Huski Posted May 1, 2011 Share Posted May 1, 2011 I usually have electricity on site, but how do I use the TV/Laptop when only using my leisure battery?. Does the plug sockets not work from the leisure battery? I have a solar panel on roof also topping up the leisure battery. I have read about an inverter from the cigarette lighter but surely that drains the cab battery. Any help appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomo3090 Posted May 1, 2011 Share Posted May 1, 2011 Can your telly not work on 12 volt? If not perhaps now is the time for a re-think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Posted May 1, 2011 Share Posted May 1, 2011 You need an INVERTER to generate some mains from your 12 volt leisure battery. A 150 watt (or larger) PURE SINE WAVE model will do all you require. C. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barryd999 Posted May 2, 2011 Share Posted May 2, 2011 You should find somewhere in the van a 12v cigarette light type socket or a 2 pin 12 v socket. If you havent got one you could get one fitted. Then all you need is a telly that runs of 12v. The smaller it is the less power it will use. The normal 3 pin sockets in your van only work when you are hooked up to the electric on a campsite. An invertor will do the job but I think they use a lot of power and it makes more sense to have a 12v TV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Posted May 2, 2011 Share Posted May 2, 2011 And the Laptop? OK you can find a dedicated 12 volt adaptor for most laptops but modern inverters are more efficient than they used to be and having a bit of "mains" available is always handy. Charge up that cordless drill perhaps? Wife,s curling tongs? Food mixer? C. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aultymer Posted May 2, 2011 Share Posted May 2, 2011 Clive - a food mixer? curling tongs? on a 150watt inverter? Some people may not know enough about sparky stuff to know thats a pushing it a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huski Posted May 2, 2011 Author Share Posted May 2, 2011 Thanks, I have been reading about invertors but I didn't know much about them ( being a woman) although I have learnt quite a bit about motorhomes, I am not that good on the electrics yet! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Posted May 2, 2011 Share Posted May 2, 2011 OK, perhaps curling tongs were being a bit optomistic. One of those "Blitzers" (small electric motor with a blade on the end, like a Magimix ) should run off a 150 watt jobbie though. There are lots of choicees. You can purchase a dedicated 12 volt adaptor for many mains things that are not too greedy (small numbers of watts) or you can fit a single inverter which will run everything within its power rating. Many TVs are designed to run from 12 volts directly so you need to check. Our van has an inverter rated at 1500 watts so it can fire up the microwave oven. But thats not a usual scenario and the van was second hand when we bought it and it was already fitted. One frequent use we have for our inverter is to run a couple of low energy mains bulbs in the awning and tentage we use at shows. The lamps are 100 watt equivalent but take about 15 watts each. In our previous van we used a MUCH smaller inverter to run these. Its all toys. Enjoy the experimenting C. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest peter Posted May 2, 2011 Share Posted May 2, 2011 Our tv works perfectly o/k on a non pure sine wave inverter and anything with an electric motor should do likewise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisK5 Posted May 2, 2011 Share Posted May 2, 2011 Get a 12volt TV if yours isn't already 12volt. A pure sine wave inverter will charge your laptop also handy for your hair straighteners !!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
art338 Posted May 2, 2011 Share Posted May 2, 2011 We run a 12v TV, and a laptop with an adapter from the cigar socket. but only occasionally !! Its not a problem but just don't use it much unless on mains electric. art Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huski Posted May 3, 2011 Author Share Posted May 3, 2011 Don't need hair straightners, got curly hair and proud of it.!! Just need the use of electricity if not on a site, not that I would use it much. Just need to know what to use if needed. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derek500 Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 We run our Sky+HD box and a 19" Samsung HD Ready TV, on a bog standard Maplins 300w inverter that cost about 50 quid. It's hard wired to the leisure batteries. Never had any problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest peter Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 Me neither. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syd Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 Huski - 2011-05-02 2:58 PM Thanks, I have been reading about invertors but I didn't know much about them ( being a woman) although I have learnt quite a bit about motorhomes, I am not that good on the electrics yet! Sorry that you did not really get very much technical advice on here as this is unusual but for good advice you could always try contacting Roadpro, they are very helpful. We run a 12volt TV and 12volt sky box in our caravan, the 12volt TV's are usually the smaller ones, I believe ours is a 17inch job and I think that this is about as big as the 12volt ones go. The 12volt TV is not really a special TV it is just a TV that has a small black box on the cable between the TV and the plug and if you examine the black box it will tell you on it the voltage that the TV runs at..ie 240/12volt I have found to my cost that it is wise to have a voltage stabilizer fitted to prevent any power surges from damaging your TV should you decide to charge your battery whilest watching your TV Good Luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 Huski - 2011-05-01 9:55 PM I usually have electricity on site, but how do I use the TV/Laptop when only using my leisure battery?. Does the plug sockets not work from the leisure battery? I have a solar panel on roof also topping up the leisure battery. I have read about an inverter from the cigarette lighter but surely that