Battery charging on CL
We usually go to sites that have hook up but are being brave and going to a CL with no electric.
We have a 100 or 120w solar panel, use diesel for heating, Gas via Gaslow for cooking, hot water and fridge. All light are LED.
Two questions:
Roughly how many days will our battery last and it says battery charging on site. How do we do this?? Do we need any extra equipment?
These may seem very basic questions but any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Comments
-
We also generally use ours on EHU. However, when we used it off grid in France, during September 2019, our 160 w of solar recharged the battery easily during the day. There were no trees or other obstructions and the weather was fairly bright. We weren’t using the heating as it was warm, so no fan to power but did use the TV for a couple of hours each evening and charged pads / phones, plus of course it was running lights, fridge electrics and water pump.
As to battery recharging I think you would have to ask the CL what they mean by that.
0 -
As above, there are a few variables...even without solar a good battery will last a couple of days provided you aren't taking too much out of it...so, usage (as well as solar input) is a key factor.
if you're going in February in the uk and you're charging Ebike batteries etc then 140w might well not be enough..however 300w in Spain (as here) everything re-charged by 10:30.
of just charging phones, using the water pump and a bit of heating fan (with diesel heating) you could well be ok...but needs to be monitored.
the thing is, if the 'equation' starts to become negative (poor weather, no sun) it will be hard to 'catch up' later as the sun level won't be very high..
have a go, good luck, you can always move😀😉👍
0 -
What time of year are you going?
We go off grid from March through to October using a 10kg Safefill gas bottle, 150 watts of solar panels and a 120 AH battery. We carry a 6kg lite bottle as a backup.
If you find you need to use the sites recharging facilities you'll probably have to take the battery off the van and take it over to the office.
We find we can use the TV for a couple of hours each night with no problem. Recharging phones etc we do during the day or when out and about with the car.
We can happily go for 3 to 4 weeks without any bother.
0 -
Firing up your diesel heating will take a chunk out of your battery, albeit only for a brief moment. If you are going at this time of year and your diesel heater also does your hot water, it might be better to keep it running on low all the time to save that 'start up' draw.
0 -
As Boff says, your battery charge will last indefinitely on solar. You’ve got plenty of capacity with 140w! We’ve been away for weeks without EHU and we use only a 60w solar panel.
0 -
That’s what battery charging usually means. It harks back to when most toured using a battery only in van. You carried a spare, and could swop them over, one on, one charging. Still available on a lot of sites, at a charge.
0 -
We’ve gone over 4 weeks without EHU, topped up by the manufacturer’s roof mounted 20W solar panel and our own portable 100W one. But we’ve also failed, requiring a battery swap. It depends on the weather, the state of your battery, whether you rotate your portable solar panel to face the sun two or three times a day, and of course your profligacy with electricity. We’ve intercepted the caravan fridge wiring feed from the car, allowing us to top up a second battery in the rear footwell, while motoring without the van on tow. Solar panels are less than half the cost of when we bought ours, but they are bulky and heavy. I’m tempted to believe that another 100W panel would solve all problems, but in every case I’d take a spare battery. Note, some fridges have AA battery backups to their control circuitry, which will prevent your fridge stopping while you fix a power outage.
0
