USA 110V to UK USA = 60Hz UK = 50 Hz

Tony Lee said:
Jagmanx, did you ship with full propane tanks, or have you been able to fill them in Canada.
Click to expand...
As I posted earlier No gas = No trip
UPDATE
Today rang a Canadian propane station in Halifax NS
Gave them details..They just asked if I have an adapter...YES I have 3 different ones.
So all systems go !
 
jagmanx said:
Not going until next April.
Will not book anything until I am 99% convinced about gas.
Seabridge insist on empty tanks .
They also say they will direct me to an lpg fill up station near Or in Halifax.
I have asked for more details.
No gas means no trip !!!
Click to expand...
Hi
In USA we used the Euro adapter to fill our gaslow.The screw on type.Plenty of places to fill but not petrol stations.U-haul always filled us at their many outlets.Just explained the European method of 80% cut off and prove they are not old bottles.Never had a refusal just curiosity.
 
A second lb would be very helpful. We used lithium but if regularly on the road you will have plenty of charge from the engine.In six months we never needed mains electricity.
 
Of the 180 days we spent about 160 boondocking.The rest were a necessary booking due to city or Florida Keys .
 
Thanks again MoJo
I am now happy there is no need to worry about Gas.
Yes boondocking for us..
Will get a 2nd USB powerbank to charge in the day and use in evening with small USB/LED lighting like now and April.
No room for extra Battery. For most of the time 1 battery does us and the solar panel charges all my TOYs
Robert Dyas also do a pack of 3 small LED lights (normal batteries).for £10 nice as they have a remote control and dimmer
Maybe thicker Duvet and T-shirt Jumper tracksuit etc at night (early April and Late September)
Now 8:15 and dark
Battery at 12.9 maybe down to 12.6 overniight
No TV.. have to talk to Nida (!)
Laptop on its own battery which will be re-charged tommorrow
 
Many thanks to all who have responded to this post and others and conversations with....
Suggestions and direct experience and encouragement.
We often spend 2 and maybe 3 nights in suitable overnights but our solar is plentiful in May June July and August.
Even when available we often do not use EHU.
But our next camp here in UK (Wednesday for 1 week) has EHU which we will use
 
Lithium UK powerbank

If I were to buy this I would connect it using my UK hook-up lead to
Keep my LB charged supplemented whilst using my Truma blown air heating when it is u rk
So inside the Motorhome
Fridge remains on Gas
No Mains in Use
Minimal LED lighting (Or maybe none if i use standalone USB battery items)
So the question is
Is 150Watts (0.7 amps) sufficient power JUST to assist/my Leisure battery ?

SUAOKI S270 Portable Power Generator 150Wh Solar Power Station Lithium Battery Power Supply 220V-240V with UK Plug, LED Flashlights for Camping Travel CPAP Emergency, Quiet and Compact: Amazon.co.uk: Car & Motorbike

SUAOKI S270 Portable Power Generator 150Wh Solar Power Station Lithium Battery Power Supply 220V-240V with UK Plug, LED Flashlights for Camping Travel CPAP Emergency, Quiet and Compact: Amazon.co.uk: Car & Motorbike
www.amazon.co.uk


49674
 
What might be worth getting if you have not already is one of the Lithium Jump Packs (not recommending this specific one, but just as an example - https://amzn.to/2LxvdK8).
This is what I am thinking .... Set your van up so you can use the Starter Battery for Leisure Purposes also (a feed off the Dash Cigaretter Lighter/12V socket for example at its simplest, but wire up a battery isolation switch for really running in parallel when parked up). That will give you a very handy extra boost in capacity without the need to buy into more battery capacity.
And the Jump Pack comes into play in case you do draw a little too much out the starter ... just jump it when you want to start up and go.
(I had a shagged starter battery in my van for months after I first bought it, and one of those jump packs sorted me out on multiple occasions)
 
Thanks for the idea but no to exactly what you suggest !
I could be tempted to "jump it to the LB" but when I put a portable solar panel as an extra feed I got strange and instantly very variable readings on the voltmeter which is fed off the LB/Solar controller..So I am a bit wary of that as well !
 
jagmanx said:
Thanks for the idea but no to exactly what you suggest !
I could be tempted to "jump it to the LB" but when I put a portable solar panel as an extra feed I got strange and instantly very variable readings on the voltmeter which is fed off the LB/Solar controller..So I am a bit wary of that as well !
Click to expand...
hmmm. Sounds like that is something worth either sorting out or understanding why before you embark on a trip where your van will be a big unknown to the natives! There is actually no reason why what I suggested would not work if the charging system worked right.
 
