Power in a Pop-up

[dsw3131]

You guys have been great in answering my questions.  This forum is incredibly useful.  My next question is, what kind of power do pop-ups have?  In other words, can you run a microwave, A/C and lights all at the same time?  One thing I'm concerned about is the size of the fridge.  I went and looked at some pop-ups the other day, and man, that fridge is tiny.  I was thinking about using one of the power outlets in the pop-up to plug in an additional small dorm fridge.  Will that work?  What about a TV/DVD player?  Does it have enough power to run those?  Is there a way to figure out how much can be plugged in at one time (i.e. - adding up the volts or amps each appliance uses)  Does anyone have any other suggestions for added cold storage?  Have you found the pop-up's fridge adequate?

[kgravl]

I'm new to the pop up scene myself, we've only used ours once, but I grew up camping with my folks in cab over campers and motor homes. The fridge is small and in my opinion, pretty useless. We use two big ice chests that go in the back of the truck. They come in handy for extra seating around the camp fire for new friends we meet while camping, and I know that they will be cold. It seems like the fridge is not very reliable on keeping things at a certain temp., sometimes too warm, sometimes freezing the milk and eggs. If you are going to camp only with hook-ups the dorm fridge would be good, but if you plan to dry camp, not good. You can look at the back of your electric stuff and see how many amps they draw, and that will tell you what you can run together. I think my a/c is on a dedicated circuit, so that's not a problem. If it gets close, just don't run the microwave with the coffee pot or what ever. You'll learn what you can and can't do after awhile. The main thing is to get the family together and go out camping.

[Cheryl]

Hi There,
When we had our PopUp we tried using the camper fridge and either it ran too warm or we froze everything inside. We hardly ever used the stove so DH covered the stove top with a beach towel to save the top from scratches and we put a mini-fridge (Bar fridge) on it. It was so much easier to use at eye level and we had no problems regulating temp. It was nice having the little freezer section for longer trips too. When we camped in cool weather we could even put it outside the camper under the awning (or in an add-a-room) for even easier access. As far as how much you can plug in, in the camper, a little research is needed but common sense can help. How many things are you really going to run at one time? Plug them in to opposite sides of the camper (seperate circuits) and you shouldn't have a problem with popping fuses. Others on the board here who are MUCH more knowledgeable(SP?) than I can give you Watts/Oms/Volts etc., to really help you out but, again, common sense can go a long way.
Happy camping,
Cheryl

[wavery]

Power is always the age old question and maybe that is why some of us go camping.........to get away from all the "Stuff" that draws power  

Anyway, you have, basically 4 possible sources of power: Battery (12v), hook-ups at the campsite (110v), generator (110v) and propane.

Some campsites have electrical hook-ups and will, most likely, take care of all of your needs if your PU is equipped with a power cord, 110v electrical wiring and a power converter. The power converter basically changes the 110v, from the campsite power supply, to 12v so that you don't have to use your camper's batteries to run the 12v accessories (lights, water etc). That's sorta like staying home, in my book.

When you get to the campsites without hook-ups, it becomes a little more challenging. That's when you may want to start doing the math and calculating your power demands.

Some people (like myself) depend on a small, quiet generator to supply 110v power and to charge the batteries, during the day. Most campsites won't allow you to run them at night (thank God).

I have a Honda EU2000I Generator. It is light, very quiet and compact. It runs the Carrier 13,500BTU A/C on MY camper, however, it won't run a lot of different A/C units. If I'm running the A/C, I can't run anything else, not even a 100w light bulb. It is possible to hook 2 of the Honda EU2000I generators together and get 4000w of power. I just haven't seen the need (yet).

You need to sit down and ad up all of the "stuff" that you may be running at one time and design your power needs around that figure. Most electrical items will have the wattage draw written on them. Just ad up the one that you will be using at the same time. A generator will, typically be able to run 75% of it's rated capacity on a continuous basis (2000w rating = 1500w continuous power). Just remember, you can't run them at night in most parks.

Now comes the fun part. I lived on a yacht for 14 years. I was NEVER plugged into city power so I had to get pretty creative at supplying my own. I'm not just talking a weekend either. I'm talking 24/365. I had a generator, at first but got tired of the noise. Then, I learned about inverters. That changed my whole way of life.

Basically, with an inverter, you just need a good dependable set of batteries and a way to charge the batteries when they get low. In the case of the PU, that means back to the generator. I have a 2500w inverter in my PU and it will run everything that I have, without ANY noise. That means that I can run my "stuff" at night (with the exception of the A/C). We use the microwave with it all the time. It draws 1200w but just for a few minutes so it's not a big drain on the 12v batteries and the inverter runs it with no sweat.

The inverter is rated differently from the generator. It is rated at it's continual usage and will normally run at double that, for about 15 seconds to a minute. In other words, I can run 2500w worth of "stuff" continually and it will spike to 5000W for starting heavy items like the A/C. A good inverter is about 90% efficient. That means that it uses about 10% more wattage than whatever you are running on it. A 100w light bulb will draw about 110w from your batteries.

Here's the kicker, you can only use as much wattage (amps really) as your batteries will store. That's why I don't run the A/C on the inverter. I can (and have), that's for sure. I could only run it for a few hours (maybe 2) and my 2 (deep cycle) batteries would be exhausted. Then I have to run the generator all day just to make up for that.

Your microwave, TV, DVD and that sort of stuff shouldn't be a problem, as long as your generator is 2000+w  or inverter is 1500+w. The tricky part is the fridge. Those small fridges that you buy at Costco or Home depot usually draw about 1200w while the compressor is running (which depends on the outside temp). We got an Igloo 12v convection fridge. Like this one:
http://www.motorcaravanning.co.uk/shopuk/igloo_cool.htm
It runs continuously but at a MUCH lower wattage. I think it's about 60w. We run it 24/7 and don't have a battery problem. However, we don't store meat in it. We use it for our drinks. It stays at about 40 degrees but we've never had it running on a real hot day. It's lite and moves around easily. A 110v fridge would be a real challenge (also very heavy), unless you were at a campsite with hook-ups.

[tlhdoc]

That's why I don't run the A/C on the inverter. I can (and have), that's for sure. I could only run it for a few hours (maybe 5) and my 2 (deep cycle) batteries would be exhausted.  

What size air conditioner and what size batteries do you have?  I am surprised that you could run an AC unit off of your batteries for any where close to 5 hours.

[wavery]

What size air conditioner and what size batteries do you have?  I am surprised that you could run an AC unit off of your batteries for any where close to 5 hours.

Sorry, that was a typo (I corrected it).

Should read. "That's why I don't run the A/C on the inverter. I can (and have), that's for sure. I could only run it for a few hours (maybe 2) and my 2 (deep cycle) batteries would be exhausted." (5 isn't exactly "a few") :eyecrazy: .

I have a Carrier Heat Pump A/C 13,500BTU (draws 15amps) and 2 x 4D marine deep cycle batteries. A little over kill and a lot of weight. I had them so I used them. I plan on going to Costco tomorrow and buying 2 new 27 series deep cycles. I'm trying to lose weight. . I'm even thinking of selling the A/C unit. We only beach camp and I don't see it getting much use.

It sure won't get used this weekend. We're going to Point Mugu and it's supposed to be in low 40s at night and 60s during the day (and windy). Good snuggling weather.