Avoiding EHUs

[Aethelric]

I really wanted to avoid regular trips to sites just to keep the battery topped up, but I did not want to go the solar panel route.
I did an investigation and have written a little article here. It only really applies to my vehicle, but the principles may be of interest to anyone with the same objective.

 

[Deleted member 12539]

I found your article very interesting, and a good idea if you have the 'know how', and prepared to limit your electricity usuage and maintain 'electrical discipline'.
I, on the other hand prefer my set up of a mix of solar panel and extra leisure batteries, which I can almost 'fit and forget', thus enjoy my trips away without having to chec the clock to see if I have the power to watch tv, or charge the laptop.

 

[kangooroo]

An interesting article.

I've just returned from a week's wildcamping in Cornwall and didn't use EHU at all. I used the fluorescent lights 4pm-1am daily, tap, electric blanket, other electrics and eberspacher etc as needed and got into the habit of charging my laptop via inverter as I drove. I don't have solar panels but I've found that providing I'm careful re usage then my leisure battery remains close to capacity with plenty of power on reserve if needed.

(I also stretched out my 20L water tank to last the full 7 days too!)

I think good discipline and avoiding wastage is the key.

 

[Sky]

I did an investigation and have written a little article here.

Thank you for that; you've saved me a few investigations that have been in my roundtoit box for a while now. As a fellow electronics engineer myself, I fully understand your 'attitude'.

 

[DTDog]

An interesting article.
Like you, it does always suprise me that poeple dont seem to bat an eye when paying for EHU when in reality it isnt necessary.

I'm actually in the 'Beemer' side of thinking, prefering to have more battery power than I need (through Solar panel and larger bateries) rather than trying to conserve the power usage. Maybe, like Beemer, I have other family members using the power and no matter how much you personally conserve the power, the rest of the family will have the telly on while sat playing on the phone etc. and it just gets in to an argument!

While away the other week with an old friend (in his caravan), he told me a story of how his daughter would have him fill BOTH water barrels ready for when she wanted to shower and would stand in the shower until both barrels had emptied! WHY? This was the only way he could get to go out in the van as his wife wouldnt leave the daughter behind and she insisted on 'keeping clean'!!

 

[Deleted member 25439]

I enjoyed your article and the meticulous calculations. Its come to late to be of much use to me though as we have already gone down the throw £x00 at it, solar panel route. I've been very pleased with the result. We still only have a single battery though. We have as much power as we need when we need it, although we do use it carefully if we know we wont be moving for a while. On dull days we don't normally sit around in the van doing nothing, we are more likely to drive somewhere. When the sun is providing free power I really felt the need to use it.

 

[K9d]

An interesting article, I'm too new to it all to know how much power I will be using, but will use my battery isolator when leaving the van for a while, not sure how much my control panel will use its a 1988 Hymer so fairly basic.
My van came with 2 leisure batteries the idea being to swap the leads over when one got low, but that seemed a clunky solution to me so I invested in a couple of leads and now have them connected in parallel, so they charge and discharge together.
I was thinking of the solar route but your article has made me thing twice so will go down the suck it and see route instead.

 

[Aethelric]

I found your article very interesting, and a good idea if you have the 'know how', and prepared to limit your electricity usuage and maintain 'electrical discipline'.
I, on the other hand prefer my set up of a mix of solar panel and extra leisure batteries, which I can almost 'fit and forget', thus enjoy my trips away without having to chec the clock to see if I have the power to watch tv, or charge the laptop.

Hi Beemer, the whole point of my exercise was that I don't have to check the clock I don't limit my electricity usage (OK, I don't leave the lights and computer on 24/7 but I don't do that at home either) and I'm not an electricity disciplinarian.
I'm sat in the van as I type this on the lap. I've been on it for two and a half hours. I've had a light and the radio on for most of that time. I've just turned the heating down as its 24C in here (10C outside). We have been living in the van this way for over a week. A trip to the shops and the launderette topped up what I'd used yesterday and the battery still has plenty spare capacity.

But its a big van you have there Beemer, I doubt if my techniques would work for you anyway.

 

[Deleted member 3011]

It is always interesting reading how little power, water and gas people can make do with when they really want to, and the occasional tales of magic batteries that never run flat and last for 15 years, and water tanks that never empty and solar panels that fill the huge battery to bursting point by morning tea time add even more drama, but while these ascetic lifestyles might be interesting in the short term as an intellectual exercise or cathartic self-denial, for extended stays and any practical level of convenience and comfort, somewhat greater storage and generating capacity is essential.

