Battery power

 
 
 
 
 
 
Swifty
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Battery power

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Posted: 12.02.2018  ·  #1
First outing with new 100 w solar panel and two new 100w battery’s and am very disappointed with the results. Friday 6pm to Sunday 6pm with max of 2 lights a couple of hours Tv and heating set to cut in as required and my battery’s went down to 11.6 in this space of time Where am I going wrong ??


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Re: Battery power

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Posted: 12.02.2018  ·  #2
Where you in Spain? 😀

You'll not get any miracles from a 100 watt panel in February in Ireland.


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Re: Battery power

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Posted: 12.02.2018  ·  #3
Ok What’s the lowest I can let battery go down to without ruining them 🤔


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Re: Battery power

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Posted: 12.02.2018  ·  #4
I'm no expert, there are a few on here though. I would say you were probably at your lowest at 11.6, I have taken mine down further in the past, doesn't do them any good though.

More than likely your blow heating eating the batteries, it's a curse.

What solar regulator did you fit?


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Re: Battery power

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Posted: 12.02.2018  ·  #5
Quote by Swifty

Ok What’s the lowest I can let battery go down to without ruining them 🤔


From recent research I discovered that different batteries can be discharged lower that others. Story in this link
forum/topic.php?t=16066

If yours are standard leisure batteries the general rule is below 12volt is discharged but I wouldn't worry about it as they will recover on hook up.

There are many factors which influence the condition of your batteries. Ambient temperature, load, duration of load and battery rate to name a few.

Solar at this time of year is very little compared with summer.


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Re: Battery power

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Posted: 12.02.2018  ·  #6
Vechline was the one fitted I’d say it came as a package lot it’s pretty basic10 amp compared to some others I’ve seen


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Re: Battery power

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Posted: 13.02.2018  ·  #7
Generating heat with electricity is about the less efficient thing you can ever do, they'll definitely eat your batteries.

We have an electric heater that we'll only use when on EHU, it's gas otherwise for us and have to say that it does a pretty damn good job. Gas is pretty inexpensive as well.


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Posted: 13.02.2018  ·  #8
Quote by RTV

Generating heat with electricity is about the less efficient thing you can ever do,


I assumed when heating was mentioned it was only the fan for blown heating and not generating heat.


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Re: Battery power

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Posted: 13.02.2018  ·  #9
Quote by mark

Quote by RTV

Generating heat with electricity is about the less efficient thing you can ever do,


I assumed when heating was mentioned it was only the fan for blown heating and not generating heat.


Well... only OP can clarify this intrigued mess (??) haha you might be right, but to me heating is heating :P


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Re: Battery power

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Posted: 13.02.2018  ·  #10
Quote by mark


I assumed when heating was mentioned it was only the fan for blown heating and not generating heat.


Assumed the same.


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Re: Battery power

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Posted: 13.02.2018  ·  #11
I’m lost now we had heating dial turned to gas and it was cutting in as required with thermostat set at 5 All I know us it used my full bottle of gas from Friday eve till Sunday dinner time But we were very cosy and it was snowing out 🤗 That’s the price I pay for home comforts away from home


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Re: Battery power

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Posted: 13.02.2018  ·  #12
Cricket, that seems like a lot. What size is the cylinder


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Re: Battery power

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Posted: 13.02.2018  ·  #13
It’s a 6 Kg and was just connected new on Friday. Gas ring used 4 times to make tea and water heated once for 15 minutes That’s the total amount of use but heating was on quite a bit during daytime but switched off totally at night Had to replace bottle with full one dinner time Sunday


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Re: Battery power

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Posted: 13.02.2018  ·  #14
I’m actually thinking of changing to yellow bottles as I found the red one took way longer to boil the kettle compared to my other camper that used yellow gas bottle


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Re: Battery power

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Posted: 13.02.2018  ·  #15
If you were using your blown air heating most of the weekend that would explain the use of batteries and gas.
The weather at the minute is so cold the heating fan would be on a lot using the batteries and the same reason for using the gas.
Use use 11kg bottles and are currently getting about 5 nights per bottle.


