Dumb Questions About Hookup

[GoatBoater]

I have no idea if my hookup is working. We have solar as well and don't use a lot of power. After a few days in hookup the battery seems slightly lower.

Two questions:

1. For this running battery + solar do you have to flick a switch to go to hookup? I know we have a switch, but I thought it was just to charge the leisure battery fromon mains (which we've never done)

2. Is there an obvious way to tell if I'm running off mains (I'm aware this will likely vary between setups)

 

[Davenjo]

On mine, there is nothing to manually switch - if I am not on hook up the 13amp sockets don’t work. Guess if you have an inverter though it’s not so simple.

 

[Nigel W]

As you say it all depends on your system, on mine a Sargent, when on mains it
a) instantly powers on the 3pin main sockets
b) but to charge the leisure battery, which powers the fridge and 12v sockets, you have to physically turn it on

The control panel has another switch which will set it to charge either the leisure or vehicle battery.

So in a nutshell when on mains hookup I have to physically turn on the inbuilt charger.

We don’t have a solar panel (will be getting one soon) but I understand this does it’s own thing independent of the inbuilt Sergent box and if insufficient sunlight then I would need to turn on the charger as above.

 

[Salty Spuds]

We have solar & hookup. It all sorts itself, no switching involved. As previously said, the mains sockets won't work if the hookup isn't live. We have an inverter but it feeds a dedicated socket. Our mains powered battery charger is connected directly to the leisure battery & is permanently switched on, but only works when on hookup.

 

[GoatBoater]

Ah, of course. The 3 pin sockets. Hadn't thought of that as we never use them.

Thanks all. If the rain lays off I'll test that tomorrow (and probably come up with a new dumb question to ask)

 

[Dellmassive]

Lol....

Mains hook up....

But dont use Anything mains powered.

Love it

 

[GoatBoater]

Lol....

Mains hook up....

But dont use Anything mains powered.

Love it

Well, we carry a few bits but just haven't plugged them in (due to poor health we've only managed 3 trips out to date) . We plug it in anyway if there is one there rather than running down battering with lights, USB chargers etc. You are right though - largely pointless on most trips other than giving the kids something to trip over.

 

[drew_greenday]

Hey, GoatBoater,

Do you have any information about your set up, battery charger location, what battery charger you have etc etc.

Most van set ups have everything that you use day to day, lights, usb, fridge etc running off your leisure battery, 12v. Then when you plug into the grid, 240v, the battery charger kicks in and charges your leisure battery whilst stationary. So when on 240v hook up you don't actually use anything in a different way than you already did, just that the leisure battery is being topped up as you use it.

I'm not going to suggest to you how you use your van, because its your van, but when using your van for a trip away, if you don't plug anything into a three pin socket when on campsite, but use hook up, and drive the van every other day, then you're not really using the 240v hook up you're paying extra for. The dc-dc charger will be more than sufficient to quickly top up the leisure battery when on a run, and as you said you have a solar panel also!

Ultimately its your van but I read about people using hook ups all the time and not knowing that they're not really utilizing the 240v they're paying more for. The best thing i bought for my van was a battery monitor, it tells me the condition of my leisure battery, voltage, how many amp's i'm using, how long left i have on the battery etc....

Andy

 

[Salty Spuds]

We have a similar setup, hookup, solar, B2B charger etc. We can be self sufficient on leccy as long as the sun is shining, but we normally plump for hookup if it's available. We have a fan heater for the chilly mornings/evenings & an electric kettle which is constantly on. If we're cooking spuds, pasta, rice etc. We preboil the water in the leccy kettle to save on gas.

 

[Davenjo]

We are pretty much self sufficient on electric as well but still usually go for electric pitches just so we can use an electric kettle - much quicker (and safer) and saves changing our 907 bottle every 5 minutes.

Also, camping out of season, we always go for hard standing pitches, most of which tend to come with electric hook up posts.

 

[drew_greenday]

I never thought that many people used an electric kettle when in a van. I understand its easier but to me I have a gas bottle available and then never ever need 240. I had 240 in my old van and took it out before i had even used it.

 

[Dellmassive]

We use 240v, either off the inverter or hook up for:

Beer fridge.
Food fridge.
Fairy lights around camp.
Kettle.

Though we can do without it if needs be...

The rest of the stuff like cooking Etc is usually on gas.

 

[Bargy62]

we use a portable induction hob on EHU as well not affected by the breeze on the flame and quick as well

 

[GoatBoater]

I should update: As soon as I hooked up this weeked, my 9 year old son plugged his tablet charger into the mains socket. He clearly knew the score and everything is working!