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condor22

Mike
Joined
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Location
Adelaide, SA
Add to my previous post, a few of my experiences shared if interested...........

Slight mod to my van electrics. I had the fuse block in the centre of the diagram wired directly to the battery.
FYI - the transformer is also the fused distribution point for all van OEM 12VDC.

I noted on my last trip that the way I had it wired, the battery was always under load when the heater was on or the USB sockets to charge phones/wireless and the SP01.

Due to this the 240VAC charger from generator or the solar regulator never got out of the Absorption stage.

It's now wired to the transformer, so all electrical load is through that device and the battery is able to be fully isolated.

I'll also explain the mod I did to the Vehicle 12VDC input, the 3 way fridge and how the BCDC1220 fits, in the next post.

1568214763_van_elec.jpg
 
This may be of more interest to those with 3 Way Fridge in their van or camper.......

Vehicle power Mod.

For the OEM wiring, the Fridge was wired to the Transformer FRIDGE Terms and the Anderson to the terms marked CAR.
What this did was distribute vehicle 12VDC to the 3 way fridge and, at the same time, 12V charging to the van battery.
As such, I noted only 11.9V at the Fridge when CAR was running. (FRIDGE on.) The fridge wasn't holding temp when driving.
So it was obvious at this point that 11.9V was a bit iffy. Switching the BAT to off made little difference as the charging side of the transformer was still sucking power.

So I disconnected the CAR and FRIDGE wires from the Transformer, put an Anderson plug on each and joined them, cuttting out the transformer. The voltage at the fridge is now 12.9V and it holds temp great. With the solar on when driving the van battery gets charged anyway.

At this point I'll add that I no longer use the BCDC1220 in the van for the same reason, it takes too much voltage away from the fridge. However there was a scenario that saw it usable so I put an Anderson on its input wires as well. Why?

Well some places don't allow a generator to be used i.e. Most National Parks and some private camps. If for some reason my solar charging source fails, I can unplug the fridge from the car and plug the BCDC to the car, idle the engine and charge the van battery So far it's not been needed, but if I need it, I have a backup charging capability.

The ridiculous aspect of this; There's no rule in a National Park re idling a vehicle and I think my diesel 4x4 makes more noise than the Honda, notwithstanding the diesel heater when first turned. :)

Take from this as you will, lol.
 
True about the direct path to the 3 way fridge.
Direct from vehicle battery through a heavy duty multi pin Brylaw
plug/socket. Fused with a 100 amp fuse.
Fridge is fed directly and the only thing on the
same circuit is a buck boost for the rear wireless camera's.

Battery is charged via solar when driving.

1 have at or about 12.8v at the fridge element.

When the Van is plugged into 240, The Vans battery is charged via
a small transformer battery charger and solar.

I have a 3000/6000 inverter that is only turned on when I need 240v
for the nuke and what ever.
 
Our van came with an auto changeover switch between Solar, 240V & 12V. The ute was wired and fitted with the rectangular type plug.
When we towed the caravan on a long haul and the fridge was running on 12v (draws approx 14amps) we noticed a slow drop off on fridge temp. (Wireless thermometer in cab)
I fitted an auxiliary battery activated via solenoid when ignition on.
Fitted a third deepcycle again isolated with a solenoid when ignition off. This battery runs the fridges on ute and was wired to the towing plug.
Long hauls the caravan fridge still warmed. (Van has two 110AH deepcycle.)
Next step ran two light duty welding cables from the deep cycle through a 100 amp fuse to an Anderson plug on tow bar. Same type of cables through to van batteries. (Again through another 100 amp fuse)
Now hook up the van connect both plugs and drive the thousand K's to our camp and the fridge remains at constant 2C
As soon as we stop for any extended time plugs are disconnected, van swaps to solar and we run fridge on gas.
Problem solved.
 
Thanks guys, proves my point that we all have different setups, but with similar issues and again differing ways to fix them.

BTW Nightjar, my Aux is similar setup - I have a 70A continuous Solenoid under the hood, IGN controlled. It has 2 + wires going to a H/D fuse each. One feeds the Anderson on the bumper to the van fridge. The other goes into the rear to a BCDC1220 to charge the Auxiliary Battery. Because it is much closer to the Solenoid, its power draw does not seem to affect the van fridge.

I am however going to put solar on the roof rack (noted in another thread). As I noted, my Engel in summer is going most of the time and draws 3 amps out of a 100AH Aux.
Which in my present setup means I have to drive daily and for some distance to keep it charged. I usually do drive daily, but not enough distance to do the job.

At the moment, I leave the Engel off around town unless I need it. Then when prospecting, mainly in winter, I constantly need to monitor the battery SOC. The Redarc is not the solar variety, so I need to look at auto switching the new solar.

I'm looking at connecting the solar controller output to a normally closed (NC) relay. Relay actuating will be fed by the Redarc input +. So when the engine is off the relay is NC and solar is going in. When the engine is on, the relay opens, disconnects the solar and the Redarc is charging. As the panel will be no bigger than 100W a 10 Amp controller will suffice.