 

[Rodeo]

I havent read the article yet,but I do recall when we had various self built campervans a few years ago,I never used to bother with a second battery,just the orig vehicle battery. Ran the tv,water pumps,fridge and strip lights whenever we wanted ,and never had a problem . Maybe sometimes we just about got away with that set up ,leaving enough life in the battery to start up,I dont know.

 

[vespalien]

It is always interesting reading how little power, water and gas people can make do with when they really want to, and the occasional tales of magic batteries that never run flat and last for 15 years, and water tanks that never empty and solar panels that fill the huge battery to bursting point by morning tea time add even more drama, but while these ascetic lifestyles might be interesting in the short term as an intellectual exercise or cathartic self-denial, for extended stays and any practical level of convenience and comfort, somewhat greater storage and generating capacity is essential.

Given that the OP has shared of lot of useful information, you two at best seem to be offering what my Mum would have called an ungracious response. He clearly stated that is was for his own van & his own circumstances. It's no wonder to me now that only a handful of regulars bother to post on here.

Have you not heard the phrase "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth". So it may not suit your style of motorhoming, but it may well suit others.

 

[vespalien]

My point is that you really ought to positively encourage people to post, especially when they are relatively new & potentially useful contributors.

I fully understand that you may not need such posts, but there will be plenty that do. A low cost alternative to just buying ££££'s worth of solar panels has to be a useful suggestion, even if it doesn't suit your profligate style of power useage, plenty of others have found it helpful.

 

[Aethelric]

Given that the OP has shared of lot of useful information, you two at best seem to be offering what my Mum would have called an ungracious response. He clearly stated that is was for his own van & his own circumstances. It's no wonder to me now that only a handful of regulars bother to post on here.

Have you not heard the phrase "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth". So it may not suit your style of motorhoming, but it may well suit others.

Thank you Vespalien
For the record I don't meter watch at home or in the van. Following my investigation I have enough hard data to know I don't need to worry about power. It's not about asceticism or an "intellectual exercise". It's just an engineers successful solution to a problem he had.

 

[Siimplyloco]

There’s one sure fire way to make relationships hurtful and destructive: judge the motives of other people as harshly and as negatively as possible....

John

 

[Aethelric]

I havent read the article yet,but I do recall when we had various self built campervans a few years ago,I never used to bother with a second battery,just the orig vehicle battery. Ran the tv,water pumps,fridge and strip lights whenever we wanted ,and never had a problem . Maybe sometimes we just about got away with that set up ,leaving enough life in the battery to start up,I dont know.

If you drove most days Rodeo that works fine. Provided there was enough left to start the engine, the alternator acts as a very fast charger. I think a lot of motorhomers have big vehicles and they stay parked up for days or weeks on end. Then its either EHUs or solar panels.

 

[AndyC]

Always good practice to reduce power consumption to balance the power available, however the first thing I would have done is to optimise the power available by investigating why there was only a pitiful 4A getting to the leisure battery when driving.

AndyC

 

[Siimplyloco]

Always good practice to reduce power consumption to balance the power available, however the first thing I would have done is to optimise the power available by investigating why there was only a pitiful 4A getting to the leisure battery when driving.

AndyC

Correct me if you think I'm wrong, but if a battery is charged or nearly so, a standard vehicle alternator will sense the higher voltage and taper off the charging current accordingly. The battery is, in effect, never fully charged, and that's why we fit a 'Smart' alternator regulator such as a Sterling which provides a near perfect charging regime.
John

 

[spigot]

I couldn't say I found the article interesting 'cos being totally thick when it comes to electricity, I hardly understood a word of it.

I have two 85a leisure batteries & two 40 watt solar panels in my smallish van & don't have to worry about watching meters or making calculations.

I spend that time enjoying myself.

 

[vespalien]

Well. I'm a simple person, so I read the thread.

On the first page there are 6 positive replies & the OP got 4 "likes" including mine, no doubt there are more, but I haven't bothered to count. I'm surprised that slipped you by. If you'd like to count the posts (ignoring the off track stuff of ours) I'm sure you will have to agree that most found it interesting or useful.

Not bad for an early post, I think we have a really useful member here if they are not put off by the cynical old hands.

 

[Siimplyloco]

Not bad for an early post, I think we have a really useful member here if they are not put off by the cynical old hands.

As Billy Bunter's Asian friend used to say. "The pompousfulness is terrific!
John
Now where's that 'Ignore' button....