# How long will 12v last or how long is piece of string!



## 4maddogs (May 4, 2010)

I know there is no definitive answer, but some guidance and your experience would be helpful, please.

I want to have a week on Mull at the end of November/beginning of December. As there are no campsites open then I will have no access to chemical disposal or hookup. Water should not be a problem as there is water available at the marina at Tobermory. 

I have 2 10ah batteries, but I think I am probably rather heavy on juice! Given I will be on my own and it will be dark by 4, I will want to watch some DVDs or TV in the evenings. I have a satellite dome and an Avtex TV. I have LED lighting. I'll need to recharge ipad, laptop and phone etc via the 12v socket or inverter (Sterling 150). I will ask the marina at Tob if I can recharge my bike battery there, but I am pretty sure I can't run in my hookup cable in case people trip over it!

I think I will have sufficient gas as I have 2 x 7kg Gaslow cylinders....no autogas on Mull so I won't be able to fill up, but i have never used that much in a week. 

There are loads of beautiful wildcamping spots and i know Mull really well so i have no worries there. I usually stay on a campsite for hook up every few days so I have never tested the capacity (and my usage).

So.....2 issues really:
where can I empty my loo? 
how long do you think my 12 v will last? and how long will I need to drive for to top up the battery?

What do you think?
Thanks
Julie


----------



## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

Oh gosh Julie.
I have no idea about dumping waste but given all the electrical things you want to be powering I would be very surprised if you got two days out of your batteries without driving around for 20 miles.

It really is a case of saving the last watt or amp. Not having anything on for more time than absolutely necessary. It's a juggle.

Ray.


----------



## joedenise (Jul 20, 2007)

Ask nicely and they should let you empty your cassette at the marina


joe


----------



## tonka (Apr 24, 2006)

The biggest power use there will be the TV and DVD player.
Why not copy your DVD's into a digital format and load them onto the ipad and watch via that. Will use a lot less in power and faster to charge if your driving a bit each day.

In theory you can make some calculations on the power you expect to use but in practice may be very different. Remember have all your chargable items plugged in as you are driving, dont leave it till you stop.

Ref the loo, sure the marina will have a facility. Otherwise if it was me, I would look for quiet public toilets or maybe garages where the toilets are outside and as long as you are careful and tidy up any mess, I cant see anyone can complain.. 

A solar panel will be a good investment but as it's autumn going on winter it will only give a small amount of input but better than none..

ps.. In your post I think you mean 110amph not 10 !! lol


----------



## bob8925 (Jul 25, 2010)

Cant help with battery calculations but the string is easy...

a piece of string is exactly twice as long from one end to the middle !!!

simples.....


----------



## Penquin (Oct 15, 2007)

Is there any way that you could take a small (1kw) generator with you "just in case" ?

The TV uses lots as does running the water pump - but the water pump is only used for a short while, not hours like TV is used.

Solar panels are unlikely to give you much of a boost with the weather that thye UK has had recently - and the islands are probably no different.

Yes, conservation is important, but a gennie could provide the reserves that you perhaps need. There are often Honda 1kw gennies for sale on e-bay;

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/silent-ge...trial_Tools_Generators_ET&hash=item337cb612bb

we bought ours through e-bay and it has proved very useful for such situations.

It might be possible to borrow/hire one but I have no information about such deals - a local tool hire shop may have them......

Dave


----------



## bbbbb (Oct 7, 2012)

if its 5 degrees or below you ll be lucky to stay warm on 14kg of gas for a week enless you want to live the dream of fuel poverty .


----------



## rosalan (Aug 24, 2009)

I am sorry to say that I think your plan is a little ambitious.
Starting with the gas. You may manage the days consumption, but night-time heating could stretch the limits with hot water, cooking and a fridge.
It is the battery where I think problems will be most likely. 
Accepting that you have a battery larger than 10 amp hours, which would not last very long at all, you could stretch your power supply by fitting L.E.D lights which would give you a lot more use of lighting (approx 8x more I believe). Although you will be 'up North' a solar panel would also allow greater amount of available battery power.
A generator seems to be the only practical solution but you may not be popular with your neighbours.
Alan


----------



## Penquin (Oct 15, 2007)

Is Calor available on the island?

If so could use have a supplementary Calor cylinder and feed low pressure gas in via a barbecue point which has been described before on MHF, or could you change one of your cylinders for Calor so that it can be exchanged on the island?

