Clarence the Safari Camperbus

[wildebus]

These are the connections to the Starter Battery when I first bought my Camperbus ....

LT-Battery-12V by David, on Flickr

Apart from the main hefty Starter Cable, got 7 more cables of various sizes hanging off the +ve post on the battery - and none less then 6mm, so fairly chunky stuff really.
I have wanted to do something about this for ages and for two reasons:
1) The Tachograph ticks all the time it has power, just like a ticking clock - and I HATE clocks that tick, especially at night :mad1: . So a ticking tacho in a campervan is a bit of a no-no in my book
2) It looks blooming horrible

The Sprinters (which is what an LT is mostly) in North America have a "PDC" or Power Distribution Centre hanging on the +ve Battery Terminal and that is used to distribute Battery Power around the systems. It is a really neat way to do it I think. This is what that looks like

by David, on Flickr
Trouble is they are a North American feature only and a silly price even before shipping and any duties.

So today finally got around to sorting this out ....
This is my version of the NAFTA PDC

My version of the PDC by David, on Flickr
Separated the three 6mm cables that were on a common connector and fitted them into their own posts, and moved the 16mm Cable with the resettable fuse into the fourth post within the PDC (removing the resettable fuse in the process). The PDC supply to the Battery is via a stubby 25mm cable.

This is the wiring with the cover off

PDC - Exposed by David, on Flickr

The 16mm Cable goes to both the B2B Charger and the VSR and is protected by a 100A Fuse. The other 3 circuits did have a direct connection to the battery with no fuse so I decided to fit 50A fuses as that seemed to be about right for the cable gauge.

Why does one of these have a yellow heatshrink? Well that is the supply that the Tachograph uses. So if I remove the fuse to that cable, the Tacho will stop ticking so when camping I can finally get rid of that irritating noise :cheers: (and cannot forget about it either as the engine will not run without that cable having power).

All in all, I think it looks a lot tidier and I can eliminate the ticking, so a worthwhile hours work :dog:

 

[landoboguy]

Very Impressive and I can tell its a labour of love. Ive picked up some real useful tips so thanks.
What did you do to the inside van ceiling/roof may I ask.

 

[wildebus]

Very Impressive and I can tell its a labour of love. Ive picked up some real useful tips so thanks.
What did you do to the inside van ceiling/roof may I ask.

Thank you If there is anything specific I have done you want more detail or info on, feel free to ask, either on the forum or via PM.

You will have noticed no ceiling shots then?!
Well, the vehicle was a Minibus when I bought it so it had the official VW roof panels from Cab to rear doors fitted and I just reused those as they looked a pretty good option.
They were a little tired looking though so I carpeted all the panels and they looked very nice - but I didn't take account of the extra few mm the carpet added to the panel length so they didn't go back very neatly

I need to decide over the winter what to do about this:

• Remove panels, trim panels to get back to original size and refit;
• Or remove panels and do a ceiling more like the typical van conversion where the basic metal panels get covered (probably by plywood).

Flip-flopping between the two options as pros and cons for both, so for next few months will leave as is as it is perfectly usuable if a little untidy

 

[wildebus]

I thought it may be handy to increase the heater fuel tank capacity so added a second tank with a balancing pipe between this afternoon.


Heater Fuel Tanks by David, on Flickr
This should allow for around 50 hours of running before needing to refuel

Also added a carrier onto the roof basket as part of my general 'Overland Campervan' theme and which could be handy ....

Overlander - Carrier by David, on Flickr


What's it for? Maybe for my stripey Ammo Box?

Overlander - Daktari Ammo Box by David, on Flickr


Nah. it is for my spare fuel This one will contain Kerosene for the Heater.

Overlander - Fuel Tank by David, on Flickr


I plan to add a second carrier and jerrycan for spare Diesel next to it.

Overlander Camper by David, on Flickr

 

[wildebus]

Not really anything to do with Clarence except I did this while sitting inside him

Built myself a little portable battery pack at the weekend. Main use is for 12V power to use for testing heaters, solar panels, etc.

Little Battery Box by David, on Flickr

Twin USB and Voltmeter on Switch one side, and a standard 12V/120W Accessory Socket on the other

USB & Voltmeter by David, on Flickr

And a pair of Anderson Plugs (one each end) to allow higher current items to be plugged in (Battery Charger, VSR Output or Solar Controller for charging for example, or Inverter for battery use for example). Either one can be input or output and both protected by 80A fuses (the USB and 12V sockets are also protected by their own in-line fuses)

Anderson Plugs by David, on Flickr

Think it will be dead handy This one will only fit fairly small batteries (I have an old car battery in it right now that wasn't quite up to cranking the engine in winter but is fine for a smaller current draws of a heater, phones or suchlike.


