# Running a laptop without electricity?



## songstress (May 6, 2010)

Hey! Does anyone know if it's possible to use my laptop in my motorhome without being on an electric hook-up? Have got a dongle (ooh matron!) but unsure how to power it. I have 2 x 110 leisure batteries and am hoping to get solar panels soon.


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## vwalan (May 6, 2010)

you asked and answered in the same question. cheers alan.


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## biggirafe (May 6, 2010)

songstress said:


> Hey! Does anyone know if it's possible to use my laptop in my motorhome without being on an electric hook-up? Have got a dongle (ooh matron!) but unsure how to power it. I have 2 x 110 leisure batteries and am hoping to get solar panels soon.



One of the simplest and safest ways where you are least likely to damage the laptop is to use an Inverter, this will take 12v and convert it to 240v and you can then just plug your laptop charger in and use as normal.

Inverters come in all sizes, some people try to run Microwaves and the like, This will drain a 12v battery very quickly, me I have a small 150w inverter and only use it for my laptop and can run mine for several hours without any issues. Follow the link and see whats on offer then maybe come back to this thread and ask some more questions 

12v Inverter - Compare Prices, Reviews and Buy at NexTag - Price - Review

.
.


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## Canalsman (May 6, 2010)

A better option, if it's just for the laptop, is to buy a 12v laptop power adapter.

I bought one from Maplin, but they're also available on Ebay. They plug into a cigar lighter.

The advantage is one of efficiency. Rather than changing DC to AC with an inverter, then changing it back to DC with the laptop power supply, you do it one go.


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## jeffscarborough (May 6, 2010)

Canalsman said:


> A better option, if it's just for the laptop, is to buy a 12v laptop power adapter.
> 
> I bought one from Maplin, but they're also available on Ebay. They plug into a cigar lighter.
> 
> The advantage is one of efficiency. Rather than changing DC to AC with an inverter, then changing it back to DC with the laptop power supply, you do it one go.



Thats what I do as well.
Got a power supply from ebay. It has adjustable voltage output to suit different laptops and a selection of connection fittings.


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## biggirafe (May 6, 2010)

Canalsman said:


> A better option, if it's just for the laptop, is to buy a 12v laptop power adapter.
> 
> I bought one from Maplin, but they're also available on Ebay. They plug into a cigar lighter.
> 
> The advantage is one of efficiency. Rather than changing DC to AC with an inverter, then changing it back to DC with the laptop power supply, you do it one go.




BE CAREFUL not all laptops can safly be run using these. HP laptops with inteligent chargers for instance, you will break if you do that 

Thats why I stick with invertors. Some manufacturers do a 12v carcharger specificaly for their laptops but I would stay away from the 'cheap' fits all options as they can prove very expensive, at work we get a steady trickle of laptops back in with damage caused by people using these and cheap chargers bought from maplins and other places


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## tonto (May 6, 2010)

Hi all, I brought my self a lap top converter that fits in cig lighter socket about three years ago, it has a load of interchangeable tips to connect to different lap tops, totally brill, about £25 at the time......


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## jann (May 6, 2010)

i always use mine with an invertor thats plugs in the cigar lighter


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## Deleted member 207 (May 6, 2010)

I've had two laptops that run on 14V and 16V - not 12V. They would never power up for very long when connected to a 12V supply - hence a rummage into the battery compartment only to see the higher voltages. I already had a 12V to 240V inverter so was not a big problem.

Best check voltage first, before buying a ciggie adaptor, but I agree with the others that inverters are the way to go. They come in handy for all sorts of other electrical gear as well - video and digital cameras being our main recharge use.


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## Kontiki (May 7, 2010)

I have a 12 volt one from Maplins that has various plugs & can be set for all the different voltages up to 20 volts. Used to use an inverter on my old laptop but reckon it killed the battery. Some of these cheaper inverters (like the one I had) aren't that good, after the inverter died I had a mate look at it to see if it could be fixed. After taking it apart & consulting a friend who knew a bit more about electronics said it was actually pretty dangerous & the output voltage couldn't have been very stable.


