You will need to think this through very carefully
AND my FIRST suggestion is you should forget about the microwave if you are going to be away from mains power
They are power hungary & requires quite a large battery bank, recharging ability [a lot of solar]& [a large inverter for operation ,unless you get a 12v one]
For other general uses you should give solar serious consideration
Generators require tolerant neighbours, possibly different fuel to your tow car ,AND are banned in places such as many National PARKS
GAS 3way fridges can be used at all times ,comprssor types again are heavy power users over each day ,so reqiure additional battery & charging capacity
Do not rush in, GIVE your own situation a lot of thought, including exactly what type of vanning /camping you intend to do !!
Peter
-- Edited by oldtrack123 on Thursday 27th of September 2012 01:54:20 PM
I would go with the Solar Panels Rosie. Quieter!! My suggestion would be a portable set around 100 - 120 w. They fold up and come in a carry case, are a bit heavy but I can carry it no problem.
I have only JUST gone through this debate with myself this week and I won. I looked at all the pros and cons for both, infact I made a list side by side of them and the Generator won in the end. I started a topic yesterday in this section. The generator will work for me anyway but everyone is different. I might even end up with both in the future. Like Marj said though, go portable Solar.
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Live Life On Your Terms
DOUGChief One Feather (Losing feathers with age)
TUG.......2014 Holden LT Colorado Twin Cab Ute with Canopy
DEN....... 2014 "Chief" Arrow CV (with some changes)
Solar is the way to go!! HOWEVER....microwave ovens have a relatively high power consumption , requiring a minimum 12oowatt invertor which will drain your batteries fairly quickly. Great for small tv's , charging phones, laptops , iPods etc. Small compressor type fridges also.. A dedicated solar battery is the optimal system. Generators also have there place as they can supply a lot more power for a specific appliance...air conds, cookers , larger TV's.. All boils down to what you need and what you need.
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Take only your memories, leave only your footprints
We've been vanning for quite a few years- about 8 and when not with mains power have gas for fridge and cooking, and rechargable lanterns for light.
I don't mind not having microwave or Tv, but need to charge ipads, phones and laptops, and better lighting would be good but not essential.
My understanding for solar is that we would need inverters and deep cell batteries- and as space is a premium, I wondered how others solved their similar issues.
I thought I had read someplace about ?? powerpacks or something possibly from Supercheap autos? Has anyone got any comments on them please?
A 1900AMP SCA Jump Starter form Super Cheap and a 150VA Power house Inverter from Jaycar works well for what you have just mentioned, the jump starter keeps your tug battery for your tug.
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Live Life On Your Terms
DOUGChief One Feather (Losing feathers with age)
TUG.......2014 Holden LT Colorado Twin Cab Ute with Canopy
DEN....... 2014 "Chief" Arrow CV (with some changes)
I have both, and tend to use the solar most of the time . I have 120w solar capacity and a 150w deep cycle battery in the van, plus 2 - 120 batterys in the car, which I connect up which give me about 5 to 7 days before I have to start the car.Its usual that I start the car more often.I run a 50 ltr waeco , and lcd tv and all the lights are led.Seems to work. I haven't had to start the gen set yet, and just keep it for emergencies.Bill
Rip and Rosie, Do I get the impression you have written off the idea of using your microwave? in that case you need to watch your battery size in your little van. A 115 Ah battery will be 35 - 37 kg in weight. Try to tailor your requirements so you can get away with an 80 Ah battery. This will give you lights and some charging plus TV when you are getting plenty of sunlight. An 80 W panel should keep you going, best mount on the top of the van so it is out there all day and not reliant on you putting it out and bringing it in when not attended.
Try getting away without using an inverter, they are wasteful of power. It is much more economical in the battery power if you get 12 V chargers for all your appliances, Jaycar will be able to assist you on these if your local phone shops are of no help. A 12 V LED TV will be the best for low power use.
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PeterD Nissan Navara D23 diesel auto, Spaceland pop-top Retired radio and electronics technician. NSW Central Coast.
PeterD has some good advice Rip and Rosie. We were looking for a similar solution for our Sprite, and as we only have 5 lights and a 12v tv we use 240v at caravan parks and have the biggest thumper from Supercheap to power lights when not connected to 240v. The fridge is 3way so no problems there. The Jayco 12v converter is pretty noisy so we might get it replaced with a charger/power supply and a battery about 80ah and set up an Anderson plug to charge the battery from the tug when on the road, and use 240v in parks. With a 80-100w portable panel to plug into the Anderson plug on the van I think we will have a set up that will work for us. Charging phones etc can be done via most power sources. Happy travelling.
We have both the solar panel is a fold up one and the jenny is used for the micro wave I dont think the solar panels can drive a micro wave we use a honda 2kva and that works hard with only the oven on
We have both methods of power generation. The Eu20 Honda is stored in it's own external cupboard and only gets used as a stand by or when I need use it for the microwave, electric drill (for any necessary repairs), battery charging (rainy days), etc.
The 2 x 110 amphr batteries are mounted externally on the right side of the chassis. They are coupled to a 130 watt roof mounted solar panel which is sufficient to keep them charged. The batteries can also be charged from the vehicle. The 380 watt pure sine wave inverter is sufficient to recharge the camera, phone and computer batteries and power the vast box etc. The inverter does not get used when we access to mains power.
LED lights help to reduce the amount of power usage. The 12 Volt TV and two water pumps are the only other power drainers.
The fridge runs on gas when we are stationary.
Before purchasing any thing do your home work. Depending on you van size weight may have to a consideration. As PeterD suggested smaller size components may be the way to go. Because you have a space concerns for the equipment, may I suggest a roof mounted solar panel and external chassis mounted batteries. It works well. The generator can be added if the batteries are insufficient.
