Electrical Electrical hook up

[bigcol]

you do have a valid point @Dean Anderson

I'm more worried about the extra (excess) weight required to gain what you want
extra panels, extra batteries

I have little or no faith in folding portable solar panels,
as they are cheaply made, hence rolling them up all the time is a bit like rolling an electric blanket
the wiring will break - maybe now - maybe next week - maybe in 2 yrs - but it will

so that leaves solid mountable ones, yes you can get movable ones,
but I'm not interested in following the sun around to get "some" charge, when I could be sitting on my fat clackker talking to people
and as you say, you dont want to park in the full sun just to charge up

my thoughts have been, and will stay with a wind turbine type - if I want or require more 12v
or
a genny

but as in all topic's - its only my $0.02 worth

 

[bigcol]

oh, I carry an 18v chainsaw too

 

[Dobbie]

Hey @bigcol ...I've still got portable panels that are over 10 yrs old....used for shed power, and left out in the open all the time as I'm too lousy to throw them out.

and I have loads of fun testing stuff like Anderson plugs etc with them. They keep a charge up to the multiple battery powered things we use ...ride on mower, sprayers ....etc.

They're solid and still work really well but the newer ones are more efficient.

My impression of the 150w panel supplied by Jayco is that it's really efficient....and the one on the new Golf seems to be as well. I suspect it's as much to do with the correct match of charge and battery quality that helps.

We've now done 16 days free camping, three days of rain so no sun, and haven't had to supplement the on board solar once. Batteries are currently (pun intended) at 13.6.

but we don't watch much tv and still keep multiple toys like iPads, ereaders, phones, camera, etc charged up all day.

and I thought @bigcol was yet to try out a solar setup.

You cynic!

 

[bigcol]

I have the standard 250 /280w from Jayco fitted from new
cannot remember the exact amount, but got them to upgrade it - 2 big panels on the roof

we have not done any free camping in this setup at all (4 years in July) however the previous Flamingo (5 yrs) and even earlier "Dove" (10yrs) were 80% free / 20% van parks
but the Dove did not have solar or batteries - gas Tilly lamps and open fires

Solar is not a subject I have kept up with, with regards to best / good / crap
the folding portable panels I was talking about @Dobbie are these





I was offered some of these once, but stupid me declined

 

[mikerezny]

Do not worry about the amount of power the overhead lights use. They are all LEDs and I am sure you do not have all three on at once. We usually only need one most times and another one when washing up. The one over the bed is seldom used as we use the LED strip light!! Let me know what you think.

Hi @Boots in Action,
we found the interior lights were mostly too bright. Although they are LEDs, they each draw 0.81A on white and 0.06A on blue. The outside LED draws 0.64A. The fridge fan draws 0.1A.

Here is my reasoning behind installing the dimmer unit:

I wanted to be able to last at least a week, during winter, without any sun from the GEL 100Ah battery and not go below 80% SOC. That gives me 20Ah to use over a week.

The fan is not always on, so assuming 20 hours per day at 0.1A = 2Ah per day, 14Ah per week.

I have 6Ah, or approx 1Ah per day left for lighting. If I use full brightness, that gives me only 75 minutes per day using only one light.
That isn't enough, and given its mostly too bright anyway, I put in a dimmer unit. At 50% we would get about 2.5 hours and at 25% we would get about 5 hours. From the past 3 months, 50% is plenty to read and play cards. 25% is plenty for eating, drinking, chatting, washing, etc. Hardly ever use 100%. We never use more than one light. I would think we would easily get 4 hours per night and stay within the budget. 4 hours will be more than enough even in winter.

This is probably conservative, since if it is winter and always overcast, the fridge will be on a lower duty cycle, so the fan shouldn't be on as much.

Our fallback is a neat little LED clip light used for music stands that has two arms, each with 4 LEDs, and runs off 3 AAA cells. We sit it on the table near the bed and there is plenty of light to read by.

The clip light suffices, but I think the LED strip idea is a much better idea. In our model, the battery and Setec is right under the bed so it should be easy and neat to fit the LED strip as you suggested and mount a switch on the side of the cupboard. There is a 12V feed already going through the cupboard to the stove ignition.

