"Tiny Tears" Teardrop Camping Trailers
Technical Tips
Electrical System
The following electrical tips come from various places, one of them being my brain. Imagine that!
Calculating
Your Battery Needs
Text: Your battery need is based on the amount of electricity all the equipment in your teardrop needs, obviously. You have perhaps noted that every thing electrical is rated in watts. That is a measure of power. Watts = System Voltage x Amps. To keep this section simple "that is all I've got say about that." Batteries are rated in AmpHours. Amps x Hours energized = AmpHours. And to keep this section simple "that is all I've got say about that." The next section below on electricity theory provides all the technical detail you will ever need.
The Battery Needs Calculator is a spread sheet you can use to calculate your needs. (Right now it is just a table that you can print, fill out, and then use your calculator. I am trying to learn how to make the spreadsheet work online. If you would like the Excel file send an email to me ("Tiny Tears") and I will forward it to you.)
To use the "calculator" you need to fill in the following columns: Item, Item Wattage, Sytem Voltage, and Hours Powered. The Item is each individual item in your trailer; e.g. each light, water pump, tv, etc. Item Wattage is whatever the item is rated at; e.g. a light bulb might be 5 watts. The Sytem Voltage is the voltage of the battery you are using, usually 12 volts. The Hours Powered is the time, in hours, the Item is acutally on. The first, and most important thing to decide here is how long you want to go between charges. Let's say 24 hours. Next figure out how long each item will acutally have power to it. In the case of a water pump it is only on briefly during each use. To fill a sink it might run two minutes. In a 24 hour period you might fill a sink 10 times. That equals 20 minutes, or .33 hours (20 divided by 60).
The next step is to do the actual calculations. (Once the spreadsheet works this will happen automatically) The first calculation is Item Amperage (some equipment might provide this but usually the rating is watts). This calculation is Wattage divided by System Voltage, or Wattage/System Voltage. The next calculation is AmpHours. This is Item Amperage times Hours Powered equals AmpHours, or Item Amperage * Hours Powered = AmpHours, or Item Amperage x Hours Powered = AmpHours. The final step is to add all the AmpHours together. That answer is your Battery Needs.
Electricity Theory
Text: Here is a link to an article from a motorcyle magazine that does a good job of explaining basic electricity theory. It's not as simple as above but it is not an electrical engineer's explanation either. Electricity Theory
12 Volts: How to Upgrade, Operate, and Troubleshoot 12 Volt Electrical Systems
by Harold Barre
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Price: Availability: Usually ships within 2 - 3 days.$19.95
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Paperback - 213 pages
(August 1996)
Summer Breeze Pub; ISBN:
0964738619 ; Dimensions (in inches): 0.50 x 8.90 x 6.00
The publisher , July 29, 1996
Review from The Cortez National Motorhome Newsletter May 96 "Managing 12 Volts by Harold Barre is an excellent book and one that should be read and kept in your technical library.."
The publisher , July 29, 1996
Review from the Countryside & Small Stock Journal July 1996 "For people who depend on 12 volt systems for power, this book is required reading"