Whats it cost to get EHU free?
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a useful side effect of the SP part of the 'free lekky' equation is the ability to keep all batteries charged while van (MH or Caravan) is not being used....pretty critical for a MH to have a starter battery in tip top shape but 'hungry' electrical items like alarms, immobilisers, hifi/sat head units can drain batteries pretty quickly.
this in itself can save some vanners a lot of too-ing and fro-ing to their storage areas to check on or change batteries.
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I agree Dave. It's such a shame that some think it's almost their duty to throw spanners in the works. A perfectly good and honest discussion about something that is very current, provably non polluting and of great interest to many. If my tele, microwave or someone's coffee machine is powered by electric gathered from the sun, then good for them I say. I know that most caravanners will never touch non EHU and if they do, it'll be no longer than a weekend, To that I say good- more for me and the people who 'get' it. But I wonder how much they think about non EHU being a winner and because they can't be bothered, read up about it, or even allow themselves to try it, let's take the mick and have a go. Some like yourself can enter a debate and argue that you don't need it and you explain why whilst at the same time understanding where I and many are coming from. There's no over the top comments suggesting that non EHU is somehow inferior. As has been said, it's not a competition to see how low you can go!! Which, unfortunately, doesn't appear to be the mantra of those who attack for the sake of it. If they don't want to know- there are other threads that will thrill and delight them! Must go, the potatoes are looking like they need digging!
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this in itself can save some vanners a lot of too-ing and fro-ing to their storage areas to check on or change batteries.
How true BB. One of the first advantages to me was as you say, to-img and fro-ing to the storage area. Before, I would be at it at least every 6 weeks carrying a new battery to keep the alarm and tracker alive for the insurance- now, all done automatically. That alone has saved me, in 4 years, hours of messing about and ££££s with of diesel. However, compared to what it has saved me on site, it pales into insignificance.
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My personal view on this issue is that I can't see the point in spending hundreds of £s just to save a few quid on lekky. After years of not having the luxuries in my vans, I now relish them.
and why shouldn't you TW. I relish them too. I do hope that you haven't taken any of my posts as an attack on a system i.e. EHU caravanning, that has stood the test of time and that hundreds of thousands are happy with? Now, that said, many many caravanners don't even know about non EHU. If they come on here and I'm always trying to encourage those I meet to do so, they will be able to access knowledge that they didn't have. They are big enough and ugly enough to make a decision. They can stay as they are, or, like me and others, they can do things differently. I have to say now that from storage sites to the CC site at Pandy, from CLs as far apart as North Devon and Edinburgh, when caravanners have found out how I caravan they are gobsmacked and their first reaction is 'I don't believe it'
Now, the highlight in bold above is just amazing. I have to say that after all the talk and the enthusiasm of people posting on the non EHU threads about how much they have reduced their caravanning or M/H costs, you still post a comment like that!! Have you read any of it? I can't believe you haven't , being a regular contributor to CT?
The last thing I want is to appear that I am attacking those who choose to do things differently. All I, and others have done, is talk about a way of caravanning that many people have found fascinating, interesting, and thought provoking. Many have acted on it and many haven't Now , let me cover the comment in bold above.
Firstly, 'yes, you are correct in saying 'hundreds of pounds' - but these days you can be offgrid for as little as £340 as we discussed earlier in this thread. Yes, £340 is not insubstantial but when you think that its money that will return to you in saved fees then it's a good investment.
Now my favourite bit- "just to save a few quid on lekky." Oh boy, no, you couldn't have read what has been reported. Firstly, it's not about saving electricity- it's about freeing yourself from the charges that other people want to charge you for THEIR electricity. I use as much electricity as my panel can gather and my batteries can store. I won't bore you with what I use on board but I use all fitted equipment and extras. Now, since I freed myself from EHU, I have been able to go to sites charging as little as £4 a night as compared to £14 a night for an EHU CL. I have saved- and here it comes, well over a thousand pounds on site fees that I would have paid for and my 2 Safefills have paid for themselves twice over. So the "hundreds of pounds spent" has now become "hundreds of pounds in the bank" And it's an ongoing saving- I am on site at the moment and at £6. Not £15 as it would be up the road. Yet another £9 pound every day saved. I am no spring chicken and I understand your argument about comfort and I'm sure many on here will feel the same, - believe me, if I and the OH weren't comfortable at the level we like, there is no way I would have carried on with this, but we are,and, with paying 25% of the price of gas in rental cylinders and site fees some 66% lower than I used to pay AND with equal comfort, is anyone really in a position to knock it? And really- what's not to like!?
