Hi all, I really need some help. We have a self built camper, and have decided that we would like to go off grid sometime, or if we go somewhere and there are no electric hook ups. I have already asked in another post about a portable power station, and have been put off buying one now. At the moment we have a leisure battery being charged when the van is driven or by EHU, this also powers the 12v sockets and the fridge. We have thought about getting a 200w solar panel and another battery to link with the other battery, and possibly getting an inverter. Please can some of you tell us what your set up is? What works well for you? I have found out now that I can get a 12v hairdryer, and hair straighteners, and a inverters that can link to the battery or the 12v socket. Sorry for all the questions, but it is all very confusing and I don't want to make an expensive mistake. Thanks in advance for any replies.
firstly forget anything to do with your hair, it will drain everything you have in about 15 mins and your hair will still be wet/uncontrollable
your fridge should be run on gas when not using ehu.
to give you some idea, we have a 4 berth twin axle caravan and regularly go off ehu, we use gas for fridge and heating and hot water/cooking, we changed all the internal light bulbs to led, we have one 110 amp battery and a 100w solar panel, this easily lasts us 10 days in the summer however that does drop during the winter to a weekend. we hardly ever have the tv on other than for the news/weather
We have 120w solar & a single110amp AGM battery fridge works on gas no inverter, all interior bulbs changed to led, we don't have TV, we charge tablets and phones through usb along with a rechargeable radio. We gas for heating via Safefilll bottle.
Never really tested summer use, but we have stayed 4 days in winter .
Thanks for the replies. I have ordered a 200w solar panel kit and have someone to fit it now. I am so pleased that I didn't just order one, and asked what would be suitable for a Ford Custom first.
If you want to run any heating items you would need a large battery, at the moment that would be LiFePo technology, this allows a huge energy storage and a big discharge rate to power an inverter. I have a 280 amp/hour battery powering a 2000watt inverter, this is recharged with 200watt solar and a 30amp B2B charger, which charges off the vehicle alternator when driving.
I fitted a 150w panel in 2018 and we can stay off grid indefinitely in the summer. The compressor fridge being the biggest power user, we don't take the TV anymore
Our old van was very frugal with 150w solar & 110a agm battery. Kept us going for 5 days at least in summer with 12v fridge & led lights. Not gone that long in winter but 2-3 days with driving in-between & running the diesel heater etc has been fine. We won't use anything 240v off grid.
I have a 2000wh portable power station and 300w of solar panels on my roof. Trying to work out the electrical stressed me out and in a small van felt unnecessary to have sockets all over the place. I decided to just go with a power station and solar panels from Renogy and it was super simple to set up. I would do it again in another van tbh. I would say to not let others put you off of the power station option if it will work better for you. I also have used a hair dryer (230v). Just let your hair naturally dry for a bit first and then use the hair dryer. It will drain a bit from your battery but with different charging options, you should be fine. Just don’t wash your hair too often. My battery is charged by solar and driving. You can also get cables now to charge at EV car charging stations which I’m planning on getting as a back up option if I need it in winter
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Topic: Help with Solar please
via mobile 27/1/2025 at 11:17am