drains the cab battery. Any help appreciated. To avoid any confusion (I hope! :-)), and because I'm a pedant, you will be using electricity in either event. Either 12V DC electricity, or 230V AC electricity (which is what you get from the mains). An inverter takes 12V DC and converts it to 230V AC, so yes, you would need an inverter to do as you wish. If you connect it to the ciggy lighter it may not work unless the ignition is switched on, and it will draw down the starter battery charge. If your consumption is modest, and the solar panel also charges the starter battery, this may be OK. However, there are various sizes on inverter, of both pure sine wave, and simulated sine wave, type. The pure sine wave ones cost more, and the higher the output from the inverter, the higher its price. Some 230V items don't like simulated sine wave electricity. Some simply won't work, some are damaged. Some laptop power packs fall into the latter category so, if running a laptop, it is better to err on the safe side and get a pure sine inverter. I'm pretty sure that is what Clive had in mind. Some have reported TVs not working well unless the 12V current available is within a quite narrow band (In practise the voltage falls from just over 14 Volts when fully charged to somewhere around 11 Volts when, to all intents and purposes, flat (don't go there!). Equally, some TV's will not work happily on simulated sine outputs. To be sure you can start your van, therefore, it would be best to feed the inverter from the leisure battery, and to be sure TV and laptop charger all work properly, and remain undamaged, it will be safest to install a pure sine inverter. Not too complex, but you'll probably need a competent auto electrician, or motorhome dealer's workshop, to put it all together. Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olley Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 Brian Kirby - 2011-05-04 6:56 PM To avoid any confusion (I hope! :-)), and because I'm a pedant, If you were a real pedant Brian, you would have called it a modified square wave inverter. (lol) Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 Brian Kirby - 2011-05-04 6:56 PMEqually, some TV's will not work happily on simulated sine outputs. To be sure you can start your van, therefore, it would be best to feed the inverter from the leisure battery, and to be sure TV and laptop charger all work properly, and remain undamaged, it will be safest to install a pure sine inverter. Not too complex, but you'll probably need a competent auto electrician, or motorhome dealer's workshop, to put it all together. Hope this helps.Sorry Brian, but I can't see why he would need to go to all the expense of an auto electrician etc to use an inverter - this seems a bit over the top. A much simpler thing would be to plug the inverter into one of the 12v sockets in the habitaion part of the van, which will already run off the 12v leisure battery, then simply plug the TV or laptop into the inverter when necessary, that way he would always remember that he had the inverter on too as he'd be able to see it.... or am I missing something???? 8-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 What you are missing is the visit to the doctors following your concusion after tripping over the wires draped around the floor!. If you are really keen then :- http://www.motts.org/INVERTER.htm C. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 olley - 2011-05-04 7:33 PM Brian Kirby - 2011-05-04 6:56 PM To avoid any confusion (I hope! :-)), and because I'm a pedant, If you were a real pedant Brian, you would have called it a modified square wave inverter. (lol) Ian How true. Touché! :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 Mel B - 2011-05-04 8:43 PM Brian Kirby - 2011-05-04 6:56 PM Equally, some TV's will not work happily on simulated sine outputs. To be sure you can start your van, therefore, it would be best to feed the inverter from the leisure battery, and to be sure TV and laptop charger all work properly, and remain undamaged, it will be safest to install a pure sine inverter. Not too complex, but you'll probably need a competent auto electrician, or motorhome dealer's workshop, to put it all together. Hope this helps. Sorry Brian, but I can't see why he would need to go to all the expense of an auto electrician etc to use an inverter - this seems a bit over the top. A much simpler thing would be to plug the inverter into one of the 12v sockets in the habitation part of the van, which will already run off the 12v leisure battery, then simply plug the TV or laptop into the inverter when necessary, that way he would always remember that he had the inverter on too as he'd be able to see it. ... or am I missing something???? 8-) Only that I don't know if the van has suitably rated 12V sockets. Inverters, depending on their capacity, can pull quite high Amps. Also, since the OP said they were not that conversant with electricity, I felt getting the job done professionally the safest option. But what you suggest, given a low powered inverter and the necessary 12V socket would be fine albeit, as Clive implies, a bit untidy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted May 5, 2011 Share Posted May 5, 2011 Our set-up is anything but untidy. If you look in the picture below of a Chausson Flash 04, just above the right side inward facing seat we have two 12v sockets and a TV aerial point, above that is a lipped shelf - the inverter sits quite tightly in the shelf and the 12v connector plugs into the 12v socket, mobile phones then sit on the shelf out of the way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huski Posted May 6, 2011 Author Share Posted May 6, 2011 Thanks Brian, Somethings you mentioned have helped me as I have gained more information now on the 12volt system, I also have a tfs550 hobby van 2005. I have since found a 12v plug in the tv compartment so presume this runs off the leisure batteries, as I have been told there is 2 in the van. I have only had this van a couple of months now, but love it. Next is to get myself a sattelite dish! with as little to do with it as possible. Janice (Huski) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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