How to thrive on a non 240v site!
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We've finally made it! Only a weekend, but between fridge running on gas and SP recharging the battery we've at least done a couple of nights off EHU at a storytelling festival. And our granddaughter & I used a fair bit of motor mover energy in aligning the van on a soft-ish field, so was doubly delighted that the lights on our little 80W folding SP soon showed a full charge despite overcast skies!
At present I rely on these indicator lights to know if it's charged or not. It would be useful to have a meter. There are meters with many functions and bells and whistles, but our AWS engineer recommended just buying a cheap simple one at a fraction of their price. I'm truly not an electrically minded man, but knowing how much is in the battery, and checking a fuse now & then would be useful. Any recommendations of models worth having, please?
Thanks for the encouragement here to start on this path!2 -
That's brilliant Hedge- well done- feeling of something for nothing I bet? It's like magic isn't it? If you buy say a 120 w Panel, the controller normally has a meter with it that tells you the battery is fully charged. That is if it's roof fixed but of course yours is a mobile but I'm sure it's the same- How you can tell is that the ampage shows nil- which means the battery(s) can't accept any more charge. Put something on and you see the ampage start to rise as the panel replaces the used juice. Switch it off again whatever it is and the ampage drops back to nil again when the batteries are full. An MPPT controller is the best. That's the type, not the make. Look, why don't you give Photonic Universe a ring about this. They deal with this all the time and they are usually at the shows. They will spend time with you and let you know exactly what you need to go forward from here. I look forward to many more stories of non EHU caravanning from you and I'm sure the rest of the gang will be eager to know how you're doing. So pleased your first experience was a good one.
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Thanks Merve.
It is a Photonic Universe panel we have. The controller is on the back... somewhat hard to see as you have to lift the whole panel and squint quite a lot!... but the wee LED's there illuminate, in various combinations and sequences, and all it tells me, as far as I've worked out, is that it's either fully charged, or accepting charge. This is, I know, the main thing, but looking at earlier discussions here it would seem useful to know more about how much is in there!
Photonic do sell a battery monitor at nearly £150 but I'm not even contemplating paying out that much!
Meanwhile we too look forward to many more trips off grid, it's pleasing indeed, both for long term money saving and the greater freedom over sites we can reach now. If we can just persuade the ancient water heater back into gas business too, rather than relying on the kettle, life will be even better!Best wishes from deepest Northampton.
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Inverter help.
Hi everyone, we bought an inverter from Halfords for about £35. It was just to make it easy to charge our phones when we are using solar. You plug it in to the 12v cigarette lighter sockett in the caravan. It worked the first few times, however last time I plugged it in only to charge an ipod and it stopped working.
We managed to figure it had blown a fuse so we replaced the fuse from a local Halfords (was right impressed with myself as we no nothing about caravans/electric/diy). We tried it again but the same thing happened (I had bought a spare fuse and will get a pack next time
).Wondered if anyone has any ideas why this is happening. Is the inverter just broken or does the battery have to be absolutely full (It was probably showing 12ish on our panel). It normally shows between 13.5 and 11.5 (at the end of a tv evenining) on the panel).
We've only had it a few months but as it worked the first time we just binned the receipt.
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Your inverter is drawing more current (amps) than the fuse supplying it can deliver.
Why didn't you just buy a charger suitable for use in a car? Clicky You're going from 12v DC up to 240v AC then down to 5v for the phone. You just need a car charger to reduce 12v down to 5v for the phone.
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I agree with MollysMummy, car chargers are the way to go for, keeping phones and tablets charged.
With inverters what you have to remember is that if an appliance is drawing 1amp at 240v to run that from an inverter it needs to be supplied with 20amps of 12v power (that's assuming a perfect efficiency). This means it is easy to not only blow fuses but overload wiring as well. Also a lot of inverters will shut down if it senses too low a voltage from the battery to protect the battery from being flattened.
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Tracey- Good advice from MM and Boff. We had a very similar thing when we started out on the non EHU road and it wasn't that it was blowing fuses ( although thinking about it no we did replace one a couple of times), it just wouldn't stay in the 12v housing. We now have a single 12v socket plug leading to a multi charger unit with not only 2 further 12v sockets in it but 4 USB outlets as well . Phones tablets and toothbrush are all charged with no problems - and no more blown fuses! The panel copes easily when multi items are being charged.
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having a German van, our 12v sockets are DIN std, so we use this type of adaptor to charge Ipads/phones via USB.....
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USB- more manna from heaven for the non EHUer BB. It really is a wonderful time to go to the dark side and be a non EHUer- it's never been so easy! How the hell do you get a picture of that size on here when I can't post a postage stamp size because it's too big? Where are you at the moment?
