Maintenance & Restoration

honda03842 · 09-22-2011, 05:44 PM

Andy, That 400 watt Inverter is wierd.

We are hooked on UConn women's basketball and would have TV for that alone though there are a few shows we like and particularly movies. As a result we carry a sat dish.

We're on the road so much that TV is part of our way of keeping in touch with the world along with the Internet. It turns out that our TV service also provides many ad free music stations like our sat radio.

This year we've added a Nook e-book allowing us to down load books from our library, down load free books from Barnes and Noble, and share books with our Nooks friends and relatives. Really handy when we're on the road for months.

Electronics has made the road west (east, south and north) easier......

HikeSticks · 09-23-2011, 04:43 AM

I enjoy using my electric blanket at home; I agree the aging bones prefer getting into a warm bed. However, in my Trillium I find an open cold weather sleeping bag for the base layer and comforter for the top cover works great. I use a hot water bottle to warm the bed before I get in. The discomfort for me occurs when I have to get out of a warm bed and into a trailer that is only a few degrees warmer than the exterior temps unless I leave the furnace on all night. I usually roll over in the morning to start the furnace and roll back for another half hour until the trailer has warmed up enough.
Good luck with your experiments; you have my interest.
Barrie

honda03842 · 09-23-2011, 05:22 AM

Barrie,
Like you we sleep with the heat off except for the blanket. When we're powered, we turn on the electric heater when we wake. If not powered its the propane heater and the making of breakfast that warms the place up.

In general if we know we now outside temperatures are going below freezing we seek an electric hookup.

We've never seen the inside temperature drop below freezing though we've camped below freezing. The lowest inside temperature was 36F.

Bonnie n Claude · 10-13-2011, 09:28 AM

As a child we visited a family members' farm and they heated bricks in the woodstove to put in the beds. I use two small Dollar Store hot water bottles...seems to work well warming the bed but we are dependant upon body heat and sleeping bags once the water cools.

honda03842 · 10-13-2011, 09:40 AM

dependant upon body heat

Body heat is usually enough because we typically set the balnket very low before we go to sleep or during the night. When we get in it's always on maximum (pre-heat) for the first 10 minutes. (It's always good for body heat to start warm, particularly for old people, that's me.)

Safe and warm travels

Bonnie n Claude · 10-13-2011, 09:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by honda03842

dependant upon body heat

Body heat is usually enough because we typically set the balnket very low before we go to sleep or during the night. When we get in it's always on maximum (pre-heat) for the first 10 minutes. (It's always good for body heat to start warm, particularly for old people, that's me.)

Safe and warm travels

Thanks... we too fall into the retirees and eligible for senior discounts category. Cold is an issue as is the availability of a porta-potti. Don't know that I have room to store the blanket as we have to bring clothes which although few in number (I'm a minimalist by nature) will work in the Texas heat and, on our return, in Canada's December weather.

cpaharley2008 · 10-13-2011, 10:02 AM

Norm,
with your solar and meter in place, I'd be curious as to amp draw your blanket pulls from your battery and estimate for a full nights use. Also are you planning to install another battery now that you have 2 solar panels and excess charging capacity?

honda03842 · 10-13-2011, 12:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

Norm,
with your solar and meter in place, I'd be curious as to amp draw your blanket pulls from your battery and estimate for a full nights use. Also are you planning to install another battery now that you have 2 solar panels and excess charging capacity?

Jim,
When my watt meter comes I'll measure the current draw for the electric blanket and report in. I really think it's relatively insignificant over a night.

I have not considered a second battery but when or if this one fails I'll probably go to a larger battery. The present one is a type 24. Today I've been working in the trailer because it's pouring. Even with most of the lights on and the fridge fan running it doesn't seem to have had any real impact on the battery voltage.

I must admit I am anxious to get the watt meter and understand in more detail the true current draw of things and the ability of the panels to keep the battery charged.