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Well, there you go, Merve. Certainly one of us hasn't read the other's posts.
I said "However, that is my personal view, as I said, and I fully respect the opinions of others who choose to do things differently. Live and let live, eh?". Can you not accept that I do things my way and my way differs from yours? You've saved a bit of money so good luck to you, well done. If that gives you a kick, I'm pleased for you.
Now to the other point. I also said, amongst other things, "What I do find intolerable, though, are the occasional posts trying to convert others to a different point of view". You, I'm afraid to say, are coming perilously close to that in delivering your lecture above. I respect your right to do things your way and all I ask is that you, and others, do the same.
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Oh, dear, indeed!
I'm not sure what your post is suppose to mean but I'd rather you remembered the comments.
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im sure Merve is a delighted enthusiast who has discovered a new/different way of doing things with his caravan.
that way includes obtaining key resources (gas/electric) in a cheaper/free manner which then negates much of the associated running costs (power) with vanning.
this new way has proved successful, resulting in cheaper pitches and gas, and a realisation that more (interesting?, remote?) sites are now within his compass.
i just feel that Merve is so delighted that he wants to share his new found freedom (and cost savings) with his associates on CT and further afield....the folk he meets on site....
personally, im grateful for his insights and i love his enthusiasm, makes a change from some of the glum stuff we sometimes get on CT.
if this happens to be a subject that doesnt interest someone, then there really is no need to get involved in the thread. the title gives away the subject matter and most of the posts will be to do with kit (boring
....)Merve, keep up your enthusiasm, its great to see positive drive for a subject, i dont see you as a preacher merely as a nice guy passing on his benefits knowledge to other vanners.
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Perhaps people who have no great desire to convert are still interested in the technology, BB, and may read the thread in the hope of learning something. How else are they to discover the benefits?
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I to would like to thank Merve for posting the info on the use of solar energy , at the moment I haven't got it on my M/H but use a system on my shed and that means I can carry on with my hobby of wood turning and all the other equipment I use and it's totally free adding no cost to my household electric bill ,all the parts bought off E-bay for about £250
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Thanks BB, Pippah, Husky, DD, AD, I enjoy CT and the gang. As I sat next to my fire pit enjoying a beer up here in the Lakes, I read the reply and I thought what the hell- why bother? . I wasn't rude, I wasn't having a dig and I certainly wasn't lecturing. I have learnt a lesson. Avoid trolls!4
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Merve, our conversation has concluded. Your animosity is unwelcome and completely unfounded. If you believe me to be a troll, you know where the report button is.
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Although everyone has a right to reply I, for one, don't want to hear some of the stuff posted by some on here. I wanted to learn from others experience and their advice. To that end I have gleaned enough, (despite the brick bats being hurled around) to decide my next step which is to go with safefill. When one of my current bottles is empty, I shall make the move and of course the deposit return on my Color bottle will go toward the cost of safefill.
Thanks Merve for your patience and sharing your knowledge
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Now you are having a dig at me David!!!
Seriously I have found the discussions of of EHU to be interesting. When I was a regular user of CLs as well as CC sites and had kids EHUs on many sites was a rarity. Is it now the case that non EHU sites are becoming rarer? I have no idea
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https://www.sunstore.co.uk/Motorhome-Solar-Kits/ was where I got my 120w kit from. While I don't deliberately seek out sites without EHU, it does give more flexibility over where to stay.
peedee
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Plus 1
We've always had a solar panel on our motorhome, it came with it when we bought it. For years it was great at keeping the engine and habitation battery charged. We did one night off grid about 7 years ago in the height of summer in the north of Scotland and one weekend. No invertor didn't know/understand even if someone mentioned them 😊.
We knew nothing about living off gird nor how to search for such info on the Web, and if we found any info we didn't really understand 😲. Thanks to CT, and Merve in particular, we have had a 5 days off grid and we're able to charge phones and watch TV. We probably won't be exclusive off grid but it's good to know it's available. As posted earlier we purchased a small invertor about £20 and that's been our total and LED bulbs only 4 years ago but have just bought some much cheaper ones to do all the lights, well known auction site 😉, as a result of off grid we actually prefer the lights with LED. So this won't have been our last experience. Total outlay less than £50 but that was almost recouped on our first off grid experience!