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## GregM (May 7, 2010)

Canalsman said:


> A better option, if it's just for the laptop, is to buy a 12v laptop power adapter.
> 
> I bought one from Maplin, but they're also available on Ebay. They plug into a cigar lighter.
> 
> The advantage is one of efficiency. Rather than changing DC to AC with an inverter, then changing it back to DC with the laptop power supply, you do it one go.



This is what I have for my HP laptop. I tend to charge while laptop is turned off and then run of laptop battery. I used while charging and it appeared to drain the leisure battery more.


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## biggirafe (May 7, 2010)

Kontiki said:


> I have a 12 volt one from Maplins that has various plugs & can be set for all the different voltages up to 20 volts. Used to use an inverter on my old laptop but reckon it killed the battery. Some of these cheaper inverters (like the one I had) aren't that good, after the inverter died I had a mate look at it to see if it could be fixed. After taking it apart & consulting a friend who knew a bit more about electronics said it was actually pretty dangerous & the output voltage couldn't have been very stable.



Totaly agree, the cheap invertors are just that cheap, ok for running the microwave or similar things. Having said that, by using an invertor and plugging the manufactorers charger into it you are using another layer of protection. The manufactorers charger will regulate the power as they are designed to do that. Replacing a damaged charger is cheaper than a new battery or even a new laptop 

Modern laptops have inteligent chargers, a third wire back to charger tells it how much power is in the battery and they stop charging once the battery is full or go onto a tricle charge. Without this (using a 'cheap' cigar lighter charger) the battery charger will continue to charge beyond its design which will damage a battery designed to work with an inteligent charger 

I'm not saying don't do it, but first check the price of a replacement battery for your laptop, for my business laptop its £50, is it worth the risk? Also check whether the manufactorer supplies a cigar lead for a car, if they don't there will be a reason, if they do it maybe quite expensive, mine is £40 but it has a box of electronics built in to mimic the original 240v charger. 

If after checking you still want to use a cheap Mapilins charger then by all means do but my advise is always stop charging as soon as the laptop says its charged and check carefully that the output voltage matches what the laptop requires. One cable we checked at work when these first came out when charging a flat battery was providing +4 volts of what the laptop required which could damage the onboard electronics or battery.

Also remember that laptop batterys can only be discharged a limited number of times, mine is quoted at only 500 charges, so at work we always ask our users to plug in when they are able to reduce the number of times the battery is totally flattened, new batterys are very expensive.

The invertor I use for the latop and lcd telly is a small 150w unit but its a good one. I have not had any problems with it draining the battery


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## Canalsman (May 7, 2010)

I take the battery out of the laptop when using the DC-DC adapter.

That way there's no risk of damaging the battery.


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## Deleted member 775 (May 7, 2010)

my laptop runs on 15v so it works fine  from the cig lighter ,also i can use it whilest the engine is running but i have a dc converter for other electrical stuff like a dab radio that runs on 9 volts, they are by far the best bet dont realy like the idea of running sensetive things like laptops from a cheap invertor. personaly invertors are a big drain on a battery use more power than they give out


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## gairn (May 8, 2010)

Hi
I have a couple of ASUS EeePC netbooks with ASUS cigar lighter chargers - I run them via an adapter connected to the 2 pin 12v socket off the leisure battery. Seems to work ok. Chargers and adapter were less than £10 each.
Hope this helps.
Cheers.
Gairn


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## kangooroo (May 8, 2010)

I'd recommend the leisure battery and inverter route.  I'm using this at the moment in the Scottish Highlands.  The only problem I have is.... how to get a signal in remote/hilly areas.....!


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## ajs (May 9, 2010)

kangooroo said:


> I'd recommend the leisure battery and inverter route.  I'm using this at the moment in the Scottish Highlands.
> *The only problem I have is.... how to get a signal in remote/hilly areas..*...!



 oh i don't believe that roo.... you normaly have an ans for everything... suplied by amazon...

regards
aj

 ok.. where the devil are you now then...


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## kangooroo (May 9, 2010)

ajs said:


> oh i don't believe that roo.... you normaly have an ans for everything... suplied by amazon...
> 
> regards
> aj
> ...



