Electrics, fridges

[surfingyogini]

We're planning on restoring the interior and replacing some interior wall panels in the coming weeks and thought that that would be the ideal opportunity to check the wiring in Constance (we have a leccy friend who'll work for beer which is handy ) So, I'm looking for advice on fridges. We've got a bar fridge in at the moment that is 240v but we're more likely to travel to places that don't have 240v... What is the best plan here? Inverter with deep cycle battery? 3 way fridge? I read about somehow charging a battery while driving? Ideas and help please! ;D

[Cruz]

Hi,
I will watch this thread with interest as i am about to start a rebuild. I am thinking battery and inverter.
Cruz

[JBJ]

Hi,

If you look towards the end of my thread on restoring "Lucille", I documented about an Inverter working the 240 volt fridge & microwave.

You need to look thru some of the older restoration threads. Theres heap[s of info there, you just have to look for it.

JBJ

[surfingyogini]

Hi JBJ, I read there that you charged your deep volt battery while driving... Can you tell me how?

[cruisindoug]

Hi JBJ
I read that thread but I couldn't see any other threads saying wether you had any problems with running both fridge and microwave together??
Cheers
Doug

[JBJ]

Hi.


You have to get an auto electrician to wire your car, & fit an Anderson Plug near your towbar. You also have to get your van wired with an Anderson Plug at the towhitch, wired thru & connected to your battery. Not a job for the average person, so get an auto electrician.

The proper batteries are called "Deep Cycle" meaning they have the ability to be almost completely discharged, then recharged, without the damage a normal storage ( car type) battery would suffer if subjected to that on a regular basis

Also the ability of the inverter to operate is limited by its size.

I have a 2400 watt inverter, which is fairly big.
It WONT operate an electric jug, or Toaster, they require too much current for the inverter to produce. I doubt that it would run a frig & MWO at the same time, but I have had no need to try it. It will run either, as well as battery chargers for phones, computers, etc.

It will successfully run a bar fridge for a while, but again I dont know how long because I havent run it long enough to flatten the battery.

Keep in mind, if you buy cheapo crap it will work badly. To get good results you need good fittings, heavy enough wiring, & good quality components, all put together properly. Dont cut corners or you will regret it. Theres a couple of tricky bits to connect the inverter into my 240 volt wiring, to work the power circuit. I'll leave them to your electrician & you to sort out, as what I did is probably not kosher.

Keep in mind what I did works for me. You should always use a licenced electrician for advice & installation.

JBJ

[empyrean]

Hi all,

When I am not staring at this forum I design and install solar power systems for a living and am always happy to throw in my 2 bobs worth! We tend to do house size systems but have done a few mobile jobs over the years.

Re electric fridges - your usual 2 & 3 way caravan jobs are usually very inefficient (being absorption types they use heat to get cold) and will eat up the typical small deep cycle battery pretty quickly. Much better are your 12V compressor types (Engel/Waeco) but they tend to be a bit more costly - as usual you get what you pay for.

A good auto elec (or 4WD establishment - Some sparkies are great at 240V but not too hot on 12 & 24V stuff) should be able to set up charging the second battery - as previously mentioned you will need a solenoid, correct cable, plugs etc. The idea being the vehicle battery gets charged first and then the second battery gets ago. After that you have a battery charger/genset set up to keep things going. The Honda EU10 is a fantastic little genset that will run a good quality 40 amp charger. Stick to Honda or Yamaha gensets (of the silenced type).

Then you can jump for some solar panels and a regulator. We have done a couple where they are kept in the van and pulled out when you are stopped for a while and can be put away for security etc.

The important thing is to get good stuff. Cheap is only cheap the first time you buy it.

I am happy to answer any particular questions if anybody has any.

Cheers

[surfingyogini]

This may seem a silly question, but if I get a deep cycle battery and inverter to run the electrics in the van on 240v (and I'm only thinking fridge, lights and to charge my lappy), is it possible to switch to mains somehow when we are near a power source and not use the battery at all?

[Koala]

A simple and safe way to charge a second 12V battery is to fit a Redarc switch. You can leave the car electrics as original as the Redarc works automatically to give priority to charge the car battery first then switches to charge the second battery. Unless you need to use the second battery as a backup starting battery you don't need to run very heavy cables to the second battery (There is a extra manual press button circuit to be added if you wish to do this). When connected correctly the Redarc will protect your main car battery from discharge.
These switches often come up on ebay with other brand names available as well.
This article makes very good reading, it is American and refers to 110volts rather than our 240 volts but the info is still good. www.marxrv.com/12volt/12volt.htm

redarc.com.au/products-and-services/sbi-series-dual-battery-isolator

Koala

[surfingyogini]

Ok, so we'll probably lean toward getting the whole van wired to 240v with a deep cycle battery and inverter and some sort of switch to go onto mains when near it... is it possible to use some sort of solar setup to charge the battery?

[DC3Td]

Hi Surfing Yogi. Check Koalas` reply above re RedArc. Very informative. cheers gordon

[surfingyogini]

Ah yes, I did read that but my brain skipped over it thinking "but I'll be on 240v not 12" totally forgetting that that was what the inverter was for... At least I can lift heavy things! ;D ;d ;d
Liz

[DC3Td]

Good on you Liz. Just remind me to duck if ever you start chucking heavy things. cheers gordon

[surfingyogini]

Will do Gordon! ;D ;D ;D

Got yet another question though... 3 of the 5 internal lights are currently hooked up to the 12v battery (the others are 240)... Can I just get the leccy to rewire the whole van 240? Will these old lights work with 240 running through them? I like the idea of just having everything the same! Help!