Increasing battery capacity

Artsville wrote:
I am switching to 6v batteries also. I have a question along the lines of the small 12v inverter for the tv. How much power does the HD Tv antenna take up while running the tv? Could I watch 2hrs of tv before bed without crushing my batteries? I will have a method to recharge next day.


Thanks

Good to go unless you also run incandescent lights while watching tv.
Proper recharge of GC2 is 14.4 to 14.8 volts. Verify what your system does.

tim1970 wrote:
Is there anything else required to installing 2 6 volt deep cycle batteries other than just removing my old battery, and making sure the 2 new ones are wired in series correctly? Will my current charger/converter and all my 12 volt devices continue to work?

Also, Once I do that, how hard is it to install a pure sine wave inverter, so if we want to watch TV while off the grid? Is this something I can do without having to re-wire my camper?

Yes 2x GC2 install is that simple. If charging on generator it is a good time to review your charging system is working well. Some converters are very good and most are not. Post what you have for best comments.

Small inverter (<300w) is fairly easy. You can use the main battery feed to the 12v panel to get 12 volt power. Small transfer switch to the branch circuit you need and you are good to go. I recommend GoPower for low idle draw and provision for a remote power switch.

Artsville wrote:
I am switching to 6v batteries also. I have a question along the lines of the small 12v inverter for the tv. How much power does the HD Tv antenna take up while running the tv? Could I watch 2hrs of tv before bed without crushing my batteries? I will have a method to recharge next day.


Thanks

Modern LCD TVs use maybe 25-50 watts. An antenna amplifier would use a couple watts maximum. (There's no such thing as an HDTV antenna as such; it's just an antenna, receiving signals that happen to be HTDV or at least digital TV broadcasts.)

You could watch TV all night without crushing your batteries, assuming there was nothing else all that significant using power. A couple of hours should not be a problem under nearly any circumstance.

I am switching to 6v batteries also. I have a question along the lines of the small 12v inverter for the tv. How much power does the HD Tv antenna take up while running the tv? Could I watch 2hrs of tv before bed without crushing my batteries? I will have a method to recharge next day.


Thanks

I initially installed a very large inverter wired for whole rig use which I found I rarely used since I power most heavy current demand items via onboard genny anyway.

Decided to just install a smaller 300 watt pure sine inverter in our entertainment center, discovered the 12 volt dc socket was unable to feed enough power to keep inverter from screeching it's dissatisfaction. No biggie as I just ran heavier wire directly from battery bank.

One of our favorite mods, it powers our HDTV, HD satellite, Bluray/Xbox, Bose and laptops, even has a couple of USB sockets for charging portable devices. Although it is only 300 watts it is able to power these items simultaneously.

DrewE wrote:
There is of course also a fourth and even simpler option, which is to get a small inverter and plug the TV into the inverter and then connect the inverter to a convenient 12V power supply point, often a lighter plug where the TV is installed. That can be done by anyone who can plug things into other things, and for a pretty small load like a TV it usually works fine. (An XBox may prove more troublesome, as it's comparatively power hungry.)

This is what I did,I had no need for a large amount of power while off the grid nor the expense of a larger inverter.

The TV is all I wanted to use and it was not a 12volt.
This one works just fine.

DrewE wrote:
There is of course also a fourth and even simpler option, which is to get a small inverter and plug the TV into the inverter and then connect the inverter to a convenient 12V power supply point, often a lighter plug where the TV is installed.

Of course, but the OP did say "install" which I took literally, not just plugging a small 75 watt inverter into a nearby lighter receptacle which will be limited to a maximum of about 7 amps anyway.

SoundGuy wrote:

Inverter installation can be as simple or as complicated as you choose to make it. "Whole house" simply means plugging the trailer's main service cable into the inverter output BUT you do have to remember to turn off your converter so as to not create a closed loop and make sure anything than can run on 120 vac is turned off, such as a water heater electric element. If you don't want to do that each time you use the inverter you can install additional receptacles that are dedicated to the inverter output, just as I did. Your third option is probably the most complicated, installing a transfer switch that will automatically switch to whatever power source your trailer is running on. Your choice. ;)

There is of course also a fourth and even simpler option, which is to get a small inverter and plug the TV into the inverter and then connect the inverter to a convenient 12V power supply point, often a lighter plug where the TV is installed. That can be done by anyone who can plug things into other things, and for a pretty small load like a TV it usually works fine. (An XBox may prove more troublesome, as it's comparatively power hungry.)

tim1970 wrote:
Is there anything else required to installing 2 6 volt deep cycle batteries other than just removing my old battery, and making sure the 2 new ones are wired in series correctly? Will my current charger/converter and all my 12 volt devices continue to work?

Of course.

tim1970 wrote:
Also, Once I do that, how hard is it to install a pure sine wave inverter, so if we want to watch TV while off the grid? Is this something I can do without having to re-wire my camper?

Inverter installation can be as simple or as complicated as you choose to make it. "Whole house" simply means plugging the trailer's main service cable into the inverter output BUT you do have to remember to turn off your converter so as to not create a closed loop and make sure anything than can run on 120 vac is turned off, such as a water heater electric element. If you don't want to do that each time you use the inverter you can install additional receptacles that are dedicated to the inverter output, just as I did. Your third option is probably the most complicated, installing a transfer switch that will automatically switch to whatever power source your trailer is running on. Your choice. ;)