Been looking at getting 2000w generator for when got no EHU but someone suggested just to get another leisure battery as back up , does anyone do this...
A second battery is going to be the cheaper option but it all depends on what you want to use it for.
Is it basic camping, caravanning or weekend festivals etc?
There's a big difference because a second leisure battery only gives you further 12 volt power when the first one dies whereas a generator will supply 240 volt mains. You can recharge the one leisure battery with a generator which if you need one just to recharge the battery then you don't really need 2,000 watts of power not unless you want to boil a kettle or run other low wattage appliances.
Hi really the idea of a generator is to keep battery topped up , so boiling kettle etc will just run off battery , would ideally charge phones while battery being charged , so maybe generator is a better idea
Hi a lot of camp sites do not allow generators and if they do and you want to annoy your fellow campers get a generator, what about a solar panel works for use cheers Bruce
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but i can't remember the question !!!
I'm guessing its a motorhome/campervan you have which already has an invertor? Adding a second battery would work as long as you are travelling enough for the vehicle engine to recharge all three batteries.
Generator is an option but its not particularly pleasant - noise and you will need to carry a fuel can with you.
Solar panel is the route many choose to top up their battery when off-grid. If you don't want them fitted to your caravan/vehicle roof you can buy folding panels like this 100w one for when you are camped.
You would need to think about how much power you will be using (lights, water pump, heating fan/pump, tv, laptop charging) and consider what size panel and battery capacity you need to meet your power requirements.
For running a kettle of a 12v leisure battery, I use a Bestron AWK810 kettle at just 500watt it only needs a low power inverter I use a 600watt pure sign wave inverter and the current draw is a manageable 45amps.
The kettle holds 900ml of water and takes 12 minutes to reach a rolling boil, which uses around 6% of my 120Ah SLA leisure battery capacity.
Of course you should never run a SLA battery to below 50% capacity if you want it to last any length of time
Hi Gari, it's a caravan we got and we will be just over 4 days and really wasn't sure if the battery would last that long so that is really why was thinking about small invertor generator just to boost the battery
when we had a folding camper we could do a week with a 75ah battery and a 15watt solar panel light and water pump but now we have a caravan we have 100AH battery and 80watt solar panel yet to use this setup but I'm sure it will be fine
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but i can't remember the question !!!
I escaped to a nearby picnic area by the sea yesterday. Blissful silence. Until someone pulled up nearby and left their car engine running for half an hour while they checked their phone. End of bliss.
Please get a solar panel, not a genny!
Apart from the general dislike/banning of generators on campsites, if all you really want to do is charge the battery, then a 2kW genny is total overkill! A small 'suitcase' 750-1000W will do the job fine, and drink a LOT less fuel.
Despite claims of 'Silent' by manufacturers, they are far from it when in the quiet of the countryside, you have to be several hundreds of yards away not to be aware of them! And then there's the exhaust fumes, if a 2-stroke, it will be smoky and smelly, if a 4 stroke or diesel, you'll still get wafts of fumes off it.
Solar panel is the best option, foldable/portable 80W upwards would do you fine. It'll keep the lights on and the phones charged for as long as you want for well over half the year. In the shorter and duller days of Autumn through to Spring, solar panels aren't so good as there is just not enough sun.
Not sure what kind of electric kettle you expect to run off a normal 12v leisure battery! A domestic kettle will likely be 2 - 2.5kW and need an inverter to get 240v, but draw a whopping 200A or so from battery, killing it dead within minutes, so that would be a one off use before fully recharging battery! A mains 'camping' kettle will be around 800-1000W and again need an inverter, so may get a couple of uses before needing to recharge battery! 12v 'Travel Kettles' tend to be very small capacity, 1 litre or less and take 30mins to boil, they are only around 150W, you'll get a few uses before needing to recharge battery.
There's a very good reason that caravans have bottled gas supplies and duel fuel appliances, any kind of electric heating element is not generally viable without an EHU! A few folks go to extreme lengths with large battery arrays, inverters for 240v, and a mass of solar panels to keep it all charged, but it's all heavy, bulky and very expensive - a gas hob kettle is a lot cheaper and more convenient!
Quote: Originally posted by salza65 on 01/4/2021
Hi Gari, it's a caravan we got and we will be just over 4 days and really wasn't sure if the battery would last that long so that is really why was thinking about small invertor generator just to boost the battery
In the past people managed for anything up to a week on a small car battery. Now we have 110amp leisure batteries and LED lights that use hardly any power, so 4 days away should be perfectly possible if you are sensible. I would suggest that you would be much better buying a decent portable solar panel of atleast 100watt instead of a noisy and anti-social generator.
If your phones need charging do it when the car is running.
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Topic: Inverter generator or leisure battery
via mobile 01/4/2021 at 1:35am
