How long will battery last??

[luvtocamp]

I'm going dry camping in a couple of weeks and have 12v on PUP. Was wondering if anyone knows approxiamately how long you could run furnace, refrigerator, or lights on that before it dies.

[wavery]

I'm going dry camping in a couple of weeks and have 12v on PUP. Was wondering if anyone knows approxiamately how long you could run furnace, refrigerator, or lights on that before it dies.

That depends on a lot of factors.

If it is a typical 26 series battery in like new condition, fully charged (be sure to check the water level 1st, fill with distilled water only) it could last 2 days if you are frugal on running the furnace and lights.

['tiredTeacher]

I'm going dry camping in a couple of weeks and have 12v on PUP. Was wondering if anyone knows approxiamately how long you could run furnace, refrigerator, or lights on that before it dies.

Like Wavery said, be frugal. Run the furnace in a.m. to get dressed and p.m. before bed time. If you are cold-weather camping, use a fire for warmth in the evening.
Use lights only when needed. We have candles for ambient lighting (they don't need batteries and the bulb never dies) and use the 12V lights only for reading or other tasks. Outside, we use firelight or a Coleman lantern in the darker months.
NEVER run the refer on 12V. It will kill a battery in hours. Run it on propane (if it's a 3-way) or work out of a cooler if it's not.
Following this system, I was able to get through a 3-day weekend (or longer) with no problems. I have since added a second battery (I'm a boondocker) and can be out for a week.

[austinado16]

We got 2 nights of running the furnace via the thermostat, all night.  Not sure we could have milked another night out of it though.

Not sure I'd be up for using candles in a PU.  Guess it depends on the situation/dogs/cats/kids/adults on board.

To extend battery life you can switch out your interior bulbs for LED versions, or LED grids, and at Costco the other day, I saw a 3 pack of those LED Puck Lights for $10.  There are also some nice AA battery powered fluorescents at some hardware stores.  Stuff like this takes the load off the battery, is safe, and allows you to still enjoy the evening.  Then you can safe the battery for what you really need.

Of course a nice solar panel would change the whole equation!

['tiredTeacher]

Not sure I'd be up for using candles in a PU.  Guess it depends on the situation/dogs/cats/kids/adults on board.

Just the wife and I.

Inside candles are of the tea variety and sit down inside weighty, glass holders. We also have lanterns to hang outside with citronella candles in them.
I dislike keeping up with and bringing extra batteries. My radio and LED flashlight are the crank 'em ups for that reason.

I tried using an LED card in place of the incandescent ceiling bulb, but it didn't give enough light for reading. I'm using it as my porch light.

[austinado16]

Just the wife and I.

Inside candles are of the tea variety and sit down inside weighty, glass holders. We also have lanterns to hang outside with citronella candles in them.
I dislike keeping up with and bringing extra batteries. My radio and LED flashlight are the crank 'em ups for that reason.

I tried using an LED card in place of the incandescent ceiling bulb, but it didn't give enough light for reading. I'm using it as my porch light.

Oh yeah, forgot about the tea-lights and all the cool holders there are for them.

Have you checked out the 32LED mag style flashlight at electric gold mine?  I think you'd love it.  Makes a maglight look like a pen light and the 3 D-cells last a thousand hours.  I highly recommend 'em.

[joyopp]

This will be our first outing in the PUP!  We're experienced tent campers and love to rough it.  So from what I'm reading, we may get through 4 nights if we don't use the heater much and just use the battery for more than occasional lights and frig?  (Has anyone been to Moab in March? The nights are pretty cold!)

And my next question is what are your reccomendations on an inverter generator?  Is there a reccomended brand or type?  Any info is greatly appreciated! We're PUP virgins!!

[wavery]

This will be our first outing in the PUP!  We're experienced tent campers and love to rough it.  So from what I'm reading, we may get through 4 nights if we don't use the heater much and just use the battery for more than occasional lights and frig?  (Has anyone been to Moab in March? The nights are pretty cold!)

