The Fridge

[wallaby]

Originally Posted by aussiebulldust

yes you can close the lid on the box with the lead attached. Ihave a small cutout in the lid lip that is edged and it stays snug even when the box is opened and closed. The reason for it inside is to stop vandals and damaged from stones / mud etc when travelling. It keeps it neat as it would of stuck out unless it was on the front, but then the mud etc. Also even if it rains the socket is protected under the lid where as it could of been exposed to water when the plug or socket were attached.
I'm thinking an 80w panel and upgrade the fridge to a new one that only draws 2 to 3 amps

Your 80w solar panel will only give you about 60w real. I suggest at least 120w of solar panelling. 2 x 80W is ideal and not that much more in price.

[Steve F]

The fridge will be the killer with the solar. I have a 30w panel and it will keep the 100AH battery topped up enough to run the LED lights almost indefinitely and the fridge on low at night. I put the fridge in the Jeep during the day as it gets driven and the second battery charged, this give the solar a chance to top up the battery in the camper with no load on it and then the fridge goes in at night on a low setting. After 4 days of this the battery was still fully charged at Jambo and 30w panels are cheap compared to 160w, you just need to manage the battery usage and dual batteries in the Jeep let you do this by spreading the load

As for the camper, looks awesome and very light weight for what it has, I'd certainly get rid of that mattress though, it must weigh a ton!!!

Cheers
Steve

[aussiebulldust]

Originally Posted by Steve F

The fridge will be the killer with the solar. I have a 30w panel and it will keep the 100AH battery topped up enough to run the LED lights almost indefinitely and the fridge on low at night. I put the fridge in the Jeep during the day as it gets driven and the second battery charged, this give the solar a chance to top up the battery in the camper with no load on it and then the fridge goes in at night on a low setting. After 4 days of this the battery was still fully charged at Jambo and 30w panels are cheap compared to 160w, you just need to manage the battery usage and dual batteries in the Jeep let you do this by spreading the load

As for the camper, looks awesome and very light weight for what it has, I'd certainly get rid of that mattress though, it must weigh a ton!!!

Cheers
Steve

The mattress is the heavy bit in the camper and when I get a few mates over it will be changed. As for power I only need 10amps per 6 hour window when at camp for it to replace the loss from the newer type fridges (2.5amps x 24 hours=60 amps) so thats a 120w panel, but I don't really want to spend 1k to 1200.
I like the idea of using a second battery. I'm fitting a battery box for the car so I could plug it to the anderson on the camper each night and use that power for the fridge and recharge it whilst driving each day. Time to do some sums as it's what I need for weekend drives as well....hhmmm

[TassieXJ]

Looking good, great camper. lm keeping an eye on this thread as lm looking into the solar panels as well. great job

[wallaby]

What I do is this. I fitted a Waeco RAPS system to the JK.I run the fridge via this during the day while driving. It automatically stops power to the fridge when the car is not going, that is, during short stops for tea break etc. I run the fridge at about 3 degrees below freezing. In this way what needs to be frozen stays frozen. This also allows maximum recharge of the 2nd battery (90 amp hours) while driving during the day. At night, I connect the fridge to the 2nd battery and run it on low. In the morning everything is still frozen and the 2nd battery has lost very little charge. I make sure the milk is in the dairy section of the Waeco so that it doesn't freeze. In this way the 2nd battery will last at least 5 nights before needing a 240 volt recharge. I want to put solar panels on the roof of the camper trailer at some stage, probably at east 120 watts tops. Cheers

[aussiebulldust]

Originally Posted by wallaby

What I do is this. I fitted a Waeco RAPS system to the JK.

I take a RAPS is a type of smart switch that only allows a current over 12.7volts or so. Like a redex

[wallaby]

Originally Posted by aussiebulldust

I take a RAPS is a type of smart switch that only allows a current over 12.7volts or so. Like a redex

No, different. And Yes. It has a "constant on" wiring loop and switch which does what it says. Power is supplied directly from the starter battery until a critical draw down voltage level is reached and then the fridge will go into fault mode. I have found that power to the fridge in this mode will allow it to work for about 2 hours, which is next to useless. I actually now never use this mode.

The RAPS also has another circuit that also directly connects with the car starter battery and also with the car ignition. While the ignition is on, the RAPS has power and the fridge receives power. When the ignition is off, the switch is off and the fridge receives no power and therefore cannot flatten the car battery. For the short tea break on the side of the road, this doesn't matter and the fridge stays cold, as you can imagine. If you are having more than a teabreak (use your imagination) and take longer than you expect, it means that you won't come back to a flat starter battery. You can get one from the WAECO website (see if they have a seconds chuck out at a slightly cheaper price). It is worth having one if you do a lot of camping because it can extend the time needed between 240v recharging.

The Redex is a battery isolator system. The second battery always receives power from the starter battery until a preset draw down level is reached (eg 11.5 - 12 v), thereby ensuring that the second battery is always fully charged until you use it. When you connect your fridge, power is initially supplied from the started battery until a critical draw down point (about 11.5 -12v). It works by then switching over to your second battery. In this way your starter battery reserves the power needed to crank the engine into life and you have power to the fridge all the time provided that your second battery is not drained beyond the fridges critical draw (usually about 11.2v on a Waeco). When you start your car, the starter battery is preferentially fully charged and then the second battery begins to re-charge. By using a RAPS system as well, it means that while you are driving the second battery can be charged up without having to compete with the constant draw placed on it by the fridge at the same time. When you have settled on a campsite, swap your fridge connection to the second battery for overnight. If you forget, you wont have a flat battery, but will have thawed out food and warm tinnies. I hope all this is clear enough. Cheers.