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Speaking as a long standing expert of one whole weekend's off-gridding (!).... we've got one similar to that, but plugs into a modern sized 12v socket; and no inverter. We also have to have another adaptor to make it fit our ancient cigarette lighter socket, but it happily charged several phones over the weekend, and the 80W SP showed a full battery later the same day (too busy to check very often) so that was fine.
In fact, we're wondering if we actually need an inverter at all.0 -
Do you run anything substantial like a microwave from your inverter, Merve?
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I was looking at completing the kit with a 1500wat inverter but looking at the stuff in the van, Microwave - We hardly ever use that at home let alone caravan, Kettle - we have gas! and looking I think the only thing we may use would be the toaster, but to be honest we have a gas grill so for the moment I have gone off the idea of the inverter (unless I have missed something and anyone tells me better!)
Just came back from another 4 days in Kent off grid, so got a better idea of Gas usage, and all was good, battery never even came close to getting flat, so had a nice few days (other that having the cost of the CL go up when we got there, £10 a night went to £12 and then an extra £1 per night for the awning, so £13 per night not £10!)
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Thanks for your responses to my inverter query...I didn't realise it was so complicated. I will go for the easy option and look at getting a USB multi plug thing that merve mentioned or just a 12v charger with USB sockets...thank you again.
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hi Merve, actually at Centre Parcs Longleat with the family....just finished dinner and a game if cards, GD off to bed, just having a glass of red and catching up here......
re the piccy.....i just googled (on ipad) the adaptor, clicked 'save image' which places it in 'photos'.....then, when posting, i can 'add photo' from the library and add the pic of the adaptor....
home next week, then revisiting Crealy, nr Exeter, who have got back into touring about 18 mths back...
just like Haven, cheap as chips off peak.....(tho not next week, as we are taking GD.....)
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Tracy, the inverter is fairly straight forward...it connects to the 12v batteries and creates 230v power for mains items...
what can seem more complicated is 'thinking' about what items you might want to use with it, and therefore, how big a one to get....
i only have 500w one, not large by most stds, but we dont run any large devices from it......a sky hd box and our electric bike battery chargers, so i ran an extension into the garage for convenience....
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I use two inverters, one for the TV which draws 40 watts and the other runs the Microwave (700 Watts), Toaster (700 Watts), Vacuum (850 Watts) and Hair Dryer (1200 Watts).
The first one I bought around 15 years ago prior to driving down into the Dordogne. It allowed my two sons to use their PlayStation in the car. It cost me £30 back then. The second Inverter, which I bought at the beginning of this season, is a 3000/1500 Watt version which cost me £30.99. Search for "Modified Sine Wave Inverter 3000 Watt. I am fitting a second battery this evening before heading off to France (Dordogne) on Sunday.
I owe a huge gratitude of debt to Merve for opening my eyes to enjoying my hobby without needing EHU. Solar Panals allow me to power EVERY device that the expensive Orange cable does. I cannot think of anything I'm missing out on.
If our club, via the magazine, were to publish Merve's article on 'How to survive a non 240 V EHU site' it would help to open the eyes of thousands of other members who, in my view, simply don't think the technology exists. In the latest copy there is a full page advert by Honda Portable Generaters with the headline "Powering your adventures". They are offering a whopping £200 of their EU20i model to club members. However, when you discover that it costs in excess of £1000 it begs the question, why does the club allow adverts like this but won't publish an article demonstrating that Solar Panals, costing much less, do the same job as a generator and are certainly greener too.
Caravan manufacturers have have the ability to produce a Van without the need for EHU but my guess is that while our club refuses to promote Solar Panals, Safefill/Gaslow or other green initiatives, then we won't be seeing a totally 'Green' Caravan anytime soon.It seems to me that generating income is more important to the club than serving the interests of its members.
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many top line German MHs come with solar panels, large battery banks and inverters fitted...some with complete 'switch over' systems to enable all '230v' sockets to run from the inverter.
the demand driving this is that many MHers just want to pull in anywhere and have all services on tap....
however, this technology isnt going to be popular in low priced UK caravans until the demand is there, which, at present is satisfied by an EHU cable on site...
perhaps it might get into UK MHs first, with their owners more likely to use aires and pub-type stopovers...
one shift necessary is for owners to be able to offset the cost of new technology by making savings in not taking up an EHU option, currently not available at the vast majority of CC sites.
theres little point in adverts/articals for SP/inverters making it to the CC mag if their sites dont allow members to make the savings they bring.
yes, non EHU CLs ( as used by Merve) and the THS sites from CCC that we and many others use, reflect the lower cost of not taking the cable.....
for main site users (and many wont use anything else) it isnt interesting reading....
however, none of the above should mean that decent and fair exposure in the CC mag should not be given, it may help to provide more options for those who wish try a new approach.
