Hello. I'm new to this, and have burning Questions. Electric/solar. (1 Viewer)

[PussyGalore]

Hiya, you lot seem like a friendly (and more importantly, knowledgeable) bunch, so having picked up my new (1990s) Elddis yesterday, I have a few questions and was wondering if anybody could offer advice. I registered last night while watching a Sean Connery obit on the news so the only username I could think of is Pussy Galore (I regret nothing).

I bought the MH to be able to live off grid for 2 weeks at a time, with no hook up at all (though water and waste disposal won't be a problem), so I was hoping solar would be my answer. I could fit a few 100w panels on the roof, certainly. I only really need electricity for the water pump, and to charge my laptop and phone in order to WFH. It's only a small laptop (Lenovo Chromebook) so I'm anticipating this being possible hopefully?

I'm hoping, and having done some research, that 2 x 4.5kg gas canisters will be enough for heating, cooking, refrigerating and washing for two weeks.

As well as the two general queries above, I have more;

1. I drove the MH for 3 hours yesterday, and have had it on EHU for a few hours today, but the leisure battery indicator is still showing the red 'low' light. Is this normal? If it was almost depleted when I bought it, how long would it take to charge it? There is enough in there to turn the lights on but they're very dim. The seller had no idea how old the leisure battery is so it probably needs changing.

2. With the MH on EHU, the plugs are working, but I don't know how to turn the lights or the water pump on, on EHU. The switch has to be set to either the starter or the leisure battery for these to work.

3. The leisure battery is under the bonnet. If I needed/wanted a second one to double my capacity, would it have to go under there or could it go inside the MH somewhere and still be wired in parallel? I don't think there's space under the bonnet.

4. I can wire a plug, and change a bathroom tap. Could I install solar panels? If not, anyone know someone/somewhere in Norfolk that does?

5. The MH has two 250v plugs, but they're useless without EHU or without an inverter right? I think I can do without any 230v appliances because my Chromebook has a USB-C power input and I think a 12v charger would charge it (albeit slowly), but having said that I would need 12v charging ports wouldn't I? There is a cigarette lighter in the cab but presumably that only draws power from the starter battery. I'd need to install 12v chargers in that case, right?

Basically I need someone to tell me exactly what I need to do to sort out my electrics.

Thanks a bunch.
Patrick

 

[funflair]

Hi Patrick

Welcome to fun.

First things first you need a voltmeter check the voltage of the leisure battery, next you need to run the engine or put it on hook up or both but separately, then you need to see what volts are on the terminals of the leisure battery, if its the same as without any charge source you have a problem, if the volts are over 13 you are getting some charge but if the battery goes straight back to the original reading you need a new one you might find that its flooded lead acid and dry as a bone.

You could install another leisure battery wherever you can find room but ideally you need the connections for charging and drawing power on the +ve of one and -ve of the other but if you are only pulling small loads you could get away with it but don't skimp on the size of the joining cables, also a fuse at each end of the +ve cable that joins them unless they are next to each other.

Installing solar panels is not difficult but needs to be done right of course both in terms of the wiring and the fixing to the roof, is the roof suitable? is it solid or is it a floating sheet or fibreglass moulding?

Martin

 

[68c]

Yes, you can do it. Vans of that age are not too complicated, no clever electronics. Basically you have a leisure battery and a battery charger, the battery can also charge from the engine alternator. Adding solar is like having another alternator so again not complicated. However, a completely flat battery may take twenty hours or more to recharge, if the battery is old it may never fully charge.
Take things easy and it will all work out.

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[Wh05apk]

If you're looking at going off grid this time off year, you will probably need more solar than will fit on your roof, we have 420w and this time of year it produces next to nothing, not even enough to hold the battery charge.

 

[DBK]

Welcome!

At a guess the leisure battery is probably goosed although there might be another explanation but a dead battery is the most likely cause and no amount of charging will cure it.

You could fit an extra battery inside but it should be vented to the outside. In theory there are sealed batteries which are not supposed to need venting but even these can vent if over-charged. You can get lithium batteries but they are expensive and for a 1990s MH probably not worth it as you would need to change the charger as well.

200W of solar on the roof could be enough if your electrical use is really low but as always the more the better. There's a description in my signature of how I fitted a panel and you will find other descriptions on here if you search.

I would recommend USB sockets instead of cigarette lighter sockets if all your electrical stuff will work off one. These are not hard to fit if you can find a 12v supply.

The lights and water pump will run off 12v so should be available whether you are on EHU or not but there are likely to be switches somewhere to turn them on.

 

[Ginster]

and

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[PussyGalore]

Thanks for the words of advice guys. I went ahead and got a multimeter.

After applying the voltmeter to the leisure battery my findings were as follows;

9v unconnected
9v when hooked up
14v with the engine on (no EHU)

Any indication of what this means? Is it just the battery that is dead or something more sinister?

 

[David and Sally]

IMHO. 9v is dead. Sounds like your EHU charger is dead or not connected/switched on.

Experts will be along soon.

 

[pappajohn]

9v unconnected
9v when hooked up
14v with the engine on (no EHU)

9v is dead and will never recover... New battery.
Looks like the split charge alternator to leisure battery is correct, if not a little high.
On the control panel switch the battery source to HABITATION, the other way will flatten the engine battery.
On hookup it appears the charger isn't working... May be turned off at the on/off switch on the charger or the 230v breaker is turned off.

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[Potty]

Our first van, 20 years ago was a 1990s Elddis Cirrus. I am no expert and if I get something wrong, I am sure those that are will correct me.

To answer some of your questions

when on EHU the 12v system has to be turned on for lights, etc to work. The power to them still comes through the battery.

