So I read the how to threads on installing leisure electrics on here that were very helpful. I am just trying to put a basic setup in my van at the moment which I will hopefully expand in the future. Having not really stayed in vans before either off grid or camp sites I am not sure how far to go with the leisure electrics. How are you guys powering laptops, TVs and other type of things. Do you guys run inverters or use mains hookup at location? Are you able to use appliances off-grid or are they too draining? I would like to run stereo, 12v TV, laptop charger, phone charger and toothbrush charger eventually as off-grid as possible. Just wondering what options in that case would be.
Hookup preferable, solar cells feeding leisure battery will need to be large as your total power budget indicates well over 100 watts of power. With a 100AH battery and an 80% efficient inverter that is discharge about half capacity in 5 hours. And then you need to top up 0.5kWH power for another evenings use plus provide power for anything used while also charging. So that points at more than 200W of solar panels ... I would do your power budget for each device and multiply by about 1.2 if you power off mains inverter rather than 12 volt direct. Then decide what you can actually go without Also use a tablet rather than some old power hungry laptop for instance. Electric toothbrush chargers may well buzz like anything fitted with a mains AC driven transformer if fed from a pseudo-sinewave inverter. A pure sinewave inverter will be better but more expensive. So I use e.g. a pseudo sinewave 600W inverter generally loaded to about 50W with a laptop when running it in the works car park because the hot desks are worse than my bus.., and I have 200W of solar panels. I dont use the laptop after dark. Really all my solar setup plus leisure battery is used for off grid is charging mobile phones and a tablet, and running a compressor fridge, with a few watts of lighting.
I run my computer off a 12v charger - then don’t need an inverter and uses very little power to charge it up - look on Amazon
I run the stereo, 12v TV/DVD, laptop charger, iPhone/iPad chargers, compressor fridge, water pump, Propex and a few LEDs off a 176Ah LiFePo4 leisure battery. I haven’t used hook up for over a year and I don’t have an inverter. I use a brush on a stick for my teeth. The two 100w solar panels are next to useless and if they weren’t stuck on the roof, I’d chuck them over snottys fence. A 30amp B2B keeps the battery charged when touring around.
This is a good thing, that 176AH is equivalent to an unmanageably large 300-400AH lead acid bank, depending on what you call reliable discharge percentage for the lead acid. For many people the initial cost of a decent lithium battery pack is off putting, even though it will out last many lead acid batteries which will cost more in the end.. Yes, its also become clear that some not so cheap solar panels just fatigue fracture with heat cycling and flexing..
Youve opened up the mine field of opinions here , the kind of thread i like as it generally does show the pros and cons of a subject . Me being thick as horse muck on this subject have learnt alot over the time ive been looking , in summary ive discovered if the wife(or partner) is with you go for hook up , if not stock up on candles for light and a £12 cooker running from little gas canisters . Ive recently bought flexible solar panels that are bigger than the van ,and a powepack that will probably only be used to charge my phone even though for ten years ive used the cigar socket . But do what you do want , people on her will help you out in the end
No, I bought four LiFePo4 cells but couldn’t find a suitable waterproof box so the battery pack, BMS and B2B are all under the bed.
If you do go for hookup remember that all your 12 volt kit will need effectively a mains power supply. So a power budget estimate and fitting a suitably larger 12 volt battery charger/ maintainer will be worthwhile. Not that LIDL battery charger.. probably the 5 amp Cetek is too small... Then trying to find a charger powerful enough without a fan is fun too.
What is a sinewave inverter? Can you run a Lithium leisure battery and regular liquid battery with a split charge relay or would I have to buy two lithium batteries? Can you recommend any good leisure batteries?
There has recently been a shift in my permanent living accommodation to sofa surfing and getting this van ready asap as I am going to find myself living in the van a bit more than just a weekend trip now…
A sinewave inverter produces a smooth AC voltage that allows equipment with transformers or motors to operate without buzzing - the alternative pseudo sinewave switches hard and fast to the peak voltage- cheaper to make. Some motors wont run properly and e.g. a Dremel will buzz like crazy.. With lithium batteries, you really need a battery-to-battery charger as they charge at different voltages to wet lead acid cells. You could re-rig the entire system to start the engine off lithium batteries but you would need to make sure the system was constructed to deliver 200 amps regularly without damage.. basically EV traction batteries consisting of many high current cells in parallel, rather than neat little banks of high capacity cells. For leisure batteries the best one for me is the Halfords 100AH. It fits, and when I find I have knackered it, I can arrange my journey the next day to pass a Halfords with stock. Not the cheapest or biggest capacity. But convenient and acceptably good.
I lived in mine for a while. Top tip - you need a mains hook-up and at least one 13A 240v socket. Then when it gets damp around September/October you can run a small convector heater. People who live in boats and power elec via batteries find they have to have around 4-600Ah of batteries and either 600-1000w of solar or run their engines for 2 hours/day plus 8 hours once a week to maintain the batteries. Lithium cuts down the charging time, but they still need a substantial bank. Inverters are a sure way to flatten your batteries faster e.g. on standby mine will use about 2-3A x 24 hours is one flat 120Ah battery, not even using it! OK, it's a big inverter not a piddly one like Mike is discussing, but the only free lunch you have living off grid is by not living off-grid - plugged into the mains. It's generally agreed that hooked up mains is 20x as cheap as making your own with your engine and through the winter solar does not work in any meaningful way.
