# powering electrical equipment in horse box



## DorothyJ (14 April 2013)

Hi, I have just bought my first 7.5T horse box and am on a really steep learning curve it seems! some advice would be much appreciated please. 

The box came with a small TV and separate DVD and I would like to be able to use these without necessarily having hook up. The box has hook up and if we were staying at a proper camp site, then of course we would use it. However it would be great to have the TV at a day event, if only for my long suffering Husband ;-)

The box has a shower so I'd like to be able to use a hairdryer as well.

Finally I had thought of putting a small Tassimo pod coffee machine in, but not sure how to power this.

I have done some research and I could replace the TV with a 12 volt version and run it off the leisure battery for a short while. Alternatively I could use an inverter to convert the 12 volts from the battery to a 240 volt supply, then presumably all the standard electrical equipment would work.

What do other people do please? Are inverters pretty simple to use? I presume you need them fitted by an electrician or do you just buy and plug in?

Sorry if I am sounding really dim but this is all new to me. Thank you


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## Louby (14 April 2013)

I was going to wait for a few replies as what Im about to say, may or may not be right.
I was told by my mechanic to avoid having an inverter, mainly because I dont do a lot of miles and the inverter would mean a drain on the engine batteries.  I know this affected my friends box , who used only the lorry internal lights for hours, the next day her wagon struggled to start.


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## Dry Rot (14 April 2013)

There are such things as silent caravan generators but that's all I know!

Google is your friend?

I have a definitely not silent generator that I can sit on the back of the quad to use for power tools down the field when I need it. It is brilliant -- but noisey.


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## perfect11s (14 April 2013)

DorothyJ said:



			Hi, I have just bought my first 7.5T horse box and am on a really steep learning curve it seems! some advice would be much appreciated please. 

The box came with a small TV and separate DVD and I would like to be able to use these without necessarily having hook up. The box has hook up and if we were staying at a proper camp site, then of course we would use it. However it would be great to have the TV at a day event, if only for my long suffering Husband ;-)

The box has a shower so I'd like to be able to use a hairdryer as well.

Finally I had thought of putting a small Tassimo pod coffee machine in, but not sure how to power this.

I have done some research and I could replace the TV with a 12 volt version and run it off the leisure battery for a short while. Alternatively I could use an inverter to convert the 12 volts from the battery to a 240 volt supply, then presumably all the standard electrical equipment would work.

What do other people do please? Are inverters pretty simple to use? I presume you need them fitted by an electrician or do you just buy and plug in?

Sorry if I am sounding really dim but this is all new to me. Thank you 

Click to expand...

 Yes an inverter will do the tv as they only take a small amout of power  but things like coffee pots and hair dryers take a lot so not practical as you would need to ether have a big set of leisure batterys and a way of charging them or you would need to have the lorry engine running to power it.. best as others said  is a camping generator these are avalible in various outputs I would guess about 2kw would work,  best is the honda EU20i  but they are about £1200!!!  there are plenty of cheeper makes but they dont have the quality, back up or resale value of the honda, dont let anyone sell you an industial machine they are too noisey and will make you the least popular person on the show ground   hope this helps..


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## Mike007 (14 April 2013)

It is all about power consumption .An inverter will run anything you want if it is big enough (big=expensive too) .The problem is that you dont get somthing for nothing with electricity. A hair dryer, kettle ,coffee machine ,chews up power and will flatten your battery in short order.Also the heavy drain on the battery can also damage its internal structure. A small generator is the way forward.


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## mga4ever (14 April 2013)

I got my Honda 2kw generator off eBay. Got a bargain brand new one for £700. Had the same one in our old lorry but we sold it with the lorry. Mine will power my hair drier but is a bit noisy when it does as it is working at almost full capacity. My hair drier is an 1800w one. Also not sure about coffees homes but I know most kettles take more than 2kw!


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## perfect11s (14 April 2013)

mga4ever said:



			I got my Honda 2kw generator off eBay. Got a bargain brand new one for £700. Had the same one in our old lorry but we sold it with the lorry. Mine will power my hair drier but is a bit noisy when it does as it is working at almost full capacity. My hair drier is an 1800w one. Also not sure about coffees homes but I know most kettles take more than 2kw!
		
Click to expand...

 You can get low wattage caravan kettles ,microwaves, toasters, most are rated at 1000w because of the hook ups on caravan sites are only low capacity...


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## mga4ever (14 April 2013)

I have a low wattage kettle it just is tiny and takes forever to boil. Usually use the one on the gas hob as it's quicker and easier. Op was talking about a tassimo machine so assumed they weren't looking at caravan specific electrical items.


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## perfect11s (14 April 2013)

mga4ever said:



			I have a low wattage kettle it just is tiny and takes forever to boil. Usually use the one on the gas hob as it's quicker and easier. Op was talking about a tassimo machine so assumed they weren't looking at caravan specific electrical items.
		
Click to expand...

 Yes they are a wee bit slow  but maybe  better than  all the condensation  from the gas rings esp if its cold and you need doors and windows closed!! I would guess the Tassimo would have a rating plate on it, call me old fastioned but you cant beat a cafeteair or a filter jug   and some hot milk for a nice brew


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## DorothyJ (15 April 2013)

Many thanks everyone for your replies.

My horsebox has a separate leisure battery and a split charger. As I understand it, the split charger means that the leisure battery charges back up when the engine is running.

Has anyone any experience of using an inverter with a leisure battery like this?

Many thanks again


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## Goldenstar (15 April 2013)

Yes this is what I have in my lorry ,except I have have three huge leisure batterys linked together.
We mainly used it for running my OH's PC etc when he's working while we are away, of course it's different now as iPads can charge of 12v,s 
You have it realistic one leisure battery with an inverter might run a small hair dryer ok and we could watch telly but forget running things like coffee machines / kettles.
When we where using the inverter a lot at three day events etc as some dont have hook ups we always had an generator with us as well and used it to charge the battery during the day when the noise was least intrusive .
Before we got the three battery's it was a constant problem.
I now have all my lighting on LEDs they really save battery power.


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## perfect11s (15 April 2013)

DorothyJ said:



			Many thanks everyone for your replies.

My horsebox has a separate leisure battery and a split charger. As I understand it, the split charger means that the leisure battery charges back up when the engine is running.

Has anyone any experience of using an inverter with a leisure battery like this?

Many thanks again 

Click to expand...

  Yes asuming its a proper charging system  the lorry will need to run for aprox 8 hours to charge a 70 Amp hour  leisure battery,  even a 1000w inverter draws about 80/100 amps so roughly will run for about 30 minuits thats asuming no other load like lights and  the battery is 100% charged!!!!   , you need a  petrol or gas powered generator if you want to run power hungry items like hair dryers and coffee makers,


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