The Extra solar Panel problem was 3 year ago.
I am happy that my electrics are 100% .
I am unwilling to "pair the batteries" as you suggest.
The extra boost at night is only needed if it is cold.
I could
a) buy a low power genny but prefer not to (storage of unit and fuel)
b) buy a step up medium power transformer but we will mainly be "boondocking"
c) happy to buy an extra device to leave connected for maybe 30 mins or the like
The various jumpstarters , as you say, are designed to give instant high ampage power to jumpstart.
That is of no real help in my situation.

You seem to also suggest or imply running jump leads from EB to LB and this may be workable.
Or using a suitable cigarette lighter connection plugged into the EB socket and jumped onto the LB which can be activated by turning the ignition key 1 notch which powers the socket on the dashboard but nothing else.
Your opinion on this would be both appreciated and valued.

Given the basic cost of the venture is
2x £3000 shipping
1x £2000 Flights and hotel costs
1x £1000 Canada Vehicle road insurance
Extra costs of £100 ton say £500 to keep us comfortable in April and September is chickenfeed
 
jagmanx said:
The Extra solar Panel problem was 3 year ago.
I am happy that my electrics are 100% .
I am unwilling to "pair the batteries" as you suggest.
The extra boost at night is only needed if it is cold.
I could
a) buy a low power genny but prefer not to (storage of unit and fuel)
b) buy a step up medium power transformer but we will mainly be "boondocking"
c) happy to buy an extra device to leave connected for maybe 30 mins or the like
The various jumpstarters , as you say, are designed to give instant high ampage power to jumpstart.
That is of no real help in my situation.

You seem to also suggest or imply running jump leads from EB to LB and this may be workable.
Or using a suitable cigarette lighter connection plugged into the EB socket and jumped onto the LB which can be activated by turning the ignition key 1 notch which powers the socket on the dashboard but nothing else.
Your opinion on this would be both appreciated and valued.

Given the basic cost of the venture is
2x £3000 shipping
1x £2000 Flights and hotel costs
1x £1000 Canada Vehicle road insurance
Extra costs of £100 ton say £500 to keep us comfortable in April and September is chickenfeed
Click to expand...
The Jump Start kit idea was purely a mechanism to start the engine IF you used the starter battery as a supplementary leisure battery source and took it down a bit too far.
Having a lead from Starter to Leisure - using something as simple as this lead - https://amzn.to/32D0zV8 - which will go from 12V socket on Dash (so powered by Starter Battery) to one of the 12V sockets on the Leisure side will have the effect of 'equalizing' the voltage between the two systems in a pretty gentle way if you left it plugged in (you remove the lead before starting the engine to avoid current spikes).
I mentioned my Starter Battery was knackered? I used this kind of mechanism to keep my starter battery from dying for months on my van while I was building it so I was able to keep enough charge to start it when I needed to. It gave it a trickle charge. (The jump pack came in when I was not able to do that for a few days (the battery really was bad!).


If you are touring around, your starter battery will be getting good charge during your driving. They typically have lots of extra capacity to cope with being left for a month or whatever between starts so there is a reasonable amount of spare capacity you could ultilise for the basics like phone charging for example. If your van tends to start on the turn of the key then you would be good. If the starter battery is around due for replacement (maybe hit a certain age?) then specing up the biggest possible size that will fit could be an advantage?
You would not generally want to drop your leisure battery below around 12.05V (around 50% SOC) as you know - Bear in mind that that voltage level on the starter battery would still give plenty ooomph to crank the engine on a van that starts well, so being able to use some of that starter battery energy for leisure purposes could be handy as a backup.
 
f you are touring around, your starter battery will be getting good charge during your driving. They typically have lots of extra capacity to cope with being left for a month or whatever between starts so there is a reasonable amount of spare capacity you could ultilise for the basics like phone charging for example. If your van tends to start on the turn of the key then you would be good. If the starter battery is around due for replacement (maybe hit a certain age?) then specing up the biggest possible size that will fit could be an advantage?
You would not generally want to drop your leisure battery below around 12.05V (around 50% SOC) as you know - Bear in mind that that voltage level on the starter battery would still give plenty ooomph to crank the engine on a van that starts well, so being able to use some of that starter battery energy for leisure purposes could be handy as a backup.
[/QUOTE]

Many Thanks to you Wildebus

I am very cautious re our LB and it has never been below 12.5 V and is 5 years old ! (Banner Red Bull)
In recent nights with no EHU it tends to read about 12.9 most of the evening (dark) and overnight dropping maybe to 12.6 if running a tap and then "recovering" to 12.8 or even 12.9 again
It is fully maintained (as with EB) in storage in the winter as the Aircarft Hanger" where we store the vehicle has Clear roofing and we leave the "master switch on" The original control panel has lozenges which show the state of each battery using the rocker switch
THe EB is only 1 year old and is substantial to start a 2.5 litre diesel.

