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Subject Topic: Leisure battery & 3 pin sockets ?
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Personpoobob69
29/3/2015 at 10:34am
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Hi folks.
Another posting by the inexperienced travellers that we are to soon become :-) a query really!
Have a 2002 swift challenger 520 SE. Bought end of last year so not been out in it yet ( currently familiarising ourselves with all stuff before first outing in 3 weeks)
Went over to the storage place to put its brand new leisure battery in ( professional deep cycle dual purpose from South Yorkshire batteries) and we got all the lights on etc but the sockets didnt power up. We took phone charger to trial them. Somebody said that you need to be on electric hook up to power your sockets to run normal home things off? Is this right? If so, how do you go on if you want to go on a small non EHU site? Am I missing something here? Sorry if I seem naive but first time for all this so steep learning curve.
Much appreciated knowledge required here !


Personbilly
29/3/2015 at 10:41am
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Yes the normal 230v 3pin sockets only work if you are plugged into ehu. If you are on a site with no ehu then your 12v battery will power lights & water pump & you run the fridge in gas mode. Without ehu you can't use mains appliances, you can run a tv off 12v but obviously if you discharge leisure battery there is nowhere to charge it without mains.

You can use a 12v inverter from battery to get 230v but not really practical as only suitable for very low drain like tv which you can run on 12v anyway so not really worth bothering with inverter.

If you have both sockets plugged into towbar then car will recharge leisure battery as you drive so battery could last a couple of days then if you drive 50miles to another site it should be fully charged again.


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PersonMotobiman
29/3/2015 at 10:41am
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The 12v and 240v systems are seperate.
The 12v system is powered by the battery and charged from the car alternator when towing and a charger on the 240v system when connected to a mains supply and generally powers some lights and a few low power cigarette lighter type sockets, the water pump and the fridge (but only when connected to the car).
The 240v system is powered by the elecrric hook up cable (EHU) to the blue socket in your hook up cabinet.
If you need 240v without EHU you need either a inverter that are relatively low power or a stand alone generator.


Personsaxo1
29/3/2015 at 10:43am
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The sockets only work on 230V ,you can't run 230V domestic equipment unless you have hookup.
You need to use 12V equipment or you can get an inverter that transforms 12V to 230V but it isn't very efficient.
saxo1


Personpoobob69
29/3/2015 at 10:48am
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Phew, thanks !
I was panicking something was wrong with the van!!! How stupid of me :-) I must say, it's a big learning curve this caravanning business but thank god for these forums. Plenty of trips planned this year so plenty of practice to go at.
Thank you to everyone who helps us on here !!!!


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PersonI800 dave
29/3/2015 at 10:57am
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I'm so jealous! Will be a couple of years yet before our first van, have a great trip!


Persontrog100
29/3/2015 at 3:26pm
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a small inverter is usfull..

i just bought one of these

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/271756576166?_trksid=p2059210.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

it provides (5 volt) USB power and powers all the small things i have that only run off mains.. i do have quite a few such things.. not every small electric device is set up to run off 12 volts many are not..

so i would say a small inverter is very useful.. small being the operative word.. larger ones will simply wack the 12 battery too much..

if always on site EHU there is no need for one but if like me you spend time not on site EHU the small inverter can be very usfull..

it all comes down to how you use your caravan..

i also just bought a small inverter generator which will plug into the outside mains socket and provide off site mains power if i ever need it..

but some have said that if always on site mains power a 12 battery isnt needed at all.. they may have a point..

trog



Post last edited on 29/03/2015 15:33:22


Personnavver
29/3/2015 at 4:16pm
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http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/271756576166?_trksid=p2059210.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT


Persontrog100
29/3/2015 at 7:18pm
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yep small neat and cheep.. at 100 watts max it would draw around 8 amps from the battery..

i bought mine to charge my camera batteries which come with mains chargers.. they will run or charge tablets and the like from in the car or the caravan..

trog


Personpoobob69
29/3/2015 at 7:55pm
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Once again thank you folks for the great advice. We will be on EHU probably all the time but good to know how the alternate method works for if we fancy trying the smaller campsites.
Cheers :-)


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PersonMonks
29/3/2015 at 8:30pm
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Thanks for posting this query poobob69 we bought our first van last year and we haven't gone yet without EHU, it is something I hadn't thought about that the plugs wouldn't work without electric! It is a learning curve I agree.


Personboff
29/3/2015 at 9:34pm
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It is easy enough to get 12v to usb I use these to recharge iPad iPod kindle etc etc. the only things I use an inverter for is laptop and camera batteries.


Personandy monty
29/3/2015 at 11:01pm
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As above As for inverters if you do buy one go for a PURE SINE WAVE unit...

be aware you will hammer the battery using one though...

most lap tops or cameras you will be able to get a 12v charger which will be much more efficient


Persontrog100
30/3/2015 at 2:23am
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"most lap tops or cameras you will be able to get a 12v charger which will be much more efficient"

charging a tablet wont hammer a battery and its a lot cheaper and easier to buy one small inverter like the one i linked to than find 12 volt options for all the little things that come mains only..

i have three cameras all with mains only chargers.. i could maybe find a separate 12 volt option for them all plus my tablets and other bits and bobs.. thanks for the good advice chaps.. i never realized the one single little inverter that does them all was such a bad idea.. he he he

time for bed me thinks..

trog


Personandy monty
30/3/2015 at 10:53pm
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Quote: Originally posted by trog100 on 30/3/2015"most lap tops or cameras you will be able to get a 12v charger which will be much more efficient"

charging a tablet wont hammer a battery and its a lot cheaper and easier to buy one small inverter like the one i linked to than find 12 volt options for all the little things that come mains only..

i have three cameras all with mains only chargers.. i could maybe find a separate 12 volt option for them all plus my tablets and other bits and bobs.. thanks for the good advice chaps.. i never realized the one single little inverter that does them all was such a bad idea.. he he he

time for bed me thinks..

trog






Well ive had the clamp meter out on mine (sealey 300w Pure sine wave using a 5v 1A usb mains and a 5v 1A 12v phone charger...

using my Motorolla smart phone as load on the chargers....


the 12v charger when charging was taking 0.06 amps off the battery

IMG_20150330_223332720 by monty1995, on Flickr

the inverter was taking 1.12amps whilst charging the phone...

IMG_20150330_223436206 by monty1995, on Flickr

The inverter at standby was taking 0.74 amps with no load attached...


And you want Pure sine wave if you do get an inverter modified sine wave is not good for sensitive electronics in some instances and if you want to run a tv or radio the buzz will drive you mad....

http://cartech.about.com/od/Power/f/Will-A-Modified-Sine-Wave-Inverter-Damage-My-Electronics.htm


Persontrog100
31/3/2015 at 1:32pm
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a 300 watt inverter is maybe a bit over kill for charging phones it would also pull 25 amps from the battery more than the average motor mover if used to its full ability..

i dont have a clamp meter to test my smaller one out but it claims less than a tenth of an amp on stand by which could be false..

i am not really an inverter person but they are handy sometimes..

i am into not wasting battery power my van is all led lighting for this reason.. i looked for the smallest possible inverter i could find.. it wont hammer my battery during the odd times i use it and it does save having to buy several 12 volts power supplies for the stuff i own that does come with mains only chargers..

there is no point at all in using an inverter to get 5 volt USB power only if there is no other option available.. in my case there always would be..

my cameras are the main thing i would use my little inverter for every one of them comes with a mains only charger.. a pain when not near the mains.. he he

finding a 12 volt charger for them all would be quite difficult and expensive..   


trog


Post last edited on 31/03/2015 14:19:11



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