apart from a generator is there anything else i should have to hook up safely if the site has no ELU might be a daft question but i am fairly new to caravaning
Generator is a choice. Solar panels or windgenerators are (somewhat expensive but silent) alternatives.
Most important is to have a good battery on board. Size depends on your usage, plus on your loading capacity, but if you have enough loading capacity for a generator, you also have enough loading capacity for a large and heavy battery.
110 Amps for heavy use, 85 Amps for medium to light use, 65 Amps for very light use (supplemented with e.g solar. like in my case, light user, light car etc.). If you want to watch TV you will need heavier stuff.
For many people who are moderate users just a good battery suffices. Some have a connection in the boot of the car and put in in there to charge by day when touring.
Unless you have a speciific need e.g. medical, or are planning on touring a lot using sites with no EHU available and using a lot of power, a battery should be sufficient.
------------- Caz
If you can't see the light at the end of the tunnel, just keep going till you go round the bend.
I can't agree with all that Caz said about generators certainly noisier than a battery and a bit bigger but a Honda eu 10i is less than half the weight of a 110 amp hour battery and I wouldn't say they were particularly messy or smelly if used properly.I think that there is a place for both and it is a matter of what suits you best.The one major factor that wasn't mentioned is the huge difference in cost if you go for a good generator.
Saxo1
Would you use a generator without battery than? I'd say you need both, as you would also want to have electricity at night, when other peoplke would object to the sound of a generator. Even a moderate humming sound becomes irritating after a while if it continues, so the chance is that people start objecting.
So one has to add the weight of a battery plus the weight of a generator. And, yes, a 110 Amps batery is MUCH heavier than a 85 Amps battery.
But I do have the impression that generator users also tend to have a 110 Amps battery, as they generally are bigger energy users.
If one is a moderate user on many cases just a battery would do. I myself have a 45W soalr panel, with a rather light battery, 65 Amps. orks fine too, as I am a light user and this way i can do without EHU for quiet some time. Actually I get the impression that a light batery works better with solar than a heavier battery. A light battery of necessity gets relatively somewhat more discharged and charged again, which keeps the battery more active, but maybe this too is imagination...
Anyway for me it works fine.
It's just that everyone has to make out what is best for him/her, with a bit of an eye to your neighbours, which includes the types of campsites one will visit.
We oicked up a power pack and heated blanket from Woolies. Pack has cig socket in it. Can run blanket fro about 4-5 hours, TV for 3 hours. Takes a while to charge but most sites we have been will charge a battery and this is just the same (charging committmnet wise).
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Topic: electrcs
