Campervan 12 volt Electric Installation and Set up - Off Grid basics

[@timothy790110]

This is the funniest "HII!" ive seen on youtube, i just replay the first 3 seconds over and over, never fails to cheer me up. good info too.

[@ondmon818]

Great video, just watch those Mic levels!

[@kevinhughes9801]

Brill video thanks

[@dangerdoberman]

Oh wow...nice!

[@promenteryrobbins]

Very helpful

[@thomaspalmer1938]

Super helpful

[@ExploreVanUK]

Glad you think so!

[@emilysharpe5004]

Hey! thanks for all this info, really makes sense to someone who knows nothing about electrics! This may be a really silly question but if you have three different charging options, how do you know which one you are using or do you have to choose? Could it over charge? I want to use all 3 options but can't seem to figure out how it works. Maybe because no one else is this clueless!! thanks!!!

[@ExploreVanUK]

Hi, glad it's helpful! It's not a silly question at all, there is no problem with charging by Solar, mains and alternator, in fact itis a great approach to take, as it maximises the potential to recharge your battery. Each of the charging controllers would effectively adjust to suit what each option was doing and the overall voltage of the battery. There is no risk of overcharging as all methods would move to a trickle charge once the battery was full. Hope that helps!

[@emilysharpe5004]

@@ExploreVanUK Hi, thanks for your reply. This makes complete sense! on the other hand, how would I monitor my battery level to avoid letting it run too low? I have a victron DC to DC charger but I don't think this necessarily knows how low my battery is, or does it?!

[@ExploreVanUK]

@@emilysharpe5004 Hi Emily, the Victron will only draw power from the alternator to your leisure battery once your starter battery is at a safe level, that way it does everything to try to make sure you always have enough power in the starter battery to start your van. The latest Victron's have a Bluetooth connection so that you can view the charge status of the batteries on your smartphone. Alternatively, you could fit a battery monitor if you want to have a display that shows the level of your Leisure battery - a high-quality example would be the Victron BMV700

[@fuelheadjay8800]

Can I connect solar and relay charger and battery charger and keep them connect to battrey all time and will I need each of them on switches to swap from each one when charging or will it be ok say leaving all 3 connected when charging from one of them

[@ExploreVanUK]

Hi, you can have all three and leave them connected, they will each compensate for each other. Whilst not a necessity for managing the charging I would always suggest some method of isolating each charger, just in case you need to. But this could be as easy as having the fuses accessible should you need to pull them. In our set up the mains charger is on a switched fused spur, the solar charger has a 35 AMP DC breaker and we have a switch on the low current negative feed to the VSR. This allows us to isolate each if we had to. But in normal use all are on.

[@roostaraver]

Great video very informative , I'm just about the fit a split charge system using a kit I purchased with the same duritc relay but after watching your video would I be better of buying a battery to battery b to b charger and using that instead of the duritc ? Do they wire in the same way ? And What battery to battery charger would be best to buy in the uk ? I will be using a 90-100ah AGM battery off my engine battery in my vwt5, thanks again for the great video

[@ExploreVanUK]

Really depends how much you plan to use it to charge your batteries. A B2B will give you better intelligent charging profiles meaning you should get more power into your batteries in less time and keep your batteries healthier. Sterling would be my go to for a B2B charger. I’d try the split charging see how it goes and if you find you need more then consider a B2B instead.

[@roostaraver]

ExploreVan UK thanks mate for taking the time out to reply

[@johng1256]

Hi ExploreVan,I'm converting my van into a camper and I wonder if you might have an idea how long I would have to drive to charge my 115ah AGM battery if it was 50% depleted,can't seem to find that info anywhere,thanks in advance.

[@ExploreVanUK]

Hi John, - unfortunately that is a difficult one as there are a lot of factors that would vary the time, eg the size of your alternator, the state of your starter battery, what other electrical equipment is being used in the van whilst you are driving (eg radio/headlights/aircon/phone charger) what load is on your leisure battery while you are trying to charge it (fridge etc) and even the ambient temperature. This is probably why you are struggling to find examples as there would be such a variance. My advice would be if you are looking to maximise the charging potential while driving, consider a good quality B2B charger rather than just a split charger relay / VSR. These are much more effective at charging and can give a consistent 30 to 120 amp charging current to your leisure battery. It will keep your leisure in better health by stage charging it and will be a lot quicker and consistent. If you happen to have a smart alternator this is the only way you could do it as a split charging system would not work. As a split charge system / VSR is much cheaper you could always fit one try it, see if it gives what you need and then upgrade to a B2B charger if you find it lacking. Sorry I can't be more helpful!