If any have other options of doing this, without buying another DC-DC charger please post, the budget is as strained as SWMBO's "haven't you spent enough already" :)
BTW The panel I'm looking at is this one https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Renogy-...er-RV-Camper/293168598729?hash=item444235cec9 so has anyone bought one of these, comments please or alternatives.
 
Condor22, The two solenoids I use are this type.

https://www.ebay.com.au/i/183872810...ad5f3NBKxIrMhfQ0eAiReVlC1_L_NaBQaAh29EALw_wcB

Made a mistake when first fitted between starting battery and auxiliary.
Had the 39L Engel wired through the accessory on the key to the only battery back then, the starting battery.
When I fitted the auxiliary battery at a later date, not thinking I wired the above solenoid activation leads to the starting battery.
A big night out bush and late rise, the fridge had run the starting battery flat.
Turned the key to "start" no response.
The Auxiliary battery was fully charged but with the solenoid connected to a flat battery, was going no where.
Next wiring mod the ignition solenoid "on" is wired to both batteries, either or battery goes flat the engine will still fire up.
Never a dull moment, when you get gold fever.
 
As I said before, I am going to use a PWM controller to switch the battery's into
circuit when the motor is running.
I isolated when the motor is not running.
A small manual jumper lead to use them as a backup if the main goes flat.
 
Here's what I'm thinking of, two options

Redarc supply a Relay kit just for this purpose

https://www.redarc.com.au/relay-kit @ $100.81

Jaycar sell a similar Relay

https://www.jaycar.com.au/horn-relay-60a-spdt/p/SY4074 @ $8.95 And a base https://www.jaycar.com.au/horn-relay-base/p/SY4069 @4.95

Given both relays are 60A, why would anyone pay $101 when much the same thing is $14. One 100W solar panel puts out < 6A.

I am however looking at the wiring of this differently to the Redarc method, more on this......
 
The Jaycar Frequency kit is the one I am using. :Y:
Tapping the Tacho pulse line.
 
Might be a few days before I can do much on here. Woke up this morning to find NBN is down. Reported to my provider, but Tech visit won't be until next Monday arvo.

FYI, I'm on here at the moment via Mobile Hotspot Tethering. My provider will be adding 25GB of data to my mobile later today to keep me going :) waiting........ lol
 
condor22 said:
Here's what I'm thinking of, two options
Redarc supply a Relay kit just for this purpose
https://www.redarc.com.au/relay-kit @ $100.81
Jaycar sell a similar Relay
https://www.jaycar.com.au/horn-relay-60a-spdt/p/SY4074 @ $8.95 And a base https://www.jaycar.com.au/horn-relay-base/p/SY4069 @4.95
Given both relays are 60A, why would anyone pay $101 when much the same thing is $14. One 100W solar panel puts out < 6A.
I am however looking at the wiring of this differently to the Redarc method, more on this......
I dont know whats used in Redarc relays specifically, but usually the expensive ones have silver plated contactors. This makes a difference to the voltage drop across the surface to surface contact. This voltage drop on cheaper relays then causes the contact points to burn/wear faster, thus the relay doesnt last near as long.
The other area in cost is the quality of the copper wire, & of the enamel coating on the copper wire in the coil. eg, cheap chinese coils (in anything) tend to get hot, melt the cheap & thin enamel, & then the coil shorts out.
horses for courses ... & budget plays a part in what most people buy, but I never buy the cheapest relay for use in a vehicle. reliabilty is important.
 
Fair point DED, I also advocate "You get what you pay for." Explained as you have, it might be worth the extra $$$.

BTW NBN is back up lol.
 
I just added a 2.2Kva Generator to my Kit as a backup because Some of my Battery Chargers are a bit on the large size, I ended up buying an Industrial type instead of one of the little suitcase versions because I wanted one with the built in 8.3Amp DC Supply/Charger and it has AVR just to keep things safe,

I am still doing these fridge tests, 10 in all, But It was the power that some of them can chew that has prompted me in to buying this, Some of the BS Videos done by a South African bloke are totally misleading, when I went to his web site it turns out that he is selling them to the general public No Surprize there, might of guessed it when I first smelt a Rat when he was quoting the wrong power figures for 2 other well known brands. But some of these new fridges suck that much power that you would need a minimum of a 140/160w panel and 2 batteries just to run the fridge and you would have to let it have it's own Circuit/System with nothing else connected in order to keep it going,

J.
 
