realised it was a stupid question when I posted it. Can't see how to delete it

Not a stupid question, just needs quantifying a bit.

People cleverer than me can provide you with detailed calculations to work out the precise (or almost) answer.

PS Sorry, I didn't mean to be rude in my previous post, just illustrating all the variables.

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[Eggs]

Yes realised it was a stupid question when I posted it. Can't see how to delete it

It wasn't a stupid question. Hang around someone will be along to explain, better than I can how to do a power audit.

 

[hilldweller]

3 days if you are careful.

 

[Neardonny]

Not a stupid question, just needs quantifying a bit.

People cleverer than me can provide you with detailed calculations to work out the precise (or almost) answer.

PS Sorry, I didn't mean to be rude in my previous post, just illustrating all the variables.

No offence taken. My fault, didn't think the question through.

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[DuxDeluxe]

Yes realised it was a stupid question when I posted it. Can't see how to delete it

Yes, but it is great to see an honest response to the replies

 

[Jim]

Yes realised it was a stupid question when I posted it.

It's not a stupid question, plenty of newbies ask it.

In winter, with lights and a bit of TV, say 2 hours in the evening you might be flat in two days. Add a second battery, and you'll last twice as long. A solar panel on the roof can stretch it out. No one can say how long for sure. Best way to find out is pitch on a site or on your drive, but don't hook up, use what you use and see how long you last.

 

[chatteris]

depending on if you are staying in one spot or moving on each day, I did a week in cornwall last september,and had no problems but were moving on each day which kept battery charged, we did not use tv much and did not need lights on much either, i had a single 115 amp battery

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[AXO66]

We’ve done over a month , in southern Europe, 1battery and no solar.
however we move on every 2 days, so engine charges the battery as we drive.( have picked up some British vans can’t do this....others will correct and give more detai) and we get to a site every 4 to 5 days for EHU ,and laundry.

 

[peterc10]

Read a lot recently about 'Wild Camping' my question is " How long would one Leisure battery last" ? Not that we will be doing it any time soon

Get some solar panels and another battery and the answer is all summer and a good while in spring and autumn in the UK. And go further South and the answer is nearly all year.

 

[Cheshirecat57]

Read a lot recently about 'Wild Camping' my question is " How long would one Leisure battery last" ? Not that we will be doing it any time soon

Accurate answer is somewhere between 4 hours and 2 months

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[autorouter]

my question is " How long would one Leisure battery last"

It depends on how much juice your battery holds, what rate you use the juice, and how you put the juice back into it.

Battery capacity is measured in amp-hours (Ah). A typical 12V leisure battery is 100Ah. You can safely use only 50% to 80% of that (depending on the exact type of battery) because completely flattening the battery causes problems and will drastically reduce its life.

How much power you use depends on many factors, including lifestyle. In summer some might only use lights for an hour or two, watch no TV and never put the heating or cooling fan on at all. Maybe charge a couple of phones. You could last a week or more doing that, no problem.

When the weather is colder and/or the days are shorter, lights are on longer, you probably watch TV more and put the heating on (the heating blower fan uses electricity even if the heat source is gas). Sometimes you're lucky to last a weekend.

Also as batteries age, they lose capacity, so an old battery might only have a fraction of the charge that a new battery has.

If you have a solar panel that will put back some charge during the day. In summer that might be enough to refill the battery, so you can last indefinitely. With shorter days you'll get less solar power but it can still spin the battery power out for longer.

So no-one can answer your question, but can only tell you how to work it out for your particular situation.

Not that we will be doing it any time soon

So say the optimists. The pessimists are not so sure

 

[Otter Spotter]

This info may be useful, but I don’t know how accurate it, photographed it at a camp site

 

[KiwiKampers]

We have 1 x 150 watt solar panel and 2 x leisure batteries and I can't remember the last time we used EHU. We regularly go away for 5 or 6 weeks at a time. Run the fridge on gas, use the TV for between 1 and 2 hours per night, charge phones, iPads and toothbrushes overnight, and, of course, LED lights. Admittedly, we rarely spend more than three consecutive nights in the same place without moving on.

