electrical question?

[DR]

Hi everyone
I have been following the board for quite a while now, and finally have a question that i'm not sure of.
We have a 84 Eagle 10, 6v92 still in conversion process, making progress, need reply to this question.

Why do you run all 12 volt lights in house system when camping at a park or boondocking?
A)  Cannot get low enough halogen watt lights?
B)  To much loss of power inverting off battery bank?

House System:
50 amp service
6= trojan t105 batteries
2500 watt inverter

Question  Why not run all 110 lights?

Wanted to say hi to everyone and thankyou for all the help.

[FloridaCliff]

DR,

Why didn't you just ask what is the best oil to use??  LOL   

Lots of opinions on this I am sure.

I think the general idea with 12 Vdc was that you could use battery power when the engine was off.

Was and is the standard in RV's, Boats, etc.

I went with 110 Vac for a couple reasons,

Better choice of fixtures at a more reasonable price,

I like the light output of the 110,

I have an inverter and a good size battery bank.

Also if needed I will run the generator to charge everything up.

Generally don't boondock more than a few days.

I still put in some 12 Vdc lighting, but it is basically setup as an auxiliary system. 

In the bunks or bedroom, the occupant can chose from either source.

I have two overheadlights by the driver in 12 Vdc also.  Only put in for redundancy.

I can also turn on overhead LED's from the drivers seat to light up the whole coach.

No right or wrong, just what you prefer and how you use your bus.

Cliff

[grantgoold]

Dr. I have almost the same setup in my 9 and I will have combination of standard AC lights (110 volt) and many smaller 12 volt lights should I not have shore power or not want to run the genset.  I also left the over the road 24 volt light system intact should I chose to use those off the start batteries.

I like the redundant systems, I just know that shore power means to mean virtually unlimited electricity and therefore as many lights as I need.

Do you have an IKEA in your town? They have a lot of lighting systems that seem to work fine for my applications.

Grant
Sacramento

[DR]

Thankyou so much!!
Just what I needed to hear, conformation!!
Currently we live in So. Oregon, rain finally stopped, didn't know if I should take off the tires and load up the animals for 40 days and 40 nights.
Can't wait to meet everyone.
Thanks again.

[JackConrad]

    Everyone has their own way, but most use a combination. We used almost all 12 volt. 12 volt fixtures can be connected without the requirement of a UL approved box. Same applies to 12 volt switches as opposed to 120 volt switches.  There are pros & cons to both types of lighting. Decide what works best for you and your use of your bus.  Jack

[TomC]

One of the main reasons to use 12v lighting is electrical draw on the batteries.  Take a normal 100 watt 120vac light bulb.  On 120vac, it pulls .834 amps.  On 12v that would be 8.34 amps (amps times volts=watts). Factor in the inherent efficiency loss from the inverter and the batteries, and you have  about a 90% conversion, or a total draw of 9.25 amps, just to run one 100 watt bulb.  You can get just about the same light output from one or two 20 watt 12vdc halogen lights.  So even with 2-20watt 12v lights, you'd be at only 3.34 amps draw.  This is important if you do alot of dry camping relying on batteries and generators only.  If you do mostly power poling, then 120v lighting will work.  My only 120vac lighting in the bus is the two end table lights on the side of our bed.  Like the efficiency of straight 12v lighting and the fact that most fixtures just use automotive bulbs.  If you like a 120vac fixture that uses a normal screw in light bulb, 12vdc versions of the light bulbs are made too (look exactly the same).  Good Luck, TomC

[Nick Badame Refrig/ACC]

Hi everyone
I have been following the board for quite a while now, and finally have a question that i'm not sure of.
We have a 84 Eagle 10, 6v92 still in conversion process, making progress, need reply to this question.

Why do you run all 12 volt lights in house system when camping at a park or boondocking?
A)  Cannot get low enough halogen watt lights?
B)  To much loss of power inverting off battery bank?

House System:
50 amp service
6= trojan t105 batteries
2500 watt inverter

Question  Why not run all 110 lights?

Wanted to say hi to everyone and thankyou for all the help.

Hello DR,
Welcome!
I'm all electric and I'm running all 12v lighting because I don't want to chew up my inverter's capacity to run
the bigger appliances. Plus, I have all my 12v lights running on dimmers to set the mood....Lol
Good Luck
Nick-