Living On Battery power
Your Hampton Safari will probably have as a minimum, a typical two battery set up, i.e a starter battery (high drain/low usage) used mainly for starting the engine and essential items e.g a bilge pump and a second leisure battery (steady drain) which powers appliances such as interior lighting, fridge, 12v TV, radio, 12v phone charges etc.
You may also have access to other forms of power such as solar panels (used to recharge your batteries while moored), access to 240V shore power via an electricity post while moored, or an Inverter which can be permanently or temporarily connected and used to convert 12/24V DC to 240V AC enabling certain mains appliances to run from a battery for short periods.
If you are restricted to the typical 2 battery installation then it is important to manage and conserve your usable battery charge especially on longer outings (e.g 5-7 days) with short (1-2 hours) trips between consecutive moorings, especially in the shorter autumn/spring days.
It is important to ensure that you do not discharge your batteries below 50% charge as this can damage the cells significantly reducing the life of your (expensive) leisure batteries.
This chart helps you assess and monitor the state of charge based on a relatively simple "across the terminals" measurement (with neutral terminal connections disconnected to isolate the battery) using a multi-meter.
Reducing The Battery Load
£0 Cost ways of reducing battery load & conserving capacity:
1: Switching off excess lighting when not actually needed, especially if using halogen lighting.
2: Switching off the fridge overnight (with the door kept closed, it will not significantly lose it's cold temperature but do check effect on the freezer compartment if you have one!).
3: Try not to run Mains appliances from temporary invertors (e.g especially those run from a car style plug adaptor) e.g to run a small 240V TV for long periods. (These can be dangerous if the 12v socket wiring is not appropriately fused or the proper gauge for the extra load). Inverters themselves, consume significant power over and above the appliance being run, especially if converting from 12V DC to 240V(AC Invertor) to 240V(AC Power Supply) to 12V DC (Appliance e.g TV)
4: Check battery selector switch to ensure that you are not draining both leisure and starter batteries at the same time (see the tip on the battery switch). It is better to switch in one battery in at a time (charge both, drain 1 at a time) and remember that batteries connected in parallel can drain into each other and flatten both!
5: If you have access to shore power, use it while you have it. (You could also charge your batteries using a charger at the same time - some boats have a permanently wired charger that switches in when shore power is connected and trickle/float charges the leisure batteries).
6: Plan your longer trips to move between moorings on a daily basis and with at least 2-3 hours travel in between, allowing the alternator to fully recharge your batteries (see the tip on the battery switch).
Conserving and Extending Capacity
Lower Cost Options
Replace Halogen Lamps with LED's.
1: LED Replacement Bulbs/Lamps: 1.2W LED lamps are a straight 1:1 replacement for the usual 15-20W individual Halogen lamps contained in the recessed ceiling lights common in many Safaris.
No extra components are required. A set of LEDs will cost around £12.00 and will probably replace all ceiling lights in most Safari's.
2: Replace 12v halogen strip lights with adjustable/variable LED strip lights. 1 strip light consumes less than several individual halogen or LED lamps. Remember with any non adjustable LED replacements WARM WHITE is the best option in a relatively small Safari cabin.
Higher Cost Options:
3: Use a portable folding Solar panel and controller temporarily connected to your batteries while out cruising on longer trips. This will be powerful enough to keep your leisure batteries charged while running your fridge, TV etc. We used a set up similar to that shown in the link for several years, with semi permanent wiring to enable the controller/battery wiring to stay in place, and the panel to be spread on the canopy roof (using bungees) and connected while out on extended trips. (Note: This was not used, or intended as, a permanent installation while on home moorings, or over winter).
4: Consider installing a second leisure battery. Ideally both leisure batteries would be connected to the load with their neutral lines individually switched such that only one battery is discharged/recharged at a time. (See diagram ignoring Solar panel connections)
Running 12v batteries permanently connected in parallel is not recommended as 1 battery can drain into the other, causing them both to drain/discharge unexpectedly.
5: Install a permanent Solar panel and solar controller (see "Installing A Solar Panel"). This can be sized according to your expected usage profile and needs for a cost effective installation.
6: For full "Bells and Whistles" you could adopt a split charge, solar panel/alternator charge control unit with a 12/24V battery bank installation sized for inverter use (e.g. availability of 24V supply for greater efficiency) with suitable split charge Alternator/Solar capabilities. (See articles in our Technical References pages for more information)