The second option would probably need a different tail or adaptor to connect to the Calor cylinder but that MIGHT give you more gas available.......

If you are not near other users then the generator is unlikely to cause a problem - ours is very quiet and is only used when no-one else is around - and we chose to run it during the morning to top up after an evenings TV watching or late afternoon to ensure the battery was topped up before the evening - we used it for a couple of hours maximum, but it does mean carrying petrol for the gennie - not something which is brilliantly safe.

Dave


----------



## rayrecrok (Nov 21, 2008)

Hi.

Re electricity see what you can do without or do what a lot on here do run a generator.

Re the cassette, I carry a couple of manhole lid pullers, you would be surprised at the number of places that you can find suitable foul water drains, even public toilets when they are closed will still have a drain lid near them. You should look for the pressed steel variety, don't try the cast iron ones you will put your back out getting one of those up.

Or the old fashioned way, when out in the wilds away from everybody dig a hole put it down there and then fill it in with what you have dug out replacing the grass or what ever and nobody would know you had been there.

ray.


----------



## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

I think things are getting very complicated now.
Back to the piece of string....................... you might just have to be very careful about consumption Julie.

Try it and see but be prepared to run the engine.

Ray.


----------



## nicholsong (May 26, 2009)

raynipper said:


> I think things are getting very complicated now.
> Back to the piece of string....................... you might just have to be very careful about consumption Julie.
> 
> Try it and see but be prepared to run the engine.
> ...


I agree with Ray because you are only going for a week not a month, so running the engine when static, in addition to when on the move, will not cost a lot of diesel.

After the trip you will have the answer to your 12v question.

If you find you need extra 12v capacity you can consider suggestiions above, or an additional battery and/or a Battery-to-Battery (B2B) charger, which puts a lot more charge into the leisure from the alternator for a given amount of engine-running time.

We have only 2X85A/H batteries and, moving 20 miles every 2-3 days, our Sterling B2B keeps them well charged.

Geoff


----------



## adonisito (Nov 6, 2009)

I reckon that'll be ample gas as long as you don't run the heating all night. I switch off when we go to bed and get booted out first thing to switch it back on again for Mrs Adonisito in the morning. We have 2 x 110a batteries and they would easily run a week in our van in the winter, mind you we don't have a sat tv, but we do have laptops and a dvd player and led lights. Mind you I agree that you may need to run the engine a bit, anyway if the worst comes to the worst you could always use the engine battery in an emergency.


----------



## erneboy (Feb 8, 2007)

I am often amazed at the differing experiences people have when it comes to battery life. We use 50 to 60 Ah per day in winter while Adonisto manages on just 15 or so Ah yet we seem to be running similar devices.

We have two 110Ah batteries and are lucky if they last two days in winter before needing a charge. We also have laptops, a dvd player and led lights, Alan.


----------



## 4maddogs (May 4, 2010)

Thanks, folks. i did make a mistake in my original post. of course I have 2x 110ah batteries. i have been fine for 3 days at a go. 
I am confident that I will have plenty of gas. I have never used anything like that amount although I have always had hook up every 3rd day or so. I don't think I would run the heating all night, but I suppose I might if it was freezing. I do have those winter thingys in the tank....are they probes with a heater in? That will take power too.

I will move around, but am unclear how far/long I need to drive for to replenish the batteries. It is a newish van with a smart charger so it does charge all the batteries when charging.

I already have all LED lighting so that is fairly efficient. 

I did wonder about a gennie as there will be no-one else around, but I didn't want to wake up and find I had been gassed......JOKE!! 

I guess it will be trial and error. I just don't want to run out of power! It is a holiday so I want to enjoy it!

How long/ far will I need to drive? Mull is a large island so I should be able to move around every few days so see different places.


----------



## adonisito (Nov 6, 2009)

erneboy said:


> I am often amazed at the differing experiences people have when it comes to battery life. We use 50 to 60 Ah per day in winter while Adonisto manages on just 15 or so Ah yet we seem to be running similar devices.
> 
> It is strange, if i'm honest I can never remember the leisure batteries getting low, we have the lights on, use the loo (electric flush obviously), watch a film on the dvd in the evening and have the occasional shower (gas fired hot water, electric pump) and often have difficulty finding EHU in the Winter, but they've never let us down. I suppose I charge everything up I can if we are driving (via an inverter) and our heating is only gas. The leisure batteries do charge when driving but my understanding of this is that its at very low amps. Are there vans that use 12v heating?
> 
> ...


