I am going to be new to caravanning in the spring and all going to plan will be residing in it full time but I have a question to all who spend time in their vans over the winter, colder months.
I understand about EHU and was wondering, with it being colder how do you ensure you don't trip the hook up as I assume you would be using more electric than you would in summer.
What would you use on the EHU and what would you use on gas? I am thinking cooker, heating, fridge, water heating etc.
I read somewhere about using the heating on a mix of gas and electric for optimum results??
I read on a campsite website that they requested all vans use their gas for heating when visiting over winter to prevent tripping the electrics.
Any advise on what others have done to create the best use of equipment/gas/electric to make life easier would be greatly appreciated.
Many thanks
------------- Sue
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.
Hi Sue, what you can use on EHU will depend to a large extent on how many amps the EHU can supply. Some sites only have a 6 amp supply, which won't allow you to use very much. What you have to remember is that any electrical device that contains a heating element will be very power-hungry, but things like TVs, radios, and certain types of lighting, will not be so to the same extent.
I personally would use the cooker, water heater, and fridge on gas, but split the heating between gas and electric, if the supply was sufficient to do so.
It depends on the amperage of ehu. 16amp then use what you want but not all together. If you are going to stop on a site all winter then really you want a site that offers 16amp ehu. If unmetered 16amp ehu is offered then it would be pointless to use gas for heating, it is expensive. Fridge uses hardly anything on on electric, nor tv & neither do lights especially if led & nor do phone chargers/laptops etc.
Appliances that get hot are what would trip ehu if used all together so use singly. These would be elec kettle & fan heater, for example, anything with a heating element. Even if ehu is only 10amps, elec heating is still doable with care. If you are paying for unmetered ehu then use as little gas as possible. Used just for cooking a gas bottle will last for ages, use it day & night for heating & you will do a bottle in a few days.
when away in our van over the winter months, yes we use the whole lot! but of course n o matter what supply of watts we just make sure that everything isn't on at once~! would it really harm to turn the heating off for 3 mins while the kettle boils? nope! basically there are only 3 things you need to concern yourself over, and that is don't have the heating, the water heater and the kettle on at the same time
I live in mine full time as well..
use propane gas otherwise butane will freeze..get a small aquarium heater and put that inside the aquaroll so it wont freeze and have aquaroll on a pallet so its off the ground..
I have my heater on electric all the time clicking in and out its thermostat(I dont use the gas for heating or water) i use the electric heater on water as well and only use gas on hob and ovan(I dont currently have a microwave) but when i use a iron i switch off heating as i am on a 10amp trip.. I have tripped my electric a few times after finding out a iron and water heater and fire heater on full blast and all lights and tv and sat box on it will trip so i only use iron on its own...
tip as well if power point has a spare plug why not run 2 leads to caravan run 1 into the awning if u put 1 up as i iron in awning now as its easier havent tripped electric since..
------------- lunar solar ecclipse 4 berth. living in caravan permantly on site.
Thank you all for some sound advice. I will keep a note of all the suggestions ready for next winter.
I love this site - everyone happy to pass on their valuable knowledge.
Fortunately I don't drink tea or coffee so the kettle wont need to be used that often. But the fridge is a requirement for ice cubes to add to the Vodka!
and jay1976 - what is an iron? I thought that was a swear word
Thanks again everyone.
------------- Sue
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.
look at appliance wattage,normally caravan and camping stuff is lower wattage than household.Look at what you are running and simply divide the wattage by voltage to give ampage.Eg,2000 wattsdivide by 240 volt will give 8.3 amp.Then you know if you might trip it or not
------------- i dont sell cheap tat.I sell tat cheap
only iron my work shirt..and i had to watch a utube video on how to do it first of all(true as well still have the vid saved)..
I removed my old caravan fridge and fitted a small fridge freezer in its place.
http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/household-appliances/refrigeration/fridge-freezers/essentials-c50tw12-fridge-freezer-white-12265419-pdt.html#cat-0
had to trim a bit of wood away to get it in place but i now have a fridge freezer..
------------- lunar solar ecclipse 4 berth. living in caravan permantly on site.
We have found that apart from really really cold nights once the van is heated up on gas the electric fire can be used on the lowest setting and still keep the van nice and warm.
The only month of the year my caravan isn't used, is December.
If you're going to be living in the caravan permanently, I would suggest you find a site with a 16amp supply.
The only thing I use on gas is the cooker, and although my present and previous caravans have/had the electric hotplate, I've never used them.
The only concession I make because of the lower level of power is not using the microwave and kettle at the same time. Other than that, it's all systems go!
Thank you all again for the more recent replies - I feel with the advise on here I can cope with a winter in the van whatever it brings. I am going to be taking a look at some vans this coming weekend over at Highbridge Caravans, Nr Burnham on Sea. Particularly like the look of the Lunar Quasar 544 but we don't have a Lunar dealer down here in Cornwall. I did check out the Bailey Vigo but it is too heavy for my Xtrail Auto.
At least planning on doing this in the spring I can have the summer first to get used to everything
Thanks again for all your good advise.
Sue
------------- Sue
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.
First of all good luck, though I'm sure with you planning ahead you won't need it. Although I do not live in mine, we have used it extensively in the winter over the years. If you will be permanently sited and choose a site with a good supply I don't see any problems. We use a rule of 'any 1 of 3 from kettle, heater or water heater', the rest stay on and it's a very long time since we tripped the electric. If your EHU has individual breakers you can 'push it' just to see how far you can go without worrying about disrupting other campers supplies. Avoid the 'quick boil', high wattage kettles, the cheap own brand kettles seem to use a few hundred watts less, this can make the difference between tripping and not.
The only thing that I would add to all the other advice is that if you ever think of taking your 'van abroad, beware that a lot more sites have a much reduced amperage on their EHUs.
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Topic: Winter Caravanners - a Question
I thought that was a swear word
