hi guys..

at the moment this is how our power is set up at the moment..

we have the caravan power supply thingy , dont know what there called, so we can plug straight into the caravan park power with a long proper extension lead thats suitable.

we also have a honda ( I think thats the brand ) generator, 

also recently installed solar power, not sure how many panels, think 2 maybe. how many hours do we get out of those ?

now we use the gas tanks (2) for hot water (shower etc) and the stove..

the lights and tv i gather will run via the house batterys (2) when not hooked up to cp power ,

the microwave we can run i think thru the generator when we need it,  and same with the air con,

oh the fridge is 3 way, gas, elctric power and 12vlt, so if were not hooked up to cp power, i gather we can choose to run the fridge via the gas and 12vt? 12v house is charged via the sun too..

man, so many things, guess my head is in overload

at least even if we go to cps and are full we can be pretty much self catered

 also are there any 12volt heaters ie small ones that youd recomend?

Hi Milo. The Solar panels you need to know how many Watts they are & as to how long they will give you depends on how many hrs of usable output from the sun. 3Way fridge use 240V or Gas if camped but only use 12v if travelling, asuming the vehicle altenator is charging the house battery as the 3way fridge on 12V will flattenthe battery, they draw a lot of current on 12V. Forget a 12V heater as not practical. When we camp & its that cold we use a fan heater until bed time, run of the generator or if in a park 240V mains.

Milo,

The way most van and motor homes are set up, and yours is probably the same, are with two separate power systems.

There is a battery powered system, this provides you with 12 (or 24 in some cases) volts of power and will use the batteries to power low voltage appliances when not receiving external power.

External power is provided by a charging system, this can be provided in many ways, the most common being from the engine (alternator) of the tow vehicle, from solar or from 240 volt power (park supply or generator). Each of these systems needs a setup for that particular system.

The second type of power system is a 240 volt system. This is your normal household power. It has outlets in your van / motor home that are usually only active when you are plugged into external 240 volt power.

There are two ways to link the two systems together. The first, as mentioned above, is with a battery charger. This takes your external 240 and allows you to charge your batteries and supply power to 12 volt appliances.

The second way is with an inverter. This takes your battery power and converts it to 240 volt to run your 240 volt appliances.

This is a very simple overview; however I have some information sheets on these systems. Let me know if you would like a copy for some more detailed reading.

Regarding your specific questions,

A three way fridge (gas, 12 volt and 240 volt) is not very efficient when running on electricity. It is best to use on gas when you do not have an external supply of power (and even when you are using solar unless you have a reasonable sized solar setup.) 240volt is used when in a park or with a generator and 12 volt is used when you are driving with a supply from your tow vehicle. (It is not safe to use gas while moving)

Heating uses a large amount of electricity, so it is best not to run a heater on batteries (they run flat to quickly) using a 240 volt heater is ok if you have an external 240 volt power supply.

 Hope this helps a bit and is not to confusing,
Nichol

thanks Nichol, and to every one else helping out, im not good with figureare s and numbers and such,
im trying to figure out , and helping dad out the best way to run our systen when we need the occasional free camping
times, ...
how quiet are generators? or should i say loud??
any one got any videos of one going ie i think ours may be a honda , but will check that out...
we want to enjoy ourselves in the tardis, not freeze or sweat it out..
i could put up with it for a night or too , ie weather , but not with dad at his age (88soon)
so trying to get my head around all this..

oh this may be a silly question, we have our generator on a custom built tray on the back with custom cover and its secured etc, but can these generators be run in bad weather,ie rain , and can they be run inside the vain?

ie we have a storage section out side of the van that has some sealing to it from the main part of the inside of the van,,, would that be ok in there???

ill take some pics over the next couple days to show you what i mean..

milo

heres some pics of our generator set up

i  think if were at our set up during the day the van keeps warm ,

but night time would be the tricky part

i knew it was a honda

Nichol wrote:

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Milo, 

Generators need air to run and produce fumes. This means that running in an enclosed space unless are a no go unless the space is designed for it. You need to be certain that you are not getting fumes into the van as these can be deadly in an enclosed space.

Cheers,
Nichol

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This is too true Milo.  I seem to remember a young man dying somewhere up north during Cyclone Yarsi, because he had a Genny running in an enclosed room at the time.  Only about 19 I think.

Cheers,

Sheba.