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02-23-2014, 07:12 AM
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#1
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Member
Join Date: Feb 2014
Posts: 47
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3 days boondocking - Amp hours needed for
Will a two 27 dc 12 v with 115 amp hr each give me enough for three days using lights and propane heater as needed, water pump?
Is there a add on meter to monitor useage?
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Mac caradine
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02-23-2014, 07:20 AM
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#2
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 1,278
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It's hard to tell. You can try and use math to figure it out, but it would be difficult not knowing what all will be on and for how long. I believe you have a Class C from your avatar. Does your engine charge your house batteries?
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USAF Veteran
2014 Forest River Georgetown 351DS
2014 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon Toad
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02-23-2014, 09:57 AM
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#3
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Senior Member
Ford Super Duty Owner
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Buxton, North Dakota
Posts: 3,940
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It depends a lot on the temperature and the type of lights you have. If you don't have LED lights and it is cool, probably not. regular incandescent lights use a lot of power as does the furnace fan. If you monitor the battery with a volt meter it will five you a rough idea of battery state of charge. To accurately measure, the battery has to be at rest for awhile. You can use a Trimetric 2025 to monitor battery state of charge. It measures amps in and out. With a lot of conservation you could make it.
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2003 Winnebago Adventurer 38G F53/ V10 605 watts of Solar
1999 Winnebago Brave 35C F53V10 Handicap Equipped
1999 Jeep Cherokee, 1991 Jeep Wrangler Renegade and 2018 Chevrolet Equinox Diesel
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02-23-2014, 10:36 AM
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#4
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Community Moderator
Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 6,200
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Quote:
Originally Posted by McGeorge
Will a two 27 dc 12 v with 115 amp hr each give me enough for three days using lights and propane heater as needed, water pump? Is there a add on meter to monitor useage?
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Do you have an onboard generator for backup in case the batteries don't hold up? Also, to get the best life from your batteries and not damage them, you don't want to draw them down below 50% charge. If you have two 115 ah batteries wired in parallel, then you don't want to use more than 115 ah before recharging. (57 ah taken from each battery)
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02-23-2014, 10:55 AM
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#5
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Senior Member
Fleetwood Owners Club Ford Super Duty Owner
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: SoCal
Posts: 15,749
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The Trimetric monitor is the definitive way to monitor battery consumption. You can also motor battery voltage to give you an idea of the state of charge in percentage. There are voltage to percent of Charge tables readily found via Google.
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Vince and Susan
2011 Tiffin Phaeton 40QTH (Cummins ISC/Freightliner)
Flat towing a modified 2005 Jeep (Rubicon Wrangler)
Previously a 2002 Fleetwood Pace Arrow 37A and a 1995 Safari Trek 2830.
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02-23-2014, 11:29 AM
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#6
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Member
Ford Super Duty Owner
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Mesa AZ for remainder of 2019
Posts: 97
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McGeorge - Although I'm new to R/Ving my wife and I spent 4 years mostly "boondocking" in our 39 foot sailboat in the Sea of Cortez. You indicate that the only significant use of electricity will be lights and water pump. The water pump will be minimal unless you take many showers a day. It greatly depends upon how late you stay up and how many lights and what type you have. Until we installed solar panels we needed to conserve electricity and we did it by using head lamp flashlights for reading at night. We still used the regular cabin lighting if we were cooking or washing or playing games at night. I assume that your motorhome has a separate starting battery. I'd suggest that you try it as an experiment. It should be fine, but if you do get low you can always start the engine to recharge - on that trip - and then get a solar panel to recharge the batteries during the days when you won't be running the engine.
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02-23-2014, 08:53 PM
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#7
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2012
Posts: 206
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The furnace fan is a big elec user. If the furnace runs much, it will not last 3 days.
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02-24-2014, 03:55 AM
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#8
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Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 2,043
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McGeorge,
First you need to find out the total wattage you will be using and for how many hours a day. Once you have those numbers you can figure amp hours needed and then make a determination based upon your coach's load.