I did do the same in a bigger box as well that will house 100+Ah batteries (got a basic 100Ah lead acid battery in there currently but really best with a VRLA Battery as it is a portable unit). Ideal for when you are in the process of doing a conversion but need camping power in the mean time on a trip.

Same Twin USB Sockets and a Voltmeter (this one I used seperate devices as more room on the case), plus 12V Socket

Big Box by David, on Flickr

And same pair of Andersons

Anderson Plugs by David, on Flickr


Maybe should rent it out for people who are running low at meets! :camper:

 

[wildebus]

Where did you get the plastic boxes? The ones I've seen don't seem strong enough to carry a battery.

I know what you mean - some of them can be very flimsy. The yellow one I picked up from Go Outdoors and is Italian Made (the Italians seem to be very big on RV Leisure Products generally for some reason and everything Italian I have bought I've been happy with, so that reassured me). Feels pretty robust, but I will be cutting a base board to go inside for the battery to sit on for additional support.
The Red one bought through Amazon - that is pretty good as well in fact although unbranded. I am wary of super-cheap ones as they will probably be made from recycled yoghurt pots.

You can get really robust heavy-duty ones but double whammy of high price and high weight makes them less desirable.

 

[Chris Evans001]

PV tracking system

Hi,
Could you tell me a little more about the tracking system for the PV please.

I am looking at different fixing options myself at the moment. I have a 2010 Iveco daily LWB that does not have an entirely flat roof so I am exploring idea for raising the panels. I quite like the idea of mounting then on a roof rack of some kind, but the extra cost may prohibit that idea. I also like the idea of being able to get a brush underneath them for cleaning purposes.

It seems you have fixed yours into the channel strip?


Regards

Chris

 

[wildebus]

Hi,
Could you tell me a little more about the tracking system for the PV please.

I am looking at different fixing options myself at the moment. I have a 2010 Iveco daily LWB that does not have an entirely flat roof so I am exploring idea for raising the panels. I quite like the idea of mounting then on a roof rack of some kind, but the extra cost may prohibit that idea. I also like the idea of being able to get a brush underneath them for cleaning purposes.

It seems you have fixed yours into the channel strip?


Regards

Chris

There is no official mounting system for my model of van, so I just used seat tracking and a captive bolt system. Secured primarily with 3M VHB tape but I added a bolt either end of each strip through the roof with a spreader washer inside.

The track I used is branded Unwins in the UK but might go under other names as well. Another option I would consider is a T-slot system called 80/20 in the US. This is more of a framing system rather then a simple track but offers more possibilities.

Yup, fitted in rain channel. Don't know about the Iveco, but all the vans I've fitted panels to have quite a noticable curve to the roof so important to check the height difference between centre and edges. my panels look raised but actually are pretty close to the centre ribbing.

I think using a tracking system as a mount is so much more versatile then direct mounting of stuff. I have the 4 panels plus the light bar and the rear luggage rack and they can all be removed, repaired or replaced without doing anything inside the vehicle or making more holes.

 

[wildebus]

Running Engine before starting Diesel Heater

As per the title - Running Engine before starting Diesel Heater - do you need to?

Generally the answer can be yes, even if you have a fully charged battery as these heaters are picky on voltage levels.
But it is not always something you want to do, especially in the middle of the night and you want the heater on. So I decided to look for an alternative solution

Fitted it today and it seems to work pretty well based on the initial testing.

So lets compare the voltage at the heater and the BMV (note: I have left the picture titles as the date/time stamp so you can see when the different photos taken)

The Battery Bank is fully charged, on Hookup and in float state, Heater is off
IMG_20181111_155931 by David, on Flickr
IMG_20181111_155826 by David, on Flickr
Voltages are pretty comparable


Charger off, Hob on boiling a kettle!
IMG_20181111_160108 by David, on Flickr
IMG_20181111_160117 by David, on Flickr
With a 2kw Load on the battery, the voltage has inevitably dropped due to the load, but the heater voltage is steady at 12.8V - nice


Heater ON!
IMG_20181111_160242 by David, on Flickr
IMG_20181111_160218 by David, on Flickr
Despite there being a 195A draw on the battery bank (pretty high in anyones book), when I turned on the heater during this period, there is a local voltage drop within the unit as the glowpin is heating as usual, but well within parameters.