Tucked up in my sleeping bag not too far from Kinlochleven - replying via internet on phone (alas purchased from amazon and not a freebie - and my ranking has slipped a place while i've been away). :'(
The signal is too weak to upload pics and video to my photo blog but, apart from that, a phone is a very easy way to access the 'net, cheap and convenient, simple to charge but slow to type. Roo x


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## biggirafe (May 9, 2010)

mandrake said:


> my laptop runs on 15v so it works fine  from the cig lighter ,also i can use it whilest the engine is running but i have a dc converter for other electrical stuff like a dab radio that runs on 9 volts, they are by far the best bet dont realy like the idea of running sensetive things like laptops from a cheap invertor. personaly invertors are a big drain on a battery use more power than they give out



Ah but my point is if you use an invertor then its the laptop charger thats connected to the laptop not the inverter so you have a layer of good protection, The proper cigar chargers supplied by the manufactorer are ok but expensive, the cheap ones from maplins are IMHO far more risky than using an invertor.

Each to their own tho, just make sure you get the voltage correct and that your laptop is wired the same way as the charger and if you have an inteligent charger then stop charging once the laptop says the battery is full, also I would always unplug it before you start the engine in case you get a spike from the alternator


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## Proff (May 9, 2010)

Our ACER 5920 aspire LapTop is 19volts..
I bought an Amperor power supply that gives a constant 19V at any input from 10v to 16v
Versapower Universal Laptop Power Adaptor - 70 Watt on eBay (end time 13-May-10 15:50:03 BST)


They also do voltage stabiliser to prevent blowing pixels on your flat screen 12 volt TV... 
Amperor 12 Volt LCD/TFT Voltage DC-DC Stabiliser on eBay (end time 09-May-10 20:21:07 BST)

Amperor have just taken over this company>>Muvonics
Home
and are selling off their in stock Fantastic leisure battery chargers at a bargain price.. 
For e.g.
The Muvonics 4 stage MV4/180c nomally £100 plus, I got for £65 inc postage by doing a best offer on
 Ebay,  @ amperor direct
they thought it better than restickering old stock to Amperor ..

I have absolutely nothing to do with the above firm, BUT after buying firstly the Laptop charger/power supply.
I've always looked at their stuff first and not been disappointed yet


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## RogerGW (May 9, 2010)

There's a chance that a multi-point charger won't come with the right terminal for your laptop. Unless you find a shop assistant willing to open the blister pack, or there's one already open, you won't know until you buy it.

My previous laptop was a Lenovo ThinkPad and that needed a purpose-made charger. I've gone for an inverter for my present computer, an Acer. As others have said, that's also useful for other low-wattage devices.

Roger

PS Whatever you get, don't run it off the cab battery for long periods unless the engine is going, too.


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## solarbatterychargers (Aug 5, 2010)

*Replying to Running without electricity*

If you are planning on running without electricity, you now have a couple of options.  I will list them and then supply some links.

You could get an inverter like everything else has been suggesting.

You could get a really much more powerful battery.

Or you could get a solar battery charger.

Here are some links to dependable inverter, 

If you want full small scale solar power battery charger here is the link.

Other than that, using power without a long term way of having it powered, seems little like wasting your time.  I use to have an inverter as well for when I would go to my little hide out place in the lake side and I would bring my inverter, now I bring my own solar power system...I honestly think everyone should have solar power, it only makes sense, because you can use it in emergencies, camping, adventures, vacations, etc..

If you liked this posting, check out the site


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## Russtic (Aug 24, 2010)

I have a 120 watt inverter and it freaks out when I try charge the laptop ,inverter warning buzzer sounds then it stops charging, is 120 watts insufficient? I thought it would be plenty. Also bought a cigar lighter to usb socket should this be able to charge the laptop or just phones / cameras etc?


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## coolasluck (Aug 24, 2010)

Russtic said:


> I have a 120 watt inverter and it freaks out when I try charge the laptop ,inverter warning buzzer sounds then it stops charging, is 120 watts insufficient? I thought it would be plenty. Also bought a cigar lighter to usb socket should this be able to charge the laptop or just phones / cameras etc?



