Rally Chat A question for the rally 'attenders' .. how long can you last in winter off EHU in the UK? (2 Viewers)

[MisterB]

As per the title (and there is a good reason why I ask), for those who look to attend rallies in the UK in the winter, how long can you last without EHU?

Additionally how long would a rally need to be for anyone to consider travelling to attend in the East of the UK, in terms of days/nights? 4 nights, 5 nights ...??

I apologise for the vagueness of my questions, without any great detail, but responses will feed into my attempts to support someone looking at organising an event ... but before taking it further it would help to have Funsters opinions/thoughts

Thanks

 

[Lenny HB]

A bit like how long is a piece of string.
Depends on your power usage, size and type of battery bank & how much solar.
An unmodified van straight out of the factory probably only one or two nights. Ourselfs with 460ah of Lithium & 350 watts of solar probably a week or more if we cut back on our electric usage.

 

[ChrisL]

It's an impossible question to answer because of the variables, how big a battery bank, how many watts of solar, lithium or lead acid varient batteries, individual power consumption, will it be overcast or clear sky's.

 

[Langtoftlad]

Not exactly winter but I've easily lasted the 5 days of the Chester Food festival.
100w solar pwm controller, 2x Banner 100Ah LA batteries.
So a basic set up.

Re length - depends on why the rally is being held, but for me, minimum three days.

 

[daveandsan]

As has been said it’s very hard to judge, we did a weekend meet the first weekend in March and had no problem. Woke up Saturday morning to a covering of snow, so no solar power.
300 watt panel and 230 amp lithium so probably 4 nights for us in the winter.

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[Lisa]

We ran a valentine meet (Feb) with about 30 vans and only 1 van struggled. That was a 3 night meet. Quite a few have gone on to Lithium since then.

 

[meanders]

It depends on many factors. Some winter rallies have a room that can be used during the day as well as in the evening, so if sociable you spend less time in the van. We spent 4 days at Christmas one year at Disney and it went down to -7, with only a single LA battery and small solar and had no problems. Did similar for New Year the following year. Neither was in a 'winterised van!
However, we do not run a TV or satellite, the radio runs from rechargeable batteries that can be swapped for alkaline's if need be., all cooking and heating is on gas (refillable), so realistically it's little more power than for lighting, and running the heating fan. We are always cautious about leaving lights on especially the awning light, but they are all LED. If you want to sit in the van all evening and watch the googlebox, with lights on, leave the awning light on when the van is unoccupied etc you are going to use a lot more power.
A good silver screen, and putting the internal screens up on the windows and skylights really helps keep the heat inside the van. If away from the van for a while, we usually close all blinds and put the heating on the lowest setting.

 

[Wh05apk]

If looking at winter, I would assume minimal solar benefit, and in that case, totally dependent on batteries, which we would probably get 5-6 days comfortably..
We are in the east, so possibly 3 nights? But if a long drive, would probably be looking for 4-5 nights?

 

[Masman]

I have no solar.Just one Battery. I can just spread 3 nights max .But no tv etc.Heating is gas so only real 12v power we use is led lighting waterpump and heating.

 

[MisterB]

Thanks for the responses, the first part of my question wasn't how long is a piece of string, it was how long could YOU, if YOU were interested in attending a winter rally, probably last without EHU. Note I have added the word probably, because I recognise lots of factors come into play.

The second part was just as specific, how long would a rally in the East of England need to be for YOU, if YOU were interested in attending a rally over the winter period need to be, to make it worthwhile for YOU to attend?

Hope that clarifies my question.

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[Lenny HB]

OK I'll try again,
We could probably last one to two weeks.
If more than 100 miles away (we live near Brighton) at least 5 or 6 nights or more.

 

[JockandRita]

Power wise Dave with the current lead acid set up, (360Ah but only 50% useable), about 5 x days max.

Preferred Rally duration? Longer than just a weekend for us.

Cheers,

Jock.

 

[Antique]

4-5 days +
&
4-5 days +

All the best

 

[pagey]

I was at a rally in west bay for a week I have 100w solar and 2x 95 amp vartas with no problems but there was showers on site, we are light power users

 

[St3v3]

Around 4 days.

