....and before anybody mentions the fact that many campgrounds have "free" wifi, my experience has been that in general, it's less than stellar. As in, it's typical to not be able to use it hardly at all during the peak times of the day, like very late afternoon/early evening.
I guarantee that from now on out, I am taking my good 27" IPS monitor with me when I hit the road in the camper. I got real tired real quick of looking at the lousy displays on my laptops on the last trip.
I was in a camper one time that had converted a bunk house trailer into a home office trailer and had 2 PC’s and a laptop and a wireless all in one printer set up all with battery back-up… I think the PC’s both had dedicated use and one was left on continuously while parked… I don’t know how long it was or could be used off grid… but it seems almost anything is possible today if it is important enough… I think he said when the PC is down things switch to a internet based service that is also a internet back-up service he uses…
It was impressive to me, but I know so little about these things it wouldn’t take much to impress me… myself I am a computer illiterate. And rely heavily on others for AC power issues to…
…
Love my mass produced, entry level, built by Lazy American Workers, Hornet
6 amps ( for argument sakes ) times 120 volts = 720 watts
which means even some of the smallest generators will run your system !
a/c units , eletric motors etc... are high wattage items , even as bad as
computer is, it is nothing as far as power demands , your power demands will fall upon microwaves, coffee makers, hair dryers, eletric drills ,
and a/c units ( being the highest ) are your main concern with power needs !!
and of course how many of these items you want to run at the same time ??
I guess I should migrate from these desktop computers to laptops. I do believe I'll still need my monitor array though, makes for much more efficient working. I'll buy one of those "kill-a-watt" meters sometime in the near future and get some numbers to crunch.
This might warrant its own thread but a side question semi-related:
Is it possible to run an AC on solar?
Occasionally working on my 77yr old fathers 83 winnie chieftan 22.
I guess I should migrate from these desktop computers to laptops. I do believe I'll still need my monitor array though, makes for much more efficient working. I'll buy one of those "kill-a-watt" meters sometime in the near future and get some numbers to crunch.
This might warrant its own thread but a side question semi-related:
belairbrian wrote: P=IxE. Where power is P, current is I, and vltage is E so that unit will draw 5.45 amps plus the monitor. My suggestion if you want to run on DC would be laptops as car adapters are easier to find.
You can compute the draw in amps of all components and see how long a battery(ies) will support before needing a recharge.
Alternatively, a generator is an option.
sorry, but for AC circuits P does not always equal IxE. That formula only works on pure resistive circuits. Things like your toaster, incandcent lights.
Many things, including PC power supplies can draw more current than calculated from the simple P=IxE formula.
That's because switching power supplies, microwaves, motors etc. have inductive and capacitive components to the load. Having measured the PF (power factor) for a variety of common loads in a trailer, figure the current draw will be 10-35% higher than calculated based on power. A pure resistive load has a PF=1. PF of .75 are not uncommon. What that means is your current draw will be 30% higher than calcuated from the resistive power formula. And thus you may need a bigger generator or inverter to supply the current for your loads. and things like computer power supplies and the converters (chargers) in RV's are known for very poor poor power factors, since they don't want to spend the money for what is known as power factor correction.
2011 Keystone Outback 295RE
2004 14' bikehauler with full living quarters
2004.5 Silverado 4x4 CC/SB Duramax/Allison
If you have to have your computers you will be better off to just make sure you can plug in. If you try to dry-camp out in the boonies chances are Verizon, et al, isn't going to get a signal. Even with electricity, you may well be out of reach. Plus you are really limited in usage. If you really plan to be out in nowhere you may need a satellite and that will be a whole different issue.
My suggestion: if you want to give it a try, stick with your current computers, stay at sites with electricity, use Verizon or satellite, and see how it goes. Don't spend huge $$$ until you give it a try. No matter what you get now, it won't be right until you find out for yourself.
2007 Northwoods Arctic Fox 32 5S Fifth Wheel-for sale now that we are not full-timing
2011 Keystone 23rks Hideout to poke around the smaller parks in the great Southwest
2007 Chevy Silverado 2500 HD Diesel
Prodigy brake control
Here is a site that speaks to electrical demand of computers, laptops, and such.
If you need screen real estate, maybe an LCD/LED TV would be the more efficient way to go rather than having multiple screens. To run a rather efficient computer system and the TV screen, you could add in a small Sine Wave inverter, maybe as small as 300w.. I would probably opt for a laptop and a TV, along with a bit larger inverter. That way I might be able to power some other things like an AC fridge, stereo system, or other.
belairbrian wrote: P=IxE. Where power is P, current is I, and vltage is E so that unit will draw 5.45 amps plus the monitor. My suggestion if you want to run on DC would be laptops as car adapters are easier to find.
You can compute the draw in amps of all components and see how long a battery(ies) will support before needing a recharge.
Alternatively, a generator is an option.
sorry, but for AC circuits P does not always equal IxE. That formula only works on pure resistive circuits. Things like your toaster, incandcent lights.
Many things, including PC power supplies can draw more current than calculated from the simple P=IxE formula.
That's because switching power supplies, microwaves, motors etc. have inductive and capacitive components to the load. Having measured the PF (power factor) for a variety of common loads in a trailer, figure the current draw will be 10-35% higher than calculated based on power. A pure resistive load has a PF=1. PF of .75 are not uncommon. What that means is your current draw will be 30% higher than calcuated from the resistive power formula. And thus you may need a bigger generator or inverter to supply the current for your loads. and things like computer power supplies and the converters (chargers) in RV's are known for very poor poor power factors, since they don't want to spend the money for what is known as power factor correction.
And we could introduce all the other factors in the world as well. Line loss due to cord length and gauge, transfer efficiency of the connections, Should I go on?
Not teaching an electronics lesson, instead just providing a simple formula which is MORE than adequate to do an estimate, which is what the OP wanted.
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