Hank the Tanks Dodgy battery and solar system

[barryd]

They are good sockets, proper sized cable and fused. As they're not fixed they don't have to take the weight of the gadget plugged into it either, like a wall socket.
And the fact 'you can pop them out when you want'. Well !

Exactly! I find for example my laptop charger which has a bulky end on it drops out of the socket and some adaptors don't fit properly. Everything fits these trailing sockets and they work perfectly and right where I want them. I just need to figure out how to get two all the way up front. Maybe a job for my local motorhome guy back home.

 

[Nabsim]

Not all plug sockets and plugs are equal, a good plug in a good socket is quite solid unless pulled but people usually have whatever was supplied. That’s why I mentioned Hella sockets earlier. Always fitted them on my bikes as well, (my K1100LT came with 3 fitted).

 

[barryd]

Not all plug sockets and plugs are equal, a good plug in a good socket is quite solid unless pulled but people usually have whatever was supplied. That’s why I mentioned Hella sockets earlier. Always fitted them on my bikes as well, (my K1100LT came with 3 fitted).

Don't you need Hella ends on all your devices leads though?

I'm quite happy with the idea I have come up with as the sockets are spot on for everything we have. However I still need to figure out how to get two cables from the battery under the rear lounge seat, past the bathroom and under the front dinette seat. Probably about four metres. Anyone got any thoughts on that?

 

[merl]

Where's the 12v habitation fuses Barry? You can pick up 12v power from there if it's nearer.

 

[barryd]

Where's the 12v habitation fuses Barry? You can pick up 12v power from there if it's nearer.

Sadly on the opposite side of the van but towards the rear just at the start of the rear lounge. The TV or Laptop sits on the top of the cupboard that houses the Sargent system. However I think I might have sussed it. Below are some photos of the target front dinette under seat storage where I want power. There is a water pump in there and as you will see electrical power. However what I have also discovered is a small cable feed hole to the ground. You can see grass! I believe there is also a small air hole in the sunken battery compartment under the rear lounge seat. It would therefore be relatively easy to feed appropriate lengths of cable outside of the van along the chassis I reckon. I wish I had thought of that when Julian was here.

You can see the hole to the outside in the first image. It probably should be better sealed around the cables really.

 

[merl]

Sadly on the opposite side of the van but towards the rear just at the start of the rear lounge. The TV or Laptop sits on the top of the cupboard that houses the Sargent system. However I think I might have sussed it. Below are some photos of the target front dinette under seat storage where I want power. There is a water pump in there and as you will see electrical power. However what I have also discovered is a small cable feed hole to the ground. You can see grass! I believe there is also a small air hole in the sunken battery compartment under the rear lounge seat. It would therefore be relatively easy to feed appropriate lengths of cable outside of the van along the chassis I reckon. I wish I had thought of that when Julian was here.

You can see the hole to the outside in the first image. It probably should be better sealed around the cables really.

View attachment 134493View attachment 134494View attachment 134495

Don't block that hole up Barry, it needs to be left open for mice to get in over winter.

 

[barryd]

Don't block that hole up Barry, it needs to be left open for mice to get in over winter.

That was my first thought. That and ants.

Surely there should be some kind of cable tidy stopper in it like you would have on a desk.

 

[trevskoda]

Who on earth takes a iron away in a van, been over 30 years since i last seen one at home.

 

[mistericeman]

Who on earth takes a iron away in a van, been over 30 years since i last seen one at home.

And that one stood by the fire to warm it ....

 

[barryd]

Who on earth takes a iron away in a van, been over 30 years since i last seen one at home.

I'm never telling her if we get lithium that a big inverter will allow her to use it.

 

[merl]

Surely there should be some kind of cable tidy stopper in it like you would have on a desk.

Yeh, you could use that iron

 

[merl]

Yh no

And that one stood by the fire to warm it ....

In 2008 we purchased the old cottage that I grew up in after both my parents had passed away, the house stood empty for several months and scrotes broke in and ripped out the copper pipes and left the water running everywhere for several days. They also took half a dozen cans of beer that had been left behind after the wake we'd had there in the summer. The total the thieves got must have been about £50 BUT if they'd have had some sense and powers of observation they'd have seen an AGA iron that sat on top of the Aga cooker, at the time during the recession everyone was going 'green and self sufficient' and wanted wood burners and the AGA irons were very desirable and were selling on Ebay for a couple of hundred quid!

 

[barryd]

Just a thought but does anyone know what the max size battery you could put under the bonnet on a 2015 Ducato 2.3? Solar has been crap today as the sun only appeared early on and then about 4pm and it's too low now. So tonight I've switched to the cab battery for a couple of hours and then I'll switch back to the leisure battery. Splitting the load so to speak. Tomorrow when its full sun both will get charged back up pretty quick.

