Charging 2nd battery from caravan ?

[FARWEST]

Originally Posted by Mousie

Farwest, don't be too hard on yourself as the jump up into high current flows is new to us all. Take for example, there is a Brisbane 'handyman' charging for van upgrades with big inverters and proudly showing pictures of his crap work as he only installs 35mm sq cables given that's all he has. To most folk it looks normal, but is in fact a fire danger. On the flip side, here I am making 95mm sq cables, then prep sanding lugs, locktited & torqued then load tested to 3400watts with a temp gun on every lug contact point to ensure a good electrical bind. Point being a lot has changed recently specially pushing this all at 12v.

I trust the installer...qualified and respected Electrician and a personal friend, he wouldnt lead mme astray and my 'safety' would have been his priority...'u-tubing' had shown me the difference in cabling needed from AGM to Lithium....my van is 2008 model so 'modern upgrades' werent even thought of at that stage...very jealous of the knowledge shared here...I give praise where it is due...here is certainly the case....you..in particular...have astounded me with your 'electrickery' knowledge on this forum...hats off mousie...credit where credits due and I thank you for your willingness to provide your knowledge

[drover]

Just re read the OP and realized you have a DC/DC charger in tug already, its simple to do it then, have an external anderson fitted on your van which is a direct connection to your batteries, fused, use at least 8 B&S then just plug an extension lead into it which plugs into the Dc/DC unit in your tug van supplies the power and the DC/DC charges the battery....... simple I have been using a similar set up when needed for donkeys on my set ups..... many go overkill with panels and charges, if you constantly need 20amp charging then your storage is too small as most times with adequate storage charging is often just single digit or small double digits......

[drover]

Originally Posted by FARWEST

Reading these posts and having 'u-tubed' many many many clips on solar upgrades...then being told by the installer that my van wiring 'wouldnt handle' the 500w of solar panels I'd bought for installation lets my know just how dumb I am...wish I was just a tiny bit as savvy as some on here....poo

If you fitted 500w of solar connected to a solar reg and batteries, the van wiring isn't used at all, the van wiring doesn't come into play until you connect it to the batteries where it just draws what is needed to power lights, TV etc it isn't subjected to any more load than normal, if you wanted to add an invertor it wouldn't be hooked up to the van wiring either.... and while 500w sounds a lot it really isn't in power being at most only supplying somewhere between 25 to 29 watts but in reality more like 15watts at most... The Setek units in a van of that age don't handle solar at all so have nothing to do with it at all...... my rig is set up for off grid and the 240v charger may get used every few years, so its all solar basically even when on powered sites like now it isn't switched on, my rig is 11 years old....

[Surnturf]

Ok, thanks all for the recommendations

So as per JnK post #2 and Drover #9

All I have to do is disconnect my Anderson plug to my Dc-Dc (now connected from the Tugs battery) then from Caravan battery (fused) to same Anderson plug then the DC-Dc charger will control it as per normal as when I am driving ?
http://www.ausjeepoffroad.com/forum/...2&d=1605406418

Simple and easy, thanks

[FARWEST]

Originally Posted by drover

If you fitted 500w of solar connected to a solar reg and batteries, the van wiring isn't used at all, the van wiring doesn't come into play until you connect it to the batteries where it just draws what is needed to power lights, TV etc it isn't subjected to any more load than normal, if you wanted to add an invertor it wouldn't be hooked up to the van wiring either.... and while 500w sounds a lot it really isn't in power being at most only supplying somewhere between 25 to 29 watts but in reality more like 15watts at most... The Setek units in a van of that age don't handle solar at all so have nothing to do with it at all...... my rig is set up for off grid and the 240v charger may get used every few years, so its all solar basically even when on powered sites like now it isn't switched on, my rig is 11 years old....

Off topic so quick....he replaced the original solar reg with a reg supplied with the panels...it was the wiring from the old 68w panel to the old reg that he didnt trust...battery harness n 'dodgy' wiring was upgraded

[drover]

Originally Posted by FARWEST

Off topic so quick....he replaced the original solar reg with a reg supplied with the panels...it was the wiring from the old 68w panel to the old reg that he didnt trust...battery harness n 'dodgy' wiring was upgraded

That would be right as if the panel was fitted by a dealer they always seem to use the just, nearly size cable......
Pretty well since I left home (9 days) its been bluddy cloudy, raining and bluddy cold, my set up has been doing a great job keeping the batteries topped up during the day, Foxtel box can be a hungry beast, amazing stuff really as I was sure I would have needed to fire up the 240v charger here in Canberra, the money spent on this new MPPT reg was well spent for sure.
Off topic wander but then its just a progression............

[john_char]

Originally Posted by FARWEST

Reading these posts and having 'u-tubed' many many many clips on solar upgrades...then being told by the installer that my van wiring 'wouldnt handle' the 500w of solar panels I'd bought for installation lets my know just how dumb I am...wish I was just a tiny bit as savvy as some on here....poo

All OEM wiring is going to be sized to cost not efficiency. Wifee lost her shit when I ripped EVERYTHING out, wiring/electronics wise and started again.

The latest “upgrade” motorised valves. Sick of crawling under the van to change water tanks, usually when it’s raining. Not anymore.


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