camping selfsufficent

[fishplukka]

im looking at camping in remote north qland and i will have to be self sufficent i have basics for camping 4wd off road camper gas cooker water 3way uhf but no generator yet ! not sure what to buy as i dont know how many battries that i will need for 2 people to get by !it would be no longer than 2 weeks at a time ! is there a book or magazine or a site that would give info on this type of camping ?
fishplukka

[Brett1907]

This guy relly knows what he is talking about!

http://www.fridge-and-solar.net/index.htm

He has basic calcs to determine number of batteries/solar panels and such. A couple of the other guys on here use him also, he is reliable and it is safe to buy online with him. He also recommends some books on his site.

Also, the honda inverter generators are supposed to be the best. Although from what I have heard, the Kipor aren't all that bad either. They are quite a bit cheaper and only louder by a couple of dB, which apparently the hu,am ear isn't good enough to tell the difference.

Hope you enjoy your time up north.

Brett

[Awesome]

Hi there. I have bought a Honda generator EU10i to suit the same style of camping your doing. It will charge batteries at 8 amps whilst running accessories at the same time. It is also very quiet at 52db.

I looked into the solar panel side of it but couldn't justify the cost of the panels for the wattage they deliver.I also don't have the room to carry the panels of the size that I would require.

So for value for money & size I have gone the gen.Hope this helps.

[JEWIENEWIE]

Maybe look at getting a small solar panel and battery. Not a cheap way to go, but clean green and very very quite. Good for lighting and anything 12volt you wanna run.
Jewie

[Raesen]

I'm with Awesome. I have a Honda gen EU20i (2kva). Best in my opinion but not cheap. You would need to do a lot of ongoing camping/trips to justify but if you are give it a thought.
Pete

[luckyone]

if you buy a honda genny you will have to buy a pretty good charger which are fairly dear.

you would be better off buying one of those motorised batterie charges from tjm .

they will charge a deep cycle in about 2 hours and they are pretty small.

[Awesome]

The only reason you would have to buy another charger is if you are charging deep cycle batteries.
The Honda EU10i & EU20i generators have built in chargers to charge lead acid batteries at 8 amps.

[NormC]

http://www.exploroz.com/Splash.asp

Explore Oz (link above) is a good site and forum for travel related stuff.

I can also recommend Fridge and Solar (link in post above).

You say you have a 3 way fridge, so will run it on gas when you can. They are very inefficient on 12V and use a lot of power, so get it onto gas whenever you can. Assuming you will run the fridge on gas whenever stopped for more than an hour or so, I doubt that you will use a lot of power. Other than the fridge, what 12 Volt power will you be using? Lights, fridge for short periods, what else?

If not much else, a simple dual battery system that charges when engine is running, but isolates the starter battery (to protect it) when stopped will be more than enough. A 90 to 100 AH battery will serve you well. I doubt that you need a generator as the battery will last a few days (as long as you don't run fridge off it too much) without charging. Every time you drive you will get some charge into the battery.

On the other hand, I use lots of power. We now run two fridges (one a fridge/ freeser), lots of lights, electric water pump, charges for cameras two lap tops, two phones, hand held UHFs and more. Also carry an electric motor for the boat. As a result, in addition to the starter battery, I carry four AGM deep cycle batteries 2 @ 120 AH, 1 @ 90 AH and 1 @ 60 AH), an inverter a 1KVA generator and a 25 Amp multi stage charger.

Don't think you need to go that far!!!

[Brett1907]

Thats a hell of a set up Norm.

Did the DAP on the weekend, there is also another blue TD hilux just joined the club. Looks like we might take over.

Brett

[NormC]

Thats a hell of a set up Norm.

Did the DAP on the weekend, there is also another blue TD hilux just joined the club. Looks like we might take over.

Brett

Must have been a bit slippery on the track Brett. A couple of those creek crossings can be a bit hairy in the wet.
Might get to meet you at the club over the next month. Otherwise it will be a while. We are heading off for the Gulf (fishing) around 19th March for about 12 to 14 weeks.

[aussie_true_blue]

if you ever down Lawnton way drop into BCF and have a chat to the blokes down there. One of then did run fishing charters in the top end and he had to be self sufficent for weeks at a time. Cant remember his name off hand but he aint one of the young blokes there.


Cheers Bob

[fishplukka]

thanks everybody for your imput ! i will be looking for a generator honda sounds the go also ive seen diy dual batteries setups in the magazines cheers
fishplukka