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[L' Hobo]

Thanks for the responses, the first part of my question wasn't how long is a piece of string, it was how long could YOU, if YOU were interested in attending a winter rally, probably last without EHU. Note I have added the word probably, because I recognise lots of factors come into play.

The second part was just as specific, how long would a rally in the East of England need to be for YOU, if YOU were interested in attending a rally over the winter period need to be, to make it worthwhile for YOU to attend?

Hope that clarifies my question.

As has been said, it depends on many things, severity of weather etc but personally, I could only last about a weekend without EHU or running my 'silent' Honda generator during the day.
If the sun shone, probably longer as I have a power pack but not much in winter?

I hope that helps?

 

[Ambilkate]

4to 5 days for us

 

[MisterB]

As has been said, it depends on many things, severity of weather etc but personally, I could only last about a weekend without EHU or running my 'silent' Honda generator during the day.
If the sun shone, probably longer as I have a power pack but not much in winter?

I hope that helps?

Thanks, I'm interested in your generator, as a couple of generators might be a helpful solution, should anyone require an emergency battery top up.
How long does it take for example to add 50kwh to a battery ?

 

[dunnah01]

We don't have a dpf so can run the engine in an emergency to charge batteries if required so could pretty much last indefinitely or until the beer runs out.

 

[MisterB]

I suppose those with decent B2B's, could also take run out for an hour or two if necessary.

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[Oscar]

We're good for around 4/5 days +, and like a similar amount of days to make the travelling worthwhile

 

[Jim]

Commencing March, In a field in the UK with no hookup, I reckon I could do at least 9 months

 

[L' Hobo]

Thanks, I'm interested in your generator, as a couple of generators might be a helpful solution, should anyone require an emergency battery top up.
How long does it take for example to add 50kwh to a battery ?

Sorry, I can't answer that question as it's been so long since I have used it (it's now used 3-4 times a year by my Godson) all I can tell you is it's a Honda 2k with built in inverter.

PS. I don't have a B2B as my alternator is one of the lower output type.

 

[buzz1]

I could last a 2 weeks easy , just ban hair dryer I week I ours and a week in lennys , we’ve never meet but I’m sure he’ll be ok with that. Plus my dog of course .
Would be interested in a week for sure .

 

[L' Hobo]

Commencing March, In a field in the UK with no hookup, I reckon I could do at least 9 months

but is it not those next 3 coldest months that the OP is asking about, that to me is winter?

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[Jim]

but is it not those next 3 coldest months that the OP is asking about, that to me is winter?

Ahh, I misread it. In winter, it depends on what I'm doing, but anywhere between 5 and 7 days.

 

[MisterB]

How long does it take for example to add 50kwh to a battery ?

Can anyone with a generator give me a rough indication of the timescale please? I understand it will depend on the size/output of the generator, how long it runs for etc, so a real life example would be helpful. Thanks

 

[funflair]

Thanks, I'm interested in your generator, as a couple of generators might be a helpful solution, should anyone require an emergency battery top up.
How long does it take for example to add 50kwh to a battery ?

All day flat out would be the simple answer, 50kwh is about 4000 ah at 12v though so a big battery

EDIT that is assuming 2k is actually 2kw

 

[meanders]

I don't have a genny, but its not an easy question to answer Dave. but adding 50kWh from a 1kw genny would take a minimum of 50 hours! Are you sure 50kWh is what you need, or 50Ah. The former is an awful lot of power. A 1KW genny will output roughly 4Amps at mains. If no losses in the charger then it should put 50AH back into the battery in under an hour. Loads of assumptions there.

 

[MisterB]

All day flat out would be the simple answer, 50kwh is about 4000 ah at 12v though so a big battery

EDIT that is assuming 2k is actually 2kw

Thanks, taking that a bit further .... If a generator had a 12v outlet, could that be fed into a B2B and then into a motorhome battery to charge it up - it might be a daft question so I apologise in advance !! What level of power (Amps) would the 12v output need to be to make it a viable option?

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