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Karcher 12v charger ?


Roryboy

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There is a good chance, unless I'm a naughty boy in the next few weeks, that Father Christmas may leave a Karcher Window Vacuum under the tree.

 

The Karcher is usually charged from the 240v mains but when we are away we rarely use hook up and the Karcher may need charging if we are away for any length of time.

 

Is there a 12v charger available, I can't find one online, or would we possibly need an inverter to charge it up ?

 

If we did need an inverter what size would you recommend as suitable for a 3.7 volts rechargeable battery ?

 

8-)

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A 12V charger for a Karcher window-vac was asked about in this 2017 MHFun forum thread.

 

https://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/forum/threads/karcher-window-vac-12v-charger.146675/

 

I’m near certain there is no off-the-shelf device that would charge a Karcher without some adaptation being necessary, but even a really low power inverter (say 100W) should be adequate.

 

Even though you normally connect to a 230V hook-up only occasionally, won’t that be enough to permit the Karcher’s battery to be recharged - how much motorhome window vacuuming do you envisage doing?

 

(I have a Karcher WV2, but I don’t use it in the motorhome as doing so is so awkward...)

 

 

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We were away a week or so ago and it was moist inside the windscreen and side windows (blinds drawn around 5pm and opened about 8am) each day and a pain to effectively dry easily.

 

And we are away over New Year where it's likely to be somewhere between cold and freezing outside.

 

It would probably take a few minutes getting rid of the water each morning but I understand the lower the battery the less efficient the device and I haven't a clue how long the battery would last.

 

Manufacturers claims of length of life of the battery are probably similar to Motorhome manufacturers claims of payload – usually fiction.

 

I hadn't considered the ease, or not, of using the vacuum on the windscreen and will make further enquiries – thanks for mentioning it.

 

Thanks for the replies.

 

:-D

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Roryboy - 2019-11-15 8:14 PM

 

We were away a week or so ago and it was moist inside the windscreen and side windows (blinds drawn around 5pm and opened about 8am) each day and a pain to effectively dry easily.

 

And we are away over New Year where it's likely to be somewhere between cold and freezing outside.

 

It would probably take a few minutes getting rid of the water each morning but I understand the lower the battery the less efficient the device and I haven't a clue how long the battery would last.

 

Manufacturers claims of length of life of the battery are probably similar to Motorhome manufacturers claims of payload – usually fiction.

 

I hadn't considered the ease, or not, of using the vacuum on the windscreen and will make further enquiries – thanks for mentioning it.

 

Thanks for the replies.

 

:-D

 

There’s another enquiry on the following (2015) link about charging a Karcher window-vac from 12V

 

http://www.ybw.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-426530.html

 

Earlier this year the original charger for my Karcher WV2 vac failed (this seems a pretty common fault) and I bought a replacement charger on-line.

 

Although the vac’s battery may be 3.7V, the infomation on both of my chargers is that the chargers’ output is 5.5V and 600mA and (from on-line adverts) that seems to be the norm for these chargers.

 

Both chargers of my are designed for a 100V - 240V AC power supply, with the original charger taking 100mA and the replacement charger (that carries an LED indicator-light) taking 200mA, equating to 24W and 48W respectively. So, if you decided to use an inverter, you wouldn’t need a very powerful one.

 

It perhaps needs mentioning that a Karcher window-vac is purely battery-powered and, even if one wanted to operate the vac while it was being charged, that’s not possible as, when the vac is being charged, its motor won’t run. So there’s no possibility of ‘drawing’ more amperage through the charger than the 100mA or 200mA that the charger provides.

 

How long a Karcher vac can operate from a fully-charged battery is variously quoted as 20 to 45 minutes, but I’ve never experimented with mine. Even 20 minutes should be enough for quite a few motorhome glass-drying sessions.

 

Although window-vacs do the job they are designed for pretty well, vacuuming the inside of a motorhome’s curved windscreen and a cab’s small non-rectangular side windows is much trickier than vacuuming the flat rectangular glass of domestic windows. All you can do is try using the vac and see how you get on.

 

If there’s a lot of condensation on the cab-glass, I use a small plastic washing-up bowl, a sponge cloth, a (seemingly indestructible) synthetic ’shammy’ and finish off with a large piece of cotton material (like an old shirt). I have several good quality microfibre towels, but I find that using them for the final drying phase produces an odd ‘pattern' on the glass that’s distracting if sunlight shines through the windscreen.

