Hi all, was thinking of getting a spare battery for when on rallies or non ehu sites, & was wandering, if one was to become flat is there a charger a could buy to charge it up again from the boot of the car as I am driving, Many Thanks
In days gone by we used to use a TP2 box in the boot wired into a split charging circuit. Each time we used the car it charged the battery and then we swapped it with the one in the 'van. Could go for weeks without mains lecky like that. Not sure if there is anything similar about now, maybe Labcraft who made the TP2 can advise.
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Hi birder99, thanks for that, googled Labcraft only seem to get Fluorescent Lights, can't find anything on ebay, never mind i'll just keep searching, thanks again.
Hi jaysere03, thank you for that, but that looks a bit complicated for me ha ha, if I just get a heavy duty battery I’ll see how we go, its only for a hour or so of tv a day for my little girl when at rallies, we’ve not been to any as yet so not sure how long battery will last, if 2 batteries don’t work may look at a solar panel to trickle charge battery, thanks again.
I used to get around 4 days use out of an old car battery and an 85amp leisure battery (tv in the evenings and all out lights and pumps are battery).
You probobly need quite a decent solar panel to charge a battery but it was awhile since I looked into it !
I just used to run two heavy wires (40 or 50A IIRC) from the car battery to the boot and connect them up when engine was running - easy. Make sure that the battery in the boot is very well secured though - you really don't want that moving all over the place
Hi Jennygirlx, thanks, I think it sounds like a spare battery will be the best option, it will only be for 3 to 4 day at a time so we should be ok, thinking about it solar panels are a bit expensive,
Hi jaysere03, thanks again for your reply, yes it is the steam rallies we are thinking of, they look like very good weekends, we’re hoping our daughter goes to sleep early but cant see it myself,
Hi francophile1947, I was thinking down that line but thought it a bit dangerous, many thanks.
As im sure the steam events web pages expalin they are very child friendly.
lots of space to run around new facinating sounds (i bought my kids ear defenders)
then theres the bouncy castles and slides and bungee jumps,face painters,who all use gennys and im sure if you have a flat battery a quick word im they should be happy to put a battery on charge for you.. especially if your daughters a paying customer
beer tents with entertainment.
really dont worry my guess is the t,v wont even be asked for,
as youve already said a personal dvd player may be your best solution and charged from car ciggy lighter.
I attend steam rallies pretty much most weekends and tend to get on site a day or 2 before it all starts and my kids love every min of it
Hi Steve & Sue, could use an invertor, plugged into cigarette lighter,and converts 12V DC to AC,plug in your car battery charger to the AC plug on inverter,connect charger leads to battery, Note, make sure that battery and charger secured in the car, Make sure the charge stops when the car is not running,(If itill charging while engine stopped ) unplug it or you will drain the cars Battery,hope this is of help.
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Hi jhsw, didn’t think of that, that is a possibility, would only need a small inverter & small charger, was thinking of securing battery in the boot & drilling small hole in the boot floor for a breather pipe, many thanks.
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: battery charger
