# dry camping with Tailgater/power consumption



## azbohunter (Dec 20, 2012)

I am a new subscriber to this site and this is my first post. I hope I have posted in the right area to get an answer or at least an idea to the following question. Also want to say I am impressed with the amount of information here!
_We do a fair amount of dry camping (at least 6 weeks per year) I have a 400 watt inverter, will that power a small LCD TV and the receiver and Tailgater for __________What kind of time?? I have two 6 volt golf cart batteries that are nearly new. Just looking for a best guess and not expecting anything cast in stone. We run a generator for an hour or two as needed daily._
Thanks for any replys.


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## tampa8 (Mar 30, 2002)

I would say no or too close.

http://www.all-battery.com/powerchart.aspx

I am not as familiar with inverters, but they should actually be better suited than some generators for electronics, much less likely to damage them. (Generators for electronics actually do make use of inverting)


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## CeeWoo (Dec 1, 2008)

Don't know how much electricity your tv uses, so here's my experience with RVing & Dish

We have a 19" Dynex DX-19L200 LCD TV (rated @ 29w--it took some searching to find one that efficient) and use a 211k and a Dish500. Everything connected to a std 12v deep cycle battery (you may do better with your dual 6v batteries). I have a 150w inverter and normally get anywhere from 6 to 8 hrs viewing between battery charges (depends on how well I get the btry charged)

BTW-I carry the battery separate from my onboard systems and use it only to power the tv & dish receiver. I also carry a small generator and when the btry needs charging will connect the geny to the trailer and will connect the battery direct to the generator with the 12v charging cable that came with it.

I can often go 2 to 3 days between needing to run the generator with this setup (and we dry camp a lot).

edit-just occurred to me to add--when not watching tv, I completely power off the system (from my experience the receiver appears to consume about the same amount of electricity in standby mode as it does when watching tv). This means that when I power back up I have to go thru the 'acquiring signal' and download schedule processes. A PITA, but it extends the length of time between charge ups


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## azbohunter (Dec 20, 2012)

Thanks for the responses. I have a little more information now than before, my tv is a 19"Toshiba w/built in DVD player, it draws 38 watts. Reading on the Dish site somewhere I found that the 211K draws 22 watts in standby and 24 watts when being used for a total of 58 or 60 watts. I also hard wired the inverter into the battery with 12 gauge awg wire. With the 400 watt inverter it should not be working very hard.

Found this in the inverter manual.

_Calculate the total watt-hours of energy consumption
(power x operating time) using the average power
consumption and the total estimated running time
(in hours). Power x Operating Time = Watt-Hours.
4. Divide the watt-hours by 10 to determine how many
power supply's (12 volt) ampere-hours will be consumed._

So if combined the TV, 211K and Inverter draw 60 watts, divided by 10=6 amp hours per hour of use. If that is the case and my two batteries provide 240 minute amp hours at 25 amps I think I should be able to run for several hours without running out of power. 
The inverter will shut down when battery reaches 9.5 volts. 
If I am on the wrong track someone please correct me. I know the simplest thing would be to turn it on and let it go and see what happens. Actually I ordered the package and it won't be in my hands till Dec. 27th and we leave on the 30th for two plus weeks of dry camping in southern Arizona. That is why I am trying to problem solve in advance! 
Thanks again..


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

Does the Tailgater turn off its aiming system once it has peaked??? I can see that taking a few extra watts (versus a fixed dish) if it doesn't.


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