Electrical guidance for a first time van builder

[winta]

Hi everyone this is my post and I am seeking some guidance on campervan electrics.

To enable us to get away, this summer, I did a very basic (but with toilet so we left no unpleasantness) conversion of our Ford Connect LWB van. We had a very successful 4 week trip mainly camping off grid. We are used to lightweight camping so found it quite luxurious haha.

However we have decided some domestic power would be good. I have done the usual trawl around the net but I am probably more confused than when I started.

We would like a leisure battery that can be charged automatically from the starter battery when the engine is running, from a solar panel and possibly from the mains if we found ourselves with a connection.

We would like to power a (approx) 30 ltr compressor coolbox, like the dometic. An inverter 230v socket for charging a laptop, USB ports for charging the phone and a camera. Two LED reading lights and 3 LED cabin lights. To keep costs down and the system simple we would not expect to do all the above at the same time.

We would like to keep things as simple as possible and cost is very important to us. The Connect only has a limited value and we don’t want to spend so much on the van that we cannot afford to get away!

I am hoping that the collective wisdom and experience on the forum will be able to point us in the right direction. Thanking you in advance.

 

[Millie Master]

Well hopefully for you, the guru of anything electric, namely @wildebus will see this post and come to your assistance.

If it were me, I would think about having a solar panel mounted on the roof, and the size/power ought to be as large as will fit and you can afford.
You will obviously need a decent sized Leisure Battery (LB) and if you also have the solar panel then you might want to think about installing a split charge relay in the cable between your van battery and the LB.
You will need to install a decent amount of fuses, ideally one for each circuit and by the way you can run your USB points off the 12V circuit. In my installation I have some dash mounted USB's powered by the VB and further back in the living area there are some more which are fed by the LB's.

Apart from electrics, you will need to have some kind of basic insulation just so that you don't sit in a shower of condensation drips from the underside of the roof.

Keep asking away and I hope you will get responses from some very knowledgeable members.

Good luck with your build.

Phil

 

[trevskoda]

100/200w solar panel,regulator mppt to charge all batts,smart mains charger plus some usb sockets.

 

[Deleted member 4404]

We have a very useful info sheet on MH electrics in our resource section HERE

 

[wildebus]

Hi everyone this is my post and I am seeking some guidance on campervan electrics.

To enable us to get away, this summer, I did a very basic (but with toilet so we left no unpleasantness) conversion of our Ford Connect LWB van. We had a very successful 4 week trip mainly camping off grid. We are used to lightweight camping so found it quite luxurious haha.

However we have decided some domestic power would be good. I have done the usual trawl around the net but I am probably more confused than when I started.

We would like a leisure battery that can be charged automatically from the starter battery when the engine is running, from a solar panel and possibly from the mains if we found ourselves with a connection.

We would like to power a (approx) 30 ltr compressor coolbox, like the dometic. An inverter 230v socket for charging a laptop, USB ports for charging the phone and a camera. Two LED reading lights and 3 LED cabin lights. To keep costs down and the system simple we would not expect to do all the above at the same time.

We would like to keep things as simple as possible and cost is very important to us. The Connect only has a limited value and we don’t want to spend so much on the van that we cannot afford to get away!

I am hoping that the collective wisdom and experience on the forum will be able to point us in the right direction. Thanking you in advance.

the Connect has a fairly low payload so need to bear that in mind with the electrics.
I think I would go for a LiFePO4 Lithium Battery for that reason - a 100Ah unit will be around 16Kg. To get the same available power from Lead Acid Batteries will take twice the room and 4 times the weight.
Split Charge options do depend on if you have a smart alternator and also the voltage output of the Alternator (is it high enough to properly charge a Lithium Battery?) a B2B would be the foolproof option for all circumstances. a Relay would save a couple of hundred pounds if the van was suitable for that.
I'd definately want to add Solar on the roof. Upto 200W of PV panel should fit without much problem I would think and should easily keep up with the power use in the summertime (without Solar, you will last a weekend tops with a compressor Fridge, with Solar, long as you like in the summer)
Get an MPPT Controller to go with the panel for maximum benefit.
You want an inverter and you also want a mains charger .... A product that might suit very nicely is the Multiplus 12/500/20 - 400W Inverter which is plenty for general use like Laptop Charging, combined with a 20A smart charger and also means that the 240V AC Sockets will automatically switch between mains and inverter, so saving space having multiple outlets.
I would think there is a good chance you could install all of that within the cab seat area inside the bases and so use otherwise wasted space.

Price for above? Lithium the big one for sure. overall for the above suggestions ballpark figure would be say £1700 at a rough guess?

 

[trevskoda]

600w smart soft start nikkai for fridge,it will only come on when its required,one on ebay at moment.

 

[winta]

Well hopefully for you, the guru of anything electric, namely @wildebus will see this post and come to your assistance.

If it were me, I would think about having a solar panel mounted on the roof, and the size/power ought to be as large as will fit and you can afford.
You will obviously need a decent sized Leisure Battery (LB) and if you also have the solar panel then you might want to think about installing a split charge relay in the cable between your van battery and the LB.
You will need to install a decent amount of fuses, ideally one for each circuit and by the way you can run your USB points off the 12V circuit. In my installation I have some dash mounted USB's powered by the VB and further back in the living area there are some more which are fed by the LB's.

Apart from electrics, you will need to have some kind of basic insulation just so that you don't sit in a shower of condensation drips from the underside of the roof.

Keep asking away and I hope you will get responses from some very knowledgeable members.

Good luck with your build.

Phil

 

[winta]

Thanks to everybody for your help

 

[Markd]

You can save a lot of money buying mains powered refrigeration rather than 'leisure' branded stuff.