So we have been dry camping for about a week in fairly lousy and cold weather (read below freezing every night. So as we have to be here for a few more days I decided to see what sucks the most power on a daily basis in these kind of conditions. eg stuck inside most of the day, TV on all day, Computer on all day and of course 2 X furnace loads, cell charging, residential fridge, microwave, toaster, beverage water heater, lights (mostly LED) etc etc. (Man we are power hogs) Using the Samlex remote watt usage meter and a clamp on ammeter I figured out the following. Surprizing the biggest sucker upper of power is the 32 inch Vizio TV. Draws between 90 and 105 watts and its on of course all day. Next is the computer I am typing on, (ASUS all in one with about 20 inch screen). It is a close second at around 70-80 watts and of course its on all day as well. Third was the residential 22 cubic foot fridge which also draws around 100 watts but is on about 20 minutes per hour (but all day and night of course). After that the cooking appliances etc draw big current but for a short time so after a little calculation I'll put the two furnaces next. After that its all little stuff. Anyway, today we have sun so the solar system is cracking out 25 -30 amps so genny run time is minimal. (Hour in the morning at breakfast and the same at supper}. Other wise it has been more than double that run time on the cloudy (and colder) days. And this is what you do when you are bored and waiting to go south. :) (as soon as we get a couple of minor business things sorted out)

Get rid of that CCFL LCD TV and get a LED/LCD TV or a OLED TV you will save 70% in power consumption. Please do not toss it in the trash

This will be a popular thread... I know I need to find ways to conserve watts.What about a laptop instead of a desktop?

X2 on getting a LED TV. Should have tested how much of a hog the 32" plasma was before replacing... not to mention the heat it put out.Now if I could get my Freedom 2000 to put out more than 100 amps charging into my AGM batteries I could decrease my genny time to less than 3 hours per day.

I was surprised at how much our 15 inch LCD/DVD combo used this last trip. I converted it to 12v and was running it with a 35ah gel cell. I ended up needing to charge that everyday. That battery usually runs a portable DVD player or radio and charges phones a whole trip.

Thanks for posting your findings. There is little reference to real world numbers of boondocking setups, especially broken down into use by devices used.FWIW, my Magnavox 32" LED backlit screen draws 33 watts in Standard mode.

Interesting results of power use audit when dry camping.

John___Angela
Explorer
Nov 05, 2013
Canadian Rainbirds wrote:
John & Angela wrote:
Yah I know that Vizio is a power hog but it's only 4 years old and works good. Besides it warms up the front of the coach nicely. :). We used to use our laptop but I study a lot and the bigger screen of the all in one table top is kinda nice. I suppose there are a bunch of ways I could cut down usage but what the heck. Maybe another 160 watt panel or two. :). Of course I am running out of roof real estate. :).

Cheers all.

So buy a BIG trailer and cover it with panels. Then you can get rid of the roller skate and buy an all electric vehicle! :B

See you in Z this winter?

Now thats a cool idea. :) Won't be in Z this weekend. We have the big coach only down south this year so the farthest we will be going down is San Felipe for a month. Looks like we may be also spending a week in Playa del Carmen this year depending on my brothers plans. We will be going down as tour guides for them. They originally were thinking of Z but decided they want to see the pyramids, Tulum, ceynotes etc etc etc. Its all good. Next year we are taking the little rig down the Baja and then the ferry over to the mainland. Should end up in Zihuat at some point but too hard to tell this far ahead. Busy year for travelling for us. This summer we are spending more than two months in Europe including close to three weeks in Spain. Yay. Been brushing up on my Castellano. Way fun. Cuando estoy alli puedo decir "yo me siento de puta madre" sin ofender nadie. :) One of those phrases that is totally acceptable in one country and not so much in others. :) (al menos segun mi maestro) :) ojalá

Anyway, be safe on the road and stay in touch.

J and A
Canadian_Rainbi
Explorer
Nov 04, 2013
John & Angela wrote:
Yah I know that Vizio is a power hog but it's only 4 years old and works good. Besides it warms up the front of the coach nicely. :). We used to use our laptop but I study a lot and the bigger screen of the all in one table top is kinda nice. I suppose there are a bunch of ways I could cut down usage but what the heck. Maybe another 160 watt panel or two. :). Of course I am running out of roof real estate. :).

Cheers all.

So buy a BIG trailer and cover it with panels. Then you can get rid of the roller skate and buy an all electric vehicle! :B

See you in Z this winter?
MEXICOWANDERER
Explorer
Nov 04, 2013
MrWizard wrote:
broadcast TV
Bones
sleepy hollow
Revolution
castle
S.H.E.I.L.D.

cable/internet
Falling Skies
Definace

OK, I'll cough it up. Shows on TV I like(d)

History Channel (before they went commercial crazy)
National Geographic Channel
How Things Are Made (show)
Some programs on P.B.S. Antiques Roadshow (this one I really miss)
Click & Clack (radio actually)
Top Gear
Some programs on BBC

Other TV shows.
Reruns of Have Gun Will Travel
Reruns of BBC "Keeping Up Appearances" and "Chef"

But for fiction, give me a new novel by Martin Cruz Smith, and woowee the amp hour meter takes a rest.
DiskDoctr
Explorer
Nov 04, 2013
I have to read and study many things, then review the results from others, too. Sometimes that interferes with camping time.

