Hook up mains

The laird

The laird

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Do you leave your van coupled up to the mains 24-7 when not in use at it’s rest point ? Ie driveway ,farm,holding,storeage?
 
I’m the same Chris.rad sitting on timer ,on late afternoon and early am all cupboards left open ,today will be crank up van heating for a few hours or so
 
Yes as above but i use 2 X mini oil filled radiators just on their own thermostats, don`t trust timers after a friends one caused a fire.

1 in the middle of the habitation area with all cupboards, doors, etc. open and the other 1 in the rear garage because that is full of items as well.
 
We never did, Neil wouldn't let me :(

Well, he would, but only up to the point where he eventually noticed the EHU cable coming from the garage! :D
Got fed up going back out to hook it up again, he just used to unplug it all when I wasn't looking.
Same as that extra duvet I used to pack that took up so much space and added a massive payload... :ROFLMAO::eek:

Might put my foot down very firmly with new van, though.
It's effectively another 'house' imo and should be kept aired and dry just the same and bricks & mortar ;)
 
I leave mine plugged in as see no reason not to?

Don't tend to have a heater plugged in though. Think I might fit an old-fashioned light (if i can find one still!) in the garage for defrost purposes.
 
In the winter I leave it plugged in with a heater on a thermostat to prevent freezing. I drain the water too just to be doubly safe. In summer I just let the solar keep the batteries topped up.
 
I used to just leave it plugged in with the heating on low but noticed the smart meter thing was going off it’s nut so unplugged it and check every few days think I heard somebody say do you think all the brand new vans parked up at dealers are plugged in No. I’m just gonna plug it in maybe a day before I use it. See how it gose
 
Only plugged in with a couple of small oil filled radiators if the forecast is for below freezing or if we are away in winter without the van. Unplugged at all other times.
 
Moho sits right in front of the house and we have an external electric point so I connect up and have a small heater on frostguard. In the recent cold weather I noticed that our windows were all clear and our next door neighbour's van was all frosted over. As per the Laird, we now also leave all of the cupboards open as I was shocked at the temperature difference when opening a door.
 
Pvc up drive behind gates so permanently on ehu. When I had my leaky Swift c class I had to keep it in front of the drive gates as it was to large to get behind gates and I twice had my ehu cable pinched !
 
wildebus said:
I leave mine plugged in as see no reason not to?

Don't tend to have a heater plugged in though. Think I might fit an old-fashioned light (if i can find one still!) in the garage for defrost purposes.
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I'm so glad you said that David, I was beginning to wonder if I'm not supposed to leave mine plugged in for some reason but the charger is one of those clever ones, so I've always though it was safe.

I also have a little heater going in the winter to keep the frost away. We've had a couple of -5 nights here in the past week after bright, clear days. Think I might need to replace my heater though. I went out to the van the other day and thought it felt a bit toasty... had to wiggle the dial a bit to get it to respond to the thermostat. I'll suffer for that when the leccy bill comes in :cry:
 
Minisorella said:
I'm so glad you said that David, I was beginning to wonder if I'm not supposed to leave mine plugged in for some reason but the charger is one of those clever ones, so I've always though it was safe.

I also have a little heater going in the winter to keep the frost away. We've had a couple of -5 nights here in the past week after bright, clear days. Think I might need to replace my heater though. I went out to the van the other day and thought it felt a bit toasty... had to wiggle the dial a bit to get it to respond to the thermostat. I'll suffer for that when the leccy bill comes in :cry:
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Something I do tend to check is the voltage has dropped down to the storage level (around 13.4V for my batteries).
I also - probably like most? - don't plug in once the "Solar Season" has started and the panels can do the job.

In terms of costs, I don't have a heater running but the general maintenance of the electical systems in the camper (Fridge, Network Router & Booster, MiFi, etc.) as well as the 5 batteries (4 Leisure + 1 Starter) costs around 10p/Day so cost wise is pretty insignificant.
 
Mine is plugged in with a small oil fired rad. The boiler is drained down, but not emptied the main water tank. If I'm working in the van I put an additional blow heater in so that my fingers keep working.
 
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