Installing SOLAR PANELS & SPLIT CHARGER in to Renault Master | DIY Campervan Build Ep 8

[@nicroams]

Order on anker.com: ankerfast.club/3gFLAqj Order on Amazon: ankerfast.club/3gqECFl £100 off Discount Code: CHEER2007 #PowerStation #AnkerPowerHouse

[@zeez3139]

Like the way Nic puts the frozen leave back on its place

[@nicroams]

And it doesn’t even stay put 😆

[@jimmywest1]

In one way I love this video. In another, I hate it because I'm literally at the point where I'm gonna install a split charger together with solar panels, and then you cut it (almost) all out. Great work anyway guys, hope you are well.

[@nicroams]

The electrics was done it a two part video, the rest of what you’re looking for may be here ✌🏼 kzbin.info/www/bejne/oH_TkJqtpbtlY5osi=Ba5I22roE7-twos8

[@BenWalkerPhotos]

Nice work guys! Little pro tip from 4 years of flex panels - get some 'T-Rex' tape, and just tape along the front edge of the panel to stop air flow going under them when driving at speed, not essential but really reduces strain on the glue and the back/sides still have air flow to help cool the panel - that's the only minor issue with them is how hot they get in summer which reduces efficiency but they still work great! Merry Xmas all, enjoy a break! 🥳

[@nicroams]

Ohhh thank you so much. I will have a look at doing this when the frost has gone 🤗. Ye I had heard about them ‘blowing up’ but my friend has flexis who has been in Spain and Portugal and had no issues so I’m hoping the ridges on our roof give enough airflow as they’re about 1cm deep 😀🍀 only time will tell I guess 😆. And thank you Ben, merry Christmas to you and Daisy too 🎄

[@BenWalkerPhotos]

@@nicroams thank you! 🎄 yeah its never ever happened to me either....infact removing my old ones to put new ones on was incredibly difficult and took a couple of days, they are defo defo stuck on 🤣 but it does defo help and stops debris n stuff going under when travelling 👌 Loving the new van build & it's inspiring me to get going on my mini campervan conversion 😮🤗

[@Russellbeta]

Small tip, if you give the surfaces a light sand and then clean them with whitespirit before bonding the bond is more likely to hold for longer.

[@nicroams]

Thank you 🤗

[@clarkspiemuncher24]

ide used ct1 to stick the solar panels down if you want them to stay . i hope that sticks like is not the water based stuff as it drys out and cracks and does not grip after a while although your relying on the paint work to be stuck as that is all you are sticking it to

[@nicroams]

We have used CT1 in the past but prefer Stickslike and will certainly stay stuck with that stuff 🤗

[@Xcanyonn]

Hope you feel better!! Will miss you until the new year!! Have a good one and get better soon! 🎉

[@heatherhock3622]

Good job y'all! Especially in bitter cold! Sorry you're still not feeling well Nic, I am actually dealing with my 1st cold in 7years! Dumbass me I got lazy & didn't get out forfresh lemons for 3weeks...I'm paying for it now🤧 Relax in warmth while pet sitting, hope you feel better very soon. Snuggles to Onyx & hugs for you & Sam! Merry Christmas!

[@nicroams]

Oh nooo Heather! Yes, get some of that lemon down you haha! The antibiotics are already working so feeling much better but also have spent the past 2 days in bed/on the sofa watching Netflix 😆. Which has certainly helped! I hope you feel better very soon ♥️

[@mrbluesky9891]

@@nicroams Ah....a film on the sofa...doctors should prescribe it.!

[@wild_childofthe80s]

You guys!! You're so cute! You're so helpful and informative and big up that Anker Power 🏠 Bloody incredible kit is Anker! I have 3 of their power banks and they're utter lifechangers for when Jonny whinges about not having any sun when we're away with the van and doesn't want me plugging my phone in! 😈⚡ It was rather satisfying watching Sam fixing those panels down then next minute - darkness! Hehe! Nice one you two ♡ mwahh xox

[@northstarcreative]

For your little trip - How about something different - somewhere northern and industrial? Manchester then over to Hebden bridge?

[@rockingrodders8551]

As great for saving weight and as good as they are for areo dynamics 1/ you can't tilt them 2/over heating issues on hot days..I enjoy your vans builds and your on road adventures..Happy Travels.✌️

[@nicroams]

I hadn’t used flexi panels before due to the overheating issues I had heard of but I have a few friends with flexi panels who have spent a summer in Portugal and Spain and have had no issues 🙏🏼. I’m hoping the gap underneath is good enough to get good airflow 🍀. I’m not too fussed about the tilting, it would be awesome to have but not something my skill set could probably do even if I went none flexi (yet) 🤗. Have an awesome Christmas 🎄

[@northstarcreative]

Great delivery of some quite complex stuff. Well done 👍

[@nicroams]

Thank you so much 🥰 trying to keep it as simple as possible so everyone including myself can understand 😂 this stuff is mind boggling!

