240v from leisure battery

Early Bay Forum

Help Support Early Bay Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

fallingoffalot

Well-known member
Supporting Member
Joined
May 18, 2019
Messages
973
Reaction score
197
Location
Gloucestershire
Going to Cornwall in 3 weeks and could only get a non-electric pitch. So is it easy to set up an inverter from the leisure to power stuff at mains voltage? Any recommendations? Is solar worth it?

Sent from my SM-G9600 using Tapatalk

 
Yes, it’s easy enough, I’ve even seen crocodile clip versions. BUT, and it’s a big but, you’ll need to do the maths to see what it is you’ll be trying to run off it, and if it’s feasible. Most things are feasible but add in to that ‘for how long’ , For instance, a fridge would eat most leisure batteries in twenty four hours or less dependant on the fridge of course and boiling an electric kettle would do it much quicker but again you might get away with it a couple of times. Solar panels vary so much in their output from what I’ve read, great thread over on the LateBay, cheapso versus expensive and solid versus flexible then there’s positioning too and aiming at the sun, some are greatly affected by shadows and some not so much. Plus there’s fixed to the van and the very popular suitcase portable types that open much like a tent so at least one side is pointing at the sun, or open them wide and secure to your roof rack. Main questions are what are you trying to run ?, how long do you want it to run for ?, and how much juice does it use ? A modern dometic style fridge will just about run for a long weekend with a nice big (new) leisure battery and a one hundred watt solar panel if my readings have been correct. This can be extended if you drive the van with the alternator feeding the fridge and topping up your leisure battery, and again, how much are you likely to do ?

Ozziedog,,,,,,,,this is another ‘What oil thread’ but it’s interesting for sure :mrgreen: ;) :mrgreen:
 
Thanks Ozzie, yes I guess it is one of those questions, we won't be running a fridge, but maybe charging a laptop/phone etc. I have some low voltage lights, TBH they are probably 12V dc, so seems daft to run them from 240V ac to then step down and rectify to DC!

Ideally I will put a 240v socket from the invertor next to the hook-up one I already have installed just in case an yoofs want to charger their iPhones!
 
I have something similar to this that I used in my travels before I had my bus: https://www.halfords.com/tools/garage-workshop/inverters/12v-150w-inverter-with-2a-usb-338092.html

If something can run off 12V, run it off 12V.

With the laptop, and this might seem daft, don't leave it charging. In fact, don't use it while it's plugged in (it has its own battery after all!) and remember to unplug it once it is charged (even once full it will continue to draw power).

As for phone charging - they don't need 12V (most are 3.1-5V from memory) so a 3-pin plug is overkill. Those 12V socket USB things do a perfectly good job of charging phones in my experience.
 
Not only do they do a great job, most peeps have some hanging about that came with various devises usually with a usb connection. My blockrocker / Bluetooth speaker is great for livening up phones and things with its little USB ports. For what you’re trying to do, you could just get some booster batteries to top them up or even a small motor bike type battery or from an alarm, connected to USB bank and the jobs jobbed.

Ozziedog,,,,,,,,,or chargeup when driving :mrgreen:
 

Latest posts

Top