Aussie@Glasto Posted April 28, 2011 Report Share Posted April 28, 2011 Hello all, just wondering what people do to re-charge the leisure battery in a campervan. Is it ok to run the engine for a while during the day? Is that OK? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rischbrit Posted April 28, 2011 Report Share Posted April 28, 2011 Some people do turn the engine on but kiv that people sat behind your van may not be too pleased with fumes and noise!! Also some campers come with solar power charging attachments Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aussie@Glasto Posted April 29, 2011 Report Share Posted April 29, 2011 (edited) Some people do turn the engine on but kiv that people sat behind your van may not be too pleased with fumes and noise!! Also some campers come with solar power charging attachments Edited April 29, 2011 by Aussie@Glasto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hashcity Posted April 29, 2011 Report Share Posted April 29, 2011 It's tricky one: traditional generators are completely verboten on-site (due to the smell, noise and air pollution) but running the van simply to charge the battery isn't looked on too kindly either. Trader rules prohibit use of donkey-engines, not sure of the official position on campervans doing this. Regardless of that, it is a bit antisocial I'dve thought. What are you doing with the leisure battery that requires you to recharge it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aussie@Glasto Posted April 29, 2011 Report Share Posted April 29, 2011 (edited) It's tricky one: traditional generators are completely verboten on-site (due to the smell, noise and air pollution) but running the van simply to charge the battery isn't looked on too kindly either. Trader rules prohibit use of donkey-engines, not sure of the official position on campervans doing this. Regardless of that, it is a bit antisocial I'dve thought. What are you doing with the leisure battery that requires you to recharge it? Edited April 29, 2011 by Aussie@Glasto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psychology Posted April 29, 2011 Report Share Posted April 29, 2011 Hot water and fridge can run off gas, so in fact the battery only has to power water pump and lights for 5 or 6 nights. Most batteries should be able to handle this without too much trouble, I know ours has been fine for the last two years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aussie@Glasto Posted April 29, 2011 Report Share Posted April 29, 2011 Hot water and fridge can run off gas, so in fact the battery only has to power water pump and lights for 5 or 6 nights. Most batteries should be able to handle this without too much trouble, I know ours has been fine for the last two years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeadAmos Posted April 29, 2011 Report Share Posted April 29, 2011 (edited) Lovely. Main thing is I can re-charge phone/camera. Edited April 29, 2011 by DeadAmos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rischbrit Posted April 29, 2011 Report Share Posted April 29, 2011 Lovely. Main thing is I can re-charge phone/camera. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theanimalbus Posted April 29, 2011 Report Share Posted April 29, 2011 we have a 75 amp leisure battery in our Bay, Last year we charged phones and camera, listened to radio, cd's and had our lights on from time to time , and i think we ran the engine once.....probably did'nt need too for 20mins or so, and we were there for 6 days, Ran fridge on gas for a few days, but because it was stupid Hot, the fridge did struggle and used more Gas, :angry: As for converting, uses to much power get a 12v plug fitted direct to your leisure battery, buy the phone charger of ebay, also bought camera 12v charger, Any questions No worries Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cassandra13 Posted April 30, 2011 Report Share Posted April 30, 2011 If it is your own van it is well worth getting a solar panel to charge the battery. Ours just clips on with croc clips so isn't a permanent fixture and charges from inside the van even on cloudy days, keeps the battery topped up all year round. We got ours in 2002 and its still going strong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bexxxxx Posted April 30, 2011 Report Share Posted April 30, 2011 As others have stated - your fridge should run off gas so your battery is only really needed for lights and water pump. We were there 6 nights last year - we had a solar panel but didn't use it, didn't need to run the engine at all either. Battery lasted fine. For your phone and camera i'd suggest either getting portable charging unit like a power monkey/ freeloader or getting some spare batteries off ebay and taking these fully charged with you. I usually take spare batteries and my other half has a freeloader solar charger and this always gets us through without running out of charge. It's worth remembering you're unlikely to be spending much time back at your campervan anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StoneCircle Posted April 30, 2011 Report Share Posted April 30, 2011 We avoid using the water pump by pouring water into smaller vessils to use when for washing up. The only time ours is used is for the loo of if we use the shower, again this is rare as we use solar showers to heat the water and have use an empty water bottle with a watering can