How to thrive on a non 240v site!

just to reinforce that 'you can do' just about everything you would normally do on an EHU site when on a non-EHU site....

two days into the THS at Blissford (so nice here may stay a bit longer....) and two longish electric bike rides later, ive charged OH battery twice using a 500w inverter running from 2x 95AH Banners and fed by a (slightly smaller on this smaller van) 100w solar panel...

as this has been charging, the sun has been sufficient to keep the van batteries fully charged, putting back in what the bike charger takes out...

all seems to work very nicely....

...add on the cheap as chips LPG and 'the worlds your lobster'....

as my old boss used to say

 Just been a week without EHU on the "Concorde" site in Germany .Frugal with power and water of course.Good new leisure batteries,lots of sunshine too for the solar panel.Washing etc was from the hot side of the tap ,where tepid stored water (comfortable) came through .Could have used the gas ,,,,but why ???  

triky, were you at the Concorde factory and do they have an aire there?

did you not need a bit of 'hotter than tepid' water for showering or washing up, though a kettle is useful here but that means using your gas

do you have a refillable gas tank in your van?

the aire at the Carthago factory puts many a campsite to shame 

I too have just spent 3 days on a CL in the Yorkshire Dales without EHU. This has been our first time out after fitting a solar panal and buying a Safefill gas bottle along with changing all our lighting bulbs to SMDs. We were the only outfit on the site during our stay while the private site up the road behind the pub seemed to be full. I visited their website to discover that they charged a minimum of £22 per unit with added extras for awnings, extra people, extra cars and I wouldn't be surprised if they imposed a charge for the view. At first I thought it resembled a refugee camp!
We, however, had a field to ourselves on the edge of the village with just sheep and birdsong to keep us company. Now the best bit, we paid £5 per night. We felt a sheer sense of satisfaction knowing that our carbon footprint has been significantly reduced. I know everybody is different, which is a good thing, but I'm becoming increasingly convinced that a clear lack of understanding is behind most members reluctance to look into this money saving initiative. I also think the club should champion the cause rather than simply choosing to ignor progress and the obvious benefits to its members. An example of this attitude is apparent when searching for a CL site which has No EHU. A search of the directory for a site without a red tick is a painstaking exercise and using a website search is equally frustrating. I can search for a CL site that excludes dogs but not one that excludes EHU. All this begs the question, is the club being run for the benefit of its members or is there another agenda? The needs of the differing sections of the club seem to be catered for but those seeking to minimise their carbon footprint are being neglected. The Caravan and Motorhome Club rightly champions the benefits of embracing the delights of the countryside and looking after our wildlife so why aren't "we" also helping to reduce the use of fossil fuels? Puzzling!!

Kevlon, an excellent post actually it is 2 posts.  

Firstly going non ehu is not difficult or dangerous but people have a fear factor. 

Secondly the attitude of the caravanclub. You accuse them of having an agenda.  To have an agenda you need a vision, it is clear that the leadership of the club have no real vision.  More interested in name changes and a new logo's rather than listening to and indeed informing its members.   That's politics   But the sad reality is that without support the CL network will die, except for a few that are run as hobbies.

Bottom line you don't need ehu even an idiot like me can cope, ( cope is actually the wrong word because it implies a level of hardship and deprivation that doesn't exist).   What I can't do is design a new logo, or specify a yurt or glamping pod.  So what do I know?

yes its odd how some think that not having an EHU cable suggests 'hairshirt camping' and we often get the 'i left all that (slumming it) stuff behind years ago' comments....

i really think that many folk dont actually understand how their caravans or MHs work, in that most of the devices are multi fuel....

we even see folk adding twin electric plated 'grills' to complement their single van electric hotplate 'because they have already paid for the electric'...and 'wont' use gas.....

the thing is, the built in 'extra cost' of the electric is likely to be far more than they realise.....currently C&CC charge around £4.50 for this privilege....way more than the cost of using LPG, where i can fill my 11kg (22 ltr) Gaslow for around £11.

my electric is also very cheap....free, in fact, and can operate at 12v for lights, tv, charging ipads/phones etc or be converted to 230v to run a Sky box or to recharge electric bike batteries etc.

our gas Cadac serves for outside cooking... 

large water tanks negate the need for regular refilling, even when using the van facs for showers and washing up so we dont miss this aspect of club sites either...

having had four days at the THS on the back of five at a club site (at 3 times the price) it was so nice to enjoy a far better environment (less noise, less people, closer to nature) and a near £20 saving a night.

isnt this what the club should be promoting?

I guess the stumbling block for many wanting to go fully unbilical free is SWMBO's hair dryer. Until there is a viable I2 volt hair dryer it's not worth even looking at solar etc 

There's always excuses for not doing something.   Must be terrible to be, stuck in such a rut. 

What they don't tell you

on occasions even with ehu I have used gas if I want to warm up quickly or with the fridge to cool down quickly.  That's right heating and cooling works better on gas. 

But no gas hair dryer  ...... 

many use gas 'tongs' to dry and style longer hair, even fully fledged gas driers on ebay....though expensive as new technology...

my OH was trying to grow her hair (ended up getting on her wick...) and had now returned to her more natural shorter, smarter style.... which, of course, means no need of a hair dryer, gas, ehu or otherwise.

im sure its also perfectly possible (see merves posts....) to run a lowish power dryer from an inverter should this be a 'hairshirt deal breaker'