Decided to go up to Hawkshead on Saturday for a 3 night stop, pop up tent, very basic, walking holiday . Had a great time, no need for electric hook up as site had free hairdryers, wifi, local pubs serve good food , camping stove for a brew etc. However we used the car battery to charge our mobile phone...... bad idea !!! We arrived Saturday dinner time and didn't use the car until Monday tea time and we had a flat battery. We asked at the reception if they had jump leads , no, so we asked a few campers, a couple of helpful gentlemen had jump leads but they didn't work, sparks and smoke but no power. We tried pushing the car to jump start it but that didn't happen. We decided to call the breakdown service ( Green Flag ) and they arrived within 40 minutes. The battery was flat and we had blown a fuse trying to jump start it. The mechanic sorted the car and we decided to cut our holiday short and drive home tonight instead of in the morning " just in case " . Moral of the story is that mobile phones will flatten your battery if you don't use the car. We thought we would be OK over a couple of days. Going to go into town tomorrow and buy a portable battery charger ( a battery that you charge up at home and then you plug your mobile into it to charge it up
There's probably something wrong with your car battery if it gets flattened by a couple of mobile phone charges. This should not flatten a battery.
Also if you see smoke and sparks when jump starting it suggests you have the leads incorrectly attached.
Have a look for power banks on Amazon before you go into town - much cheaper than retail. Check capacity against price as value can be erratic. Anker is a dependable brand.
Mintymonkeylove, We're getting the battery checked today by our mechanic, might buy a new one if its not 100% . We assumed we would be OK charging the phones but the Green Flag man said it does happen sometimes.
Thanks for your recommendations, I'll have a shop around before I buy anything. We're hoping to go away again tomorrow for a couple of nights so I'll need to buy one today rather than online. Maybe buy a cheap one for now and order a decent one online when we get back 🙂
Also look out for leaving the car doors open when the lights stay on. I flattened my battery over 3 days of this and had to be rescued by a man with jump leads. However the car started, and once it had driven a short time, the battery was back to normal.
That could have has something to do with the flat battery. We got it checked this morning and the battery does loose some charge so our mechanic is replacing it next week. He said it should be OK for a while but to replace it before winter . We bought a power bank for the phones so we should be OK to go away for a couple of nights tomorrow. We fancy Malham so if the weather stays fine we're off in the morning 😀🏕
iv built a power pack from a leisure battery, a 240v intelligent charger, a 20w polycrystalline solar panel, a charge regulator and a battery status indicator.
this 65a/H battery will pump up my tent a few times using a 20Amp draw pump, and still power all my lights, charges phones and tablets and the solar panel fully recharges it ( confirmed by the fully charged indiactor on the status panel ).
handy to build one if you know how to - i can happily run away from ehu with this unit.
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Living the Dutch Dream - Karsten 300 pod + extns in Sea Green and Pure Cotton
We bought an 8000 power bank from B&M Bargains, Goodmans, for £12.99 as a friend has one and recommended it. It worked a treat, charging 2 phones over 2 nights and was very easy to use . Going to have a check online to see if we can buy a bigger one for longer trips but happy with this for short stays . And no flat battery
Another thumbs up for Anker; I've had a 16,000mah powerbank for 3+ years and still going strong, it also has built in torch (only good for close up but great for a tent).
Did buy 2 x 20,000mah generic powerbanks but they both failed just after 1 year and they seemed to overstate their capacity, something I've never questioned on the Anker, so I guess you get what you pay for.
Also had friends that have had good results with Aukey & Ravpower branded items.
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: Lesson Learned
