Battery

[honda03842]

Our Scamp 16 is old, a 1991. I'm amazed how little 12 volts we actually use these days, particularly since replacing our lights with LEDs. Last night as we returned to our trailer in the dark we noticed the other campsites around us, all their lighting looked yellow, while our little Scamp was aglow in white. I know that some consider the white light harsh but my aging eyes like the higher contrast.

Many of the older Rvs used water heaters and fridges that drew no 12 volt power to run on Propane. Important because fridges run 24 hours a day and water heaters may run that long as well.Ours is that way as far as I can tell.

My Laptop is a small Netbook that runs for about 7-8 hours on a charge. As well the new smart phones have dramatically cut the computer usage. For example, most of FRV reading is now done on the phone as well as news, sports and emails.

Propane Fridge 0 draws no 12 volts
Propane Water Heater 0 draws no 12 volts
Propane Alarm 0 not present
3 RV LED lights 0.6 amps at 4 hours 2.4 amp hours
TV/Sat Dish 4 amps at 4 hours 16 amp hours
LapTop Computer 2 amps for 1 hour 2 amp hours

Like Baron 100, we have also considered moving to more battery capacity but have not done it finding that reducing power consumption is also possible.

[Briantb]

I would be curious about the water pump.. only on for short period but using a surprising amount of power

[honda03842]

Water pumps vary in current draw, from about 2-7 amps, depending on water flow rate and design. The power concern is amps multiplied by time used.

The magic of the water pump is that the time the pump is on is usually low.
Recognize that most pumps can empty your water tank in less than 10 minutes so if you're boondocking you won't have the pump on for long.

Though a water pump can draw a lot of current, a water pump is rarely on for more than a minute and certainly not many minutes per hour.

The water pump is really secondary compared to something like traditional RV lights.

A single RV bulb typically draws 2 amps. One hour of a bulb being on is equivalent to having your water pump on for 20 minutes. A water pump on for 20 minutes can easily empty the Scamp water tank; actually it can empty it 3 times in 20 minutes.

It's things that are on for long periods that draw a lot of power from the battery. Something that draws as little as a 1/10th of an amp continuously, and there can be many in an RV, are more serious than the water pump.

[Geraldmartinez]

Originally Posted by John M

Hi folks, can someone led bulb help me out with batteries. Is it best to go with 2 6 volt deep cycle batteries or 1 12 volt deep cycle for my Trillium.

if you have still not got battery just get to ebay site. They are plenty of options at very affordable rates