✅ How To Use A Leisure Battery When Camping

If you’re wondering how to use a leisure battery when camping, our guide here will help you out.

When you head out in your campervan with freedom and possibility in the horizon, there are a few niggles you need to keep your eye on. 

Top leisure batteries

Even if you want to head off the grid for a social media and phone-free camping adventure in the UK, there are still other appliances and items you’ll use in the everyday that require charging or mains power.

For example, hair dryers, phone chargers, a radio, laptop chargers, a TV, lighting, water heating, kettles and so on.

All this is done using a campervan leisure battery!

We thought we’d bring you everything you need to know about getting on the road with the necessary tools and know-how for how to use a leisure battery when camping.

✅ Can I use a leisure battery for camping?

When camping, you don’t have to be shut-off from the world and modern living; you can indeed boil a kettle and make a brew to watch the sun rise over the Scottish mountains.

However, to do so, you’ll need to use a good leisure battery for off-grid camping. This is because when you head to camper-van sites, they often have facilities with toilets, showers and the all-important charging docks. 

When you’re heading off grid in the UK, there are various ways you can access electricity when camping such as using solar energy from overhead panels.

However, these can be expensive to install and a little patchy under the British sun. Alternatively, there’s the options of the camper-van alternator or hooking up to the mains power at a camping site. 

These will all power your campervan leisure battery, but you’ll still need one to access the luxury of a morning brew.

✅ How do you use electricity when camping?

Can you use a leisure battery for camping?

Short answer: yes. 

Long answer: it depends what you’re using it for.

It can really only be used for appliances that are 12V (12 volt). For example, there are TVs that can be connected to camper vans along with an aerial or internet connection allowing you to get your all-important weekly TV show in-check. But some TVs won’t be able to use the power from a leisure battery. 

If you want to know if your TV will work with your campervan leisure battery, you’ll need to check its voltage. All TVs have a different voltage depending on the power it requires, the type of TV and the size, too! 

The only way your TV (or any other appliance for that matter) will work if you use a leisure battery when camping is if it uses 12V.

With this, most of the appliances we’ve so far mentioned will work with a 12V leisure battery simply because they, too, are 12V appliances.

What is a 12V Appliance?

Anything small you want to power within your campervan or within your tent can be done so if you use a leisure battery when camping. However, as we’ve also already touched upon, it’ll depend on the appliance as it needs to be 12V specific. 

Many 12V specific devices and appliances have been specially manufactured for the wanderers out there looking to escape on four to seven wheels and camp in the wilderness. 

In physics-talk, the voltage is the wattage of an appliance multiplied by the current amperes. And the lower the voltage, the safer (and more efficient) the appliance or use of a campervan leisure battery. Hence 12V appliances and batteries rather than 24V or 120V.

Here is a list of all the appliances you can find that will either normally be 12V or can be purchased in a 12V version to use with a leisure battery when camping:

• Kettles
• Heaters
• Stove Tops
• Toasters
• Coffee Machines
• Hair Dryers
• Irons
• Fans
• Coolers
• Mini-Fridges
• Toastie Machines
• Microwaves
• Hair Straighteners
• Phone Chargers
• Laptop Chargers
• GPS Device
• Inflator Pumps
• Lights
• Radios
• Water Heater Elements

✅ How does a leisure battery work in a campervan?

Every campervan will have a 12V leisure battery system. You can change the battery when and if you like but the camper still needs it to function and power all your appliances.

The best leisure battery for off-grid camping will have the optimum charge levels to begin your adventure.

A battery needs to have residual charge otherwise the campervan alternator will not be able to bring the charge levels back up to working order. The same can be said when charging the leisure battery from solar or mains power.

Here are some quick FAQs about a campervan leisure battery that’ll help you start-up the engine and begin covering the miles ahead:

How Long Does A Leisure battery Last?

The question, “how long does a campervan leisure battery last?” is a spork of a question because it has a couple of meanings and answers.

In terms of how long a leisure battery will last depends on whether the battery is used in optimal conditions, is well kept, is not left to discharge (much) and is not over-loaded. Under these circumstances, you’ll be golden to get around 5 years out of your battery before it needs replacing.

On the other side of things, there’s how long the battery charge will last. This will depend on the battery and usage: i.e., the age, the brand, how many different appliances are in use, which appliances are in use and for how long. 

But, for a ballpark estimate, modern leisure batteries tend to have the capacity to work with your 12V appliances for around two and a half days.

How Can A Leisure Battery Be Charged?

When you use a leisure battery while camping, it’s important to keep in mind the possible charging options you have while ensuring you don’t let the battery discharge. Otherwise, it’s unlikely to be able to charge again.

Option number one is to make use of your campervan alternator. If your camper has a split charging system, the alternator will be able to draw energy to power both the starter battery (the energy source used to turn the engine on) and the leisure battery (your source of all things leisurely when out in the wild British jungle).

Option number two is to install some solar panels above your camper and hook it up to the leisure battery to keep it charged. However, as we mentioned earlier, this can be a little pricey up-front and can also be hit-and-miss given the fantastic sunny weather we get on our island.

Option number three is to hook your camper into the mains power of your house or the camping site you’ve parked up at. Although, when using the mains power, you’ll need to ensure you’ve got your route mapped-out with all the possible charging points so there’s no need to be rationing for a brew.

How Much Does A Leisure Battery Cost?

A campervan leisure battery can range in price from £50 to £200. But it’s important to keep in mind the safety aspect of heading to a reliable store to find the best leisure battery for off-grid camping. 

For example, Amazon offers high quality campervan leisure battery choices, low costs, free delivery with Prime and secure purchase warranties. Yet other suppliers might charge a premium without even offering the same level of product security.

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