Auxiliary battery

Stan Lee

Stan Lee

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Hi guys

i'm new to the this venture as i only previously relied on 240v at c/van parks. My new (2nd hand) 14.44.2 has an auxiliary battery.

1) How long would i be expected to be able to run the van with it?
2) What tips have u got for me so I can maximize it's potential but importantly not leave myself in a spot either?? :)

cheers
 
Bank of Dad

Bank of Dad

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Jul 20, 2011
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I charge mine every 4 to 6 weeks at home. I connect to the home 10 amp via a "Amp Fibian". Don't forget to turn the Battery Switch on in the van!

The battery would likely be a 100 amp battery so how long it lasts depends on what you use. Use 1 amp/hour then 100 hours, 50 amps then 2 hours etc. Mostly the 12 volt powers lights so change to LED and you will increase your time heaps.
 
Stan Lee

Stan Lee

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Thanks B.O.D.

yeah i was wondering if on my next planned extended journey, whether i could get away with unpowered sites or free campsites etc, or whether i'd have to consider a geny or something!!

We're planning a 2.5 month trip from adel - bris then back to adel via the east coast during jan to march - so i'm thinking the parks will be flat out!
 
Bmhdg76

Bmhdg76

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Oct 6, 2012
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Hi Stan,

Just remember that you should never drain your battery more than 50% or risk damaging it. So if your battery is 100amp hour than you effectively can only use 50amps. Not the 100 hours as stated above. The other point to remember is that the heavier you use it the less you have. By this I mean if you used a larger inverter and pulled say 20amps per hour. Your batt would only really last the hour due to the chemical reaction required to replenish the battery level. Please note that these figures are only examples. BJ.
 
Newcastle Knight

Newcastle Knight

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Feb 1, 2012
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Stan Lee said:
Thanks B.O.D.

yeah i was wondering if on my next planned extended journey, whether i could get away with unpowered sites or free campsites etc, or whether i'd have to consider a geny or something!!

We're planning a 2.5 month trip from adel - bris then back to adel via the east coast during jan to march - so i'm thinking the parks will be flat out!
Click to expand...

You will find it difficult with parks during Xmas School holidays, a lot of parks have minimum 7 day bookings.
 
Brad

Brad

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Jan 2, 2012
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Hi Stan,
If you have solar panels then hopefully they are topping up your batteries.
I saw somewhere on the forum that the batteries should last about a week before they go flat and that is without any sort of recharge.
This is where you need to go around and assess how much amp draw you have for each item on your battery.
Take your lights for instance. One of the main reasons for swapping them to LED's is to minimise the draw on the battery thus improving how long the battery will last before going flat.
 
Xpandafan

Xpandafan

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Aug 24, 2012
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I use solar panels to charge two batteries. All LED lights, 12v TV, water pump, phone and iPad charging etc., (the fridge, stove, and HWS run on gas). Power use is minimal. Batteries are usually fully charged by time we've finished breakfast.
In previous less optioned vans (no TV, water pump, just LED lights) I used folding 60w panels wired to 40 A/h power pack and never had to do a recharge over 5-6 week beach camping.
 
Stan Lee

Stan Lee

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thanks heaps guys ... now i wished i'd studied a little bit harder during tech studies at school :)

I've got the 14.44.2 so, i'll have to double check my lights now :)

The amp fibian has also been mentioned .... is this the only product that does this ?? i'm thinking dollars and cents .. :)

every since i've joined this forum i've found that i'm just dreaming of buying new toys / accessories etc and my mind wonders from one topic to another!!

thanks again gr8 advice. I assume there's somewhere on you tube that can give me a visual idea !!
 
Xpandafan

Xpandafan

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Stan, I got an Amp-fibian off eBay, for flexability in where I can use it and a few $ less that fitting a 15amp socket at home. I used the 15amp lead from the Amp-fibian to power a plasma welder to do the tyre carrier mod last weekend without tripping anything. Was $180 I think (base model), sparky quoted $250 for new outlet. A/C in Expanda also works when plugged in to it.
 
Stan Lee

Stan Lee

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Xpandafan said:
Stan, I got an Amp-fibian off eBay, for flexability in where I can use it and a few $ less that fitting a 15amp socket at home. I used the 15amp lead from the Amp-fibian to power a plasma welder to do the tyre carrier mod last weekend without tripping anything. Was $180 I think (base model), sparky quoted $250 for new outlet. A/C in Expanda also works when plugged in to it.
Click to expand...

cheers :) my xmas wish list is huge!! but i may sneak this one in a bit sooner!! :)
 
boots33

boots33

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Jun 25, 2011
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Stan Lee said:
every since i've joined this forum i've found that i'm just dreaming of buying new toys / accessories etc and my mind wonders from one topic to another!!

thanks again gr8 advice. I assume there's somewhere on you tube that can give me a visual idea !!
Click to expand...

hey Stan have a look here to see how much power i saved when i fitted leds to my 14-44.4. it's an old thread but will give you an idea whats involved. another post here shows how to remove the exterior light lens.
 
Stan Lee

Stan Lee

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Bank of Dad

Bank of Dad

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As Boots says, Battery switch on to charge. Think of it this way, the Battery Switch is an isolator. It allows current in and out.

As for the Ampfibian V's Home mod, well the Ampfibian is cheaper and can be taken in the van with you. I have come across 2 parks where the site had a 10 amp outlet and we were offered a bodgy 10 amp / 15 amp DIY adapter. DON'T DO IT!
 
Coastrunner

Coastrunner

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Mar 18, 2012
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Hi Stan.
I hope you're enjoying your new toy. I love my 14.44.2
I was in the same position as yourself wondering how long my battery would last, when using the van away from powered sites.
One of the best mods I`ve done on my van was converting the halogen lights inside and out to LED lights. I have Boots to thank for that.

Making a long story short, when I put every single light on in my van my power usage was approximately 20 amps per hour {not that I`d ever really have every light on}. When I changed every light over to LED lights, my usage with every light on went down to 2.5 amps per hour.

My battery is a 100 amp hour battery.

I also run a small LED tv which uses 3.5 amps per hour.

Generally at the most I`ll have 2 or 3 LED lights on {each LED light using one quarter of an amp per hour} So say 1 amp per hour.

If I ever watch tv, that`ll mean I`ll be using another 3.5 per hour.

So if I watch tv with a couple of lights on for 4 hours that's 4.5 amps per hour x 4 = 18 amps per night.

I have the luxoury of a 110 Watt solar panel that seems to put in around 6 amps per hour, so I generally find that my battery is fully charged before lunch the following day.

So even without the panel, I`d easily get a couple of weeks using lights only, and easily get a weekend using both tv and lights.

My fridge and stove run on gas so don`t need battery power for them.

My advice is to get yourself a solar panel if you want to do some long term holidays away from power.

Hope this helps champ.
 
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