Beyond pouring we lost power about an hour ago.

I will say it's nice to have a computer that runs about 9 hours on a charge.

Stay dry

honda03842 · 10-13-2011, 12:09 PM

Jim,

Excess charging capacity is for days like today where the sun is stuck behind big, thick clouds. I suspect that 80 watts are more than we truly need the way we are setup witht the LEDs.

I still have one Incandescent, the eyeball light. When that bulb dies I'll replace it with an LED. The Eyeball fixture draws more power than the 7 LEDs.

Nate R · 01-04-2014, 10:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by honda03842

Jim,
When my watt meter comes I'll measure the current draw for the electric blanket and report in. I really think it's relatively insignificant over a night.

I must admit I am anxious to get the watt meter and understand in more detail the true current draw of things and the ability of the panels to keep the battery charged.

Did you ever do this?

Curious to estimate what it would use battery AH wise to run an electric blanket for a night. No idea if the duty cycle is 60% or more like 10%.

honda03842 · 01-08-2014, 06:40 PM

I never did it but will try tomorrow night.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Fiberglass RV mobile app

mary and bob · 01-08-2014, 07:48 PM

We have a 12 volt electric blanket. It's small but will warm up the bed nice, then switch it off. Actually it has a timer, but that broke early on. We also have a 110 electric blanket that we have been wishing we had brought since this cold weather hit here in the south. Never expected it!!

cpaharley2008 · 01-08-2014, 07:50 PM

I wonder which is more efficient, the 12v model or the 120v thru an inverter model?

mary and bob · 01-08-2014, 09:15 PM

I'm guessing the 12 volt may be more efficient, unless of course you are hooked to shore power. The 12 volt blanket is more intended as a lap blanket for the vehicle passenger. It worked great in our 4' wide teardrop, I don't think we have used it in the Uhaul, maybe once.

honda03842 · 01-09-2014, 05:37 AM

Our electric blanket is a twin size. It seems perfect for the Scamp. Maximum wattage is 160 watts, suggesting about 15 amps an hour from the battery at 100% duty cycle, a rather significant drain.

Fortunately the duty cycle us less and though I don't have our proper electrical equipment should be ready to estimate by watching battery voltage, probably visible in the lights, like when the water pump turns on.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Fiberglass RV mobile app

Raz · 01-09-2014, 08:24 AM

If you are looking for cozy, you might consider flannel sheets. They cost more than an electric blanket but use far less electricity

. Now is a good time to buy them. Raz

Nate R · 01-09-2014, 09:56 AM

We have a full size 120V electric blanket w/ heat settings. Pulls about 160W peak as well. Ran it for an hour last night on setting 3, and it used 94 watts/hr, or close to 60% duty cycle....Wondering if setting 1 is 20%, and 5 is 100%? Not sure if mine is temperature compensated at all.

I'll do some further research and find out eventually. Hoping to not need a furnace in a future camper, so wondering if we can get away with the electric blanket for a night or 2 on the battery.

cpaharley2008 · 01-09-2014, 09:59 AM

That is about 60 a/h using 8 hours @ 15 a/h draw @ 50% use, seems high.

Nate R · 01-09-2014, 10:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

That is about 60 a/h using 8 hours @ 15 a/h draw @ 50% use, seems high.

It does seem high at that setting. I need to find out if the blanket temperature compensates or not. Also, I know that setting 3 keeps me warm under a sleeping bag in a 45 degree room, so thinking we can use setting one or 2 for most of our camping where heat needed while NOT on shore power, and hoping that setting one is 20% duty cycle, 2 is 40%, etc. If we can use setting 1 for 8 hours a night and it IS 20% duty cycle:

32 watts/hr @ 120V.
Add in an extra 12% for inverter efficiency losses = 36 watts/hr
Divide by 12V = 3ah/h, so 24 AH/Night in 8 Hours. THAT seems doable to me for 2 nights if I get a big battery or 2.