Battery as sole power source
I have been caravanning for many years and always routinely ask for an electric hook up pitch which has always worked well for us. We are planning to book in to a site with no power and I am totally ignorant of what that means in a practical way. We have a Bailey Unicorn Cadiz 2014 model with a fridge (will work off gas) , microwave, gas cooker, lights, plug sockets, central heating radiators and hot water working from an Alde heating system and a TV. Please could anyone give me some advice as to how I could manage for a weeks holiday using battery alone or whether it is a mistake to even try. The non electric sites all look so tempting!
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Your microwave is 240v mains. What about your telly? If it'll run off 12 volts D.C., then you can use it for a limited time, if 240v mains, then see below.
Your plug sockets are 240 volts & they will only work if you're on electric hook up, unless, in the unlikely event that you have an inverter connected to them.
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We didn't bother with an inverter when we had our panel fitted. We never take a TV so no problem there. We can charge all our gadgets from phones to camera batteries using the 12v system. We run the water heater, fridge etc using gas and have safefill gas bottles. Obviously to an extent the weather does/can play a part and don't park the van under fir trees
As we never stay anywhere more than 3 to 5 days its never a problem for us. When doing 1 night stop overs we never bother with EHU0 -
You need to establish, how good your battery is. If you have never been off ehu before, you just won’t know. If it is good condition then with a 100w panel I would expect you to be fine this time of year. A lot of non ehu set up’s have some provision for battery charging, which is an extra security blanket
You obviously need more gas, than you have previously, I always take 2 bottles, a week in the summer a 6kg bottle should last. The carlorlite you last changed 18 months ago probably won’t.
Going without isn’t difficult or rocket science, it’s not roughing it, but check your battery and take plenty of gas.
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as others have said....you won't have mains sockets working so you'll need other sources to power your appliances...
fridge, hot water from gas....as will your hob, so a cuppa needs a hob type get tle on a gas ring...
ipads and phones are easy to charge from a 12v socket with adaptor or even USB if you have some.
the TV will also need to run from 12v and I would forget about microwaves, hair dryers etc until your a bit more into this....
you may love it....or not...
good luck
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...a generator used well away from everyone else when wild camping might do the job and yet only upset the local wildlife...
using one next to your neighbour who's come for a little quiet back to nature time probably won't appreciate it....
IMHO, there are many other ways to camp away from an EHU supply and use a 12v supply.....generators aren't on the list for most non-EHU campers and to have that racket in your ear for hours on end would drive any soul nuts....
if you really need a 230v supply for a particular 'gadget' (our Sky box is mains only) then an inverter (to convert 12v from your batteries into 230v to a specific socket(s)) will do the job...
first, get this trip under your belt as practical learning experience and forget all thoughts about generators....if only for your neighbours' sake
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Assuming you have no solar panel, the visit is in summer and your battery is in good condition and fully charged at the start.
The microwave is not an option.
The Alde should not be needed for heating. On gas it has 5.5 kw of heating ability so can heat up the 8.5 litres water, plus coolant, from 10 to 70C in theoretically just 10 > 12 miuntes, so only put it on when needed to minimise its drain on the battery to function.
The fridge will work on gas using minimal battery power.
Lighting needs in summer are low, but only use for longer periods LED lights; don't go over the top in number in use. Forget lengthy reading in bed.
Recharge your phone mainly when out driving via the car's sockets.
Don't use the inbuilt radio for any length of time, they are very power greedy. Sit in the car for the Archers etc.
The TV again is a big drain not only pulling a few amps but because it is typically on for prolonged periods.Try to avoid using a mover to set up on arrival. Leaving base is fine as its drain will be replaced as you travel.
Given a good battery and a prudence in its use you ought not have a problem. Adding a decent size solar cell does wonders in long stays off EHU, so if you like us are seduced by the charms many non EHU sites also bring that is something to put on your Christmas list. A 100Watt roof mounted or 80 Watt freestanding system would through the bulk of the year remove most strictures on battery use. Here Amazon and Ebay are your friends rather than caravan shops, plus there is a wealth of knowledge here to help you DIY it.
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Off grid,15 nights no problem on 12v inc.TV usage, just use more gas. Solar panel 150w puts 8amps into battery in full sun. July £8 a night Rowntree Park down the road £33 a night, big savings more outings!
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Good heavens Chris, the amount of kit you cart around
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Equip yourself with solar powered products and wind ups, torches, lanterns, lithium radio or solar/windup radio combined, chargers etc.
We don't watch much TV off EHU, maybe the news and weather. You'll probably need to decide where the stored power is most important to your needs.
Our solar panel is 100W. It would be interesting to know if the OP has a panel.