The other unexpected bonus with the wireless remote is that we can control the lights from anywhere in the van: at the table or in bed.

best wishes
Mike

 

[dagree]

oh I have one alright, just not printable in mixed company eh @dagree

:encouragement::encouragement::encouragement::encouragement: Is all I've got eep:

 

[Drover]

Just a slight departure I hate camp fires, dirty , smoky, sparky things, so don't need a chain saw, after years of having to cut wood, I certainly don't want the damn things near me when I'm relaxing............

Saw a bloke at one camp had his tug's roof full of panels and it was parked in the sun, van in the shade plugged in.........did get me thinking, would have to mount some panels on top of kayaks though.

 

[Dobbie]

I have the standard 250 /280w from Jayco fitted from new
cannot remember the exact amount, but got them to upgrade it - 2 big panels on the roof

we have not done any free camping in this setup at all (4 years in July) however the previous Flamingo (5 yrs) and even earlier "Dove" (10yrs) were 80% free / 20% van parks
but the Dove did not have solar or batteries - gas Tilly lamps and open fires

Solar is not a subject I have kept up with, with regards to best / good / crap
the folding portable panels I was talking about @Dobbie are these

View attachment 48373

View attachment 48372

I was offered some of these once, but stupid me declined

View attachment 48374

Ahhhh...now I understand.

 

[Dean Anderson]

Gotta luv a good fire....
No better way to cook, luv my camp oven and grill......Luving my stainless WOK on the coals as well........No better way to cook a few redclaw in ginger and hot chillie sauce...Luv my 36V chainsaw......and luv my smoke blowing towards the guy with a generator

 

[Dean Anderson]

In the heat we have 4 Sirocco fans running (one per person at night.....4x0.4Ax10Hrs=16A/Hrs.....Restock a fridge with 12 litres of fluid at 33 celcius and want it down to 4 degrees the next day...The batteries are hit hard if your relying on one 100A/Hr battery... my setup works for my families present usage and my van batteries are over 4 years old.. Hopefully whoever buys my van will get a few more years out of them because they have been looked after.

 

[Boots in Action]

Hi @Boots in Action,
we found the interior lights were mostly too bright. Although they are LEDs, they each draw 0.81A on white and 0.06A on blue. The outside LED draws 0.64A. The fridge fan draws 0.1A.

Here is my reasoning behind installing the dimmer unit:

I wanted to be able to last at least a week, during winter, without any sun from the GEL 100Ah battery and not go below 80% SOC. That gives me 20Ah to use over a week.

The fan is not always on, so assuming 20 hours per day at 0.1A = 2Ah per day, 14Ah per week.

I have 6Ah, or approx 1Ah per day left for lighting. If I use full brightness, that gives me only 90 minutes per day using only one light.
That isn't enough, and given its mostly too bright anyway, I put in a dimmer unit. At 50% we would get about 3 hours and at 25% we would get about 6 hours. From the past 3 months, 50% is plenty to read and play cards. 25% is plenty for eating, drinking, chatting, washing, etc. Hardly ever use 100%. We never use more than one light. I would think we would easily get 4 hours per night and stay within the budget. 4 hours will be more than enough even in winter.

This is probably conservative, since if it is winter and always overcast, the fridge will be on a lower duty cycle, so the fan shouldn't be on as much.

Our fallback is a neat little LED clip light used for music stands that has two arms, each with 4 LEDs, and runs off 3 AAA cells. We sit it on the table near the bed and there is plenty of light to read by.

The clip light suffices, but I think the LED strip idea is a much better idea. In our model, the battery and Setec is right under the bed so it should be easy and neat to fit the LED strip as you suggested and mount a switch on the side of the cupboard. There is a 12V feed already going through the cupboard to the stove ignition.

