Caravan Electrics - Newbie stupid questions
Discussion
For one reason or another we have found ourselves owners of a caravan.
We took our first trip over the bank holiday and it was useful for what we used it for (staying on site at dog agility competitions). We don't plan to use it for our holidays so its use will be limited to a max of 3 or 4 nights over long weekends. Having never even set foot in a caravan until we picked ours up a couple of weekends ago I know absolutely nothing about them. We got through the weekend, everything worked and we remembered to connect everything up and plug things in in the correct order so we had hot water and a fridge and cooker that worked (using the gas bottle).
As agility competitions are usually in the middle of a field there is no power to connect to. So we were pretty frugal with running things off the battery (we had no idea how long it would last) - we used the fridge on gas and ended up with what seemed like a fair amount of battery left. Should we use the fridge on 12v electric instead or will it eat the battery?
So, we got the caravan home and I have plugged the 240v wire from the caravan in to a socket in the garage.
Stupid question number 1, will this charge the battery in the caravan sufficiently and keep it topped up in good condition? Do I need to switch any switches inside or will it just know to top up the battery? Would I be better off taking the battery out and keeping it on a normal charger/optimate?
Stupid question number 2: Next to the battery gauge in the van there is a rocker switch which toggles between car battery, caravan battery and off. If when towing we set this switch to car battery does this charge the caravan battery or does it just power anything like the fridge directly off the car rather than caravan battery?
Stupid question number 3: As mentioned, we were worried we would run out of battery so were pretty frugal with power consumption but noticed others had solar panels. I did a quick search and other solar panel topics seem to be about size required but my question is more basic. How do these connect to the caravans electrical system? Do these plug into the 240v hook up connector or more directly to the battery through one of the solar panel power controllers? Is it possible to wire them in somehow to charge the battery without removing the battery everytime? If the answer to question 1 is that there is an inbuilt 240v charging system would the two integrate somehow or could the 240v battery charger damage the solar panel control unit if that was left plugged onto the battery all the time?
We took our first trip over the bank holiday and it was useful for what we used it for (staying on site at dog agility competitions). We don't plan to use it for our holidays so its use will be limited to a max of 3 or 4 nights over long weekends. Having never even set foot in a caravan until we picked ours up a couple of weekends ago I know absolutely nothing about them. We got through the weekend, everything worked and we remembered to connect everything up and plug things in in the correct order so we had hot water and a fridge and cooker that worked (using the gas bottle).
As agility competitions are usually in the middle of a field there is no power to connect to. So we were pretty frugal with running things off the battery (we had no idea how long it would last) - we used the fridge on gas and ended up with what seemed like a fair amount of battery left. Should we use the fridge on 12v electric instead or will it eat the battery?
So, we got the caravan home and I have plugged the 240v wire from the caravan in to a socket in the garage.
Stupid question number 1, will this charge the battery in the caravan sufficiently and keep it topped up in good condition? Do I need to switch any switches inside or will it just know to top up the battery? Would I be better off taking the battery out and keeping it on a normal charger/optimate?
Stupid question number 2: Next to the battery gauge in the van there is a rocker switch which toggles between car battery, caravan battery and off. If when towing we set this switch to car battery does this charge the caravan battery or does it just power anything like the fridge directly off the car rather than caravan battery?
Stupid question number 3: As mentioned, we were worried we would run out of battery so were pretty frugal with power consumption but noticed others had solar panels. I did a quick search and other solar panel topics seem to be about size required but my question is more basic. How do these connect to the caravans electrical system? Do these plug into the 240v hook up connector or more directly to the battery through one of the solar panel power controllers? Is it possible to wire them in somehow to charge the battery without removing the battery everytime? If the answer to question 1 is that there is an inbuilt 240v charging system would the two integrate somehow or could the 240v battery charger damage the solar panel control unit if that was left plugged onto the battery all the time?
1. Yes it will keep van charged. Make sure the electric power source is set to caravan battery, that the mains is switched on (usually is by default), and on our van we have a circuit breaker for the charger - again not normally touched,
2. Will charge battery when set to car mode (and engine running), and if you have the 13 pin socket wired correctly, or the grey second socket and the fridge set to car, this will charge also. It's often not very efficient so best to make sure the fridge is pre-chilled first.
3. No experience but I imagine that these will charge via their own controller. Interesting query re dual charging.
I don't think the fridge will run off the caravan battery. If it does it will eat it up! Use gas when needed.