Heater Running
IMG_20181111_160611 by David, on Flickr
IMG_20181111_160548 by David, on Flickr
The second photo shows the heater is now putting out heat and the glowpin is off, and voltage is back at the 12.8V level DESPITE the Hob still running (and my camper filling up with steam from the kettle!) and the Battery Bank at 12.14V


So conclusion - it IS possible to start your heater WITHOUT starting the engine even when the batteries are not full (Using my Induction Hob at full caused the battery voltage to drop to the level you would expect from a Battery Bank around 50% which is around as low as you would want to go in terms of battery usage).

How? simply use a regulated DC-DC Step Up Power Supply, similar to the DC Laptop Chargers (however one with sufficient power is required bearing in mind these heaters draw around 10A in their startup phase, quite a bit more than a Laptop.

After a few more tests, I will put my Step Up PSU into a box with a fan but currently just sitting on a booklet during testing
IMG_20181111_160420 by David, on Flickr

 

[Nabsim]

Is this something that will go in your shop Dave?

I have never run the engine before switching our diesel heater on until I read about here while in Scotland a couple of weeks ago. When batteries started to get low (last few days) I ran engine for a little while when I started the heater and used the time to heat the water now I know we have a diesel water heater

Dont suppose you have done any work on rewiring a pre-heater to run without engine running by any chance?

 

[wildebus]

Is this something that will go in your shop Dave?

I have never run the engine before switching our diesel heater on until I read about here while in Scotland a couple of weeks ago. When batteries started to get low (last few days) I ran engine for a little while when I started the heater and used the time to heat the water now I know we have a diesel water heater

Dont suppose you have done any work on rewiring a pre-heater to run without engine running by any chance?

I am going to monitor how it works for a while and confirm I am happy with it for a before I offer it.

I think the genuine Eberspachers, such as you have, can have problems due to low voltage, but are much less prone to those voltage issues then the chinese heaters are (especially if the chinese ones are installed with the provided loom intact as it is VERY long but uses undersized cables (I chopped around 3 metres or more off mine).

Ref the last bit, I was going to do this with my Webasto until I saw the kit price which was not a lot less than a new heater (and I mean a new branded heater, not cheap clone one).

 

[wildebus]

Been tweaking my setup a wee bit (a rather expensive wee bit to be frank :ninja: )

Using Victrons GX OS (runs under Linux) I used to see this view of the power usage

VRM-OnMainsCharge by David, on Flickr
This is my Camperbus plugged into the mains, but the system does not know about the mains charger and just sees a negative power use.
Is this wrong then? well, no it isn't, it just means that you don't get to see what the actual power consumption is as it is being absorbed by the incoming power. You also can't see what any AC loads are for the same reason as the system doesn't fully know about the inverters (I have my Victron Pheonix Inverter connected to the Pi running Venus OS, but while I can look at the info it is not incorporated into the graphing)


I wired up a Victron MultiPlus Charger/Inverter today and the difference in info was quite significant

Victron VRM - MP Plugged In by David, on Flickr
I'm plugged into the mains, but now while the Battery (bottom left) is showing a +ve Watt value (indicating power INTO the battery) like the earlier screenshoot, the DC Power is showing a +ve Consumption value this time, so actual power use. And this time, the AC Loads also show up so they can be seen separately (I have a 300W heat gun running to give an example load) and also the actual hookup (shown as 'Shore') to see how much is being pulled from the mains.

What is handy is you can clearly see what the MultiPlus device is upto. Above it is charging and is in the Bulk Stage. Disconnecting the hook-up and leaving the heat gun running shows how much power is being pulled from the battery - but this time what is going to DC and what is going to AC.

Victron VRM - MB Inverting by David, on Flickr

Does this all matter? Well, probably not, but it is interesting if info is your thing

This is the unit I fitted - https://www.victronenergy.com/inverters-chargers/multi-500-va#pd-nav-image
I decided to get the Multiplus 12/800/35 - this provides an 800VA Inverter as well as a 35A Charger. So is an upgrade on both my existing 500VA Victron Inverter AND my Victron 20A Charger. A useful update to the 12/500/20 at not too bad a price premium. The 12/1200/50 would have been nice, but the extra cost differential was pretty high and around the same that I paid for my 2500W EDECOA PSW Inverter!

The Split-Charge system will not be picked up as a seperate charge by the Venus GX, but no real way round that without spending LOTS of money (Victron don't really make any monitered split-charge solutions surprisingly);
The same is true of my EDECOA Inverter. I could have got a big 3000VA Victron Multiplus but that would be a major price hike, whereas the smaller 500, 800 and 1200VA Units are expensive, but when factoring in how much the standalone Inverters and Chargers are are not too much extra. For my purposes, the 3000VA model just wouldn't be worth the cost.

