Early days - so many questions ? (1 Viewer)

[mickcope]

HI . - well so fun we love the Campscout camper to bits - i have a couple of newbie questions if i may?

1. How do i get access to the leisure battery area - looks like i have to take the driver seat off?

2. I would like to fit a second battery next to it to double up - has anyone done that?

3. Looks like we want solar power - any recommendations on kit and supplier - I am guessing 100 or 150w

Thanks Mick

 

[mikebeaches]

@Minxy Girl might be able to help you - she's got a Globecar Campscout, as have a significant number of others on here. And I'm sure she'd be able to assist with some / all of your queries.

 

[Cheshirecat57]

Rule 1: No such thing as a stupid question

Rule 2: See rule 1

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[MikeD]

As mentioned above there are lots of people on here who have bought a Globecar.

We have a IH and Dave Newell is the "go to man" for us for good advice for this type of thing.

He fitted our solar panel but don't forget to ask for a Funster discount.

 

[mickcope]

1 and 2 sorted . ta . - I have to take the drivers seat off

 

[Blue Knight]

3. Looks like we want solar power - any recommendations on kit and supplier - I am guessing 100 or 150w

Mick,

Your van will likely come with an AGM LA95 battery which needs a charge rate of 14.7/14.8v 'but', be warned that your alternator (Fiat-type) only charges at 14.4v so even after a long drive your AGM will never reach its full charge capacity. Some experts think that a standard alternator will only ever be able to charge an AGM battery to 80% capacity @ 14.4v so this will have its drawbacks if you have a compressor fridge which does suck up juice.

I swapped out my single AGM from my new Globecar and went with 2 x 100Ah L36-EFB batteries as they can be charged to full capacity from the alternator at 14.4v. The charge voltage can also be raised to 14.8v (when required) which means a quicker charge if done by your solar regulator when off grid.

I've still used my AGM LA95 as a third standalone hab battery but my new EFB set-up works incredibly when off-grid with 120w of solar in support.

You could pick up 2 x L36s for circa £220 and then sell your AGM to offset some of your costs or else you'll have to buy a 2nd AGM LA95 @ circa £200 a pop.

This is just my experience but others may offer a few alternatives.

All the best,

Andrew

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[Minxy]

1. How do i get access to the leisure battery area - looks like i have to take the driver seat off?

yup, only way to do so.

2. I would like to fit a second battery next to it to double up - has anyone done that?

Yup.

3. Looks like we want solar power - any recommendations on kit and supplier - I am guessing 100 or 150w

As big as you can if you've got an all-electric fridge like we have, I've put 2 x 100w ones on and am adding a 50w I bought (my solar controller will take 250w). I went for an MPPT duo controller rather than a basic one as they are more efficient and allow the cab battery to be charged too.

Some info here about what I've done:

https://globecarcampscoutinfo.yolasite.com/

 

[Minxy]

Just one word of caution, if you do change the battery type, make sure you change the setting on the electrobloc for the right type, on ours we have a choice of AGM or Gel, but NOT normal lead.

 

[mickcope]

Mick,

Your van will likely come with an AGM LA95 battery which needs a charge rate of 14.7/14.8v 'but', be warned that your alternator (Fiat-type) only charges at 14.4v so even after a long drive your AGM will never reach its full charge capacity. Some experts think that a standard alternator will only ever be able to charge an AGM battery to 80% capacity @ 14.4v so this will have its drawbacks if you have a compressor fridge which does suck up juice.

I swapped out my single AGM from my new Globecar and went with 2 x 100Ah L36-EFB batteries as they can be charged to full capacity from the alternator at 14.4v. The charge voltage can also be raised to 14.8v (when required) which means a quicker charge if done by your solar regulator when off grid.

I've still used my AGM LA95 as a third standalone hab battery but my new EFB set-up works incredibly when off-grid with 120w of solar in support.

You could pick up 2 x L36s for circa £220 and then sell your AGM to offset some of your costs or else you'll have to buy a 2nd AGM LA95 @ circa £200 a pop.

This is just my experience but others may offer a few alternatives.

All the best,

Andrew

Hi Andrew. At the moment it has a Varta LA95.
Cheers.
Mick

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[tonyidle]

With solar the bigger (or greater number) the better. Headline figures for panels look good but in full sun in the UK with a flat mounted panel the best you'll see is half the rated output when the sun is at it's highest. A couple of clouds or a dull day and it'll be down to 10%. So base your choice on roof area / funds available and use a decent MPPT regulator.

 

[Blue Knight]

Hi Andrew. At the moment it has a Varta LA95.
Cheers.
Mick

Your single AGM will be fine Mick if you intend to use your van on sites where EHU is freely available. It will also cope nicely with single nights away in winter and 2-night trips in the summer but if you intend to go a few days off-grid then a second battery is a must.

Tony @tonyidle makes some tip-top points and in all honesty a solar unit is fairly useless in the dark overcast days of Winter/Autumn/Spring in the UK so the battery selection becomes all the more important.

If my calculations are correct (I await an expert to come along and help me out here), then a healthy LA95 will only have about 48.5Ah available @30%DoD when fully charged at a 14.4v rating by the alternator (i.e. the difference between the upper and lower margins). That's not great for off-gridding unless you are permanently on the move or have access to EHU.

There's a great thread in the solar section which I'll try and find for you now.

All the best,

Andrew

 

[Blue Knight]

It's a current one:

https://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/forum/threads/specific-advice-please-for-fiat-pvc.179464/

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[mickcope]

Your single AGM will be fine Mick if you intend to use your van on sites where EHU is freely available. It will also cope nicely with single nights away in winter and 2-night trips in the summer but if you intend to go a few days off-grid then a second battery is a must.

Tony @tonyidle makes some tip-top points and in all honesty a solar unit is fairly useless in the dark overcast days of Winter/Autumn/Spring in the UK so the battery selection becomes all the more important.

If my calculations are correct (I await an expert to come along and help me out here), then a healthy LA95 will only have about 48.5Ah available @30%DoD when fully charged at a 14.4v rating by the alternator (i.e. the difference between the upper and lower margins). That's not great for off-gridding unless you are permanently on the move or have access to EHU.

There's a great thread in the solar section which I'll try and find for you now.

All the best,

Andrew

Thanks andrew Soooo much to learn Ta mick

 

[pappajohn]

1 and 2 sorted . ta . - I have to take the drivers seat off

And it heavy and awkward.

 

[Minxy]

1 and 2 sorted . ta . - I have to take the drivers seat off

Before doing so remove the plastic trim round the base as it's easy to accidentally 'catch' the seat on it whilst you're trying to remove it and it can get marked/damaged ... that's what the idiots who swapped our leisure batteries over did!

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