As mentioned, LED lights are the quickest return on investment (ROI) if you're looking to extend your boondocking time.
Use this load worksheet to figure up your total load, and then figure your amp hours. Each light bulb you use must be counted, water pump, and furnace - all have informational nameplates on them showing the wattage they use, except of course for the lights, but the wattage will be listed on the base of each bulb.
http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/wind-...preadsheet.xls
If you don't have MS Office, here is PDF version:
http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/wind-...-loadsheet.pdf
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94-Newmar Kountry Star 40-KSDP
Spartan/Cummins 8.3C-300HP/Allison 3060 WTEC-II/25yr RV Tech RVIA Certified/Onan-Cummins Certified
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02-24-2014, 06:58 AM
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#9
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Member
Ford Super Duty Owner
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Mesa AZ for remainder of 2019
Posts: 97
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McGerorge
Sorry. I forgot about the furnace fan. We had not heating on the boat and we didn't need it in the Sea of Cortez. And our fans were dry cell powered - until I installed the 420 rated watts of solar panels. And the Trimetric monitor is a very good idea. I have one on the boat.
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Sailsam and Susie
1987 24' Travelmaster
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02-24-2014, 08:06 AM
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#10
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Senior Member
Fleetwood Owners Club Ford Super Duty Owner
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: SoCal
Posts: 15,749
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mpierce
The furnace fan is a big elec user. If the furnace runs much, it will not last 3 days.
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Agree, this can be a major impact. A catalytic heater eliminates this draw.
__________________
Vince and Susan
2011 Tiffin Phaeton 40QTH (Cummins ISC/Freightliner)
Flat towing a modified 2005 Jeep (Rubicon Wrangler)
Previously a 2002 Fleetwood Pace Arrow 37A and a 1995 Safari Trek 2830.
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02-24-2014, 09:01 AM
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#11
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Member
Ford Super Duty Owner
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Mesa AZ for remainder of 2019
Posts: 97
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Quote:
Originally Posted by vsheetz
Agree, this can be a major impact. A catalytic heater eliminates this draw.
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vsheetz - A catalytic heater will eliminate the need to run the furnace. But a catalytic heater does produce both carbon dioxide (CO2) and carbon monoxide (CO) and so needs ventilation. CO2 suffocates by crowding out oxygen in the air you're trying to breath. CO is worse because it is poisonous. I believe that the poisonous mechanism is that it is absorbed into the bloodstream in preference to oxygen. Both are odorless. With CO2 you start breathing faster and MAY recognize that you need fresh air. CO has no symptoms other than you feel a little light headed, then you go to sleep and die. If you're sleeping you will die very peacefully. So IF you use ANY heater that consumes fuel (not electric) it needs adequate venting. Furnaces heat the ventilation air which passes by a heat exchanger and then goes to the outside of the motorhome. The air in the motorhome is forced by the fan to pass the heat exchanger to get hot. The products of combustion do not enter the motorhome. So a furnace is safe to use, even while sleeping, with all windows and doors in the motorhome closed, the less than airtight motorhome provides sufficient ventilation for a few people. A catalytic heater requires much more ventilation and can be deadly.
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Sailsam and Susie
1987 24' Travelmaster
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02-24-2014, 09:09 AM
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#12
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Member
Join Date: Feb 2014
Posts: 47
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Thanks to all. I do have generator and propane refrig. I will look in charts to see how much the consume per hour. I like the idea of LED lights to save. Any other tips to save battery usage .
How long to run gen to re charge batteries?
Mac
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Mac caradine
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02-24-2014, 09:19 AM
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#13
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Rural Independence, OR
Posts: 951
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sailsam
A catalytic heater requires much more ventilation and can be deadly.
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The is a vented catalytic heater called the Vented Platinum Cat.
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2013 Leisure Travel Vans Unity U24MB, 635 watts solar, 440 AH batteries, 2000 watt inverter, Koni struts and shocks, Hellwig rear anti-swaybar, SumoSprings front and back, 2012 Hyundai Accent SE, Blue Ox baseplates, Aladdin towbar and Patriot
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