If at a later we decide to go more off grid I know about cheaper alternative sources of gas thanks to CT, mainly Merve, who has great enthusiasm and is happy to share. I also feel happy to post 'dumb' questions 😆. I tried to ask in Maplins once and went out feeling like a time waster and thicko 😢.
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Alan, i guess in the past, the demand for EHU was driven by ability of caravans to support it, initially the addition of electric powered heaters (in lieu or combined with) the gas ones of the time.
add in the boom in the number of domestic electric appliances (tv, kettles etc) and the upgrade of caravans to reflect the desire to have these with you and you have a large driver for electic bollards...
so, sites installed them and charged a tidy penny for their use....
however, customer demand is a fickle thing and choice is king these days, so with new technologies (solar panels) comes a desire to maintain the use of 'gadgets' (with even more in use now.....phones, tablets etc) but to power them yourself.....
so, while there is still a great swathe of vanners who arrive and hook up without giving it a thought, more folk are taking the time to investigate the latest ideas for power generation.....and for many reasons....site cost, location flexibility, even 'doing your bit'....
this new desire to be 'flexible' in how power is sourced has led 'some' sites to be flexible in how they respond to this desire....with CCC being at the forefront on pitch type and power (or not) choice.
i remember my first long winter trip to Spain around 7 years ago and discussing the power options with guests on site, and which devices to power with which fuel for the best performance/value....(remember, many here are on site for upto 6 months, so costs can rack up)
....many ran their fridges and hot water from local bottled gas (cheap and available) and kept batteries charged with solar panels, which in turn charged phones and tablets, and powered TVs.
appliances actually driven by the ehu on the pitch were few and far between, with inverters being used where possible.
my point is that, back then (and earlier no doubt) customers were savvy, knew what they wanted, there were plenty of them (sites full over winter) and the sites reacted by giving them what they wanted in terms of flexible power supplies..
today, with ever more focus on 'resources' more customers are becoming familiar with different ways of doing things, and want their suppliers to 'join in'.
the site i was talking about was Bonterra Park, i can just imagine the effect on long term clients if the policy were an extra (say) €5 a night , take it or leave it.......in fact, im sure many would leave it.
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If at a later we decide to go more off grid I know about cheaper alternative sources of gas thanks to CT, mainly Merve, who has great enthusiasm and is happy to share. I also feel happy to post 'dumb' questions 😆. I tried to ask in Maplins once and went out feeling like a time waster and thicko 😢.
Yes there seems plenty of help available on the forum from members
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i think it varies....obviously CCC have a flexible policy, but this might mean being sited on a non-ehu pitch (one reason why we didnt use this option at Salisbury as we were with friends who wanted ehu).
others who use CLs have reported that owners are happy to 'come to an arrangement' re use of the bollard or not.
even the site i was on this week, Crealy, had a non-ehu policy, although i didnt know it!.....so, ask away, perhaps?
again, back to Bonterra, they have locking bollards, and following check in, one of the site maintenance guys arrives at your pitch (usually within 5-10mins) and unlocks and hooks you up.
on departure, just pop into the office the night before, someone reads the meter in the office (all wizardry here) and you can settle up at that point, no one seems to worry that you might 'use a bit more' before you actually leave.
you will also arrange a time for 'the man' to unhook you and away you go.....if hes a bit early, no worries, we can all do without electric for ten minutes.
so, no waiting at check in or check out, but there is a resource avalible to carry out this simple task as part of their maintenance duties.....
so, flexible can work without detriment to the customer, but it needs to be resourced....and the single warden 'model' is definitely a drawback to changing the CC current processes.....their 'daily duties rota' leaves no time for things not already factored in, and this is the big difference between club sites and commercials, here and abroad.
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In the UK on main sites that I have come across the pitches without EHU are in a separate area of the site. Different system 'over there' it appears in some cases. I wonder if traditionally electric costs were higher abroad and gas cheaper as there always seemed more usage of bottled gas in some areas of Spain and France than in the UK
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My personal view on this issue is that I can't see the point in spending hundreds of £s just to save a few quid on lekky
The reason we wanted an SP, refillable gas etc is not to save a few bob but to be able to enjoy the MH using Aires and other places that are off grid, being able to save a few bob and a few minutes in site not having to plug in EHU is a bonus. Plus in the MH the fridge is on gas all the time when the engine is not running so having cheaper gas is also a bonus. We have 1 Gaslow and 1 calor lite bottle so have a reserve if we are unable to fill up at any time.
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