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 Topic: Going non-electric
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06/6/2021 at 10:43pm
Location: Liverpool
Outfit: Swift Challenger 560
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Joined: 05/7/2003 Diamond Member 
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We tried off grid caravanning for the first time a few years ago when we went to a music festival. I was worried that we wouldn’t be able to cope for the 3 days of the festival but everything was great. We ran the fridge and water heater and stove from the gas. It took a few goes to get the gas to light so if you have not used the fridge on gas before, have a try to get it running to make sure it works okay. We had to reset the fridge 3 or 4 times before it lit but it did work eventually. As we were at a festival we weren’t really in the caravan much during the day but we had the heat on for a short time in the evening as the van was chilly when we got back to go to bed. However, we didn’t sleep with the heat on gas as even though the van is regularly serviced, I just didn’t feel comfortable sleeping with the gas on. We used the battery for a bit of light when we got back to the van at night and to run the pump for the shower for both of us each day. We also charged up both our phones each evening from the battery and as we have a solar panel, the battery stayed well topped up. I was amazed that the battery was showing just as full when we left to go home as it was when we arrived, the solar panel worked really effectively (but it was a very sunny weekend).
We have now done the same festival 3 times and feel really confident off grid for the 3 days. The last time we went was a dull, rainy weekend and even then, the solar panel meant we had plenty of power for the few things we needed but the levels were down a bit by the end of the 3 days. Based on these experiences, I would say that I would be happy to go off grid for up to 5 nights in the spring (the festival we go to is in May) and probably even longer during a sunny summer. If you don’t have a solar panel, I would recommend getting one as it kept the battery topped up really well.
I don’t think I would feel as confident in the winter though as we did burn through quite a lot of gas and if you run the heat on gas for a prolonged period, it will use a lot.
Try it for a weekend and see how you get on, then, if things work well for you, you can go for longer the next time!
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Pixie
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via mobile 06/6/2021 at 9:59pm
