Get our sumit prime 640 next month

[hja]

Hi
For various reasons we are changing our a/s Broadway for a Sumit Prime. We have various requirements and this most closely fits those.
I know it has a compressor fridge - not something we have ever used before. I think it is a Dometic. The van will have a 120w solar panel. We usually have a hook up - so I guess that is OK. Does the fridge still just work from the leisure battery which is then recharged from the hook up, or does it run direct from the hook up?
We havent done any off grid camping yet (we are very unlikely to wildcamp), but we are attracted by a couple of non-electric CLs. What are the implications of that for the fridge?

Just on a very minor point, where do others put their rubbish bin? There didnt seem to be one in the van and as the fridge is at the end of the kitchen, one wont fit there. Have read most of the posts in this forum - interested especially with where & how to put hooks!

We are really looking forward to a very different type of camping once we get our heads around the new van, but its also a bit daunting - maybe now we are aged 69 & 70 we just find it more difficult to get our heads around new things! I notice there are three control panels over the door - two I understand (Truma & general control panel) but not sure what the other one is yet. It took me 2 years to really understand and use the panels on the Broadway - & my OH never did properly understand them - he hates reading instruction books!

Many thanks, Helen

 

[Grianan]

I’m not sure how similar Summit Prime os to the Campscout. We put a small stainless bin on the LHS of the step to the bed.
We have same fridge and solar - ok for a couple of nights with no driving.

 

[hja]

Thank you for that info. It's reassuring.

 

[CazPaul]

Blue Knight knows about these models.

 

[Blue Knight]

Hi
For various reasons we are changing our a/s Broadway for a Sumit Prime. We have various requirements and this most closely fits those.
I know it has a compressor fridge - not something we have ever used before. I think it is a Dometic. The van will have a 120w solar panel. We usually have a hook up - so I guess that is OK. Does the fridge still just work from the leisure battery which is then recharged from the hook up, or does it run direct from the hook up?
We havent done any off grid camping yet (we are very unlikely to wildcamp), but we are attracted by a couple of non-electric CLs. What are the implications of that for the fridge?

Just on a very minor point, where do others put their rubbish bin? There didnt seem to be one in the van and as the fridge is at the end of the kitchen, one wont fit there. Have read most of the posts in this forum - interested especially with where & how to put hooks!

We are really looking forward to a very different type of camping once we get our heads around the new van, but its also a bit daunting - maybe now we are aged 69 & 70 we just find it more difficult to get our heads around new things! I notice there are three control panels over the door - two I understand (Truma & general control panel) but not sure what the other one is yet. It took me 2 years to really understand and use the panels on the Broadway - & my OH never did properly understand them - he hates reading instruction books!

Many thanks, Helen

Hi Helen, and well done on your purchase. The Summit Primes are nice spacious vans, ideal for travelling and they look good too.

I'll go through the points in order.

1. The control panel is very easy to use so you won't have any worries there - and I really do mean very easy

2. Your Prime is different to my own conventional Summit 640 inasmuch as we have a great swing-out cupboard (where your fridge is) which allows us to position our 'bendy bucket' which we use as a bin. I'm not sure why they've changed the layout on the Prime models but as I see it the only place for your bin is in the big cupboard towards the bed area.

3. There is no exact answer to your fridge and battery consumption question. You'll need to configure a power consumption list of what electric items you'll be using and for how long and it what conditions, i.e. off grid or via EHU etc and in summer, winter........

4. If you intend to use EHU all of the time while only ever 'off-gridding' for a maximum of 24 hours then your current single LA95 AGM battery set-up will be fine. Note: The compressor fridge will draw power from the hab battery only when you're not connected to EHU or when driving.

5. The challenge begins when you want to camp off-grid for a full 48-hour period or more as you'll then need more battery juice. Also, it very much depends if you want to off-grid in Spain during the Summer or the Highlands of Scotland over winter. We do the latter and I'll say now that I find the fridge and its power consumption challenges do take over my life.

Note again: I use 'hours' in my terminology and not days as it's important that you understand how many Amp hours you have available to you when operating off-grid.

6. If I was you then I would base my fridge consumption figure on 1.3Ah and the telly on 3Ah. The other LED lighting systems on the Summit can probably be ringfenced as 6Ah (for reading etc) over an evenings worth of reading.

7. If we then apply the above figures for a full 24-hour 'off-grid' camping period then your initial power consumption chart will go something like this:

a. 24 hours of fridge usage x 1.3Ah = 31.2Ah
b. 3 hours of telly x 3Ah = 9Ah
c. Usage of 6Ah for reading = 6Ah

.......so this means that you'll need a minimum of 46Ah from your hab battery per 24 hours. If you use your telly for longer or shorter periods then adjust the calculation accordingly. Note: The use of inverters, USB charging points and 12v power supply points to support fans etc will only add to your power consumption figure so adjust that accordingly too.

8. One more consideration is your ability to replenish your batteries. If you're on EHU then this is not a problem but if operating just via '120W solar' and engine alternator then it's important that you try and understand how many Amp Hours are being replenished under certain sunny or dull conditions.