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Re: Battery power

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Posted: 13.02.2018  ·  #16
I wouldn’t recommend that. Propane doesn’t freeze until a much lower temperature than butane (yellow cylinder). Also propane supposedly burns hotter?? And cleaner. I’m no expert on gas, just what I have been told. I’m sure someone will be along that knows all the pros and cons. Can you fit bigger cylinders and are you sure the one you got was full. Is it blown air heating or the fire type


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Re: Battery power

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Posted: 13.02.2018  ·  #17
Yes it’s blown air heating the other camper had a gas fire in it but not this one I’m not sure if I can fit a bigger bottle in it The previous owner had it set up for refillable gas but he took that system to his new one I guess I only know this as I see where he had a cap for filling it


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Re: Battery power

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Posted: 13.02.2018  ·  #18
Ok, mine doesn’t seem to use near that much. I have 11kg cylinders, but get a long time from them. My van tends to hold the heat fairly well though, maybe that makes a difference. I’d stick with the propane though


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Re: Battery power

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Posted: 13.02.2018  ·  #19
I was checking the blown air heating etc in my van at the weekend and was wondering why so little if any was coming out at the Finnerty outlet whivj is on the opposite side to the Truma heater.

I noticed the boiler cupboard was very warm & felt around the back of it & one of the 3 outlet pipes had dislodged itself & the heat that should have gone to the dinnerware was simply blowing into he cupboard. I also cut off most of the heat that is piped round the rear transverse bed and also the bathroom & it made a huge difference to how quickly the whole airspace heated up. Worth checking the outlets for the blown air if you seem to be using a lot of gas for heat perhaps. I only got my first motorhome last spring so never really used the heating much to spot the divert switches for the heat & that one of the outlet pipes was not secure.


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Re: Battery power

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Posted: 14.02.2018  ·  #20
I have refillable and between Friday and Tuesday used 15ltrs (~7.5kg). That was for heating, water & cooking, no EHU.

We rarely use the blower, I find the gas needs to be up to max with the blower on.

I’d stick with propane - at temps around 0 deg C, butane stops vaporising and you’ll struggle to use it. Butane might burn hotter but if it’s stuck in the cylinder it won’t matter!

If you check as above and are not horsing out heat via a broken duct or the like - refillable makes the high useage easier to manage.


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Re: Battery power

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Posted: 14.02.2018  ·  #21
As for the power usage - I noticed a huge difference once I paid attention to the consumers. For example my rear lounge has two separate light circuits, one uses twice the power of the other. Up front the light over the sink uses twice what the one over the door uses. I used to just have them all on, and not even look at the power consumption on the control panel; its made some difference only putting on what’s actually needed.


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Re: Battery power

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Posted: 14.02.2018  ·  #22
On the power usage side, we changed our halogen spots to leds. The 21 watt bulb reading lamps in the bunks were changed to 3 watt led lamps. Our tv/dvd only pulls 20 watts per hour, where as older models pull much more power. In very simple terms 1 amp of electricity at 12 volts is 12 watts.
For example 2×21 watt lamps will use 3.5 amps per hour, while now with 2×3 watt led lamps use only 0.5 amp per hour.
On the heating side our blow heating is diesel fuelled , so I cannot comment on gas usage. A good insulated foil blind on the windscreen and doors in the cab retains a hugh amount of heat. We have noticed that is the front area of the MH that cools on a cold night. The thermastat is located behind the drivers seat. Normally now for 30 minutes before bedtime, we turn the thermastat to the highest position. At bedtime it's turned back down to 1/3 and the vents in the back and in the bathroom are closed for the night. The fan thens only runs slowly for the rest on the night using less electricity. If the temperature drops the heating only kicks in for a few minutes.
Malcolm.


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