I'm looking for advice on using a leisure battery for a catering van.

[gillhutton1986]

Hello,
I'm looking for advice on which battery to use to power my catering van. I don't want to use generators anymore as I want to be greener.
I have a list of all equipment. Can anyone help?
Thanks

 

[Strima]

What equipment will you be running?

We will need to know expected loads, operating time etc.

A list of appliance ratings would be a good start.

 

[gillhutton1986]

What equipment will you be running?

We will need to know expected loads, operating time etc.

A list of appliance ratings would be a good start.

Thanks for the reply! Please see attached a list of my equipment. The items in red I am hoping to buy LPG so it's a smaller load. Thanks

 

[Strima]

With that lot at full load your looking around 50 amps, factor in appliances cycling through heating and cooling I would guesstimate 30 amp load.

Using an 8Kw inverter you should get around 20 minutes out of a 220Ah battery.

 

[gillhutton1986]

With that lot at full load your looking around 50 amps, factor in appliances cycling through heating and cooling I would guesstimate 30 amp load.

Using an 8Kw inverter you should get around 20 minutes out of a 220Ah battery.

Is that all it would last for? My services last 3 hours with approx half an hour running before we open.

 

[Strima]

Is that all it would last for? My services last 3 hours with approx half an hour running before we open.

That's an approximation. There's a lot of factors that can add/detract from battery life such as temperature, humidity, inverter losses etc.

You may want to consider solar panels to top up etc but you will need a large battery system to support your current needs. Also you need to consider recharge times and method of charging, your vehicles alternator will not be capable of recharging the battery bank, it's only designed to cover the vehicles basic needs plus a little bit more.

 

[marconi]

What size is your catering van? What space do you have available inside it for electrical power storage and conversion equipment? If it is easier just send me some pictures and the van box exterior measurements.

If I said you could only have half the items in your electrical list what would they be?

In what vehicle do you drive to and from your catering van each day for service?

 

[brianmoooore]

Run a generator on your LPG supply. The world produces more LPG than it uses (as a inevitable consequence of oil extraction), and the excess is burnt off.
Any LPG that you use simply means that the same amount isn't burnt off somewhere else, so it's the one truly green fuel.
Your local emissions will be almost solely water vapour and carbon dioxide.

 

[Lucien Nunes]

+1 for LPG.

Marconi knows whereof he speaks and may have many practical and useful suggestions. But be warned: Ye cannae change the laws of physics! Any heating equipment whatsoever is an uphill struggle with batteries. For example, your hot cupboard (if consuming 800 watts continuously) will use up one fully charged 110Ah leisure battery per hour.

Footie is into extra time now so I will come back to this later...

 

[gillhutton1986]

What size is your catering van? What space do you have available inside it for electrical power storage and conversion equipment? If it is easier just send me some pictures and the van box exterior measurements.

If I said you could only have half the items in your electrical list what would they be?

In what vehicle do you drive to and from your catering van each day for service?

Hello, it's an Iveco Daily long wheel base with high roof. There's space underneath one of my tables approx 1.5 meters wide by 90cm high.
Do you have an email address I could send photos too?
I just drive to our pitch in the catering van. Thank you!

 

[marconi]

What are your opening times? And on which days? How many miles between home and catering site? - Carting heavy batteries to and fro will decrease your vehicle's fuel economy - a cost to you.

And the answer to my other earlier question is?

 

[Strima]

I've asked a couple of questions on a festivals page I'm on and the vast majority of caterers are using LPG for food prep etc with only basic electric for lighting and minimal socket outlets. Even the fridges are LPG.

 

[brianmoooore]

LPG usage will be at it's most efficient if it's used directly by the appliances, but any outstanding electrical requirements can be supplied by a generator running off of the LPG supply.
An LPG powered generator is simply a petrol generator with a different (and very simple) carburetor.