Remember that to run a 120 watt device you will need something like a 200 watt inverter as you have the wallop of starting your device remember that starting anything electrical will use say 180 watts and then once the unit has powered up it will run at 120 watts.  So normal power would be 120 watts and peak power would be 180 watts,thus  use a 200 watt inverter.


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## Airecraft (Aug 24, 2010)

Russtic said:


> I have a 120 watt inverter and it freaks out when I try charge the laptop ,inverter warning buzzer sounds then it stops charging, is 120 watts insufficient



I had this problem with a 600W Maplins inverter when I used a 180W /12V ciggy outlet - with croc clips onto the battery it was OK. Not sure why this was as cable was easily big enough for 200W +,  might be something to do with contact area of +ve terminal?? 
In the end I opened the inverter to investigate the problem and buggered it up -- problem solved
Now use a 150W Carrefour supermarket model with moulded 12v plug which runs like a dream.


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## vindiboy (Aug 24, 2010)

Slight aside her,but my wife has a Video Camera  and the instructions quite clearly say that the charger should not be used on an inverter, of course we ignored that and guess what  after about 5 months the charger was knackered and we had to obtain another. DOH!


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## caspar (Aug 25, 2010)

Canalsman said:


> A better option, if it's just for the laptop, is to buy a 12v laptop power adapter.
> 
> I bought one from Maplin, but they're also available on Ebay. They plug into a cigar lighter.
> 
> The advantage is one of efficiency. Rather than changing DC to AC with an inverter, then changing it back to DC with the laptop power supply, you do it one go.



I agree this is good if just for the laptop, but I personally would still recommend buying a clip on 12 volt socket to connect to your leisure batteries just to make doubly sure you never run down your car battery.


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## MrRob (Aug 25, 2010)

I have one http://eu.kensington.com/kensington/en/gb/p/653/33362EU/ultra+porta... ...   and three of the Maplins version that they seem to have stopped selling now ....

Maplins 120W Ultra-Slim Air and 12V Invertor 120W Ultra-Slim Air and 12V Invertor : Maplin

They are/were £15 in store while stock lasts ...

I have have been using them for 3 years on mains only canon and panasonic battery chargers, about 20 different laptop power supplies and numerous other devices from walkie talkies to phone chargers . They trip occasionally when power hungry laptops are used with discharged batteries (just turn them on and off and they reset) ... but will charge them if the laptop is left turned off ... 

They even work with MacBooks B)


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## bobowas007 (Aug 26, 2010)

songstress said:


> Hey! Does anyone know if it's possible to use my laptop in my motorhome without being on an electric hook-up? Have got a dongle (ooh matron!) but unsure how to power it. I have 2 x 110 leisure batteries and am hoping to get solar panels soon.



Hi go to maplin electronics.
Take laptop power supply for plug id.
maplins have a large range of laptop power supply not invertor.


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## Goaskalys (Oct 6, 2010)

Hi there, I've been using a 12 volt / 150 watt inverter to power my laptop and have found that when using it to watch a DVD, if the laptop's battery wasn't fully charged it overloaded the inverted.  So I've just brought a 400 watt one, hopefully that should do the trick.


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## Byronic (Oct 7, 2010)

Goaskalys said:


> Hi there, I've been using a 12 volt / 150 watt inverter to power my laptop and have found that when using it to watch a DVD, if the laptop's battery wasn't fully charged it overloaded the inverted.  So I've just brought a 400 watt one, hopefully that should do the trick.


 
Still think A Maplins 12v power adaptor is the way to go, at least it's specifically made for laptop power supply. Most cheap invertors are square wave or modified sine wave, ie not as smooth as a usually expensive pure sine wave. Also worth pointing out that many invertors, especially over 150W have whining cooling fans.


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## Tony Lee (Oct 7, 2010)

> I take the battery out of the laptop when using the DC-DC adapter.
> 
> That way there's no risk of damaging the battery.



Perhaps not, but the battery probably supplies an extra level of safety against feeding in higher than normal voltages so without it, your computer is much more likely to be damaged.