And my next question is what are your reccomendations on an inverter generator?  Is there a reccomended brand or type?  Any info is greatly appreciated! We're PUP virgins!!

OOOOPS!!! If you're putting the fridge on 12V, you might get 10 hours out of it (but I doubt it).

As for the generator, I would recommend at least 2000w. If you plan on using A/C even higher.

You may get by with 1000w but most people that buy them, keep them a short time then upgrade to a 2000w. It's an expensive step because when you go to sell the 1000w, you won't get much for it.

I have the Honda EU2000i and love it. It's light (47#, easy to move around) quiet and economical. In the future, if my needs require more power, I can hook 2 of them together and have 4000w without having to lug around a 200# machine.

It will run my A/C (barely). It will run the microwave, cube htr (up to 1500W) and the battery charger (not all at once).

[joyopp]

Thanks for the info... and we'll be sure that the frig isn't hooked up to the 12v (see I don't know what this means yet because we go to get our camper on Saturday and have a walk-through with the technician to learn all this stuff!)

We are excited for our first outing and we'll be taking the PUP to Moab for 4 nights.  It will be chilly at night so we'll be renting a 1000 generator this time, and look at buying a 2000 later when we're more experience.  Thanks for the feedback!

Joy and Dave

[DoubleD]

Where are you staying in Moab?  Dead Horse Point SP has electricity, so you would save on renting a generator.  Plus, it is a very nice CG.  

We stayed there March 13-18 '06 and it had snowed about 12" in the 2 days before we arrived.  The snow mostly was melted pretty quick where the sun hit it, and the nights got down into the 20's.  With electricity, the battery was not the issue.  This was our maiden voyage with our new camper (after 2 nights at Cherry Creek SP).  We did run out of propane on the 4th or 5th night, but we have since added a 2nd bottle.  Then when one runs out, we can refill at our leisure, without changing our plans just to fill propane.  We also use the heater less at night, as DW now realizes that once she is under the covers, it can get down to 50 degrees in the camper and she is warm.  Of course, it gets turned back up first thing in the morning, but now, even in colder weather, we can generally get at least 7 days out of one bottle.  

We have also added a 2nd group 27 battery and we easily got 7 days from the two of them in Yellowstone in early September 07, with temps getting to 25-35 degrees every night.  Those two additions, extra propane bottle and extra battery are the best additions we could have gotten, because we now have additional flexibility to stay in the boonies longer.

[Funrover]

I use mine very little.. Lasted 3 summers for me! No charge between

[sentence]

I bought myself one of those power boxes, an 800w model that has three 110 outlets on it. I still woudn't run a frig on it but I do run 2 strings of LED decorative(chritstmas) lights. These LED lights draw very little amperege and are quite pretty and soft. It also runs my DVD boombox and in a pinch you can plug the pup into it if your 12v bat gets too cold and dies in the middle of the night like mine did! :canada:

[garym053]

I've had my battery last for 8 days dry camping and running lights and furnace as needed.
I have a gel battery that I hook up to the charge line as we drive around sightseeing, going to trailheads, Kayak put ins, etc.
On other trips, it's lasted 3 to 4 days easily without taking along and recharging.

[davescott]

For my two cents worth...
 
I have two Group 27 batteries and can get about two days out of them using the lights, water pump and heater.  We dry camp so I bring along a good battery charger along with a used 1,000 watt Honda generator that I got online.  Must've gotten the generator from a guy who stepped up to a 2,000 watt one, God bless him!

All I have to do is to crank up the generator for about 20 minutes and the batteries are topped off for a couple more days.

No worries about running out of power and the wife's got 110 volts for about 20 minutes while the batteries are recharging.

[wavemaker]

http://www.trojanbattery.com/Products/RecreationalVehicle.aspx


I have 2 6 volt batteries in my trailer that will go for about 2 weeks using lights every night and 2 12volt fans

http://members.cox.net/wavemaker4