How to thrive on a non 240v site!

Posted on 15/05/2019 19:19 by derekcyril

I thought this topic was about saving money ?  new coachman ,lovely van ,but youve lost a few grand driving it of forecourt same as a car ,

Posted on 15/05/2019 19:19 by derekcyril

I thought this topic was about saving money ?  new coachman ,lovely van ,but youve lost a few grand driving it of forecourt same as a car ,

Posted on 27/05/2019 09:36 by derekcyril

See youre point Merve ,  .We are using cs sites now .saving money and enjoying the calm , Derek

Posted on 27/05/2019 16:00 by derekcyril

Not take the wife ?

Posted on 04/04/2019 20:46 by Merve

Hi Ocsid. Yes, I absolutely agree that the ‘normal user’ should get 5 years from a £120 Battery- I’d  be miffed if I didn’t! But he’ll never do anything exceptional with it. He’ll take minute amounts of power from it to power his lights and pumps and probably his television and all the time have a 240v cable stuck in the side of the van. 

However, let’s not compare apples with oranges. I know by experience that using a lead acid battery in the same way as I use my Lithium would damage that LA Battery in short order. I’ve done it. When they are new they are fine but they very quickly start to lose power. On a lead acid battery - even the best have about 300 deep cycles and each cycle will reduce the capacity of that battery. With the lithium those deep cycles are in their thousands and with no damage or at least no damage of any significance. 

So, try using a lead acid in the same way as I use my lithium and very quickly, you will find that you are beginning to notice a reduction of power in the lead acid. To continue to get what I get out of my lithium time after time, you will need to go and spend another £240 on two batteries because don’t forget, you will need 2 LA batteries to acquire the same power  because they are flat at 50% whereas the lithium (100ah) will go on right up to about 5% SoC without damage and can be quickly recharged and off we go again. They are amazing and they are the obvious choice for someone like me who has chosen to be offgrid. They are the natural choice. Now to deal with the cost comparisons. 

Lithium they say, have a useful lifespan of 20- 25 yrs. the capacity is not degraded quickly like the LA. It keeps its capacity and even after 4 or 5 years, they are still at 99% capacity! Try that with LA that has been used in the same way! How many LA batteries are you going to have to buy in 20yrs to continue being offgrid efficiently and keeping up with the Lithium? £240 x 6? 7? 8? 

That is where the 1/2 cost comes in and that’s not counting the small fortune  saved by being able to use non EHU sites. Take us for an example. We are away about 60 nights a year. Instead of £15 I normally pay £5 or £6 but if it’s  an exceptional site it might be £8!  (but if it had EHU it would be £18) so I reckon that a saving of £10 a night is about right but let’s say £8 just to be conservative. £60 x 8 is £480. Now you will know that some of us are away many more nights than 60 so the savings increase. Even 60 nights has recouped almost 1/2 of my battery cost in ONE year has it not? So not only is my battery  being paid for by site fee savings, I am also able to enjoy what the EHU supplies. But at a massively reduced cost. The famous saying is- “It’s like wild camping with hook up”

Your last paragraph says it all and thank you for that.  You can’t compare apples with oranges or LAs with Lithium. Just as a footnote, I remember talking about lithiums few years ago and the overwhelming opinion at that time was that they were dangerous due to them having a safety issue regarding bursting into flames, The LiFePO4 battery or the Lithium Ion Phosphate Battery is not the same beast and is totally safe. It does not suffer with thermal run away. It’s the battery off gridders have been waiting for! 

 

Posted on 01/06/2019 23:23 by Merve

Hi Mitsi. Yes, no problem. I have a Lion Battery manufactured by NDS and supplied by Roadpro Daventry. The controller is a Votronic 350 which will handle my 300watts of solar panel. They also fitted a ‘Wildside controller which takes care of the charging from the vehicle. Ring Roadpro, ask for ANDY, the MD- lovely guy and he will explain all you need to know. I am on site at the moment and I honestly wouldn’t know we are not plugged into the grid. Best of luck.