I am a writer, and I'm planning a research trip to the West coast of Scotland later this year. I'll be camping with my baby who will be about 15 months old by then, and am trying to figure out how to make power available for my laptop so that I can write while he's in bed in the evenings.
I've looked into electric hook-up points, but they seem to need a special cable - and there is a lot of info on risk of fire etc in using them. I have also looked at leisure batteries, but not sure if that's what I need either.
Can anybody help? I will need a power cable to charge my phone and my laptop, so that I can sit outside the tent in the evenings and type.
Your best bet is to use an electric hook up point - yes there is a cost involved, around £40 for a typical unit, and then up to £5 extra per night for the luxury of being able to plug it in!
I don't know how to do links on here but visit Go Outdoors website - they have 2 models I recall, both of which would be fine.
The fire risk is no more than if you were at home - common sense is all that is required, regarding keeping everything dry and laying cables out of harms way. The only thing to watch in particular is the current limit for the site you are staying on - but for a laptop and lighting etc will never come close to these.
You mentioned a leisure battery - you have to weigh up the pro's and con's. Pro's are you save up to £5 per night on pitch fees for not needing hook up, and modern batteries last a long time if looked after. Con's are initial cost is much higher (£80ish for a good battery and same again for a good charger) - and if you want mains power another £50 for a decent inverter - and unfortunately you can't run anything like the load you could from an EHU so no option for electric cooking/coolboxes/heaters etc etc.
If it helps - generally we make do without EHU, and charge things in the car whilst out for the day (I use a netbook that lasts around 6hrs on a full charge). In the FC we have a leisure battery so can of course use that - best of both worlds!
Hope this helps!
Innes
------------- Just give me an excuse!
1987 Conway Laser FC
Hi Gear Zenobia 6
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Providing the campsites you're planning on staying at have power then I would go with an electric hook-up, as mentioned above, easy enough to source on Go-Outdoors or Amazon. Make sure you get one with a long lead as you never know how far you may be from the hook-up point.
Also get one which has an IP44 rating, which will protect it against water splashes.
Check the supply limit of the sites you're staying at, most these days are 16amp (roughly 3500 watts), which means you can easily run a laptop, light, small heater and a cool box if you need one.
A day of all things motorhome and campervan. The show is held both in the main indoor arena and across the grounds. Catering, hot drinks and food options are available. Easy access to the site and free parking included. Win one of five pairs of day tickets
Topic: Advice on power, please?
