The 12V Experience.

 

Our first experience of Free Camping, completely of the grid, has pointed out that for a reasonable stay we will have to find ways to make sure that we have power for all of those appliances that are essential.

I guess the first thing to consider is just what is essential and what are un-necessary luxuries.

Since we are living in the caravan full time, with the occasional house-sit, most of the appliances are necessary.

Currently we have both 12V DC and 240V AC powered appliances. The 240V ones are the  Microwave, Washing Machine and Airconditioner. 240V power is also provided to the power points for things like the toaster, frying pan, grill, computer and modem. While free camping, at unpowered sites these are not useable. In this cold weather that means heaters are out of the question.

The 12V powers the lights, the TV, DVD/CD/Radio and the water pump. On our 2 day Free Camp at Lincoln National Park we managed to use  the power from the single battery, with the water pump being identified as the biggest user. Or it could be that the power ran out while the water pump was being used for taking a shower.

What that tells us is that we need to investigate the best options to increase the power available to allow for longer times off the grid.

It looks like we will be heading down the Portable Solar Panel direction, with a second battery also installed. At this stage we will not be looking at an inverter to convert to 240V, and the possibility of using a generator is not high on the priorities.

To help  find suppliers for these (Solar Panels and Batteries) there is a list of local (to me right now) suppliers that you can see when you open up this post on its own page.

Portable Solar Panel Suppliers: Adelaide Region