2. Will charge battery when set to car mode (and engine running), and if you have the 13 pin socket wired correctly, or the grey second socket and the fridge set to car, this will charge also. It's often not very efficient so best to make sure the fridge is pre-chilled first.
3. No experience but I imagine that these will charge via their own controller. Interesting query re dual charging.
I don't think the fridge will run off the caravan battery. If it does it will eat it up! Use gas when needed.
chrisga said:
Thanks Surveyor, useful stuff. So when plugged in to 240v electrical supply I need to switch rocker switch to caravan battery? Will it not be charging if in the off position? I've seen the circuit breaker so we have one of those.
My caravan has a switch for the battery charger.So when I'm at home plugged in to 240v, I turn the main power switch on and made sure the battery charger is switched on (otherwise it'll run everything off 240v but won't charge).
Ok, so this is the control panel part of the caravan:
Untitled by Chrisga, on Flickr
The battery level square is fairly self explanatory, with the main rocker switch, and rocker switches for 1) water heater, 2, front 12v lighting, 3, rear 12v lighting and 4 the water pump. Red light comes on next to water pump when in use and the on light comes on with the water heater (after drawing water through hot tap system first). The 240v plug socket only works when plugged into mains. Tested that tonight!
Auxiliary 1 seems to be the on off switch for the carver fan master and haven't figured out aux 2 yet. Anyway to do that other than turn off and try to figure what's not working? No idea why there are two aerial points and I have no idea what the single button does under the 240v three pin plug socket but the red light comes on if you flick it.
The carver fanmaster control panel with thermostat works the heater and I read that when on elec it controls temp from that thermostat, but when running on gas you use the heater control knob to change temperature. The single rocker switch with carver fanmaster written under it doesnt actually seem to control anything either. Wonder if it makes a difference if not plugged in to the mains.
So we appear to be able to make all the systems work but still not sure what some switches do. The manual wasn't very helpful as the ones we can't figure out aren't on the van diagrams in the caravan manual which I found.
The manual also says the caravan has a zig x7 charging unit and power supply but doesn't mention which way the main rocker switch needs to be to achieve battery charging from mains hook up. When plugged into the mains there is a red light on the zig x7 unit itself which I located in a rear cupboard in the bathroom (is that normal as a) its the bathroom, with well you know, water and stuff, and b) it's at the furthest point away from mains plug socket and battery box for some reason).
And final question. We got a caravan cover when we bought it. I don't intend to put it on between every use as can imagine that's a huge faff, but would you recommend using it over the winter? I like the idea of it keeping the worst of the rain/weather/scum off but will it let damp in from underneath and sort of hold it inside or against the van doing other damage? I sail dinghies and have seen the damage some covers can do by holding water against the gelcoat for a long time causing it to bubble and eventually crack off.
Sorry for so many questions. Sure we'll figure it all out soon. Off to try again weekend after next.
We are going to book a service for it so perhaps they can tell us what everything does....
Untitled by Chrisga, on FlickrThe battery level square is fairly self explanatory, with the main rocker switch, and rocker switches for 1) water heater, 2, front 12v lighting, 3, rear 12v lighting and 4 the water pump. Red light comes on next to water pump when in use and the on light comes on with the water heater (after drawing water through hot tap system first). The 240v plug socket only works when plugged into mains. Tested that tonight!
Auxiliary 1 seems to be the on off switch for the carver fan master and haven't figured out aux 2 yet. Anyway to do that other than turn off and try to figure what's not working? No idea why there are two aerial points and I have no idea what the single button does under the 240v three pin plug socket but the red light comes on if you flick it.
The carver fanmaster control panel with thermostat works the heater and I read that when on elec it controls temp from that thermostat, but when running on gas you use the heater control knob to change temperature. The single rocker switch with carver fanmaster written under it doesnt actually seem to control anything either. Wonder if it makes a difference if not plugged in to the mains.
So we appear to be able to make all the systems work but still not sure what some switches do. The manual wasn't very helpful as the ones we can't figure out aren't on the van diagrams in the caravan manual which I found.
The manual also says the caravan has a zig x7 charging unit and power supply but doesn't mention which way the main rocker switch needs to be to achieve battery charging from mains hook up. When plugged into the mains there is a red light on the zig x7 unit itself which I located in a rear cupboard in the bathroom (is that normal as a) its the bathroom, with well you know, water and stuff, and b) it's at the furthest point away from mains plug socket and battery box for some reason).
