powering a coromal F400?
Submitted: Saturday, Jun 25, 2011 at 21:16
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mike f4
hi all, i'm looking for some advice pls on how to power our new (second hand) coromal family 400 campervan. it looks like it has a 12V battery charger already installed (standard kit?) however no battery (which we knew prior to buying). i plan to put a deep cycle battery in at some stage with some sort of battery management system - unless the already installed unit facilitates this function. my question though is more around the 15A external connection & powering everything in general. obviously i can run appliances & internals off the 15A power "mains" connection when it is available, but what approach can i take out in the scrub with a genny? i figure i have two options - doctor my own 15A to 10A power cord to hook up the genny directly to the 15A input or, with a deep cycle battery and "management system" installed, run everything off 12V and use the genny just to charge the battery instead? are there any other options i should consider? any advice is appreciated!
Reply By: mike f4 - Saturday, Jun 25, 2011 at 21:46
Saturday, Jun 25, 2011 at 21:46
before a debate begins around the practice of rigging up a 15A to 10A power cord (just seen some archived posts specific to this topic... yikes) - forget i mentioned it! it was my least preferred option anyway.
let's keep to, "how can i power my F400 away from mains power??"!
AnswerID:
458449
Reply By: Member - The Bushwhackers -NSW - Saturday, Jun 25, 2011 at 22:52
Saturday, Jun 25, 2011 at 22:52
G'day Mike
I am not particularly generator savvy, but there was a thread on here a while ago, about a cheap brand generator.
I had a look at the link in the thread, and that genny had 2 outlets, I noticed that they were both 15amp. Maybe this is common??
If so, you have no problems.
I guess a lot would point you in the direction of
solar power, which is my preferred option as
well, however, each to his own.
Might be worth checking out the outlets on whatever brand genny you are considering, you may find they are 15 amp already! Gotta be lucky once in a while ...
Good luck, Dave
AnswerID:
458452
Follow Up By: Member - The Bushwhackers -NSW - Saturday, Jun 25, 2011 at 23:12
Saturday, Jun 25, 2011 at 23:12
Just had a quick look on the internet, said the Honda EU20i has 2 x 15 amp outlets
CLICK HERE
Look at the discussion 1/2 way down the page.
Cheers, Dave
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Reply By: Motherhen - Saturday, Jun 25, 2011 at 23:30
Saturday, Jun 25, 2011 at 23:30
Hi Mike
If you can set up to have your needs run from 12 v, then you can run your genny in sociable hours to boost the battery with the battery charger. Better still, use a solar panel or two. An 80 w solar panel used as a portable and put out when we made
camp gave us power for the fridge and lights (nothing else needed power) in our previous camper, however a larger panel would be better. If you plan to visit National Parks, there are very few that allow the use of generators.
Motherhen
AnswerID:
458453
Reply By: mike f4 - Wednesday, Jun 29, 2011 at 19:54
Wednesday, Jun 29, 2011 at 19:54
hi guys, thanks very much for the replies, i do appreciate them. i invested in an Ampfibian 10A to 15A converter that should see me right for powering up the fridge pre-trip and when staying at mates
places for all the electrics directly from domestic mains. i figure as
well, where a 15A outlet isn't available on a genny, this unit will do in lieu of any form of mains power. longer term i'm keen to add a battery system. i like the idea of solar panels to keep the battery topped up and will certainly be keeping this in mind. thanks for the tip re: national parks and generators too! most of our camping is unlikely to be in these until i can recharge silently!
AnswerID:
458796