Caravan Battery

Submitted: Wednesday, Mar 05, 2008 at 17:30

ThreadID: 55212 Views:3455 Replies:5 FollowUps:8

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Redbac

I am setting up a little Jayco Dove 88' for a 6month road trip around the west coast of Aus and I am trying to work out how many deep cycle or gel dry cell type battery/s I may need to just power a small tv/dvd, Van light/s a few hours a day? Also I am looking at getting a small cheap 850w generator from Aldi for $120, will that be ok to charge one of these batteries as not sure how long they take to charge up? Last thing I want is to have to run the genny for hours just to charge 1 or 2 batteries!
Suggestions most welcome.

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Reply By: Dunaruna - Wednesday, Mar 05, 2008 at 17:36

Reply By: Member - barry F (NSW) - Wednesday, Mar 05, 2008 at 17:58

Reply By: Member - Graham H (QLD) - Wednesday, Mar 05, 2008 at 18:05

Wednesday, Mar 05, 2008 at 18:05

And make sure the generator is a very quiet model or you will make more enemies than friends.
Also remember that generators ar banned in National parks country wide.

AnswerID: 290949

Follow Up By: Redbac - Wednesday, Mar 05, 2008 at 18:08

Wednesday, Mar 05, 2008 at 18:08

Ohh yess indeed, I gather nobody tolerates the noise over the chirpin birds.
Do you know how long an 850W genny would take to charge 1 deep cycle or dry 'gel' cell battery?

FollowupID: 556355

Follow Up By: Dunaruna - Wednesday, Mar 05, 2008 at 18:25

Wednesday, Mar 05, 2008 at 18:25

Too long, it certainly wouldn't be and hour or so, more like a 8 - 10 hours.

You need to consider an alternate charging source. Two choices come to mind, the vehicles alternator and solar.

Is the TV/DVD direct 12v or are you going to be using an inverter?

FollowupID: 556358

Follow Up By: Dunaruna - Wednesday, Mar 05, 2008 at 18:28

Wednesday, Mar 05, 2008 at 18:28

Forgot to add, will you have access to 240v power (caravan park?)?

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Follow Up By: Redbac - Wednesday, Mar 05, 2008 at 19:42

Wednesday, Mar 05, 2008 at 19:42

We don't plan on spending too much time in powered site areas, hence all the questions regarding batteries etc !!
I will have to look at 12v tv's now, do they drain less than a 240V through a converter ?

FollowupID: 556389

Follow Up By: Dunaruna - Wednesday, Mar 05, 2008 at 19:50

Wednesday, Mar 05, 2008 at 19:50

Yes, they drain less power.

O/K, so 240v is out so that brings us back to the vehicles alternator or solar.

You will need at least 1 largish deepcycle battery to run the TV & a few lights etc. Any good quality lead acid will do, no need to spend the dollars on a gell.

While driving, you can run your fridge on the vehicles 12v supply (as already suggested in your other thread) through appropriate cabling & isolation. This supply will also help to maintain your caravan battery (get the popcorn ready) but to fully charge it you will need solar. How deep are your pockets?

FollowupID: 556391

Follow Up By: Dunaruna - Wednesday, Mar 05, 2008 at 19:54

Wednesday, Mar 05, 2008 at 19:54

Woops, forgot to add,

I think the cheap generator is a bad idea, you will be sick of it in no time. If you want to go down the road of a genny then look at a honda, very quiet and reliable (and it will run/charge a dell laptop) Now that would go a long way to solving your problem butr they are very pricey. You need to do some sums in regard to a honda or solar.

IMHO

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