Other than internal lights what does my leisure battery actually do?

esupergood said:
Yes that's the ones. Yes it's a left-hand drive Citroen based Hymer and it has 2 of those plug sockets that you've attached a photo of.

I have the little UK travel adapter plug which means I can power my gadgets when hooked up. But I get no power from the sockets when not hooked up.
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Unless you are hooked up you will get nothing from those, they are your 230/240v sockets that is your mains electric when on EHU so that is normal
 
have another look at what i wrote-these are 240volt sockets and are only live or powered when on hook up ! when not on hook up they are dead .
 
Thanks Tezza
In that case I'll get a 12v socket connected to the LB. I'm getting a headache now haha, so many options.
OK I've gone ahead and bought one of these
http://www.amazon.co.uk/TRIXES-Batt...TF8&qid=1407101436&sr=1-6&keywords=12v+socket
411SKEeXalL._SY355_.jpg


Will I need to get a fuse or something or am I ok just using that plugged directly to my LB?

Back to inverters... check out this product on Amazon. Some reviews say that are running gadgets of 1500w - 2000w using their 2000w inverter plugged into 12v
Amazon.co.uk: Customer Reviews: BESTEK 2000W power inverter 4600W peak Power DC 12V to AC 230V Voltage converter backup power supply MRI20013

But other reviews on that same product say that they can't power items above about 100w or so.
 
n brown said:
have another look at what i wrote-these are 240volt sockets and are only live or powered when on hook up ! when not on hook up they are dead .
Click to expand...

Thanks. I didn't quite know if the same socket could be receiving 2 power sources: 1 from the EHU and when that was off it may have received power from the LB instead. That would be nice but it seems it doesn't work that way.

:)
 
I have been reading this post and I am finding it a bit confusing, are you saying your hab 12 volt cigarette lighter type socket only work when you are connected to a 240 volt supply ?.most 12 volt plugs that plug into a 12 volt cigarette lighter socket come fused. To check unscrew the end to locate the fuse.
 
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no ! what i'm saying is this -
240v sockets ONLY work when on hook up
12v sockets ALWAYS work, as long as your LB is charged
240v sockets do NOT give 12v when not on hook up-they are DEAD !
anybody who converts a camper ,or who buys a camper MUST buy a simple test meter and learn how to use it enough to test a socket to see if it's live and what voltage it is - basic self preservation !
 
No they are confused and are expecting the 240v sockets to work when Not on hookup

molly 2 said:
I have been reading this post and I am finding it a bit confusing, are you saying your hab 12 volt cigarette lighter type socket only work when you are connected to a 240 volt supply ?.
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i was once asked what the difference was between a screw and a nail. i realised then that explaining things that i thought were fairly straightforward might be harder than i thought ! at the same time i would never put somebody down for not knowing something,god knows it's been hard enough learning some of it ! so bring on the tricky questions !
 
n brown said:
i was once asked what the difference was between a screw and a nail. i realised then that explaining things that i thought were fairly straightforward might be harder than i thought ! at the same time i would never put somebody down for not knowing something,god knows it's been hard enough learning some of it ! so bring on the tricky questions !
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I've got it now, thanks :)
Just a shame nobody found a way to send 240v AND 12v power to those handy plug sockets in the back so that we can use them on EHU and LB depending on where one has parked.

It seems like an oversight of Hymer not to build in 12v sockets in the living areas.
 
esupergood said:
I've got it now, thanks :)
Just a shame nobody found a way to send 240v AND 12v power to those handy plug sockets in the back so that we can use them on EHU and LB depending on where one has parked.

It seems like an oversight of Hymer not to build in 12v sockets in the living areas.
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just think though-if you had both power sources at one socket,you could plug in a 12v appliance and get a 240 volt shock ! they don't mix !
 
esupergood said:
I've got it now, thanks :)
Just a shame nobody found a way to send 240v AND 12v power to those handy plug sockets in the back so that we can use them on EHU and LB depending on where one has parked.

It seems like an oversight of Hymer not to build in 12v sockets in the living areas.
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My Hymer has 12v sockets in the living area, even has one in the toilet, I have fitted a few more along with three inverters of varying sizes so I have 240v when parked up without EHU, but I am lucky because I understand how they work, most of us have to learn so just ask the questions and someone will help
 
@ N Brown:
Quite right!
Just a shame there aren't 12v power sockets near the seating areas.
When my 12v socket comes this week I'll try to route it through the existing cabling tunnels so that I don't have to have too many wires hanging around

Tezza that's not fair haha! I want those sockets! :)

I'm going to try not to do too many mods as we are planning to upgrade the van after the festival season this year. We near more space and have never really got along with the u shaped lounge at the back.
 
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Has the OP checked the TV cupboard for a 12V socket?

Our 08 plate van has 3 x 240V sockets and only 1 x 12V socket (apart from the one on the dash). The 12V socket is in the ceiling of the TV cupboard, the type that takes a slightly smaller plug than the dash type.

The cupboard never has & never will see a TV so we have a splitter dangling down from the cupboard ceiling to charge phones, laptop etc.

We have never yet used a 240V socket.
 
To connect his inverter direct to the battery the habitation sockets he thought would supply 12v or240v he now realises he only has Euro style 240v sockets in his habitation area, well that's how I understand his posts

Alf


molly 2 said:
Why has the op bought bought a clip on 12 v socket if his hab sockets work .
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Just want to point out...

... That the ball of gas in the sky isn't burning, but undergoing nuclear fusion...
;)

esupergood said:
Hi chaps.
Today I finished installing a 2nd hand 130w solar panel along with a dual-battery charging controller and am happy to report that it went well. Both batteries have been fully topped up today using energy from that huge great burning ball of gas in the sky. Excellent!

So now that i have an "always full" leisure battery here are some questions I hope you can help with

I have a Hymer B534 from the early 1990s

- How do I charge a laptop/phone using the leisure battery? The built in plug sockets don't seem to power anything unless I get hooked up on a campsite

- Can I power the fridge using the leisure battery?

- (also can I power the fridge using gas?)

- I have a 1kw inverter which I sometimes power things from the cigarette lighter. I know that takes power from the engine so is there anything to stop me connecting the invertor up to the leisure battery instead? If not then it seems a good idea to do so but where should I connect the cables? Direct to the leisure battery terminals? Or elsewhere?
Click to expand...
 
OP states he has no 12v sockets. He has some 240v Euro round pin sockets that only work on hook up they mistakenly thought they were also 12v sockets see his photo of the same.

Alf


molly 2 said:
Surely that defies the point of having 12 sockets
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I think the confusion is because the OP didn't realise that the 12v and mains are two separate circuits and not interchangeable, this is quite a common mistake amongst folk new to motorhomes and caravans. It hasn't helped that his Hymer had European 2 pin sockets instead of 3 pin 13 amp sockets like in a UK house or motorhome.

In addition to cigar lighter sockets, I've seen these different types of 12 v sockets in motorhomes and caravans:

4917-500x500.jpg

2-pin-12-volt-caravan-power-socket.jpg

unipart2pinsocket.jpg
 
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