----------



## Addie (Aug 5, 2008)

adonisito said:


> Are there vans that use 12v heating?


I think I'm right in saying your van has a gas fire, which saves you loads in terms of battery power since you can light the fire without having to blow the hot air through like with European Vans.


----------



## Spacerunner (Mar 18, 2006)

With the OP's original energy specs I reckon you won't last more than 3 days on 12 volt and 5 days on gas.

You'll be using far more leccy as the evenings are longer, and far more gas as the temperatures are going to be lower as well..

Forget about watching TV go to bed early with a good book (or partner :roll: ). Use public toilets where possible and longer time between showers.

Is this really going to be a relaxing holiday or a survival course?

Answers on a grubby log book written with a pencil stub.

"God, this is an awful place" 8)


----------



## 4maddogs (May 4, 2010)

Bit of an update....
I will travelling alone so snuggling up will not be an option  I could take a dog with me though as a furry goldie or springer would generate some heat!!

I contacted a campsite (Shieling holidays) who are normally closed, but can be open for parking, hookup and CDP. All for £7.75 which is half price as the shower blocks will be shut. Bargain! They have a cottage so I suppose the office is open at times all year round. I have stayed there for the odd day fairly often in the past and I usually wild camp for 3 days then go to the campsite to refill and replenish....and empty :lol: then head off into the wilder parts of Mull again. The website shows the site as closed so emailing and asking if they were open was worth it.

I might take a small electric heater (halogen) as I bought a tiny one for the tent several years ago for the hook up days to conserve the gas. My Truma is leccy too, but it tends to need gas to get it warm enough for very cold evenings. 2x 7kg bottles should be ample I think.

I like the look of those Efoy cells, but what a cost!


----------



## bigfrank3 (Mar 26, 2007)

I always thought a piece of string was about 18 inches any longer than that it becomes a ball. :lol: 

Frank


----------



## navigator (Aug 31, 2006)

Interested in this post as we are also going to Mull (and Skye) mid-November to mid-December.

I will try Sheiling also Julie, as have stayed there before and at £7.75 a night it's worth getting everything fully charged and using the CDP.

Oban Winter Festival is on in November, and I understand you can stay in the Leisure Centre with the camper FOC? There is a FB page for the Festival.

Might see you around!

Ian


----------



## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

Not glamorous but, you're on your own and you want to keep warm: buy yourself the thickest fleece snuggle blanket you can find- this sort of thing:

and wrap yourself up in it as soon as you can. Lakeland have a faux sheepskin version but that is £50. These range in price from £5- £30.
They fold up into a cushion cover and are a good thing to have on the bed at night as well- extra insulation. We find them very handy when we don't want to run the heating and it's chilly.

G


----------



## 4maddogs (May 4, 2010)

He, he! A snuggle blanket! Good idea. I usually wrap up in my duvet. Reminds me of camping in a mountain tent in the snow with my (then) 11 year old daughter. We were sitting in our sleeping bags with another wrapped around our shoulders, headtorches illuminating our books. She turned to me and said. "we have such lovely times, don't we?" Brought a tear to my eye that did!
She is nearly 23 now and loves the MH!

2 other Mull campsites have said they can be open too.....now that is what I call service.


----------



## barryd (May 9, 2008)

This sounds similar to what we do on the Isle of Arran. We have been there many times for two or three weeks at a time although so far not in December (november was the latest and March the earliest).

We have 1 x 110AH battery, LED Lights, Gas only fire (no battery needed), 1.2 amp 16" TV, Camos Dome. Laptop 7 hr battery life charged off cab battery and in the summer we can last without hookup for perhaps two weeks just driving around but winter maybe a week at a real push. And thats just one battery.

I think you could do it as Mull is fairly big and presumably your going to explore so providing your frugal I reckon you would be ok. As Addie says your fire doesnt use power. I really dont understand what manufacturers were thinking when they started designing fires that used battery power all the time.

Two winters ago we were away when it was the coldest winter on record and down to -18 and the most we used in one week was one 11KG Gas low bottle.

On Arran there are loads of places to empty and fill. Surely there will be toilets on Mull?


----------