The other unexpected bonus with the wireless remote is that we can control the lights from anywhere in the van: at the table or in bed.

best wishes
Mike

Hi Mike, I can understand your reluctance to use that much power, but your Gel battery can easily go below 80% DOC and not affect battery life one iota, PROVIDED YOU CHARGE IT UP AGAIN WITHOUT DELAY!! You could take out up to 40% if you had to without a worry. They are built to do just that if necessary. Up here in sunny (sometimes) Queensland, it is easy to charge the battery up with solar panels as we have to in the parks. You NEVER leave a discharged or partially discharged battery sit around in that condition.
Noted your idea to fit LED strip lighting and switch. A couple of warnings and suggestions for you:
1. If you mount the switch on the side of the cupboard beside the bed and within easy reach, you may/will have trouble lifting up the bed to make it or get into the area underneath. (not enough clearance for bed to miss switch). Fit the switch high on the wall behind your bed. Ours is about the same level as the fridge top . Will take photo tomorrow and have a go at attaching same to new thread.
2. Don't load up another circuit when you have plenty of spare circuits (which are fused too) in your Setec. You have 8 load outputs available. We have the internal lights on one, the external light and outside dbl 12 volt outlets on another, the radio on another, the water pump on another etc, each fused with the appropriate rated fuse. Just run your wire from one of the fuse points if you have to. Male spade connections on Setec will need insulated FEMALE connectors. We used the plug in 12 volt outlet for the ceiling lights and just plugged in a double outlet cigarette lighter fitting. Saved a lot of hassle with extra wiring. Maybe your outlet for your ceiling light connection is different to ours or in a different position.
Hope this helps you.

 

[mikerezny]

Hi Mike, I can understand your reluctance to use that much power, but your Gel battery can easily go below 80% DOC and not affect battery life one iota, PROVIDED YOU CHARGE IT UP AGAIN WITHOUT DELAY!! You could take out up to 40% if you had to without a worry. They are built to do just that if necessary. Up here in sunny (sometimes) Queensland, it is easy to charge the battery up with solar panels as we have to in the parks. You NEVER leave a discharged or partially discharged battery sit around in that condition.
Noted your idea to fit LED strip lighting and switch. A couple of warnings and suggestions for you:
1. If you mount the switch on the side of the cupboard beside the bed and within easy reach, you may/will have trouble lifting up the bed to make it or get into the area underneath. (not enough clearance for bed to miss switch). Fit the switch high on the wall behind your bed. Ours is about the same level as the fridge top . Will take photo tomorrow and have a go at attaching same to new thread.
2. Don't load up another circuit when you have plenty of spare circuits (which are fused too) in your Setec. You have 8 load outputs available. We have the internal lights on one, the external light and outside dbl 12 volt outlets on another, the radio on another, the water pump on another etc, each fused with the appropriate rated fuse. Just run your wire from one of the fuse points if you have to. Male spade connections on Setec will need insulated FEMALE connectors. We used the plug in 12 volt outlet for the ceiling lights and just plugged in a double outlet cigarette lighter fitting. Saved a lot of hassle with extra wiring. Maybe your outlet for your ceiling light connection is different to ours or in a different position.
Hope this helps you.

Hi @Boots in Action,
thanks for the detailed information.

The ceiling plug is at the other end of the van to the bed, so that won't be suitable.
There is a power point on the cupboard, so I was intending to make sure the light switch protrudes no further than the power point.
The van is all covered up, so I will have a closer look when I next open it.

cheers
Mike

 

[Drover]

I wouldn't stuff around with a dimmer unit just replace the led lights with something a little less bright and as for the 100ah battery lasting that long I really can't see it happening, no matter what the calculator says. If it's that miserable and cloudy that your getting no charge with the panels I would be leaving, what about the water pump ??

 

[Dobbie]

One easy option to add extra power ...on occasions when you think you'll need it...and not worry about a permanent heavy expensive installation is a portable battery pack.

Ark is a good one. Ours is /was a Projecta which we bought about 10 years ago. Cost was around the $300 mark then but it's all still going well, including the battery. It's done lots of work in that 10 years.

We used it to give us a few more options with the swan and it provided multiple lighting, phone charging etc and we kept it charged with a smaller 40w solar panel. It has an Anderson for the charging and for the compressor, and a merit and 12v cigar socket. Totally separate and independent of the onboard system but gives peace of mind.