rose to shower in the caravan bathroom. Or boil a kettle or two if the sun is not out. Saves time (our water heater takes forever!!) and so much water as there are far better things to do at Glastonbury than get water!! A trug (large flexible bucket with handles) is very useful too for carrying full solar showers back from the taps and doubles up as a foot bath for aching feet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cooter Posted April 30, 2011 Report Share Posted April 30, 2011 Running your engine for an hour will not recharge your leisure battery, you may get a couple more phone charges or a few minutes lighting but you won't run a fridge,fan or heater running longer than a few more minutes. A good motorway drive for 3 to 4 hours will fully charge it, nothing less so please don't bother running/thrashing your engine in the cv field at 6am in the morning! As posts above, get a solar panel large enough to top your battery up as well as run as much stuff off and away from your battery, ie disposable batteries/gas etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grapework Posted April 30, 2011 Report Share Posted April 30, 2011 Hello all, just wondering what people do to re-charge the leisure battery in a campervan. Is it ok to run the engine for a while during the day? Is that OK? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aussie@Glasto Posted May 1, 2011 Report Share Posted May 1, 2011 Thanks for all the tips guys. Much appreciated. It's going to be a hire van so unless it is fitted with solar panels that won't be an option. Understood about running the engine... As I said the main thing will be charging phones and camera. I'm pretty sure unless the van is hooked up to mains electric the 240v plugs cannot be used. So would I need to get an inverter and put that on the leisure battery to plug chargers in? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadCampingNut Posted May 1, 2011 Report Share Posted May 1, 2011 Yeah you'll need an invertor to convert the 12V power coming from the leisure battery to 230/240V. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cooter Posted May 1, 2011 Report Share Posted May 1, 2011 (edited) Invertors are really meant for larger wattage/voltage items eg large telly, microwave. For stuff like cameras and phones just get 12v chargers and plug them into your cigarette lighter socket. I very much doubt 3 or 4 phone/camera charges will even begin to affect the vehicle battery starting power come Monday morning. And before anyone thinks they could run a microwave from an invertor plugged into their cigarette socket please don't. High powered stuff like that needs large expensive fused invertors hard-wired directly to a correct ah battery. I've done it, it's easy but it needs to be done properly. Edited May 1, 2011 by Cooter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superscally Posted May 3, 2011 Report Share Posted May 3, 2011 Lot of good info here - your alternator won't charge shit unless you've got it ticking over at 2,000rpm, i.e. driving or being a c**t in the CV field with your foot on the gas, which we all know you're not! Don't buy an inverter unless it's gonna be your van, but as the guys said, just charging phones and camera won't need that - use your 12v socket - can get multi-adaptors for these too which you can use after in your own motor. Sack the laptop if I were you mate, I know you're going with the wife and daughter, so you won't be on the porn that much! If you're desperate, I saw a long drop that had pages from Razzle superglued to the back of the door last year. :-p One word of caution, most fridges in campers, especially basic ones are 2-way (i.e. they use 12v or 240v supplies and only the more pricey 3-way ones use gas). In a no-hook up field in high summer, don't use the fridge as a fridge, as it will EAT your battery. Instead, use it as a coolbox and buy bags of ice to keep it sweet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eFestivals Posted May 3, 2011 Report Share Posted May 3, 2011 I don't have a campervan sorted yet but I will need to recharge a couple of phones, a camera and what ever things on the van that run off that battery- lights,fridge? Hot water? Water pump? Toilet? I don't think any battery will last for 6 nights?? if the fridge is running off the battery, it'll drain the battery in less than 24 hours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redmosquito Posted May 3, 2011 Report Share Posted May 3, 2011 Your leisure battery should be fine over that period. Our split charger in our splitty has never worked and our 75amp leaisure battery lasted Glastonbury and 2 camping trips without a charge before finally dying in Whitby in October Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cooter Posted May 3, 2011 Report Share Posted May 3, 2011 if the fridge is running off the battery, it'll drain the battery in less than 24 hours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ukslim Posted May 4, 2011 Report Share Posted May 4, 2011 For charging phones etc., surely a campervan is the perfect place to leave a solar charger. On the other hand, us tent campers manage without a phone charger. If you take two spare charged phone batteries, and a basic phone, you'll easily last the whole time. (Ditch the iPhone for a bit). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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