What can you run off the battery?

jbsiii

Member
My wife and I are discussing what we should do regarding generators, and the question came up about what we can run when we have battery only. I had assumed it would be pretty much everything but the air conditioner, but then I wondered about the oven. Assuming we have two batteries, should we be able to use everything electrical but the a/c for a weekend outing?

Thanks!

John
 

grizzlygiant

Well-known member
All your 12 volt items will work on battery only---but some, notably the furnace, use a lot of power draining the battery rapidly. The a/c, microwave, paddle fan are main items you will not be able to operate on battery power. The TV will not operate without an inverter.

We usually camp where shore power is available however we do have a built-in generatopr we find very useful when stopping along the roadside for lunch and a nap.
 

JER-1

Active Member
We ran the furnace at night off dual bat setup for 5 nights , and ran the generator about 6 to 8 hours a day,guess it kept them charged up, but I would check the switch in the morning after running the furnace all night, bat only ran the 12 volt furnace fan as it cycled, and it woul say still fully charged. temp high 30's about every night
 

cdnrver

Active Member
inverter

All your 12 volt items will work on battery only---but some, notably the furnace, use a lot of power draining the battery rapidly. The a/c, microwave, paddle fan are main items you will not be able to operate on battery power. The TV will not operate without an inverter.

We usually camp where shore power is available however we do have a built-in generatopr we find very useful when stopping along the roadside for lunch and a nap.


How do you connect the electrical plugs (for TV etc) to an inverter?
 

Goldenwingers

goldenwingers
Ours is wired into the breaker box. We have a 3000 watt inverter and every plug but the one that the fireplace plugs into is on the inverter. The refrigerator and air conditioner was left of the inverter as they draw too much currant to run on it. Our four 6 volt batteries don't have enough currant to run them but it powers every thing else.

Don
 
Top