 

[wildebus]

I first installed the 12V Wiring when I had a 1000W Inverter to install. At that point the 25mm cable I was using for the primary distribution was perfectly fine and well within spec.
I changed out the 1000W Inverter for a 2500W Inverter however to allow me to use bigger power tools and also run the 2000W Induction Hob and recently the 2000W Hot Water System. This meant the 25mm Cable was technically still ok with the lengths I had but did run quite warm on extended running.

So I changed the runs of 25mm from Battery Bank to distribution posts to 50mm instead.
To give an idea of size difference, this photo shows a 16mm Cable - the size used in the typical installation and which is fine generally; then a 25mm cable; and finally the 50mm cable. It really makes the 16mm look a bit puny
IMG_20181213_124640 by David, on Flickr

I will also make two more up - for the actual big Inverter. it came with 25mm Cables, but it would make sense to have a full 50mm run all the way from Inverter to Source.

To go along with my upgraded cables, I reworked my 12V power distribution system as well

I was using individual fuse holders for the various devices (solar, inverters, main chargers, etc). Replaced them with a multi-way fuse block so keep things a bit tidier.
I also changed the Master Disconnect switch - the one I had in place was a 100A switch so needed to upgrade with the bigger Inverter installation. Now using this one - Battery Isolator. Quite a few options and most look pretty much the same. This is a 275A Current capable switch (you can generally tell by the size of the cable terminals - this needs M10 Rings) and is designed for the German market, which is usually more demanding.
And finally changed the Catastrophic Fuse Holder for what I think is a more robust model - I had been using a ANL Fuse Holder with M8 Studs but at high currents the terminals got pretty hot. I switched it for a Dual ANL Distribution Block with seperate fuses for the big Inverter and the rest of the system. Again this is a German based product and uses a cable clamping system rather than ring terminals and studs. This *should* be better for voltage drops and losses by reducing the number of connections (and the Victron kit tends to use this method as well).

And what it now looks like.

Clarence 12V Distribution System by David, on Flickr

And a shot of the Dual Fuse Holder

Clarence Dual Fuse Holder by David, on Flickr
Feels a very robust holder and has some significant weight to it. The left hand cable entries are meant to have a maximum of 35mm2 cable but I found the 50mm2 cable went in just fine except for the insulation (used 25mm for the lower and 50mm for the right hand side).
Interesting feature of this fuse holder is the built-in Voltmeter. To get this working it is necessary to add a ground (the purpose of the brown cable on the top-right mounting). This is not a meter I will generally be able to see so was in two minds to add the ground, but it could be handy so it is connected, at least for the present.


Another little change not show above was to rationalise the monitoring power connections. Cables for the BMV Monitor, the Battery Sense, Raspberry Pi and testing Battery Monitor all had in-line glass fuses and ring terminals and were a bit of a mismash, so removed the glass fuse holders, added Spade Terminals to each of them and added a little 6 way LED Fusebox direct to the battery. So now If I flip the isolation switch, I maintain the monitoring setup


Oh, and something also added today - an Auxiliary Battery 'Extension' lead using 6mm cable and terminating in an Anderson-Type Plug.

Anderson Plugs by David, on Flickr
The purpose of this is to be able to directly connect an additional battery - for either Charging the battery OR to provide extra battery power; or to be able to connect a second Mains Charger to supplement the primary charger (so I can add my 20A Victron Smart Blue Charger to run alongside the Multiplus 35A charger if away and staying somewhere with hookup). I can also have this second Mains Charger connected to the additional Battery instead - so totally separate from the in-house 12V setup, but using the same EHU and CU setup for convenience.
Having this Aux Lead will generally not be used, but it gives great adapability with a 10 second push-on and high current capable connection.

 

[Chris Evans001]

Could you provide a link for the fuse holder please?

Is our something that you sell?

Regards

Chris

 

[wildebus]

Could you provide a link for the fuse holder please?

Is our something that you sell?

Regards

Chris

Hi Chris,
Will do.
I am very impressed with the fuse holder so far and think I will look to add it to my shop but will run a high-current test on it first to make sure (I don't sell anything I wouldn't use myself).
The original one I had was fine until I was putting 200A through it and it got very hot and nowhere to dissipate heat. Still carried on working but preferred a more 'solid' option.

