i have booked 2 rallies with the cc one 2nights one 4 nights then we are going to primrose valley 5 nights we have electric at haven but OH keeps going on about we wont be able to cope on the rallies-- we have 2 decent batteries-- cooking & heat is gas so i'm not worried should i be? your opinion will back me up i hope-- lilian
We have managed 4 nights without EHU with one battery and still had power for the motor mover when we got back to our storage site. We don't watch much tv when we're away but I charge up our portable DVD player and the portable Blu-Ray player so that we can watch films in the evening.
You'll have no problem (assuming you don't spend hours watching TV). We used to rally and spend our main holidays on C&CC THSs - no electric for 10 days with no problems. We did a couple of years with just the battery (decent quality 110amp), then got one of those small briefcase solar panels - they do top the battery up a little and will give you a few more days. But for 4 days you really have no worries, as long as you limit TV watching - TVs really do eat your battery power!
we rally alot and before we got other sources of power (solar panel and generator) we just used our 110amph battery which lasted us for about 4 or 5 days so I'd say you'd be ok. Just make sure you turn off lights that are not needed as they do use quite a bit of power (we have changed some in our van to LEDs)
------------- -x- Diane -x-
May 13 - Cala Gogo, St Cyprien (didn't go, hubby too ill to travel)
May 14 Ranc Davaine
August 14 Les Sablons
August 13 - Camping Playa Brava, Pals
We have 1 battery (110a) and 1 solar panel (80w) and we are in no doubt we can last indefinatly, we rally a lot and our longest without hookup so far is 4 weeks and our battery was still full, thats with 1 or 2 hours TV a day.
We have a 110ah battery and can easily last a week or more, including charging iPads and mobile phones up, I have now made some led lighting so we can likely last longer this year.
I was away for 19 nights last year and didn't charge my battery up once in that time! However I do only have a small caravan with 2 LED strip lights and I used a small invertor to charge my mobile phone and DS.
With 2 batteries, you will be absloutely fine for 4 nights with no EHU as long as you don't spend all day watching TV.
Its all down to how much you use the battery. Everyone is different and they have differing patterns of usage. One person saying they can go for 10 days without charging battery is as relevant as another saying the battery only lasts them a couple of days. Modern 'vans with electronic fridge controls and Alde heating soon gulp up the power but a basic 'van using a couple of lights and maybe a pump will last for ages. Its a bit like 'how long is a piece of string' and until you know what you are using you will not know how long the battery will last or indeed what the condition of the battery is. Also consider it is not advisable to take a battery below about 50% charge if you want to prolong its life.
------------- 'A sure cure for sea-sickness is to sit under a tree'
we have done 7 nights in winter no EHU, only an hour or so TV in the evening, but extra use of lights, and blown air, still had power left.
I have changed all my lamps to LED, as rallies/no ehu is somthing we do alot, so far not had need for a genny/solar etc.
if you have 2 good batteries, you should have no problem, even for 4 days of fairly heavy usage.
If you are thinking of going no electric alot, I would say investing in LED lighting is the first step before looking at solar panels etc, considerable savings are to be had here, on average a caravan has 20W halogens, replace these with approx 2W of LED, thats 18W per light saved, 1.5A per light, so for an evening where you need lighting for say 2 hours, using 3 lamps in the van you will save 9A/hr
The first thing I did when I changed our caravan was replace all the halogen bulbs for LED bulbs from eBay. It cost about £30 in total. We have has a week with no EHU and still showed 12.5 volts in our 85aH battery and that was with 2 kids that like watching TV in the evening for a few hours.
If you did flatten one battery (and I would be surprised if you did) you could always swap it for the other one and find a garage nearby who would recharge it for the price of a pint.
keeping the leisure battery topped when travelling i have a selector off van or car which one should i travel on and when sited on power which then help would be appreciated
I would say enjoy your 4 days away don't buy a solar panel or LED lights you won't need them with 2 batterys in mid summer. But make sure you have got a spare gas bottle. I reckon I have used close to 18kg of gas since easter so off ehu you use a lot more. and looking for a calor dealer on sunday morning with a half cooked breakfast is no fun
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Topic: how long on battery