> Slight aside her,but my wife has a Video Camera and the instructions quite clearly say that the charger should not be used on an inverter, of course we ignored that and guess what after about 5 months the charger was knackered and we had to obtain another. DOH!


Was it a pure sinewave inverter or a modified square wave one. If the latter then you do have to take a bit of a chance when using them on anything electronic.

On the question of overall efficiency - do the manufacturers of these DC-DC converters give efficiency figures. Inverter figures are usually available.

My view is that if you are sailing so close to the wind that small variations in efficiency matter, then you really need to increase the storage capacity of your leisure battery. Having a small quality pure sinewave inverter so you can use other small appliances is worth a small decrease in efficiency.

One way to reduce the strain on your leisure power supply is to charge your laptop up from the engine battery when driving


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## barnybg (Oct 9, 2010)

*Invertor  ?*

My inverter whined and squeeled i found when my leasure battery was low ??? now that i have upgraded to another battery( x2 )in tandum and a 100 w solar panel,no probs..
I have also come to the conclusion that there is no need for big invertors,as these thierselves draw alot of energy/12v/ to run ! so by overcompensating your just draining your 12v for no reason,unless YOU NEED a big invertor,use a small one for small needs..


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## lebesset (Oct 9, 2010)

when you are running a laptop from an external power source , take the battery out 
I recently had to return my laptop to the manufacturers for a repair the technician was horrified that I was ruining the battery by leaving it in ; charge the battery when the computer is not in use


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## Tony Lee (Oct 9, 2010)

lebesset said:


> when you are running a laptop from an external power source , take the battery out
> I recently had to return my laptop to the manufacturers for a repair the technician was horrified that I was ruining the battery by leaving it in ; charge the battery when the computer is not in use



Certainly recommended to run the laptop on battery power occasionally rather than always leaving it plugged into the mains.

Using the laptop while recharging the battery is a perfectly normal mode of operation


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## Suntor 100 (Jan 3, 2011)

Hi all, for what it's worth, I take a laptop away with me, I bought as already suggested a power adaptor from Maplins. It has a range of working voltages for any use, it has a cigar lighter connection so a double socket was purchased so I didn't take the only power point connection. According to the voltage meter of the van it uses no more than a couple of interior lights, so the single 115ah battery copes with no problem. I have never taken the battery out of the computer whilst using on the power supply and had no trouble what so ever. ( have been doing this for over 16 months now) It is recommended to regularly use and run the battery down on the computer and charge back up again as this keeps the battery fresh for when it is needed where a power supply is not available. Also I use Vodaphone's Dongle for internet, the package I have was £30 incuding £15's worth of internet use, top up anytime for £15,  16 months on I still have £4 left on it lol.
I 0nly use very short and lightly, Down side to this "lite" dongle is that it is throttled back and I have to be patient sometimes for pages to load. The other addition to this is an extention usb lead as I found when in remote area's of Yorkshire last summer the only decent signal I could get was on the top bed over the cab, so with the extension lead I can put the dongle up in the roof light. I'm pretty sure this vodaphone package is not available now ( probably because i made it last for so long) the present deals are on monthly top up of £15, which I would not use up BUT they have fast internet connection. You need to download a fair amount of music or use all day to get your money's worth, plus I'm not sure if it's not cancelled altogether if not used for three months. Hope this is helpful to anyone thinking of doing the same. happy new year to all.


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## millso (Mar 11, 2011)

Hi, just been scouring the internet for answers to our question and stumbled across this... Thought i'd resurrect this thread instead of starting a new one.

We're planning to wild camp in Scandinavia as much as possible for most of the summer and are trying to work out how we are going to power everything...

We need to run two 45w macbooks, occasionally charge a phone/ camera batteries and use the lights, water heater etc...

I have read that getting a 12v charger would be the best way to charge the laptops which themselves have 5 hour battery life.

