phantom Posted September 13, 2007 Share Posted September 13, 2007 Due to forgetting to book a site I am faced with camping without the mains. I haven't done this before and wondered how long the leisure battery should last using just the fridge and a few lights in the evening and the water pump for a bit. Only going away for the weekend so thought it might be O.K. (1994 Elddis Autoquest 320) Always appreciate your advice. Thanks Phantom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J9withdogs Posted September 13, 2007 Share Posted September 13, 2007 I frequently do C & CC rallies which last 3-4 days with no hook-up. I use gas for the fridge, heating & water-heating and just use the leisure battery for lights & very small TV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted September 13, 2007 Share Posted September 13, 2007 You should be okay for a weekend so long as you don't leave the lights on and have your van like Blackpool illuminations! One thing to do beforehand though is to make sure that the battery is fully charged - put it on hook-up for a couple of days before you go, not just for an odd hour, that way you'll make sure you've got as much power as you can so shouldn't have any problems at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martin r c Posted September 13, 2007 Share Posted September 13, 2007 We tend to rally a lot , and a fully charged 110 amp battery will last about 4 days on it's own. if we use the solar panel I can extend this by a couple of days. main thing is,if you dont't need it-switch it off.we use battery operated stuff.lamps etc and a low consumption TV (18w).You can also run the engine for a few mins to "top up" the battery.We can switch to the vehicle battery if need be ,and we always carry a jump pack just in case. Cheers martin r c Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
machinehead Posted September 13, 2007 Share Posted September 13, 2007 It's a dificult thing to calculate (and I'm an electrical engineer and know about the technicalities involved here !!) Anyway, in practice, you should be fine for a weekend as long as you don't overdo the TV and lights. The advice above is good - hook-up the night before leaving. Cool down the fridge on hook-up and make sure the batteries are charged before leaving. I've never had a problem with lasting 3 nights. Oh, and I hope you have a good weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
machinehead Posted September 13, 2007 Share Posted September 13, 2007 Just thinking. For what it's worth, all batteries are sensitive to ambient temperature. At lower temperatures, batteries will be less efficient. Camping in summer is easier on the battery than camping in winter. Plus as they get older they get less efficient. You might find a date on your battery and tell its age. However, a battery can last much longer if it's been looked after well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fetch Carry Posted September 14, 2007 Share Posted September 14, 2007 phantom - 2007-09-13 6:55 PM Due to forgetting to book a site I am faced with camping without the mains. I haven't done this before and wondered how long the leisure battery should last using just the fridge and a few lights in the evening and the water pump for a bit. Only going away for the weekend so thought it might be O.K. (1994 Elddis Autoquest 320) Always appreciate your advice. Thanks Phantom Is your fridge thee way? If so the fridge *will have to run from gas* if it's not then I think the fridge is your problem. We used to easily last a week with our one 85amp leisure battery using just lights and water pump, with the fridge running on gas, and thats also with the radio being used in our old van. With the one we have now think we could do a lot longer, then we do have two 80W solar panels on the roof :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Posted September 15, 2007 Share Posted September 15, 2007 If you have a Truma or Carver heater that does not require electrics to run it, a gas fridge (most likely) then the leisure battery should do a week end or 3 days or even more without problems providing you go to bed at nights, use internal lights sparingly and don,t leave the awning light on all night. Hob ignighters and electric pumps only run for a few moments at a time so can be mostly discounted in any calculations. If on the other hand you have many inside lights on until the early hours and watch Tv, play computer games, run an electric toaster via an inverter, have a compressor fridge and an Eberspatcher diesel heater then you are in a different world and will need massive batteries or a hookup. From what you have indicated it would seem you fall into the first catagory. although I don,t have precise details of the equipment fitted in your particular motorhome I believe you should be OK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phantom Posted September 17, 2007 Author Share Posted September 17, 2007 Thanks for all the replies. Got to the site and someone had cancelled and we got a hookup so didn't need to test the battery. A lot of you metioned the fridge on gas - couldn't get it to work first time and didn't persevere. Will try again though. Thanks Apparition Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J9withdogs Posted September 17, 2007 Share Posted September 17, 2007 If I can't get my fridge to work, it's usually because the van's not level *-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pentland Posted September 18, 2007 Share Posted September 18, 2007 Hi all, I think that you have answered some of my questions already but, I have a Rimor Europeo 5 2007 if i try to run the tv, with freeview through an inverter with a couple of lights on the the tv goes blank but sound still comes through!!! Then if i turn tv off some lights off it normally works........sometimes! Now i'm thinking of selling my 17" Alba and seperate freeview box and buying a tv/dvd/freeview combined jobby hopefully thus using not as much power? This will do away with the inverter! Also has one of them pop up areials on the roof that uses power but the fridge is a three way so clicks itself over to gas, trauma hot water/ heater i think that runs on gas aswell can't be sure? Many thanks on advice, really like watching Match of the Day on Saturday nights............ *-) Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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