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Kevlon's right, in my view. There's a huge fight-back against the move to go greener - look at the energy companies blaming the gov't's still undersized commitment to green generation for their own price hike yesterday & today. And Britain seems more determined than some to stick to the outdated fossil stuff until they've extracted the last possible penny from it, rather than moving on with the new technology which would soon, by dint of scale, make green things much cheaper.
All strength to the good people here for flying the flag!
Dear CMC, it would be so-o-o useful if you had a really decent section about all this in the information section of this website, as well as enlightened articles in the magazine.PS Having just come back from a lovely storytelling festival in Shropshire where generators were needed to power equipment reminds me that solar panels are infinitely quieter too, and nicer for the neighbours!! Wake-up time for all was when the power went back on.
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just one moderate sized panel (say) 80w and a decent battery (90AH) should be more than sufficient to keep most vans in power.....in spring/summer/autumn.
yes, in the winter, with lower solar input and higher demand for lights, heating fans/pumps, and perhaps TV
, its going to be harder work to manage without some form of electricity, but by no means impossible.....and as panels and batteries get better (and lighter) the off grid season will be extended.....
not a generator fan myself, but i can see their usefulness in some situations.....high demand and low input.......if used considerately
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Should we all start contacting the club to put out more information on solar power? Just checked the "advice and training" section at the top of the page to see if there was any info on solar or off grid touring. Not a sausage! There is a bit about using mains electricity and also using a generator.
This thread is a great place to suggest anyone asking about solar, but it is a bit to long winded for someone to take everything in at once. A good succinct fact sheet is needed.
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To be fair to the club they have published a couple of articles about off grid. Trouble is most of them have been so superficial to be useless, written by the usual suspects who I suspect have never spent more than a weekend without the orange umbilical. I particularly like the one which was illustrated a picture of a vintage caravan complete with range and kettle. Inspired me I am going to rip out the Aspire II cooker and the Alde heating and install a log burner instead.
No I would suggest that you should be careful for what you wish for.
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@ atn MJ730 Do without Leccy what are you doing without? In our case hairdryer and microwave. Merve got that sorted even. I choose not to.
True story: Couple of weeks ago we stayed just the weekend on a nice commercial site near Nantwich. We get to the site around 6pm its got 16A electric so naturally I plug in and get on with my life ie open the first bottle of wine. Fast forward to 8 30am Saturday morning I get up to make a cup of coffee using the electric kettle. Realise after about 10 minutes nothing happening. No big deal get gas kettle out makes coffee . After a bit I realise that there may be a problem all the food in the Fridge has been warming up for the last 14 hours. Tells my wife we most likely have fridge of sour milk and rotten meat. She tells me not to worry, as she had forgotten we were on EHU so had put the Fridge on gas. So not only did we survive being off ehu we hadn't even noticed .
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Also @ MJ730 I have gas curling tongs - and if its too cold to let my hair drip dry I have been known to dry it over the stove - but if a hairdryer is essential I would go to a EHU place every how often I need? I can't think of anything else that can't be done off ehu! My hand held mixer works on the inverter and so on.
I missed Kevlon's post on the previous page - what more can anyone possibly need?
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Biggemac
I firmly believe that the club is uncomfortable with highlighting the benefits of Solar panals due to its vested interest in selling expensive, highly profitable club site pitches to its members. They try to justify the price by offering an all inclusive package which inevitably includes Electric Hookup. It has previously been suggested on the forum that the average daily cost of providing EHU to a caravan user is no more than £2. What I find interesting is that, if true, lots of profit is being generated by the club due to general ignorance by the members who's interests are supposed to be served by "their" club. What is the average price of a Non electric CL site? £6 or maybe £7? Now what is the average charge of a site providing EHU ? £12 -£14. Draw your own conclusion. Rip off Britain? My research shows that most French sites allow for optional use of EHU. The difference is around €3-4. As an experiment I contacted, at random, a number of CL sites asking if they offer discount for not using their EHU? Guess what? The answer in every instance?......No.
When we search the club website looking for a CL site that serves our preference whether being Dog friendly, hardstanding, coastal and many other atributes, we cannot search for a Non EHU site. To me, this is further proof that our interests are not being served. However, I have painstakingly created an excel spreadsheet highlighting all of the sites throughout the network that doesn't have EHU. I will gladly share it with my fellow members but isn't it a shame our club can't supply the same facility to its own fee paying members.
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