Our current leisure battery has had it so we're looking for a replacement and are considering this 120ah Caravan Batteries, Boat Batteries & Leisure Batteries - Ultra Plus 12v Sealed 120ah Leisure Battery

If my calculations are correct 10 hours of laptop use should equate to 450w which divided by 12 (Volts) = 37.5A, if you then times that by 2 and your using 75A to run the laptops off the leisure battery for 10 hours, meaning we could effectively run both the laptops for the best part of 20 hours from a 120AH battery if we used nothing else (hypothetically).

Are these calculations realistic?

Additionally, if we were to get a 100w solar panel, again hypothetically, we could be virtually self sufficient with good weather and a long journey every couple of days?

Any help with this stuff is greatly appreciated as we're total newbies to MH's!


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## seesa (Mar 11, 2011)

*Naive and confused?*

Ok am going to sound really stupid here.... only had MH since Jan and finding this a real learning curve! Was under the impression (and obviously very very wrong) that if i was on elec hook up I could just plug any thing in and it would work - clearly not! Hoping you guys can give me a bit of guidance here as to what I can plug in or not ??? e.g. electric fan heater? Hairdryer? CD player (just the essentials you see!) How do I work out what I can plug in or not? And If I make a mistake what will happen (apart from hubby shouting at me?) Do I need an invertor ? and If I get one what can I use then??
Never knew it would be this complicated - had visions of just driving off and taking all my home comforts with me???
Help please.....
Lisa


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## Deleted member 3802 (Mar 11, 2011)

if your on a 240v hook up you can run what ever the contact breaker will allow depending on what the site set it at ,some electric kettles and fires ect will trip it out

what these guys are talking about is wildcamping with no hook up


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## AndyC (Mar 11, 2011)

seesa said:


> Ok am going to sound really stupid here.... only had MH since Jan and finding this a real learning curve! Was under the impression (and obviously very very wrong) that if i was on elec hook up I could just plug any thing in and it would work - clearly not! Hoping you guys can give me a bit of guidance here as to what I can plug in or not ??? e.g. electric fan heater? Hairdryer? CD player (just the essentials you see!) How do I work out what I can plug in or not? And If I make a mistake what will happen (apart from hubby shouting at me?) Do I need an invertor ? and If I get one what can I use then??
> Never knew it would be this complicated - had visions of just driving off and taking all my home comforts with me???
> Help please.....
> Lisa


When on mains electric hook up check the Amps rating of the hook up supply. It will vary from site to site, some will be as low as 4A, on others you may get 16A.

Next check the power needed to run your appliances, this will be marked on the appliance in kW.

Roughly speaking you need a 4A mains hook up supply to power a 1kW appliance, 8A for a 2kW appliance, etc.

Regarding fan heaters, get one with adjustable heat settings, say 1kW and 2kW, you can do the same with hair dryers, we have a small one with 2 heat settings, 0.6kW and 1.2kW. That way you can use an appropriate setting  to suit the supply you have.

If you try to take too much power from the hook up supply all that will happen is that the circuit breaker on the hook up supply will trip and cut off the power to your van. Often you can reset this yourself at the hook up post, however sometimes the circuit breaker is locked away and you have to call the site warden to reset it for you. This won't make you too popular with him if it's the evening and he's off duty!

AndyC


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## millso (Mar 11, 2011)

Any advice on the battery guys as I ideally wanted to order one today


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## Canalsman (Mar 11, 2011)

millso said:


> Our current leisure battery has had it so we're looking for a replacement and are considering this 120ah Caravan Batteries, Boat Batteries & Leisure Batteries - Ultra Plus 12v Sealed 120ah Leisure Battery


 
Hi

I would suggest looking at the Elecsol branded batteries ... the link you give worries me a bit because it says they're also suitable for engine starting! That isn't usually the case with leisure batteries, and many so called leisure batteries are rebadged starter batteries.

Are you certain the battery you've got has had it? Take a look here for advice http://www.marxrv.com/12volt/12volt.htm

PS Ebay is a reasonable place to buy Elecsol batteries.


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## millso (Mar 11, 2011)

Canalsman said:


> Hi
> 
> I would suggest looking at the Elecsol branded batteries ... the link you give worries me a bit because it says they're also suitable for engine starting! That isn't usually the case with leisure batteries, and many so called leisure batteries are rebadged starter batteries.
> 
> ...