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Have you seen the thread on How to Thrive off Grid - it's in the money saving section. Merve runs his microwave - but to do that is quite an investment. I run everything I need - no microwave off a small folding solar panel and a £60 inverter. It all depends on how often you want to go off grid and what you need. A LOT of money can be saved if you dispense with the orange umbilical and there are some lovely places off grid.
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Trouble, is every time somene asks this question. They get bombarded with an enormous shopping list. Of the what you need is a 250W solar panel with mptlm controller 3000W inverter, lithium ion battery, Safefill bottle, nuclear powered hair straighteners (Ok I made the last one up). Then once you have spent your £3000 you will be able to save a tenner a night on site fee’s. The original poster, is completely intimidated and sticks to what he knows, ie ehu.
So let me put it plainly to the OP, to give it a go you don’t need the big shopping list. Sure I have some of the items above, but for short stay in the summer. You need a battery that is charged and in good condition, and if you beg steal or borrow another battery and a charger you should be able to charge it somewhere, if you need to even if you have to hand over a couple of beer tokens to do it.
I hope and expect that once you have done it, you will look back and wonder what the fuss was about.
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Brought one of these just to give more charging options in the car 🚗
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Shave your head-bosh sorted. You are most welcome👍🏻😊
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.....agreed, small sacrifice to make....
so, two savings......all those lovely non EHU sites and no full perms at the hairdressers.....what's not to like....
seriously, OH has fairly short hair which doesn't 'really' (my word) need artificial drying....so the 'dryer thing' doesn't stop us including these in our types of sites we like....
of course my shoulder length, left over 'hippy look' is another story....
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My OH has longhair and almost never uses a hairdryer.
In Grumpy old mode, oneputt posted a link to a charger I am sure it works fine both in a Car and caravan. But why o why do they insist in covering such devices in light polluting LEDs does my head in. And this included the lights fitted to our Hymer electric control display panel. They are retina burning bright. Are you reading this Hymer and Schaudt
? Rant over I feel better for that. 0 -
I remember a time in France where our EHU panel failed so we only had battery. After several days the battery was almost flat but we borrowed a charger from the site owner and plugged it in somehow to recharge the battery. In those days we had no TV (still don’t) no microwave and everything else ran on gas.
The amount of battery power you need depends solely on what you want to run. If you can ditch the TV then a battery plus solar panel will more than suffice for as long as you need.
Not often mentioned but another way of surviving is to get your battery recharged periodically. CLs used to list battery recharge facilities but failing that I am sure that if you took a charger with you and asked the site owner they would plug it is whilst you are out for the day.
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I am astonished by the number of sites which offer to recharge your PHONE ...for £1 a time
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Thank you all so much for your really helpful advice We do not have a solar panel on the caravan or free standing. We have recently bought a new battery and I have a battery charger I could take. So I will try all your ideas when I go to my next electicity site at half term, without hooking up. What a good idea. Thank you all again so much.
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A lot on here about, the how. But a short post about the why.
Just returned from a weekend at a lovely little spot in the middle of no where. The sun shined all weekend. I was on a Rally but a couple of people have stayed on for an night or two cost of £6 per night.
This is irrelevant because, the battery would have lasted anyway but. The Solar panel had fully charged the battery by about 9 30 am. I can tell this not by the voltage, but because I have a monitor that records the charging amps and it was showing 0amps.
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At those prices a battery bank from Currys/PC World would pay for itself in no time.
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...or even Poundland
i got one there as back up for when out and about....and their iPad charging cables are eally robust, too....
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Lol, I'll tell you what KS, the power pack is really handy if out and about using maps and things...seems well built, too
also the cables are really tough....I have the older iPhone 4s type broad connector, and the Apple cables definitely have a weak spot at the join there....
not found this so far with the couple of ones I got at PL...a more heavyweight moulding to support that weak area...
I bought them for charging the phone and iPad in the van and am seriously impressed...at about 5-10% of the cost of the genuine article...
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MrsP bought me a power pack ages ago, I thought 'another useless gadget'. However it is great, just slightly larger than a pen so fits in jacket pocket. Holds a full iPhone 8+ charge, so more than sufficient. Has a flashlight in the end too. A very short 3" anker cable and its just so handy.
I bought my daughter a larger capacity power pack when in Gibraltar in December as an Xmas pressie. She uses it all the time to keep her phone charged.
In the car/caravan the girls have matching pink gold braided charging cables that were pennies as they forever broke or lost the OEM Apple ones.
Recently Apple have changed their cable type that seems to last longer without flexure breaks. But at a price, so only use the originals with a new phone.
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We never go for E.H.U. with a decent solar panel to keep your batty toped up, 12 volt T.V. if not get an inverter to use your T.V. off 12 volt
your fringe, cooker, water heater and heating will all run on gas
we go for 3 weeks like this in August
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