Yes we will travel mostly every other day which even without solar provides ample power
On Stationery days such as today with solar the voltage reads 13.8 and more.
After dusk we use minimal power..All the "toys" are on charge and complete

I have from other devices a spare heavy duty cigarette lighter plug and a suitable terminal block which feeds back to the LB
Also suitable wires (red and black) etc and a multimeter.
I assume I could simply go EB socket to LB socket ( terminal block - taking care with the polarity)
AND as you say disconnect before attempting to start the engine.
The pairing of the batteries would only occur in the evening (say 7pm to 9pm) taking care to disconnect whilst sleeping.
3 years of observation allow me to be reassured that early morning sun will top up both batteries.
Thanks very much for persisting with your replies.
I have reasonable knowledge and skill but as you put in an earlier post try to make sure I do not create a problem by trying to be too clever
 
I recall earlier posts on this forum (and WC) generally about your battery usage and you clearly have a good way of minimizing unnecessary battery use (as it happens, I was watching "Apollo 13" when responding to this thread - if you recall that film, their key to survival was reducing power usage to the absolute minimum - So a common connection there :) )
The starter battery idea is a way to get around not adding a second battery which you probably don't really need it anyway, but to provide a bit of a 'backup plan' just in case on those odd occasions. Any mechanism to connect the two (LB & SB) together will do, so using a teminal block is fine as well (but remember the 12V plug is live from the LB connection, so when disconnecting it, don't let it roll around where it could touch metal!) - Bear in mind the SOC monitor may get a little confused for the period, but that is purely a display thing and will sort itself out during the next day.
 
jagmanx said:
Planning a trip
May be handy to have this simply to keep batteries topped up and maybe use fridge

However and I quote
electrical items which may be frequency dependant please be aware that the UK supply frequency will be 50Hz. And not 60Hz.
In the USA the frequency will be 60Hz. In other words the frequency is not converted by the transformer and remains as per the country that you are using the equipment

Will my Motorhome 220V 240V work OK ..I have a Ctek Battery charger Dometic Fridge

Not vital for our trip but maybe a handy reserve option
I have ruled out a generator and extra battery (no space x2)

Thanks
Click to expand...
Unless you plan to use anything with a motor, eg a fan there is virtually nothing these days which are frequency dependent. The critical thing is to ensure that any 13 amp sockets you connect your American supply to are capable of drawing the load. It is good practice to ensure that you factor in a 20% extra to account for switching surges and to include a fuse in the supply lead. Check with the manufacturer of the motorhome charger that frequency at 60 Hz is not an issue. The input supply lead must comply with American regulations and the output lead is sufficient (+20%) for your onboard needs. I would be tempted to disconnect the 230Volt supply connector, isolating any cable ends which may be live when on 110volt only. Have you any thoughts on where you site in the motorhome the converter, eg in the motorhome's garage storage or under floor storage (if you have that facility)? Sounds like you have bags of time on this. Incidently there is an article in this months October issue of MMM, pages 36 to 40 describing one couple who took their motorhome to Canada and USA, he lists his contact at noxids.worpress.com. Its is well worth you while reading their adventure, especially about fuel and LPG
 
Four Oaks Man said:
Unless you plan to use anything with a motor, eg a fan there is virtually nothing these days which are frequency dependent. The critical thing is to ensure that any 13 amp sockets you connect your American supply to are capable of drawing the load. It is good practice to ensure that you factor in a 20% extra to account for switching surges and to include a fuse in the supply lead. Check with the manufacturer of the motorhome charger that frequency at 60 Hz is not an issue. The input supply lead must comply with American regulations and the output lead is sufficient (+20%) for your onboard needs. I would be tempted to disconnect the 230Volt supply connector, isolating any cable ends which may be live when on 110volt only. Have you any thoughts on where you site in the motorhome the converter, eg in the motorhome's garage storage or under floor storage (if you have that facility)? Sounds like you have bags of time on this. Incidently there is an article in this months October issue of MMM, pages 36 to 40 describing one couple who took their motorhome to Canada and USA, he lists his contact at noxids.worpress.com. Its is well worth you while reading their adventure, especially about fuel and LPG
Click to expand...
Many thanks.
I think we can live without the transformer.
Only will need ehu to run a fan heater.
To save our battery being drained by our onboard gas truma blown air heating.
So to avoid the various issues you point out.
We will buy a local extension lead and use it to connect to a local electic fan heater.
So independent of Moho electrics.
Thanks for the Mmm info..will buy
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who viewed this discussion (Total:0)

Back
Top