EDIT:
This is the Dual ANL Fuse Holder with Voltmeter - Sinustec SVB Fuse Distribution Block for ANL fuses: Amazon.co.uk: Car & Motorbike
It doesn't come with any fuses - ANL Fuses (and all fuses for that matter) vary tremendously in price.
I got these 200A ones - Heschen ANL Fuse ANL-200 200 Amp for Car Vehicles Audio System Sheet Gold Tone & Black 2 Pack: Amazon.co.uk: Car & Motorbike. You can spend over £30 for a single ANL or get a pack of 4 for a quid (I'd avoid the super cheap ANL ones - they are not really calibrated fuses)
FWIW, This is the fuse holder that I orignally fitted - Heschen Car Audio Video Stereo ANL Fuse Holder 0 2 4 Gauge In & Out with 300Amp ANL fuse: Amazon.co.uk: Car & Motorbike. It is a nice fuse holder and well made - and I have fitted and supplied a few times, but I don't think it is suitable for sustained high (>150A) current


Chris, I think you may have been asking about the multi-way fuse block though? For info, this post shows a better photo of one in use (I fitted the same fuse holder under the bonnet to tidy up the cabling).
Again, this is a part which I really like and have supplied as part of a wiring set, but I don't sell generally.
I got this one from an eBay Seller - 12/24v Combi-holder for Mega and Midi fuses Van Boat Marine Rally | eBay.
For the full setup, you would need 4 x Midi/Strip fuses and one Mega Fuse if using the bigger connection for a circuit or having a 'master fuse', but note they don't come with any fuses or ring terminals. (If you need any Midi/Strip fuses or terminals for the holder, I do have those as well as 250A Mega fuses)

 

[wildebus]

Been a few posts about the provision of low-power EHUs at campsites. I thought I would update this thread on how my Camperbus is setup to accomodate this situation.

I have a 3-way Consumer Unit and the Victron Multiplus Charger/Inverter is plugged into the 6A rated circuit.
The Multiplus I have is the 12/800/35-16 Model - so for a 12 Volt System and with a 800VA (700W) Inverter and 35 Amp Charger, and with a maximum of 16A @240V current in. Some of that Current will go towards the Charger part, but the majority will be passed through as direct AC Mains supply to 13A Sockets.
Clearly bringing in 16A would be a problem on a 6A EHU (and on my internal CU as well as I have a 6A MCB also). So I have reconfigured the maximum current to be 6A instead of the default 16A

Multiplus - VEC General by David, on Flickr

How this will work is that the Multiplus will never draw more than 6A (approx 1500W) from the Mains Supply.
But I can still use more than 1500W on the 240V AC side though if more than the current setting (6A in my case now) is called for, as the Multiplus will automatically make up the difference from the Inverter. This will be up to a maximum of an additional 700W (and in fact, the overload power is more than double the Inverter rating for upto 30 seconds, so a 'pulsing' device like an 2000W Induction Hob would have no problems on a 6A circuit due to the Mains+Inverter+overload feature).

If I am on a 16A EHU (the Blue 'Commando' Plugs are rated at 16A Max BTW), then as well as the 6A circuit, I can also use either of the other 10A circuits in the Camperbus CU to their maximum without issues - or a mix of the two bearing in mind the maximum current allowed. So this setup should give me the flexibility of using AC power without risking tripping the breakers of the Hookup providers


As an aside, the Multiplus 12/800/35 is setup out the factory to run as a 26A charger rather than 35A. I think that is probably to avoid too high a charge level if the system has something like a 100Ah or smaller battery (35A on a standard 100Ah battery would be above most battery makers recommendations). So I changed this to the maximum 35A possible.

Multiplus - VEC Charger by David, on Flickr

 

[Forresbroons]

Looking good

 

[mariesnowgoose]

It looks very impressive, David, but electrickery is mostly double dutch to me.

All I can currently manage is changing light bulbs and 3 pin house plugs! :scared::lol-053:

I really need to become more educated on this whole subject... :idea-007:

 

[REC]

It looks very impressive, David, but electrickery is mostly double dutch to me.

All I can currently manage is changing light bulbs and 3 pin house plugs! :scared::lol-053:

I really need to become more educated on this whole subject... :idea-007:

Glad it's not just me! I am afraid my eyes glaze over and brain shuts down when I see a control panel or someone talks amps and watts! Ok on how much wattage appliances use but what it really means is beyond me:bow:
The van looks amazing btw!

 

[wildebus]

Thanks

I've actually changed the setup again since posting the last update (now running a Multiplus that can go upto 120A charge rate!)