Winter heating battery drain.

[Paul E.]

Last winter I helped my school with a Duke of Edinburgh Expedition. For the first time I used the van heating system in my RAPIDO 7098F off grid. In doing so it drew the batteries down to the point that by morning the fan had stopped operating. Am I expecting to much in running heating off grid? Would/should the heating fan draw that much out of twin batteries?
My wife and I are planning trips this Autumn that will take us off grid. I suffer chronic arthritis as the result of which heat is an essential part of our travels. Any advice would be gratefully received.
All best wishes. Paul

 

[bigtwin]

What were you using to generate the heat?

The fan only circulates the heat generated.

Ian

 

[Paul E.]

Hi Ian. I was using gas. Thanks for responding. Paul

 

[Zepp]

How old are your batteries because we run ours in the winter off grid it gets pretty cold in Spain on the night time we never had hook up for 3 months but we do have plenty of solar

 

[Paul E.]

I did change them this Spring. Thanks for the response Zepp.

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[Lenny HB]

I assume the heater is a TrumaCombi if so when they first fire up they draw 5-6 amps but once the van is up to temperature they will drop to about 3 amps then when fully up to temp if you have a CP Plus controller will drop to less than 1 amp, if you have the classic controller drops
to about 1 - 1.5 amps.

In our van a 7.5m A Class in normal conditions the heater will run full blast for 20-30 min then the fan will drop right down but if there is a howling gale blowing that will suck heat out of the van then it can run for over an hour at full chat.

We rarely ever use EHU and have never had a power problem running the heating but we never run the heating overnight.

If the heating is flattening your batteries over one night I would suspect your batteries, I know you said they are fairly new but you could have a duff one or could be your charger is faulty and not fully charging them.

How many hours did you have the heating on for?

 

[bigtwin]

If the heating is flattening your batteries over one night I would suspect your batteries, I know you said they are fairly new but you could have a duff one or could be your charger is faulty and not fully charging them.

How many hours did you have the heating on for?

Agreed. Paul E. can you be certain they were actually full charged when you left home?

Ian

 

[TheBig1]

you didnt have an inverter on at the same time did you?

 

[Paul E.]

Lenny your info is well worth me bearing in mind for future use. I printed it off to keep in the van. At the time the old batteries were in use prior to the change this Spring.

Big twin, they were charged before I left for the trip.

The big 1, I was not running an invertor.

I only recently joined this site. I wish I had done so four years ago when I first started motorhoming. Your kind responses are indicative of the kind nature of the membership. Many thanks all. Paul

 

[maison]

Paul E.
Not trying to be funny but do you need to run the heating all night?

We turn our heating off as we go to bed and either use the autotimer to switch it back on in the morning or get up, turn it on manually, then nip back into bed for five or ten minutes. We don’t feel the cold in bed, under the Duvet.

It has the added advantage of saving on gas and battery drain but we simply don’t find the need. We use our motorhome all year around, including off-grid, and have never had a problem with depleted batteries.

For the record we only have one leisure battery, with a 100w solar panel. However, in winter, with the long hours of darkness, the solar panel can’t provide much back up.

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[Paul E.]

Maison. No offence taken my friend. I was run over by a stolen car while serving in the Police. As a result my joints are at times painful in the extreme. Lack of heat during cold damp nights wreaks havoc. Cold and dry nights are ok. I am open minded to all ideas and grateful for all the posts All best wishes. Paul

 

[Riverbankannie]

I don’t know how your MH is configured, but it is always useful to block off the colder extremities of the van at night. Use a silver screen on the windscreen and/or hang up a blanket or thick curtain between your sleeping area and the cab area.

 

[TerryL]

Think you'll find that your new batteries will cope very well. Just remember though that they will need re-charging if you need to use heating for extended periods. As well as twin batteries and a 100w solar panel we have a 50ah Sterling battery-to-battery charger which, if necessary, will recharge the leisure batteries with an hour drive round - wouldn't recommend just leaving the engine on tick-over though, not good for diesels, but it will work in an emergency.

Following on from Riverbankannie, we almost always deploy our external silver screens which make a significant difference to keeping the van warm (also turn your cab ventilation to recirculate to help avoid drafts). We are able to screen off the sleeping area, which helps too (although the dog ain't too happy about that!)

Finally, thanks for your nice comments - nobody expects much in the way of thanks, that's the way we are, but it is very nice when someone takes the trouble.

 

[PhilandMena]

I have a Webasto heater. On switching on, it uses up to 12 Amps to fire up the burner which ids then self sustaining. However, the fan which distributes the heat through the motorhome takes about 8 Amps. So, what we find is, fire up the heating and within 20 minutes the inside of the motorhome is as warm as toast and we then switch the heating off. That's us for the night and once under the quilt we are fine. First thing in the morning, I repeat the process and that keeps us going until we set off.

 

[Paul E.]

RiverbankAnnie. I like the idea re the blanket. I will happily give that a go.
Terry L I have a solar panel but the battery charger (1 hour charge) sounds good. I will research the costs.
Phil and Mena I think it would be a good idea to get my neighbor (electrician) to check the draw down when the system is running. That said I guess the panel in the van should do that?
Once again thank you all for your time and trouble. I hope that once I get both knees and both hips replaced my winter pains will greatly reduce. The joy of motorhoming and the family keep me sane. Pain or no pain I have no intention of giving up the motorhome. All best wishes. Paul

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[Reallyretired]

Being softies that do sometimes run the heating all night. We find our 2x110Ah batteries sufficient. We do have 400w if solar to recharge though.

 

[Stroppy Bird]

We do as Riverbankannie has suggested and separate the cab from the living area with a full length thermal curtain when we go to bed.

We leave the heating on, but turned down low when we've gone to bed and since using the curtain it is noticeable that it doesn't kick in as often, or stay on as long when it does come on.

 

[Jaws]

Last winter I helped my school with a Duke of Edinburgh Expedition. For the first time I used the van heating system in my RAPIDO 7098F off grid. In doing so it drew the batteries down to the point that by morning the fan had stopped operating. Am I expecting to much in running heating off grid? Would/should the heating fan draw that much out of twin batteries?
My wife and I are planning trips this Autumn that will take us off grid. I suffer chronic arthritis as the result of which heat is an essential part of our travels. Any advice would be gratefully received.
All best wishes. Paul

I feel your pain ( of batteries being killed by stupid blown air systems )
Our Miller only had blown air... in the end I invested in a catalytic gas heater, the type that is used in lorries..
Wall mounted it on the outside of the shower wall, it sipped gas and cured all the problems in one fell swoop
They are about £120 -£150
Recently saw a good bit of lateral thinking in a caravan ... Chap took an old calor free standing heater apart, made up a rather posh ( but still basically a box ! ) for the guts to go in .. Lovely wall mounted highly efficient catalytic heater for about a tenner !

 

[TerryL]

Remember any kind of gas appliance needs proper ventilation. Manufacturers design their products with great care so beware of changing things round without proper thought. And never ever block ventilation, even if it's causing a cold draft.

 

[Paul E.]

Hi all. The advice has been fantastic.
Really retired. This is reassuring. I was considering the addition of extra solar. Mine is 100kw.
Stroppy bird. I have spoken to my wife. We have, I have been assured, got just the thing to hang up.
Jaws some interesting thoughts but if possible I would like to maintain the original integrity of the van.
Thanks Terry - sound advice.
Once again thanks all. Paul

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