Using the plug socket without electrical hook up

[CLAIRETOBY]

Thanks in advance for any help with this.
I am fairly new to all of this, having owned my t25 for less than a year.
I've only camped so far on sites with electrical hook up, but next weekend we are off to Glastonbury Festival. My question is, is it possible to use the 3 pin plug socket (to charge mobile phones, or use the kettle) using just the leisure battery? And if so, in what position should all the switches be on the zigg unit?
Thanks so much.

[CJH]

Hi

Welcome to the forum. The quick answer is no - the Zig unit will not provide mains power through your 3-pin socket. If you really need mains power in that situation, you'll need an inverter, which will convert 12V DC to 240V AC, but without some rewiring this won't come through your existing socket(s). Instead there'll be a 3-pin socket on the inverter itself. An inverter that runs a typical kettle isn't really feasible - kettles use a lot of Watts, so you'd be looking at a big expensive inverter and big fat wires to connect it up, even for a modest kettle, and it would take a lot out of your battery.

Much better to look for 12V versions of your mains devices. A 12V USB adapter will probably charge most phones these days. I have one of these and it seems pretty good.



And heat your water over gas.

[ghost123uk]

Firstly, Hi and welcome to club 80-90. Nice to make your acquaintance You will find this forum very friendly and full of everything you need / want to know about owning a T25. Now, having got the customary introductions done, "we" will now get to your question.

No you can't

For 2 reasons, firstly, those mains sockets are not connected to anything other than the hook up connector on the side of your van, so they are nowt to do with leisure batteries. Secondly, even if you had an "inverter" (a thing that can make mains electricity from your battery) to boil an electric kettle would take so much power it would flatten a leisure battery in a couple of minutes, plus the power cables needed would be as thick as your thumb.

May I suggest you use a kettle designed for use on the gas ring

You can of course these days get chargers for almost anything (phones, laptops, sat nav etc) that plug into the fag lighter socket. If you need a hand finding suitable ones, shout out. Many folk on here never actually need mains electricity (I have never used mine) because we prefer the economy and simplicity of having everything working off the 12 Volt leisure battery.

On the subject of leisure batteries, many folk think that because it is a leisure battery, it is OK to occasionally let them run till they go flat. This is not the case and doing that will greatly reduce it's performance and useful life. Just in case you didn't know

[CLAIRETOBY]

thank you so much everybody.
that's saved me much time and effort, and it's all about managing my family's expectations as to what we will be able to do at Glastonbury.
Thanks - I'll no doubt be back with another minor query soon!
Claire

[ghost123uk]

it's all about managing my family's expectations as to what we will be able to do at Glastonbury.

That shouldn't be a problem at Glastonbury



Mind you, the last time I went it was all held on the one field, main stage (which was actually a converted cow shed) was at the back of the field and we all camped in front of it. Michael Eves still lived in the little farm at the edge of the field and some of us used to go into his kitchen and have a cup of tea and a "fag" with him. He used to sell gallon cans of Scrumpy out of that kitchen too It was of course free then, no fences or anything. Then it all went too commercial for me.

E D I T = That STUPID swear filter is starting to really pee me off k i t chen = comes out as kitchen !!!!!!! but the admins still think it is a good idea and dead funny. It's not !!

[Ralf85]

Mind you, the last time I went it was all held on the one field, main stage (which was actually a converted cow shed) was at the back of the field and we all camped in front of it. Michael Eves still lived in the little farm at the edge of the field and some of us used to go into his room with an oven and have a cup of tea and a "fag" with him. He used to sell gallon cans of Scrumpy out of that room with an oven too It was of course free then, no fences or anything. Then it all went too commercial for me.

That must have been about 30 years ago when you were a young dandy in flared jeans with extensions on the bottom no doubt!

[lefty67]

Did gong play that year?

[ghost123uk]

Did gong play that year?

I went there for quite a few years in the 70's. Yep, Gong, Hawkwind, Dave Bowie, Steve Hillage etc etc. Loved it back then. Looks like Bedlam / Babylon now And HOW MUCH to get in

[lefty67]

Did gong play that year?

I went there for quite a few years in the 70's. Yep, Gong, Hawkwind, Dave Bowie, Steve Hillage etc etc. Loved it back then. Looks like Bedlam / Babylon now And HOW MUCH to get in

Gong are playing in Crewe in October

[Oldiebut goodie]

20/10 at Norwich if anyone else is interested.
Now when is Incredible String Band coming together again for a tour?

[ghost123uk]

I wonder what the "vibe" is like at a Gong gig now, compared to the totally spaced out ones we used to go to

[Oldiebut goodie]

Teapot Pixies!

[LeeME3]

Awesome thread drift chaps....!

PS Currently got Beltane Fire playing on the iPod!