I use Evernote to store and sync info between laptops smartphone and tablet. Use offline sync of certain folders, to be reviewed on the tablet with >5hrs battery life.

Get a 10" tablet, which gives lots of viewing space. Add a bluetooth keyboard for frequent typing (I confess I don't always use)

Sitting outside in the sun makes the task not so inconvenient, and tablets can often be charged while driving toad or rv.

Also do not forget that printed pages are easy to take notes, carry with you, and use very little battery once printed :-)
mena661
Explorer
Oct 29, 2013
BFL13 wrote:
http://www.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110117133055/muppet/images/0/07/Sam_Eagle.JPG&imgrefurl=http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Sam_the_Eagle&h=262&w=193&sz=1&tbnid=ivZLS2jPP02XPM:&tbnh=186&tbnw=137&zoom=1&usg=__06nIC06XtJnKPTvao3IYLtuJaQw=&docid=0ir4lrFBLAK2_M&itg=1&sa=X&ei=Sz9vUrzcE4LQyAHUxoB4&sqi=2&ved=0CIQBEPwdMAo
LMAO!!! B, that was a good one man.
BFL13
Explorer II
Oct 29, 2013
http://www.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110117133055/muppet/images/0/07/Sam_Eagle.JPG&imgrefurl=http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Sam_the_Eagle&h=262&w=193&sz=1&tbnid=ivZLS2jPP02XPM:&tbnh=186&tbnw=137&zoom=1&usg=__06nIC06XtJnKPTvao3IYLtuJaQw=&docid=0ir4lrFBLAK2_M&itg=1&sa=X&ei=Sz9vUrzcE4LQyAHUxoB4&sqi=2&ved=0CIQBEPwdMAo
mena661
Explorer
Oct 29, 2013
Almot wrote:
After several weeks of wilderness trip with no cell phone and none or very little internet many people find their views have changed - crowds, noise and mass-media became annoying and it takes time to get used to it again.
Almot, quit assuming no one's done this before or that it's some grand revelation of life when you do. Been there, done that, still like watching TV, still love technology, still use the A/C when it's 110F outside, still use 67Ah a day when RVing. I have 30 YEARS of wilderness camping under my belt. Maybe for the city folks this is transcendental but, where I'm from, this is normal stuff. There's no deep philosophical meaning to it.

Back to my point, I know a TON of people that find TV to be garbage but when I mention the shows on that list (or MrWiz's list), not ONE of them has seen or heard of them. Some have gone back and watched a show or two and given good TV a second chance. Let me cut to the chase, my feelings on this is that it's lazy (yes lazy) to condemn a thing when you haven't experienced that thing. If you've watched the "good shows" and you still feel TV is crap, I will honestly respect your views and I won't say another word but I know for a fact that's FAAAARRRRRRRRR from reality. Reality goes more like this. Someone watched a reality show, thought it was garbage (sorry yes they are), saw a crapload of TV commercials for more reality shows, got fed up and condemned ALL of TV. That's just lazy. Sorry.
Almot
Explorer III
Oct 29, 2013
MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
..."Wasn't that GREAT?" my friend exclaimed.

"Mahvelos!" I replied "Simply Mahvelous!"

To think I could have been sitting out on the patio waiting for the space station to pass overhead....

Reminds of a talk between young mom and famous children psychologist. Mom was raving about new computer "development game" to watch on TV screen. I'm talking here about games for infants few months old, not educational games for pre-schoolers. "It's so real, have you seen the trees in this game?" - said mom. "Have you seen the trees outside your window"? - replied the psychologist.

To each his own. There are "TV people" and people who are not.
Almot
Explorer III
Oct 29, 2013
mena661 wrote:
I find that people who find TV offensive are generally "channel flippers" and don't really know about the good shows that are on.

Sure... They knew about these shows before, but after a year they don't. Human memory can't keep anything for more than a year, don't you know? Every 12 months it's wiped clean, zero, nada :) ...

The observation by Mexicowanderer is correct. Depending on the degree of separation from things that you got used to in urban life, the period needed to change your views can be shorter yet. After several weeks of wilderness trip with no cell phone and none or very little internet many people find their views have changed - crowds, noise and mass-media became annoying and it takes time to get used to it again.
MrWizard
Moderator
Oct 29, 2013
broadcast TV
Bones
sleepy hollow
Revolution
castle
S.H.E.I.L.D.

cable/internet
Falling Skies
Definace