sampvt Posted December 2, 2013 Share Posted December 2, 2013 We have a standard carver 1800 gas fire with blown air option on 12 volt. Does anyone have any idea what sort of current draw this option uses. I have a clamp amp measuring device for dc but cant find a way to measure the amp usage due to the wires being concealed in a well protected and insulated loom. Sufferung badly from cold feet and mission control likes the blow air option but I need to find out what the consumption is before I risk my battery running out. Quote Im back to motorhoming with a scooter on the back again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeeTee Posted December 2, 2013 Share Posted December 2, 2013 Page 654 of the CC handbook suggest that the 12V power consumption of a blown air heater as 1. 5A (max speed) I expect that the figure includes the operation of the thermostat, which is almost negligible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rushallmanor Posted December 2, 2013 Share Posted December 2, 2013 About 1 amp on the later Truma heaters Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sampvt Posted December 2, 2013 Author Share Posted December 2, 2013 Page 654 of the CC handbook suggest that the 12V power consumption of a blown air heater as 1. 5A (max speed) I expect that the figure includes the operation of the thermostat, which is almost negligible. Well that really surprises me. That's on a par with a 16 watt strip light. I am using around 15 amps per day with lighting, water pump and TV so the blower on for 2 hrs at night (on and off periodically) wont hurt that much. I managed last weekend on a 75ah battery for 3 days and she was still not showing signs of faltering. I was expecting around 3 to 5 amps per hour. Many thanks for that info. Quote Im back to motorhoming with a scooter on the back again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hawkaye Posted December 2, 2013 Share Posted December 2, 2013 If you switch everything else off, can you not use your clamp on the battery leads ? Quote hawkaye Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sampvt Posted December 2, 2013 Author Share Posted December 2, 2013 If you switch everything else off, can you not use your clamp on the battery leads ? Good thinking batman, lol. I will do that tomorrow just to see. Quote Im back to motorhoming with a scooter on the back again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arc Systems Posted December 2, 2013 Share Posted December 2, 2013 About 1 amp on the later Truma heaters That made me smile? would it then surprise you to know the latest motor is exactly the same as the first from the mid 70's!! Truth is, the maximum it pulls is about 1. 7A starting it turning from rest, once moving this instantly drops to a tad over an amp, or, somewhat less as motor speed is reduced, This is where the later TEB2 fans score a bit better as the speed reduction control is not so wasteful as the older ones Quote Arc Systems are specialist Carver caravan product repairers, committed to providing a comprehensive service as well as spare parts for these popular heaters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BFM Posted December 2, 2013 Share Posted December 2, 2013 How have you managed to get a clamp meter to read DC? They are an AC only device. Quote Enjoy every minute of every day. It doesn't last nearly as long as you'd like, and there's no guarantee of coming this way again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul_B Posted December 3, 2013 Share Posted December 3, 2013 How have you managed to get a clamp meter to read DC? They are an AC only device. I'm sure ours was ac-dc, I'm not sure about the ac bit as we only used it on cars Quote Paul B . .......Mondeo Estate & Elddis Avanté 505 (Tobago) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sampvt Posted December 3, 2013 Author Share Posted December 3, 2013 (edited) How have you managed to get a clamp meter to read DC? They are an AC only device. I bought an ac/dc one from Maplins. I think it was around £40 but its also a multimeter and gives really accurate readings. Just checked and here it is http://www. maplin. co. uk/p/uni-trend-203-dcac-current-clamp-multimeter-n41nc Edited December 3, 2013 by sampvt Quote Im back to motorhoming with a scooter on the back again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BFM Posted December 6, 2013 Share Posted December 6, 2013 Thank you for that link! Technology moves on again. Quote Enjoy every minute of every day. It doesn't last nearly as long as you'd like, and there's no guarantee of coming this way again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ern Posted December 6, 2013 Share Posted December 6, 2013 A slightly different matter to the OP but related,,, When the caravan is left without mains hook up (for example whilst the van is in storage), if the heater fan is accidentally left switched on to Auto the fan motor can drain the battery over a period. This mistake can easily occur because the fan is fairly quiet at slow speed when the heat is off. I wonder if this is the cause of some of the flat batteries we hear about? I know that I have done this myself. It may only be 1/4Amp, but over many hours it can add up. Quote Ern Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BFM Posted December 6, 2013 Share Posted December 6, 2013 It depends on the van, I'm sure, but in ours it goes through the master 12v switch. I try to remember to turn this off every time we leave the van. Quote Enjoy every minute of every day. It doesn't last nearly as long as you'd like, and there's no guarantee of coming this way again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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