Camping - Your hint's and tips.
- Thread starter fossyant
- Start date
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raleighnut
Legendary Member
- Location
- One of the 'Elite'
Sooner have a gas stove, i've got an old 'Epigas' one (takes Colman cylinders with a screw top) cooker is on a pipe with the control on the top of the bottle so no burning fingers if something boils over
BigSid
Legendary Member
- Location
- Hungerford
16A @ 230V is nearly 3.7kW.
figbat
Former slippery scientist
- Location
- South Oxfordshire, UK
Some sites are 16A, some only 10A. We used a EHU for camping and was a really good addition - electric coolbox, tent lighting, phone charging etc. When we upgraded to a caravan we always went to sites with EHU and rarely used any gas.
OP
OP
fossyant
Ride It Like You Stole It!
- Location
- South Manchester
Solar Upgrade
Just upgraded my solar setup on the cheap (ish). Found a new, matching 100w Anker solar panel to go along with my existing one. We've managed off grid, with some careful power management, for 5 days - our main power user is the electric cool box. The 100w panel will get upto around 80-85w in cool clear weather (April/May). This recent hot weather, and additional haze, this has reduced the panel to 60-65w (they don't like heat). So, given an identical panel is about £250 RRP, I found one for £130. Only down side, is it didn't come with cables - which the seller has given a partial refund having admitted it didn't have any but their description said it did (new open box from a retailer). I've picked the same as panel as the output voltages can vary per panel from 12v upto 24v, and when combining you'll only get the lower voltage/amps. Checked the Anker panels and they are over 24v and 4amps, many others are 12v or 18v - they can be mixed, but the power station will adjust the power, so you won't be getting the best efficiency.
At present, on a good day, the panel gives enough to run the coolbox and charge the power station although getting into the evening solar drops off. With two panels it should give me more power to get the power bank full, before the evening arrives, and also give me double the power on cloudy days.
Plus side is the original panel came with a splitter so just needed a new cable from the panel to the splitter. Stuck with parallel as I had the splitter. Just have to bear in mind voltage limits for serial connections, and voltage for parallel. You can connect more panels, either serial or parallel so you keep them under both limits. Three panels together would need two panels in serial then connected to the third in parallel to be within the power station's limits, which is a bit of a faff setting up each camp.
We're two seasons in now with the power station and it's been great, especially when off grid for a number of days and you have a fridge full of food, wine and beer. We've only had hookup at one site this year as it was a camper/caravan site and you had to take it.
Some sites are charging quite a premium for hookup - some £8 a night, which given that commercial KWh charges are expensive - more than double domestic 25p/Kwh, it is understandable when you see what some people bring. I know one site that charges per KWh if on hookup and they have had 'complaints' about the charge - the owner has pointed out that their fan heater, electric BBQ etc all use a lot of power. That's when £5-8 extra a night is cheap for the camper, but expensive for the site when you see some folk's set ups.
Two more camps minimum this year, one with/without EHU in Scotland - later in the holiday it will be without. Then another late September without.
Just upgraded my solar setup on the cheap (ish). Found a new, matching 100w Anker solar panel to go along with my existing one. We've managed off grid, with some careful power management, for 5 days - our main power user is the electric cool box. The 100w panel will get upto around 80-85w in cool clear weather (April/May). This recent hot weather, and additional haze, this has reduced the panel to 60-65w (they don't like heat). So, given an identical panel is about £250 RRP, I found one for £130. Only down side, is it didn't come with cables - which the seller has given a partial refund having admitted it didn't have any but their description said it did (new open box from a retailer). I've picked the same as panel as the output voltages can vary per panel from 12v upto 24v, and when combining you'll only get the lower voltage/amps. Checked the Anker panels and they are over 24v and 4amps, many others are 12v or 18v - they can be mixed, but the power station will adjust the power, so you won't be getting the best efficiency.
At present, on a good day, the panel gives enough to run the coolbox and charge the power station although getting into the evening solar drops off. With two panels it should give me more power to get the power bank full, before the evening arrives, and also give me double the power on cloudy days.
Plus side is the original panel came with a splitter so just needed a new cable from the panel to the splitter. Stuck with parallel as I had the splitter. Just have to bear in mind voltage limits for serial connections, and voltage for parallel. You can connect more panels, either serial or parallel so you keep them under both limits. Three panels together would need two panels in serial then connected to the third in parallel to be within the power station's limits, which is a bit of a faff setting up each camp.
We're two seasons in now with the power station and it's been great, especially when off grid for a number of days and you have a fridge full of food, wine and beer. We've only had hookup at one site this year as it was a camper/caravan site and you had to take it.
Some sites are charging quite a premium for hookup - some £8 a night, which given that commercial KWh charges are expensive - more than double domestic 25p/Kwh, it is understandable when you see what some people bring. I know one site that charges per KWh if on hookup and they have had 'complaints' about the charge - the owner has pointed out that their fan heater, electric BBQ etc all use a lot of power. That's when £5-8 extra a night is cheap for the camper, but expensive for the site when you see some folk's set ups.
Two more camps minimum this year, one with/without EHU in Scotland - later in the holiday it will be without. Then another late September without.