When we didn't think we'd need it, it stayed at home and it travelled easily in the back of the car. We also hooked it up to an Engel in those days and to the car charging system while on the move.

Just throwing it in as an easy option. Life is meant to be simple!

 

[Drover]

The Ute being a tray back has the aux battery underneath, panels on roof so the extra power is always there..................................can pull out the Little Red Power Station (RPS) if really needed ............................actually only use the RPS when no one is around as I don't like people annoying me with their music/gennie/yapping dogs/smoke so apply the same rules to self, unless you really annoy me, then the gloves are off....................

 

[Boots in Action]

Hi Mike, had a few further thoughts about your power consumption and fitting LED strip lighting as a

bed light in your Penguin. Although your 2016 model has a different lay out to ours, the electrics and the molding at the top of the bed and right around the inside edge of the van is the same. I have managed to take a couple of shots of how I have done it. The adhesive backed LED strip fits neatly in the smaller section of molding below the wider top section. That way it is slightly recessed and well clear of any possibilities of getting caught up on something/someone! See attach 1. As I said before, I attached the switch above the bedhead so that there is no chance of the bed fouling it or anything else for that matter. See attach 2.
As for your lighting, I discovered on EBay where you can obtain a set of LED lights (3 in fact) for just $20.00 . They have 15 white light LEDs in each and draw only 100 milli amps at 12.5 volts. They are made to fit Jayco plug in T10 connections which our later vans have. Just remove old light component and plug in new one of whatever light strength you want. You can even get "warm white" for when you want to cuddle up in subdued light!! A place at Bellbird Park here in Brisbane makes them, a boon for anyone wanting to upgrade to LED lights and pretty cheap too. A bit more useless info for those wanting to hear the latest. Hope is is useful to you.

Happy camping.

 

[Boots in Action]

Hi @Boots in Action,
thanks for the detailed information.

The ceiling plug is at the other end of the van to the bed, so that won't be suitable.
There is a power point on the cupboard, so I was intending to make sure the light switch protrudes no further than the power point.
The van is all covered up, so I will have a closer look when I next open it.

cheers
Mike

 

[Boots in Action]

Hi Mike, I think i have sent a thread to someone else and not to the right reply person. Hope you can get it on the forum threads. I am going to have another go at sending the pictures - at least you will get something initially.

Ha, ha never get kicked out for trying, just poke along there's all sorts of things hidden away, I find using a laptop or desktop is way better than bluddy touch screens, they drive me nuts, almost as much as @Dobbie , he is always wandering off topic and takes us serious forumites like myself and @bigcol ages to get him back on topic.............................whats the topic ???????
If you want to use naughty words just spell them slightly incorrect then the IT censor wont spot them.


Oh and watch out for @mikerezny he will pick up on the most inocuious post and stir things up.

never be afraid to ask any question @Boots in Action
and never be afraid of the thread meanderings of some, sometimes they are far more informative (or entertaining) that the original post

the motto of this forum should be :-
"We Aim to please
but miss frequently"

also, yes, be aware of that @mikerezny he has been known to remind (@Drover ) of something he has typed...........

OH GREAT DROVER, I have done it again!!! If I keep this up I WILL get kicked out or worse (better) still achieve a reputation that might rival your coveted throne!! Cheers

 

[Drover]

On my old 14 footer thread I have details how I fitted LED's to the cupboards and a strip on the outside, I buy a 5m roll or 2 on Ebay for about $10 a roll, and just chop off the length I need, solder on some wires, a bit of heat shrink and silastic and stick it to the wall, power drain is negligible.....I know from the fact the one in my boot was left on...........for the ones in the cupboards I just used speaker cable, it was light, flexible and I had about 600mts of it....................

http://expandasdownunder.com/threads/drovers-14-44-3.4502/

 

[mikerezny]

Hi,
thanks for all the tips. Can @Drover or @Boots in Action tell me what type of LED strip they used?
Also, did you use waterproof on non-waterproof strips.

If you have the links to where on ebay you bought it, that would be most helpful.

best wishes
Mike