Lithium conversion - Tis done!

[izwozral]

And what first attracted you to the multi talented Merl, Rob?















Cheers, Ral aka Caroline Ahearn.

 

[Boris7]

Looks great Rob.

 

[izwozral]

Yer a good man Merl.

What are you like at hair transplants?

 

[trevskoda]

Yer a good man Merl.

What are you like at hair transplants?

medical advances, what next.
Any idea where you would like it transplanted.

 

[Robmac]

Oh dear. So you have an inferior off the shelf cab battery topper upper? Only a select few have the Merl "Signature" Gizmott. Its a bit like having one of Hank Marvins Strats you know.

View attachment 143043

I'm amazed there is still footage around of you as a baby Barry.

 

[Robmac]

medical advances, what next.
Any idea where you would like it transplanted.
View attachment 143047

Sounds like a line from Kenny leveret Trev.

 

[Robmac]

Am I right in thinking your mppt 100/50 will only see 720 watts of your 850watts ?

You are right Jeff, but I think the consensus is that I will never see 50A in the UK so if anything the panels are over the top (see what I did there) rather than the MPPT being underrated.

 

[barryd]

You are right Jeff, but I think the consensus is that I will never see 50A in the UK so if anything the panels are over the top (see what I did there) rather than the MPPT being underrated.

Are you going to be full 240v in the van then Rob, Compressor fridge, microwave etc? I assume so with all that power.

 

[Fisherman]

Pointless statement without pictures

Guess which ones Merl

 

[Robmac]

Are you going to be full 240v in the van then Rob, Compressor fridge, microwave etc? I assume so with all that power.

Yeah Barry. The compressor 'fridge I already have running from 12V but I'm ripping out the gas oven and hob to be replaced with an Air Fryer, Remoska and double induction hob. The Truma water heater already has a 240V option so I will be disconnecting the gas from that and I am ordering a diesel heater so no gas at all.

I will carry a camping stove for emergencies but to be honest I can't see me needing it.

 

[barryd]

Yeah Barry. The compressor 'fridge I already have running from 12V but I'm ripping out the gas oven and hob to be replaced with an Air Fryer, Remoska and double induction hob. The Truma water heater already has a 240V option so I will be disconnecting the gas from that and I am ordering a diesel heater so no gas at all.

I will carry a camping stove for emergencies but to be honest I can't see me needing it.

It will be interesting to follow this and see how you get on, especially over the year and increasing and decreasing daylight hours. Its clearly the way forward. I reckon if our fridge or heater fails at some point it might be the way to go. However considering I have an 8m+ van there isn't a lot of space available on our roof. That bloody satellite dish takes up a lot of space mind. Hardly ever use it.

 

[Robmac]

It will be interesting to follow this and see how you get on, especially over the year and increasing and decreasing daylight hours. Its clearly the way forward. I reckon if our fridge or heater fails at some point it might be the way to go. However considering I have an 8m+ van there isn't a lot of space available on our roof. That bloody satellite dish takes up a lot of space mind. Hardly ever use it.

Obviously in the winter months I will get nowhere near that but I will still be getting quite a lot compared to my previous 100W solar system. But we don't tend to stay in one place more than a 2-4 days so the alternator will help.

However, we hope to use the van a lot more this year so perhaps a week at a time might give us more of an idea on this.

 

[barryd]

Obviously in the winter months I will get nowhere near that but I will still be getting quite a lot compared to my previous 100W solar system. But we don't tend to stay in one place more than a 2-4 days so the alternator will help.

However, we hope to use the van a lot more this year so perhaps a week at a time might give us more of an idea on this.

Those are the stats I need to know. What I would want to see is no increasing daily depletion of batteries over a long period. So say you stay somewhere for a week, they need to be roughly the same state of discharge at the end of each day. I reckon with your set up even with all that 240v drain they surely will be.

 

[Robmac]

Us blokes eh?

Must be a sign of the times or our age when a big powerful car has been replaced by huge solar panels as a penis extension.

Damn, I wish I'd kept my meagre 100W panel!

 

[mark61]

All depends how many 10 course gourmet meals you cook when out in about in van.

But my (sticking me neck out here) gut feeling with the new set up is, summer months, you could remain in the same place, well, for pretty much the whole summer.
Winter? Who wants to stay in the same place all winter

 

[barryd]

Us blokes eh?

Must be a sign of the times or our age when a big powerful car has been replaced by huge solar panels as a penis extension.

Damn, I wish I'd kept my meagre 100W panel!

Nonsense!! We are pioneers of the new age of Off grid independent well ard wild campers!! Nothing says well ard wild camper more than someone sat in a luxury motorhome with an 8kw heating system and microwave.

 

[barryd]

All depends how many 10 course gourmet meals you cook when out in about in van.

But my (sticking me neck out here) gut feeling with the new set up is, summer months, you could remain in the same place, well, for pretty much the whole summer.
Winter? Who wants to stay in the same place all winter

Thats it. That is what I need to achieve as it is what we do. Well not "The" same place obviously and less so this year but a month or two sometimes. That is why I was so far reluctant to dump the gas side of it all. What will be interesting for us this year is how long we can go without hookup in the back end. Early days but again, bloody gas will be the limiting factor.

 

[Robmac]

Thats it. That is what I need to achieve as it is what we do. Well not "The" same place obviously and less so this year but a month or two sometimes. That is why I was so far reluctant to dump the gas side of it all. What will be interesting for us this year is how long we can go without hookup in the back end. Early days but again, bloody gas will be the limiting factor.

The only other consideration though Barry is that we need to think about what appliances we have on at the same time due to the 2000w limit from the inverter and then considering that the 'fridge will kick in now and again because that will be permanently on.

I do however have an isolator switch for the fridge so it may be a matter of just remembering to switch it off for half an hour whilst using the Air Fryer for example.

I'm sure we will get used to it though.

 

[Robmac]

The only other consideration though Barry is that we need to think about what appliances we have on at the same time due to the 2000w limit from the inverter and then considering that the 'fridge will kick in now and again because that will be permanently on.

I do however have an isolator switch for the fridge so it may be a matter of just remembering to switch it off for half an hour whilst using the Air Fryer for example.

I'm sure we will get used to it though.

...actually the 'fridge runs on 12V so scrub that bit (I think!).

 

[Robmac]

Julie has suggested leaving the fridge on permanently, at least for the summer - I know other members do this, any thoughts?