There will probably be a 12v socket somewhere but it may not be the cigar lighter type that you are used to seeing in car dashboards. It will probably be near a TV aerial socket and could look like the picture below. You can buy a cigar type adapter that you can plug your laptop or phone into.

As to gas, it will depend when you are using the van and how much you will be inside. If you haven’t already got them, get some outside screens for the cab windows to reduce heat loss.

Our van had a gas fire and a gas water heater (Carver Cascade). If you are using the van in winter and spending a lot of time in it, I think you will find 9kgs won’t last very long. Make sure you turn the water heater off after or even just before showering so that you are not wasting gas. Boil a kettle for washing up etc.

Hope this helps.

 

[Clivefog]

When I had no solar power I used a a small boost battery intended for starting engines with a flat battery, £25ish of ebay, absolutely useless for its intended use but has USB and indeed many other charging options ideal for phone/laptop charging. It can be charged from the mains before travel and by the cigar lighter while driving. As said it depends on how much time you are intending spending inside, I now have a solar panel and attend (not this year) many shows exhibiting a motorbike, most evenings are spent around a camp fire only to return for sleep. On gas my wife likes it hot (I should be so lucky) heating has been known to be on in August. We have one 11kg and a smaller back up, never run out yet, famous last words.

 

[Sid52]

Question 5 asks about chromebook charging. It will not charge on a standard USB socket as this only delivers about 5v. The Chromebook is a 20v battery or thereabouts. If you look at the mains charger transformer box you will see the dc voltage of the battery.
To charge off a 12v socket you could get an inverter which would give you a 240v socket which could be used with the mains charger you already have. However not very efficient converting 12v to 240v and back to 20v.
Better would be a 12v plug with smart transformer to 20v, (or lower depending on the item being charged), and a USB C cable.
Here's a link to one I bought recently.
Amazon product ASIN B08BLJZL12

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[Vipar]

Greetings peeps welcome from Bexley

 

[PussyGalore]

Our first van, 20 years ago was a 1990s Elddis Cirrus. I am no expert and if I get something wrong, I am sure those that are will correct me.

To answer some of your questions

when on EHU the 12v system has to be turned on for lights, etc to work. The power to them still comes through the battery.

There will probably be a 12v socket somewhere but it may not be the cigar lighter type that you are used to seeing in car dashboards. It will probably be near a TV aerial socket and could look like the picture below. You can buy a cigar type adapter that you can plug your laptop or phone into.

As to gas, it will depend when you are using the van and how much you will be inside. If you haven’t already got them, get some outside screens for the cab windows to reduce heat loss.

Our van had a gas fire and a gas water heater (Carver Cascade). If you are using the van in winter and spending a lot of time in it, I think you will find 9kgs won’t last very long. Make sure you turn the water heater off after or even just before showering so that you are not wasting gas. Boil a kettle for washing up etc.

Hope this helps.

View attachment 437949View attachment 437949

I did find one of these! Very useful, thank you. I had come across it before actually but had no idea what it was (didn't look carefully enough to see the writing). Also the fact there is a plug in it which looks like nothing more than a lump of plastic confused me further.

 

[PussyGalore]

Question 5 asks about chromebook charging. It will not charge on a standard USB socket as this only delivers about 5v. The Chromebook is a 20v battery or thereabouts. If you look at the mains charger transformer box you will see the dc voltage of the battery.
To charge off a 12v socket you could get an inverter which would give you a 240v socket which could be used with the mains charger you already have. However not very efficient converting 12v to 240v and back to 20v.
Better would be a 12v plug with smart transformer to 20v, (or lower depending on the item being charged), and a USB C cable.
Here's a link to one I bought recently.
Amazon product ASIN B08BLJZL12

I did think it a bit weird that a USB might power a chromebook... had assumed that they were the same voltage as the cigarette lighter plug because someone else mentioned I would be better off with just USBs. Thanks for the link, very helpful.

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[PussyGalore]

9v is dead and will never recover... New battery.
Looks like the split charge alternator to leisure battery is correct, if not a little high.
On the control panel switch the battery source to HABITATION, the other way will flatten the engine battery.
On hookup it appears the charger isn't working... May be turned off at the on/off switch on the charger or the 230v breaker is turned off.

Hmm. Yes it would appear the hookup isn't charging the battery. I found the fuse box and they all appear to be on. I guess this means its the battery charger that's the problem. Problem is I have no idea where that might be. Do they tend to be under the bonnet or elsewhere? Very grateful for the help, ta.

 

[DBK]

I did think it a bit weird that a USB might power a chromebook... had assumed that they were the same voltage as the cigarette lighter plug because someone else mentioned I would be better off with just USBs. Thanks for the link, very helpful.

It was me who suggested USB sockets. I've since learned though in theory you can charge a Chromebook from 5 volts it isn't the most efficient way to do it. This is because the new USB-C connector isn't just a different size it is supposed to allow any charger to charge any device but the reality is a bit more complex as the USB socket needed to charge it at 5 volts would need to produce more amps than most can produce.

So I suggest, on reflection fit 12 volt sockets and use a suitable charger.

 

[Itsmcb]

Hmm. Yes it would appear the hookup isn't charging the battery. I found the fuse box and they all appear to be on. I guess this means its the battery charger that's the problem. Problem is I have no idea where that might be. Do they tend to be under the bonnet or elsewhere? Very grateful for the help, ta.

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[Itsmcb]

The battery charger is quite often built in to the consumer unit box with the 230v trips and 12v fuses. On mine, which is in the wardrobe, there a small rocker switch on the top which switches the charger on (or off).