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Topic: Tent power from your car battery..?

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Vonsworld

07/7/2013 at 9:57am
Location: None Entered
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Hello

I'm planning a camping trip in a tent with no EHU and so am thinking about using the 12 volt battery in my car to power the tent lights and my Son's toys etc.

I can easily make a fused lead to run from the car battery to the tent and power the devices we need since I have a good understanding of what's required.

However I wondered who else has tried this approach and how well it worked?

Our car battery is new and 80 amp hours capacity, so if we discharged that by about 50%, do you think it would still start the car afterwards?

I'm sure this is a difficult question to answer precisely and depends on lots of other factors, but has anyone tried something similar, or would just like to give me your best guess?

I should point out that I would always have a spare battery and set of jump leads with me just in case! and I also know that discharging a car battery by 50% does not do it much good in the long term :-)

tentfluff

07/7/2013 at 11:02am
Location: colchester
Outfit: Bell tent NR7 kitchen

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If I were you I would get a leisure battery, we use one for our water tap and lights plus it charges phones and the like.

eggracedeb

07/7/2013 at 11:11am
Location: Burnley
Outfit: Swift challenger 500

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I have caravan and go on rallies etc without ehu. I went to my local scrap yard and obtained a perfectly good car battery from a wreck for a tenner. This I use to power my tv,thus preserving my main caravan battery,problem solved.Simply re-charge the battery when returning home and you will not be worrying about your car not starting.Good luck.

Alec Gatherer

07/7/2013 at 12:19pm
Location: Manchester
Outfit: Cotswold Windrush 13 ; Riley 2½ litre

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My Rapido is actually designed to run off the car battery; it has no on-board leisure battery, nor the facility for one.
I cheat however - my car has a starting handle! So no matter how low the battery goes, I can always start the car.
To be honest, in the days when I used the car battery for electric lights in the caravan, and occasional TV, I never had any problem starting the car using the starter motor the following morning.
Keep electric useage to a minimum and I guess you'll be OK.

Post last edited on 07/07/2013 18:50:37

-------------
Riley cars; Cotswold Windrush van.

snagz

07/7/2013 at 2:12pm
Location: Wiltshire
Outfit: sold van so looking for a nice tent

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just keep a set of jump leads in the back..... just in case.

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Rich

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bexamy

07/7/2013 at 6:45pm
Location: Kent
Outfit: Trigano ranger 575lx

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We have got a small solar panel we contacted to the battery it won't charge a dead battery but will keep a fully charged one topped up.

keicar

10/7/2013 at 4:46pm
Location: Gloucester
Outfit: Vango Icarus 300 500 Omega 350

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I made up a lead using a fused cigar lighter plug, 10 meters of cable and at the tent end I bought one of those twin car light sockets with a built in USB sockets - similar to this.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3-4-WAY-MULTI-SOCKET-DC-12V-24V-CAR-CIGARETTE-LIGHTER-SPLITTER-USB-PLUG-CHARGER-/310684348288?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item48563aef80

I used this as all our 12v accessories seemed to use a cigar lighter type plug.

We power a laptop (TV) for an hour or so at night, LED main light, Ipod dock from the USB and occasional phone charging also using the USB. One of these is also useful to plug any sub 75w mains appliance in.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3-4-WAY-MULTI-SOCKET-DC-12V-24V-CAR-CIGARETTE-LIGHTER-SPLITTER-USB-PLUG-CHARGER-/310684348288?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item48563aef80

It all works fine, and to date the car has been OK, just in case I also take a car booster charger pack in case of a flat battery, although I've never had the need to use it.

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