And final question. We got a caravan cover when we bought it. I don't intend to put it on between every use as can imagine that's a huge faff, but would you recommend using it over the winter? I like the idea of it keeping the worst of the rain/weather/scum off but will it let damp in from underneath and sort of hold it inside or against the van doing other damage? I sail dinghies and have seen the damage some covers can do by holding water against the gelcoat for a long time causing it to bubble and eventually crack off.
Sorry for so many questions. Sure we'll figure it all out soon. Off to try again weekend after next.
We are going to book a service for it so perhaps they can tell us what everything does....
The van battery should charge whenever connected to 240v no matter what position the switch is in. To check, put the switch to van with no 240v connected. Fully charged your meter should be on 12v obviously. Now switch on the 240v and it should show 13+ which is charging the battery.
Your fridge will only run on 12v when hooked up to the car and the car engine running. And even then, it will barely 'hold station'. You should fire up the fridge on 240v a day before you go anywhere. And then when you pitch up, switch to gas or 240v.
Aux switches will be for heater(as you've discovered) and probably the onboard water heater.
Your fridge will only run on 12v when hooked up to the car and the car engine running. And even then, it will barely 'hold station'. You should fire up the fridge on 240v a day before you go anywhere. And then when you pitch up, switch to gas or 240v.
Aux switches will be for heater(as you've discovered) and probably the onboard water heater.
Echo the above, although ours does have a switch for the battery charger so maybe your Aux 2 does that?
I thought it was pretty common to have a charger switch as not all caravans have batteries to charge.
I'd imagine the switch below the 3 pin socket is a fused switch for that socket? Try plugging something in to it and flick the switch to see if it works!
Here's ours:
I thought it was pretty common to have a charger switch as not all caravans have batteries to charge.
I'd imagine the switch below the 3 pin socket is a fused switch for that socket? Try plugging something in to it and flick the switch to see if it works!
Here's ours:
No, never felt the need to use solar panels.
Your battery should last a week easily when 'wild' camping (i.e. not on a site hooked up to 240v) and your gas bottle will easily last that long running the fridge and heater. Less likely if you hook a barbecue up to it though.
Rosscow, I bet you are filled with dread every time you flick a switch in your van, a switch panel proudly proclaiming "Made in Italy"
Your battery should last a week easily when 'wild' camping (i.e. not on a site hooked up to 240v) and your gas bottle will easily last that long running the fridge and heater. Less likely if you hook a barbecue up to it though.
Rosscow, I bet you are filled with dread every time you flick a switch in your van, a switch panel proudly proclaiming "Made in Italy"
Tyre Smoke said:
No, never felt the need to use solar panels.
Your battery should last a week easily when 'wild' camping (i.e. not on a site hooked up to 240v) and your gas bottle will easily last that long running the fridge and heater. Less likely if you hook a barbecue up to it though.
Rosscow, I bet you are filled with dread every time you flick a switch in your van, a switch panel proudly proclaiming "Made in Italy"
Never had a problem with it! Never had a fuse blow, a breaker go or anything! Your battery should last a week easily when 'wild' camping (i.e. not on a site hooked up to 240v) and your gas bottle will easily last that long running the fridge and heater. Less likely if you hook a barbecue up to it though.
Rosscow, I bet you are filled with dread every time you flick a switch in your van, a switch panel proudly proclaiming "Made in Italy"
(massively touching wood right now!!)Agreed, not had the need for a solar panel. We've camped sans hook up for 4 days with battery and gas without running out of juice.
OP - what size leisure battery do you have? It may be possible to fit a bigger one in. Ours is 110ah.
Rosscow said:
Tyre Smoke said:
Rosscow, I bet you are filled with dread every time you flick a switch in your van, a switch panel proudly proclaiming "Made in Italy"
Never had a problem with it! Never had a fuse blow, a breaker go or anything! (massively touching wood right now!!)I've just gone round home to catch up with him and see how it's going. All fine apart from my electrics
Apparently the leisure battery is knackered, and the battery charger is buggered. So he needs to take the fuse board, the circuit breakers and the charger out and send them away for a refurb. About £140, plus a new battery and a return visit.
You had to go and mention my Italian electrics, didn't you!!
Tyre Smoke said:
Aww Sorry mate!
Try Halfords for the leisure battery, no dearer and comes with a three year warranty. Mine is a 110a/h from there. Fitted to a Sterling Amethyst TA 2010.
Will do.Try Halfords for the leisure battery, no dearer and comes with a three year warranty. Mine is a 110a/h from there. Fitted to a Sterling Amethyst TA 2010.
What electrics are in your Sterling, then? As mine is an Ace (also Swift group) and is a 2008 TA. Thought it would have been similar but obviously they must have upgraded.
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