I was just wondering, could you fit a super powerful deep cycle cab battery and just alternate the two? Probably not good practice I reckon. If it works for now at least it might be helpful on days like today until I get a proper system.

I reckon we are moving on Monday finally and we have done alright really but I think ill be seeking out hookup in September.

 

[wildebus]

Just a thought but does anyone know what the max size battery you could put under the bonnet on a 2015 Ducato 2.3?

Ummm .... Zero Ah Battery is in the passenger footwell

Solar has been crap today as the sun only appeared early on and then about 4pm and it's too low now. So tonight I've switched to the cab battery for a couple of hours and then I'll switch back to the leisure battery. Splitting the load so to speak. Tomorrow when its full sun both will get charged back up pretty quick.

I was just wondering, could you fit a super powerful deep cycle cab battery and just alternate the two? Probably not good practice I reckon. If it works for now at least it might be helpful on days like today until I get a proper system.

Group/G19 battery. Search for that and see what is the biggest listed. Probably 120Ah at a guess.

I reckon we are moving on Monday finally and we have done alright really but I think ill be seeking out hookup in September.

 

[mark61]

Odyssey claim to do starting batteries, that also have deep cycle ability. Not sure how true there claim is though.

https://eu.odysseybattery.com/design-advantages-of-odyssey-batteries/

 

[Robmac]

Odyssey claim to do starting batteries, that also have deep cycle ability. Not sure how true there claim is though.

https://eu.odysseybattery.com/design-advantages-of-odyssey-batteries/

I've had dual purpose batteries on boats before Mark (Not Odyssey though).

They served me well in terms of both engine starting and leisure use but I was never a heavy leccy user on boats. Having said that my first ever boat donkey's years ago had just an old car battery for engine starting and hab and I had a 10" 12V TV, the lights and water pump running from it and I would often go to bed with the TV on and wake up to it still on in the morning. It also had a 10W solar panel for trickle charging and I rarely had a flat battery for starting if ever. Not that it would have mattered as I could start the engine with a pull-chord anyway.

Oh how things have changed!

 

[merl]

Just a thought but does anyone know what the max size battery you could put under the bonnet on a 2015 Ducato 2.3? Solar has been crap today as the sun only appeared early on and then about 4pm and it's too low now. So tonight I've switched to the cab battery for a couple of hours and then I'll switch back to the leisure battery. Splitting the load so to speak. Tomorrow when its full sun both will get charged back up pretty quick.

I was just wondering, could you fit a super powerful deep cycle cab battery and just alternate the two? Probably not good practice I reckon. If it works for now at least it might be helpful on days like today until I get a proper system.

I reckon we are moving on Monday finally and we have done alright really but I think ill be seeking out hookup in September.

Surely if you're going to splash out on another battery you'd be best adding a second leisure one rather than trying to use the starter battery for a job that it's not meant or designed to do and risk not being able to start the van.
Spend the Dosh on an MPPT instead, it'll increase your solar gain and therefore your available power on less than perfect days. You're going to have to buy a replacement soon enough so you just need to make sure you get the correct one. Same goes WRT fitting additional solar which would be my next focus after the MPPT.
Taking more from the batteries than they are recieving (ie recharging) can only be sustained for a relatively short time, recharge is where it's at.
With an MPPT and more solar the existing LB would give you way more than your getting at the moment. Focus on recharge, not more battery.

 

[trevskoda]

If these posts go on much more about his setup im for sending the police round to charge him & put him in a cell with no plates to eat off

 

[barryd]

Just a thought as a stop gap but I'll not bother. I used it for an hour watching stuff on the laptop. It was still flashing fully charged on the solar controller after.

I think the van has a fail safe for cutting off power to the starter battery if it gets close to the point where it won't start.

I don't think fitting an mppt controller will help. The batteries get full charge with the one we have but it just doesn't last long. I'll just eek it out until we get the Lithium system fitted. We haven't done bad though. Three weeks we have been back on this spot off grid without moving.

 

[merl]

I don't think fitting an mppt controller will help. The batteries get full charge with the one we have but it just doesn't last long.

You previously posted:-

Solar has been crap today as the sun only appeared early on and then about 4pm and it's too low now.

And then you went on to suggest adding a better cab battery and using that for leisure So I assumed you were trying to fix the lack of solar by increasing the battery capacity.
If you're 'managing' WRT battery capacity when it's sunny but not when it's overcast then you need more solar gain. = MPPT/ more panels. If you're not then you need more battery capacity and probably more solar gain too in order to replenish the additional capacity?
You will need an MPPT anyway when you upgrade, you could get and fit that now and it WOULD help on cloudy days.
Careful or we'll have to resort to Trev's idea.