9. My own recommendation would be to add a second battery but I'm not a big fan of AGM batteries (the standard battery which comes in your Summit) so I opted for 2 x Yuasa L36 EFBs which charge rapidly. Also, be aware that the Summit only comes with a 16A charger so if you added a second AGM battery then the charger would find it tough going and would probably go pop if heavily used.

I appreciate that I've written lots but I've numbered the paragraphs so that you can refer to them in any questions you have.

I hope this is of some help.

Very best,

Andrew

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[hja]

Really helpful, Andrew. Many thanks. I will go through your calculations for our use. We dont have a TV - so that is one less drain! We are really looking forward to it, but know we shall need to get used to it (as you do with all new vans) but never having had to consider power consumptions before this info is really helpful.

 

[Wadski]

Hi Helen,

Great to hear of your choice of van, we pick ours up this coming Thursday and are very excited. Summit prime 640 the same as yours. Ours was in stock at the dealers so we're just waiting for workshop space for the PDI but have been promised it'll be next Thursday.
Had some great tips from Andrew too (blue knight), this really is a great forum.
I'll post some more thoughts after we collect it and have been away a couple of times.

Steve

 

[Blue Knight]

Really helpful, Andrew. Many thanks. I will go through your calculations for our use. We dont have a TV - so that is one less drain! We are really looking forward to it, but know we shall need to get used to it (as you do with all new vans) but never having had to consider power consumptions before this info is really helpful.

Hi Helen, me again.....

One thing that I didn't mention is that I have three hab batteries installed; 2 x L36s which are bolted under the seat (which form the main hab battery bank) and a LA95 AGM which is located in the rear of the van.

The rear LA95 has 67Ah available when discharged to 30%, as per a typical AGM battery, supplies power to the Avtex telly, puddle light and extra charging points (all installed by me).

The 2 x L36s (EFB wets) provide a total usable power capability of 100Ah when discharged to 50% and it's these batteries that support the compressor fridge and the reading lights at night. They are never used for the telly.

The CBE charger which is fitted to your Summit will have two inputs for solar and I would certainly recommend that you consider the addition of extra solar (fixed or portable) should you do out of season camping in the Highlands like us. It will help.

We also have 2 x 11kg Gaslow bottles fitted and find them invaluable for ease of gas replenishment etc.

........so in conclusion we have a total of 167 usable Amp Hours and 120W of solar and we still have to be very careful with our power management in the H&I.

That said, if you use your van in Spain (with a second hab battery) then you won't have any issues at all.

All the best,

Andrew

 

[hja]

Hi Helen,

Great to hear of your choice of van, we pick ours up this coming Thursday and are very excited. Summit prime 640 the same as yours. Ours was in stock at the dealers so we're just waiting for workshop space for the PDI but have been promised it'll be next Thursday.
Had some great tips from Andrew too (blue knight), this really is a great forum.
I'll post some more thoughts after we collect it and have been away a couple of times.

Steve

Thanks Steve. Ours too was in stock at the dealers. Seeing you seem to be from Oakham, was yours from SMC? That is where ours is coming from. They told us that they go as soon as they come in - so we were lucky!

 

[hja]

Hi Helen, me again.....

One thing that I didn't mention is that I have three hab batteries installed; 2 x L36s which are bolted under the seat (which form the main hab battery bank) and a LA95 AGM which is located in the rear of the van.

The rear LA95 has 67Ah available when discharged to 30%, as per a typical AGM battery, supplies power to the Avtex telly, puddle light and extra charging points (all installed by me).

The 2 x L36s (EFB wets) provide a total usable power capability of 100Ah when discharged to 50% and it's these batteries that support the compressor fridge and the reading lights at night. They are never used for the telly.

The CBE charger which is fitted to your Summit will have two inputs for solar and I would certainly recommend that you consider the addition of extra solar (fixed or portable) should you do out of season camping in the Highlands like us. It will help.

We also have 2 x 11kg Gaslow bottles fitted and find them invaluable for ease of gas replenishment etc.

........so in conclusion we have a total of 167 usable Amp Hours and 120W of solar and we still have to be very careful with our power management in the H&I.

That said, if you use your van in Spain (with a second hab battery) then you won't have any issues at all.

All the best,

Andrew

Thanks again Andrew. We are having one 11kg Gaslow and smaller one. SMC told us that they felt it was too tight to put in 2 11kg. We have a 25l underhung tank with our Broadway, so was keen to have refillables.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Wadski]

Thanks Steve. Ours too was in stock at the dealers. Seeing you seem to be from Oakham, was yours from SMC? That is where ours is coming from. They told us that they go as soon as they come in - so we were lucky!

Helen, yes we're getting ours from SMC too, they told us the same, said they had one more coming soon (the one you've bought I guess), then no further stock coming until the end of the year.
I guess we went in to look at it just in time...

 

[Blue Knight]

Thanks again Andrew. We are having one 11kg Gaslow and smaller one. SMC told us that they felt it was too tight to put in 2 11kg. We have a 25l underhung tank with our Broadway, so was keen to have refillables.

Hi Helen, you've been given some proper duff info there!

There's a tonne of space in the locker.

This is mine with 2 x 11kg Gaslow tanks fitted: