Moderator: Luke
hectors-tranny wrote:An inverter is going to take a huge drain off your leisure battery, so you will need to get as large a battery as possible, possibly even have two in parallel as a 'bank'. (Consider also a 12V TV, 12V low power LED lights, and boiling your water via your gas hob.)
Yes you need some sort of split charge relay or isolator between your leisure and starter batteries (so you don't drain your starter battery), as well as correct rated fuses. Here's a summary of options:
A Voltage Sensitive Relay (VSR) - CHeap and easy but WONT WORK WITH SMART ALTERNATORS.
Manual isolator switch. Very cheap and easy but you have to remember to do it every time you stop and start!
Ignition triggered split charge relay - cheap but may invalidate your warrany as you have to tap into ignition circuit.
Battery to battery charger - very expensive but works with smart alternators, charges your leisure battery MUCH more quickly, fully and safely (battery will last longer). Very easy to install.
Hope that helps as a start.
HT.
mistericeman wrote:We have a 3000w mod sine wave inverter powered by 3 x 100ah leisure batteries charged via a durite VSR and 2 x 100w solar panels on the roof in our campervan Jumbo....
We run a microwave /kettle /slow cooker /toaster etc only for short periods.
You'll need plenty of battery power for anything power hungry (and facilities for recharging)
300ah of leisure batteries actually gives us a safe usage of 150ah (50% discharge)
Your electric heater is going to be your biggest draw... Might be, better fitting an eberspacher instead.
A £10 mini gas burner from blacks or wherever might be a better solution for a cuppa, the ones with the replaceable cartridges. I've got one tucked under my back seat (custom dciv)savino wrote:mistericeman wrote:We have a 3000w mod sine wave inverter powered by 3 x 100ah leisure batteries charged via a durite VSR and 2 x 100w solar panels on the roof in our campervan Jumbo....
We run a microwave /kettle /slow cooker /toaster etc only for short periods.
You'll need plenty of battery power for anything power hungry (and facilities for recharging)
300ah of leisure batteries actually gives us a safe usage of 150ah (50% discharge)
Your electric heater is going to be your biggest draw... Might be, better fitting an eberspacher instead.
hmm.. beginning to wonder if its more aggro than it's worth especially given the cost and weight, I don't actually need any of it it. I'm not interested in having to use charging facilities nor do I want to have more than 1 leisure batt in the back. So with a 110ah batt and a 1000w inverter is it unrealistic to think i'm gonna be able to pull up at the beach, watch tv for 30mins, have a cup of tea and drive off again?
savino wrote:mistericeman wrote:We have a 3000w mod sine wave inverter powered by 3 x 100ah leisure batteries charged via a durite VSR and 2 x 100w solar panels on the roof in our campervan Jumbo....
We run a microwave /kettle /slow cooker /toaster etc only for short periods.
You'll need plenty of battery power for anything power hungry (and facilities for recharging)
300ah of leisure batteries actually gives us a safe usage of 150ah (50% discharge)
Your electric heater is going to be your biggest draw... Might be, better fitting an eberspacher instead.
hmm.. beginning to wonder if its more aggro than it's worth especially given the cost and weight, I don't actually need any of it it. I'm not interested in having to use charging facilities nor do I want to have more than 1 leisure batt in the back. So with a 110ah batt and a 1000w inverter is it unrealistic to think i'm gonna be able to pull up at the beach, watch tv for 30mins, have a cup of tea and drive off again?
bluebottle wrote:savino wrote:mistericeman wrote:We have a 3000w mod sine wave inverter powered by 3 x 100ah leisure batteries charged via a durite VSR and 2 x 100w solar panels on the roof in our campervan Jumbo....
We run a microwave /kettle /slow cooker /toaster etc only for short periods.
You'll need plenty of battery power for anything power hungry (and facilities for recharging)
300ah of leisure batteries actually gives us a safe usage of 150ah (50% discharge)
Your electric heater is going to be your biggest draw... Might be, better fitting an eberspacher instead.
hmm.. beginning to wonder if its more aggro than it's worth especially given the cost and weight, I don't actually need any of it it. I'm not interested in having to use charging facilities nor do I want to have more than 1 leisure batt in the back. So with a 110ah batt and a 1000w inverter is it unrealistic to think i'm gonna be able to pull up at the beach, watch tv for 30mins, have a cup of tea and drive off again?
You could do that, half an hour of TV won't be terrible. But, for the kettle I'd go for gas myself as well. Anything with a heating element will spank your battery - especially if it's going through an inverter. Also remember that you need much beefier cables for 12v than 240v if you want to avoid violating rule 0*.
*rule 0: don't be on fire.
hectors-tranny wrote:For maximum longevity, a leisure battery shouldn't be discharged more than 50%. Hence if you work out you need 60 amp hours, buy a 120 amp hour battery.
You can discharge them more but it will shorten its life. If you discharge fully you may ruin it, although some chargers can apparently 'save' fully discharged batteries.
savino wrote:hectors-tranny wrote:For maximum longevity, a leisure battery shouldn't be discharged more than 50%. Hence if you work out you need 60 amp hours, buy a 120 amp hour battery.
You can discharge them more but it will shorten its life. If you discharge fully you may ruin it, although some chargers can apparently 'save' fully discharged batteries.
Ok thanks.
bluebottle wrote:savino wrote:hectors-tranny wrote:For maximum longevity, a leisure battery shouldn't be discharged more than 50%. Hence if you work out you need 60 amp hours, buy a 120 amp hour battery.
You can discharge them more but it will shorten its life. If you discharge fully you may ruin it, although some chargers can apparently 'save' fully discharged batteries.
Ok thanks.
Also, car batteries and leisure batteries are different beasts. A car battery is designed to provide a short large amperage spike and be immediately charged back up, and a leisure battery is designed to provide lower amperage for longer. Leisure batteries can survive being drained more than car batteries, but no standard lead acid battery likes to be drained over much before sulphation destroys their capacity. Also, an _old_ car battery will likely be pretty shagged in any case.
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