 
I'm pretty sure its had it... After being fully charged, its a going down by about 1v an hour when tested without being connected to anything. Its also a maintenance free one so no topping up.

I had a flick through that site, some good stuff


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## millso (Mar 11, 2011)

Has anyone got experience of these?

Flexible Solar Panel Pv 120 watt Grid tied Batterys MCS on eBay (end time 01-Apr-11 22:58:20 BST)


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## seesa (Mar 13, 2011)

AndyC said:


> When on mains electric hook up check the Amps rating of the hook up supply. It will vary from site to site, some will be as low as 4A, on others you may get 16A.
> 
> Next check the power needed to run your appliances, this will be marked on the appliance in kW.
> 
> ...


 
Thank you Andy 
thats helped a lot - as usual I'd got wrong end of the stick but now I'm much clearer what's what
Cheers!
Lisa


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## seesa (Mar 13, 2011)

Old_Arthur said:


> if your on a 240v hook up you can run what ever the contact breaker will allow depending on what the site set it at ,some electric kettles and fires ect will trip it out
> 
> what these guys are talking about is wildcamping with no hook up


 
Oops sorry Arthur!
Didn't read post properly and got into minor panic
Lisa


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## Firefox (Mar 14, 2011)

Canalsman said:


> Hi
> 
> I would suggest looking at the Elecsol branded batteries ... the link you give worries me a bit because it says they're also suitable for engine starting! That isn't usually the case with leisure batteries, and many so called leisure batteries are rebadged starter batteries.
> 
> ...



Check out the Elecsol site. I think it says somewhere they can also be used for starting  Elecsol are very good at marketing and hype, but when it comes to customer service, they are not so good. I've got doubts if their batteries are any better than ordinary lead acid. They do come in a nice case though!

However, I've used two 110Ah Elecsols for 18 months with no problems. I don't put them under big load though, I'm on hook up 70% of the time.


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## Canalsman (Mar 14, 2011)

Firefox said:


> ... I've got doubts if their batteries are any better than ordinary lead acid. They do come in a nice case though!
> 
> However, I've used two 110Ah Elecsols for 18 months with no problems. I don't put them under big load though, I'm on hook up 70% of the time.


 
They did very well in a recent MMM article and test of leisure batteries ...


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## Firefox (Mar 14, 2011)

Have you tried their customer service?! Some of the rudest in the business espec on the phone.

Elecsol is basically a one person operation as far as I can make out. He buys them in, brands them, and farms them out.

I'm not sure what test MMM did but the acid test is long term use over 5+ years. What I find with a lot of the MMM reviews is that they are more like advertisement features. The manufacturers supply them with stuff to review for free and it ends up being either good, very good, or excellent!!

Having said that, I do actually have Elecsol batteries and they perform OK under not very testing conditions. I had low electrolyte (clear dot) in one of mine from new. He advertises 24/7 365 day office hours and phone numbers so I took him up on it and phoned at 9pm one evening. Basically got told to get lost, and phone at a reasonable time.

OK... so I sent him an email, and got the reply to ignore the level indicator, not even confirming or denying low electrolyte. Having read up on other forums, I also notice problems with getting customer service and sometimes getting guarantees honoured.


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## Canalsman (Mar 14, 2011)

Firefox said:


> I'm not sure what test MMM did but the acid test is long term use over 5+ years. What I find with a lot of the MMM reviews is that they are more like advertisement features. The manufacturers supply them with stuff to review for free and it ends up being either good, very good, or excellent!!


 
Ah well, let me explain ...

There was a several page article about leisure battery types - and MMM cut open examples of batteries which I believe they'd purchased, many of which were rebadged starter batteries.

Of the ones that were of a proper leisure battery, deep discharge, design, the Elecsol was by far the best constructed.

After this examination, they took other samples and rigorously bench tested them using sophisticated computer controlled gear.

The Elecsol 110Ah battery was the best performer, and exceeded its rating, giving 120Ah as I recall.

I'll grant you that no comment was made about the after sales support, but that wasn't the point of the article.


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