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We've been using a micro fibre towels for some years but as I was asked by SWMBO to “Give me a list for Christmas that the kids can buy you” and as half a dozen bottles of Brandy seemed a bit too excessive I thought a Karcher might be useful.

 

Recently we left an Aire on a cold dark rainy early morning to get to Eurotunnel and it was a nightmare clearing the screen and driving on unfamiliar roads with a windscreen covered in smears and I thought the Karcher might solve the problem.

 

After reading your views I'm not so sure about the device but if Santa does deliver on the 25th I'll try it when we go away and see if it works okay – or not !

 

I can always use it on the windows at home so it won't go to waste.

 

Thanks for the replies.

 

:-D

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The various types of Karcher window-vac currently marketed are shown here

 

https://tinyurl.com/vdra7ka

 

and their respective battery run and charge times are listed.

 

It’s probably stating the obvious, but these vacs work best when the ‘blade’ is horizontal and the vac is moved vertically downwards. They will pick up water OK if the blade is vertical and the vac is moved horizontally as shown in the attachment below (or even with the vac upside down and moved upwards) but, if there’s a lot of condensation, gravity will cause water to run off the lower end of the blade. This usually won’t matter when using the vac in a house, but I disliked the excess water dripping all over my motorhome’s dashboard and I wasn’t too happy with it running down into the gap between dashboard and windscreen.

 

My Karcher WV2 has a 280mm blade-length and manoeuvring the vac around the inside of my motorhome’s windscreen isn't easy. So you might want to choose the WV Anniversary model (around £45) as this has a shorter 170mm blade as well as the 280mm one.

 

I’m not attempting to dissuade you from putting a Karcher vac on your Xmas-list, just pointing out possible drawbacks. As you’ll see from this 2016 forum thread, some people love ‘em

 

https://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/Karcher-window-vac/41454/

KARCHER.thumb.jpg.6280d1f272bee96c70d84ba18d44a2f3.jpg

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This link address condensation issues in a leisure vehicle

 

https://www.wandering-bird.com/stop-condensation-in-motorhome/

 

Where cab-glass is concerned, Contents List Number 10 (using an external insulated screen) is the best prevention - but in bad weather fitting or removing the screen will be no fun. I have one (won in a competition) but I’ve only used it a couple of times as our motorhome is rarely static more than 24 hours.

 

Contents List Number 4 refers to Karcher window-vacs and, if there’s a lot of condensation on the inside of a windscreen, using a Karcher vac will quickly remove a good deal of it. But - as I mentined above - the process will be less efficient and straightforward than vacuuming a domestic window, and water splashing should be anticipated.

 

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I used an external screen on our first Motorhome but it was only really necessary when the weather was cold and wet and packing away a screen dripping with rain or moisture every time we moved was a pain.

 

Not had one for this Motorhome and after six years there doesn't seem much value in getting one now.

 

:-D

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Conrad - 2019-11-17 4:24 PM

 

External screen man myself, yes a bit of a faff but no condensation on the inside. Suspect I could put the cover away before you've (badly) got the wet off with a vacuum!

 

I’m with you on this, for years was against a screen cover because of putting it away, but now would not be without one. In Summer keeps the heat out and Winter keeps the screen from freezing and have never had any condensation since. ;-)

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Caddies104 - 2019-11-18 9:16 AM

 

Conrad - 2019-11-17 4:24 PM

 

External screen man myself, yes a bit of a faff but no condensation on the inside. Suspect I could put the cover away before you've (badly) got the wet off with a vacuum!

 

I’m with you on this, for years was against a screen cover because of putting it away, but now would not be without one. In Summer keeps the heat out and Winter keeps the screen from freezing and have never had any condensation since. ;-)

 

Same for me - no trouble putting it on or taking it down even in the rain - couple of minutes at most. I forgot to put it on once this year - spent about 15 minutes getting condensation off the inside of the windscreen. Not just the sky was blue!

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  • 3 months later...

Santa did give me a Karcher WV1 Plus vac and we’ve finally got away and had to use it this morning.

There was plenty of moisture on the inside of the windscreen and it took less than a minute to remove most of the water, except for a couple of inches at the bottom of the screen, and left a perfectly clear glass surface.

I had no problems with either the front or side windows and I wish Santa had given me a Karcher years ago.

Highly recommended

 

:-o

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