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[Suegal]

I have a multimeter and a portable solar panel. I keep a check on my battery and don't let it run below 13.5 if I can help it.

 

[peterc10]

I have a multimeter and a portable solar panel. I keep a check on my battery and don't let it run below 13.5 if I can help it.

If you are checking your battery during the day the reading you will get will be the voltage that the panel and solar regulator is producing and is not a measure of the health of your battery. The battery itself will never show a reading as high as 13.5V unless it is being charged or recently been charged by a solar panel, alternator or mains charger.

To get a true reading of the health of your battery you need to disconnect the panel or regulator and leave it for a few hours until the battery has settled down, and then take the reading. If the battery is full it will be showing around 12.7V to 12.8V.

 

[The Old Man]

I've no idea about the technical aspects and the Hab battery is not easily accessible.

However, me alone Freedom Camping,

The fresh water tank for cooking and washing with a shower every few days.
14Kg? gas bottle.
Hab battery for lights, powering phones, tablet, all the minor things that need a 12v supply and a lot of DVD watching.

I don't need civilisation for three days, but I tend to make a five mile drive every morning for a coffee run and civilised toilets.

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[Anthea M]

I've no idea about the technical aspects and the Hab battery is not easily accessible.

However, me alone Freedom Camping,

The fresh water tank for cooking and washing with a shower every few days.
14Kg? gas bottle.
Hab battery for lights, powering phones, tablet, all the minor things that need a 12v supply and a lot of DVD watching.

I don't need civilisation for three days, but I tend to make a five mile drive every morning for a coffee run and civilised toilets.

TOM love the term freedom camping ! So much nicer than FLT!?

 

[Lenny HB]

TOM love the term freedom camping ! So much nicer than FLT!?

Never catch on, some of us are proud of being an FLT.

 

[Lenny HB]

We’ve done over a month , in southern Europe, 1battery and no solar.
however we move on every 2 days, so engine charges the battery as we drive.( have picked up some British vans can’t do this....others will correct and give more detai) and we get to a site every 4 to 5 days for EHU ,and laundry.

Very true, Continental vans e.g. Hymer use correct size wiring the main connections to the hab battery and split charge wiring are 16mm sq. With a flat battery you can get over 40 amp charge rate from the split charge, under normal conditions with the battery partly discharge it will start at 20 - 25 amps and once the battery voltage rises a bit it will drop to 12-15 amps.

Compared to most Brit vans with totally inadequate undersized wiring for split charging & throughout the vehicle. They will start at 10-15 amps and quickly drop to 5 amps or less.

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[The Old Man]

TOM love the term freedom camping ! So much nicer than FLT!?

From New Zealand.

 

[peterc10]

This info may be useful, but I don’t know how accurate it, photographed it at a camp site

Beware though. Those figures are for mains electricity rather than the 12v battery the OP was referring to. To convert the ampages to 12V you will need to multiply by about 10. And you will need a big battery bank and an inverter to use most of the mains appliances listed.

 

[Otter Spotter]

Beware though. Those figures are for mains electricity rather than the 12v battery the OP was referring to. To convert the ampages to 12V you will need to multiply by about 10. And you will need a big battery bank and an inverter to use most of the mains appliances listed.

I think the list was assuming EHU

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[peterc10]

I think the list was assuming EHU

It was indeed. But the OP and all the other posts on this thread were assuming that there was no EHU. Hence the warning. I did not want people who had no EHU to take those amperages as gospel for their set up.

 

[Hankandmarvin]

Yes realised it was a stupid question when I posted it. Can't see how to delete it

Its actually a good question because without asking you'd never know all the things you have to take into consideration.
Why not take everyone's suggestions and work out what power you use.... Then let me know ?

 

[tozen]

Spent 12 days on aire in Oristano [Sardinia],no electric 100 watt solar panal.No problems.
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