before you use the genny make sure you are aloud to as some sites dont allow them, you wont need a large one if all you want to charge the battery we just use a 850w,
some have more money than sence and buy expensive solar panels and fuel cells, some just take a spare battery, and i would expect some just sit in the dark.
me i cant afford these expensive items so i use a small genny, but im only ever off a hook up at dorset steam fair and truckfest so, loads of them are about.
tykey, would that include awning light at night to, ive never let my battery run low enough yet, only just brought it and dont want to kill it, so with tv would last about a week then? with a few hours a night,
Quote: Originally posted by mikecandsarhab on 13/7/2009
some have more money than sence and buy expensive solar panels and fuel cells, some just take a spare battery, and i would expect some just sit in the dark.
me i cant afford these expensive items so i use a small genny, but im only ever off a hook up at dorset steam fair and truckfest so, loads of them are about.
mike
We have a generator and a solar panel. The generator was £50 in Aldi and the solar panel (13 watt solar breif case)was £60 in Maplin. I have since seen the solar panel for £50 on offer though. The panel is adequate to keep up with our moderate needs in bright sunshine but in the off season doesn't quite manage it. But I would recommend the solar panel over the generator every time. It's free to run and silent. Even off peak, we have no problem lasting a long weekend on an 85 ah battery with the solar panel, plus of course we use the lights for longer.
Hi
We go on a lot of rallies, so are often not on ehu. We bought a generator a 2kw one off ebay, i think its a kipor, I think it was about £250 ish. We only use it to top our battery up so its topped up for the motor mover. Also our club has put a limit on the use of them. We have to use ours between the hours of 11 am and 1 pm and we have to stay with it. Just last week we have purchased a 65w solar panel, which is absolutely brilliant, topped the battery up in no time. We have a telly which can run off 12v as well as 240volt so will be able to take this with us now. I must admit now using the solar panel its a lot more peaceful you just cant use your useful electrical appliances.
We have recently started going non EHU, mainly because we prefer some of the tent pitches to the ones with electric. Our longest without battery was 5 days and everything worked well enough, although was only really using fridge/lights. We are happy to forgo the TV - another new thing for us as we prefer just sitting playing cards, etc - or doing nothing. It sounds as though a solar panel would be good for us as a supplement to the battery though - might look into that! Don't know if this would interest members, but our TV also runs with a built in battery, havent checked to see how long it runs for, don't suspect it would be long but we managed to watch Andy Murray playing a couple of weeks ago (a couple of hours)!
Quote: Originally posted by Fat Bum on 13/7/2009
Get a solar panel instead!
Best thing we bought 3 years ago. Battery/solar panel combination never let us down yet. Away for 9 days last year, plenty of tv watched, lights on and the solar panel did its job perfectly.
Quote: Originally posted by mikecandsarhab on 13/7/2009
tykey, would that include awning light at night to, ive never let my battery run low enough yet, only just brought it and dont want to kill it, so with tv would last about a week then? with a few hours a night,
mike
Sorry Mike, I don't know the answer to that, but I suspect not.
Size one which will top up your battery in the shortest time whilst nobody is about, so you can top it up if it runs low. Run the TV off the battery.
Either that, or look at one of those Honda suitcase gennys
I've got a genny which I'm EXTREMELY careful about using,(I've only ever used it once) because it does annoy other people. But if it packs in, I'll buy a solar panel, which are far more practical IMHO.
If you get an inverter sptie 303 you can run 240 items off your 12v system, although the invertr uses some juice so as long as your careful an only have things on when needed it should be ok
As a few of the memebers on here supplying your own power is a must. im always in feilds with nuffin (steam rallies etc) i have an 850 that i used to use all day that would give me enough for a cold beer after work tean and coffee all day from kettle a quick snack heated in the micro and even the telly on if i got time (not all together mind) however ive just borrowed (last weekend) a super silent suitcase genny that was chained to the underneath of van with an exhaust extender to getthe fumes above the van and that stayed on all night and i never even heard it at 3am as it was so silent only problem with that was it cost more than the caravan itself but was very good im sure it was a 6kva and could power more than i could use in the van
solor panels are becoming cheaper by the day so keep a look out on ebay you may just bag a bargain
Quote: Originally posted by mikecandsarhab on 14/7/2009
tykey thanks anyway, i dont use my genny much, i dont like the noise myself but hey sometimes its just to be used.
mike
No probs, when I used mine, just the once, I waited until everybody round about had gone out, and then went to see my distant neighbours to check if it was a nuisance. They couldn't even hear it, so there was no issue.
I think people get really angry if it's on in the evenings, or if they don't feel they have any control. So when you use it, I'd just tell the neighbours you will have it on for only (say) 30mins, so they don't get frustrated.
Incidentally, I've just been reading another thread on here which suggested it's quicker to connect your car to the battery with jump leads, and run the car. In theory you would top it up with 10Ah. The thread is still progressing, so I'm not sure if this is a good idea.
The 850w genny, will give 8 amps, so it will have to run for 11 hours to fully top up an empty 85Ah battery, so it's not a quick 10 minute job
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Topic: what size generator ?
