/diy/ - Do It Yourself

[Anonymous No.130587]

Hey /diy/. I am thinking of converting a van into a camper van just in case I ever end up without a home. How many 12 V batteries would it take for an electrical system that would give me enough electricity to charge a netbook battery, operate a small lamp, and charge a phone for a 2 to 3 week period without recharging the batteries? I am new to this stuff. My ultimate goal is to get some wiring in a van with some power outlets...I am currently doing some reading about basic electronics stuff.

[Pinzfag, /k/'s resident flashaholic No.130593]

3 maybe 4, Get some solar panels and you'd only need two and no need to recharge.

[GammaMan No.130610]

>>130587 12 V batteries
You talking a 12v car battery or a 12v watch battery?

We measure battery capacity in Amp-Hours, where one-amp hour is the ability to supply one amp of current continuously for an hour. When you put batteries in parallel you add up the amp-hours.

An efficient LED reading light will draw maybe 0.1 amps. So running it for 500 hours (three weeks) will require 50 amp hours. Figure out how many amps your appliances draw (should be printed on them) and do the math.

You also need to take into account the fact that batteries lose their charge over time even when not powering anything. Manufacturers should supply a graph on their websites. Deep Cycle batteries are designed to hold a charge as long as possible.

[Anonymous No.130611]

You could mount one or two decent sized solar panels on that mofo, depending on the available roof area. Use a swivel type hinge arrangement so you can adjust the pitch in times of peak energy useage, so as to capture the most amount of energy. Hook it up to a small stand alone battery bank (housed separately and not connected to the vans electrical system) and run the netbook and a whole bunch of other stuff. Hell you could even get a regulating inverter if you want to get fancy. Doing it on the cheap, there are some really good websites around explaining how to salvage broken solar cells with some basic soldering skills and simple wiring. Google is your best friend anon.

[Pinzfag, /k/'s resident flashaholic No.130620]

>>130610
Deep cycle batteries are designed to be discharged completely then recharged, Normal car batteries are not able to do this.

Op, you must buy deep cycle batteries.
Also, construction companies do like to leave these led road sign things sitting around, they typically have 6 wet cell deep cycle 6 volt batteries and up to 3 70 watt solar panels merely bolted to them.. Just sayin, stealin is bad mmkay' but that's where I got these.

[Anonymous No.130660]

http://mobilecondo.blogspot.com/

[Anonymous No.130662]

>>130620
You sir, are my kinda man, +1 internets to you. I'll be looking out for any roadside construction and civil works I see happening from now on.

Many thanks,
A fellow opportunist.

[Pinzfag, /k/'s resident flashaholic No.130664]

>>130662
Cheers to a good nights plunderin.