I'm more than happy with the performance of my setup.
Average spring down here today, partly cloudy, reached 22C.
The car fridge had been turned off for 3 days.
Left for work this morning at 7am with 2x 6packs & a few bottles of water in the 47L ARB reading 15C.
Alternator charging was off.
100W Poly solar panel on the roof is left permanently plugged into the battery (can be disconnected tho), thru a Projecta 45A dual input charger/battery management.
100AH Betta Lead Crystal Battery sitting at 12.9V
at 4:10pm when I returned, the fridge & beer was cold at 2C, & the battery was at 13.1V
 
Ded Driver said:
I'm more than happy with the performance of my setup.
Average spring down here today, partly cloudy, reached 22C.
The car fridge had been turned off for 3 days.
Left for work this morning at 7am with 2x 6packs & a few bottles of water in the 47L ARB reading 15C.
Alternator charging was off.
100W Poly solar panel on the roof is left permanently plugged into the battery (can be disconnected tho), thru a Project 45A dual input charger/battery management.
100AH Betta Lead Crystal Battery sitting at 12.9V
at 4:10pm when I returned, the fridge & beer was cold at 2C, & the battery was at 13.1V

Yep these ARB's sip the power, I once tested mine in 16 /17*c weather and it only used 9 Amps in 24 hours @ 120w total. Never known a fridge like em. :Y:
 
RR Im a bit confused by your maths logic there mate. when you say 9A in 24hrs, Amps being instantaneous current, do you mean 9A continuously, 9A x 24hrs = 216 A.Hr ?
12V x 9A =108 Watts .. where'd you get 120W ?
Or, do you mean it used only 9 A.Hr over a 24Hr period? which would equate to a current draw of 0.375A (9AHr divided by 24hrs) ?

My fridge, when the compressor is running, draws around 5.5A from memory (I thinks its around 60W unit)
I haven't done a proper evaluation to see what the on/off duty cycle time is when its at 2C, in various external temps.
Using an assumption of 50/50 duty cycle, in each hour it would draw 5.5A for 30min & 0A for 30min, giving an average power consumption of 2.75A if running continuously for an hour.
This equates to 2.75A x 24Hr = 66A.Hr power consumption
The ARB is actually far more efficient than 50/50 cycle, & while I was in hospital for 3 days back in April, it ran for 7 days & pulled the battery down to about 11.2V (the vehicle was parked in full shade)
I also now have a 100W fold-up solar blanket to supplement my rooftop panel for extra appliances & charging stuff.
 
Ded Driver said:
RR Im a bit confused by your maths logic there mate. when you say 9A in 24hrs, Amps being instantaneous current, do you mean 9A continuously, 9A x 24hrs = 216 A.Hr ?
12V x 9A =108 Watts .. where'd you get 120W ?
Or, do you mean it used only 9 A.Hr over a 24Hr period? which would equate to a current draw of 0.375A (9AHr divided by 24hrs) ?

My fridge, when the compressor is running, draws around 5.5A from memory (I thinks its around 60W unit)
I haven't done a proper evaluation to see what the on/off duty cycle time is when its at 2C, in various external temps.
Using an assumption of 50/50 duty cycle, in each hour it would draw 5.5A for 30min & 0A for 30min, giving an average power consumption of 2.75A if running continuously for an hour.
This equates to 2.75A x 24Hr = 66A.Hr power consumption
The ARB is actually far more efficient than 50/50 cycle, & while I was in hospital for 3 days back in April, it ran for 7 days & pulled the battery down to about 11.2V (the vehicle was parked in full shade)
I also now have a 100W fold-up solar blanket to supplement my rooftop panel for extra appliances & charging stuff.

No it does not have a 50/50 duty cycle if it runs for about 13 to 17 minutes it can turn it's self off for up to 2Hrs and more at a time, It might pull 3 to 6 Amps while running but when you add the run time to the off time you can end up with a duty cycle of up to 2 and a half hours So it might use a total of 1.1 amps but when you divide that by anything up to 2.5 hours the actual hourly draw works out to be extremely Low which is why I got these figures below.

No, I mean it used 9.527Ah in 24 hours in an ambient temp of 16*c when it was set to 4*c

1568388813_arb_47l_at_24_hrs_4c_ah.jpg


1568388910_arb_47l_24_hrs__4c_wh.jpg
 
ahhhh that's the missing bit. Amps vs AmpHours .. A vs Ahr :Y:
.
.Ive been meaning to run a power meter on mine one day to see what the actual total power consumption is over 24 hrs.
I have the meter, just have to put the effort into monitoring it
It is a very economical fridge
 
Ded Driver said:
ahhhh that's the missing bit. Amps vs AmpHours .. A vs Ahr :Y:
.
.Ive been meaning to run a power meter on mine one day to see what the actual total power consumption is over 24 hrs.
I have the meter, just have to put the effort into monitoring it
It is a very economical fridge

Well Condor22 did a power test on his Engel in 20*C ambient temps so seeing as the weather here is the same I am testing my 47 and 78 ARB's and the 35L Snomaster and a Peltier Cooler,

When you hook up your fridge to a meter you will see the amps go up or down and No Two cycles Draws will be the same, You can have one where it runs for 13 mins 37 secs and then again next time it might run for 15mins 48 secs yet it might even draw less power during the longer run time IT just depends on what the fridge wants to do because it is fully Automatic when it comes to the power It wants to use So longer run times can't always dictate more power usage. And Vice Versa.

I have added a bit to my other post which will explain a bit more about those figures I got, Ok, :Y:

J.
 
Fellas,
Reading between the lines of preceding posts am I correct in assuming you do not combine solar & alternator charging while travelling?
My set up has a permanent 64W solar on roof through a PVM to the accessories deep cycle battery.
The alternator is wired permanently but can be manually isolated if need be. Usually when I'm home and fridges are removed.
 

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