Connecting TV and lift.

[1SGPETE]

I thought I had posted this subject just the other day but have not seen it come up on the forum so I will try again.
I want to connect my TV and a power lift to my internal batteries.
I currently have two batteries for the coach part of my class C Greyhawk.
I am redoing the interior of the unit by removing the fold out couch and the breakfast settee. As a side note, I have already removed the valances that went around the windows. (ugly).
I am going to install two recliners with a center storage and a tray with cup holders where the settee came out and build a cabinet to house the TV with a power lift where the couch came out.
The small corner TV that came originally with the unit requires the generator to be running to use it. I want to get away from that for boon docking.

My question is .. can I run several batteries in a row to produce power to last long enough to run my TV, with out outside power such as a hook up or the generator. I understand that having two batteries does not give me more power simply the power will last longer.

Thanks for the help.

1SG Pete

[oldmanAZ]

Without more details from you, no one would be able to give an accurate estimate. It becomes a 'Begin with the end in mind' issue:

- How long to you want to boon dock (one night -or- all day and over night -or- many days & nights) before running your generator or connecting to outside power?
- How much power does the TV (and any other electric/electronic devices, inverter, laptop, disk player, etc. ) use?
- Will you also need to run your furnace or ventilation fans while boon docking?
- What is a 'power lift', how much power does it use and how often do you run it when boon docking?

Batteries can be connected in parallel to increase the capacity (amp hours) or connected in series to increase the voltage (in RVs usually two 6 volt batteries for 12 volts).

Your question: "can you run several batteries to watch your TV"? Yes, but it's uncertain how many batteries and how long you'll be able to watch.

There are some '12v gurus' on this site (I'm not one of them) that should be able to help if they have more info on your plans.

[JFlightRisk]

Does your TV work off 12 volts? If not, it won't work off batteries. A generator puts out 110 volts only.

[katiedog]

A modern LED TV draws very little power, but there not that many 12 volt
TVs out there.
I used an Inverter, 200 watt with a 32 inch 120 Volt TV with 2 #27
batteries for several days without throwing an alarm in the Inverter.
I had all interiors lights converted to LEDs also.
Our new coach has a 1000 watt inverter does not seem as efficient.
so we need to run generator after 20-24 hours

[JimD]

I boondock a lot and now have a 2017 Greyhawk. I did add a second 12 volt battery but wish I had gone the dual 6 volt route. Added 2 100 watt solar panels to help keep the batteries up to charge during the day.

I monitor my battery with a volt and current meter I have mounted inside so I know the exact state of battery charge at all times. I feel this is a must! The solar helps mostly unless we are watching TV all day using the inverter to power it and the Direct TV or DVD input. Also sometimes plug a tower fan into the inverter outlet to cool my wife.

My 4k generator would typically be used to run air conditioning or microwave when needed. If the batteries showed much of a drop come evening, I would use the generator to top off the battery charge. The generator started to get more hours on it than I wanted so I purchased a small Ryobi 2k generator to keep the batteries charged (when needed) or run the TV at night. This little generator was the best purchase I ever made.

It is fairly quiet and is very thrifty on gas. I can shut it off with a phone app when I am done with it.

All that being said, no matter how many batteries you have they will run down and need to be charged. The farther you take them down the worse it is for the batteries. You should have some sort of ongoing charging if you can. I would NOT use a vehicle's charging system to charge house batteries. Big waste to have a big block running just to turn an alternator.

Solar is good provided you have enough capacity to keep up with demand. Only drawback is you need good sunny days.

An inverter indeed does suck the juice from the batteries. I watch my amp gauge and can see the TV and accessories easily pulling 7-10 amps. The battery voltage will gradually decrease from say 12.6 to 12.0 and can go lower. When I see it getting low I simply fire up the little generator and it will bring it back up to a power level I am comfortable with.

[Bullitt6283]

When the front 40" television quit working, I replaced it with one which runs directly from 12 volts. I still use the inverter to run the Dish converter.

I replaced the single 12 volt battery with two 6 volt 300Ah AGM batteries. It was the best thing I have done. I only run the generator a bit in the evenings. I don't have any solar, yet.
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