[@ImChrisDeDecker]

I like the flex panels, easy to integrate to many unique builds

[@nicroams]

We’ve loved working with them, now only time will tell if it was a good decision 🙃

[@davidbrodie5044]

We had Flexi panels on our van originally but swapped to rigid when one of the 3 flexi's failed. The Flexi's were stuck on with Sikoflex and were very hard to get off again so I wouldn't worry too much about them flying off if you stick them on well

[@nicroams]

That’s good to hear! A friend of mine also said he had to take one off and it wouldn’t budge so I’m happy to know there will be no solar panels flying around 😆

[@diwarburton5369]

Have a wonderful Xmas and I shall look forward to your van build progress in the new year.

[@nicroams]

Thank you so much 🥰 Hope you had a good one and 2023 is off to an awesome start!

[@mrbluesky9891]

Have a good rest you two. Nic, take the full course of anti-biotics and get well soon. We can wait so don't rush...see you in the New Year, Merry Christmas to you both and Lord Onyx. XXX from Mr Blue Sky.

[@RemusKingOfRome]

Well done. LOL English winter, glad i live in Australia .. lol Merry Xmas.

[@nicroams]

Thank you! Awww how I would love to be in some Australian heat right now ☀️. Have a wonderful Christmas 🎄

[@RolandOfGileadOnYT]

If you use a LiFePO4 battery, you can't just hook up your alternator to it (via a split relay), you have to make sure your alternator supports this, or you will overheat it.

[@nicroams]

Yep 👍🏼 we are currently planning on using AGM. If anything changes then we will swap over to DC-DC 😊

[@wild_childofthe80s]

We (I say we.. Jonny 😂) fitted a split charger system too :) gotta be done xox

[@viv-i-vangoesforth]

you look like your panels are the same as I got. Ive found mine were great and kept the two AGM 130 ah batteries charged along with my B2B ctek 250se. I had the panels going to the ctek and didnt have an MPPT unit as the cetek has one built in. regarding wiring the panels in series, the problem with that is, if one of the panels finds itself in shade, both panels wont charge. from what Greg Virgo said, he said parrallell is the way to go because if say, you find yourself in the shade of a tree with one panel, you'll still get power between both to your batteries. Bessy regs and have a great Christmas -Kenny

[@nicroams]

That’s awesome to hear 🤗 did you also just glue them down? I’ve just had a look at Greg Virgos video and it looks like he did it in series too from the thumbnail photo ☺️. But regardless, either way is right, it just depends on what’s most important for the user of the campervan. For us, we felt like wiring in series was our preferred option because it charges quicker when there is sun and let’s face it, there is rarely sun in the UK so we have to make the most of what we do get 🤗. Thank you so much for watching and have an amazing Christmas too 🫶🏼🎄

[@samanthawallace7151]

Get well soon!

[@nicroams]

Thank you so much, have a lovely Christmas ♥️🎄

[@mariestrella.orquideasartecamp]

CHICOS ,SALUDOS desde Curazao,feliz día

[@nicroams]

Hellooo 🤗

[@Joe-lb8qn]

Wouldnt the entry gland be better off with the curved part facing the direction of travel ?

[@nicroams]

Absolutely 🤗 we just couldn’t otherwise the wire would have to bend entirely around it so sideways it was for us ☺️

[@Jimmy-lb1yc]

The amount of times I have seen these Flexi panels on the side of the road gives me an indication that they should be fixed down with something more than adhesive 🤷‍♂

[@nicroams]

Omg haha, I have never seen one on the side of the road before. You’d think the cables would at least pull it along the road 😆. I’ll let you know in a years time if they’re surviving 👍🏼

[@SCARHEMBROW]

Unfortunately, Flexi solar panels are ' Pants ' .... normally last about 12 months ...think you should swap them over to solid . Cheers

[@nicroams]

They’ve been on over a year and all good 😊

[@S.p.a.c.e.C.o.w.b.o.y]

Have a Happy Christmas :)

[@nicroams]

Thank you, you too 🎄🫶🏼

[@svendahlsten3132]

I was expekting to se the split making to the end i have to doo that too so but here i have -11c 🤣🤣🇫🇮🇫🇮

[@nicroams]

Yeee we couldn’t complete it until we get some batteries 🙃. Oh wow, that is cold! I would not be building on my van in that 😆🥶

[@paulcrockford8718]

Why the swap to AGM's? Didn't you have Lithium fitted to to the other van eco tree or something? Never did see a video on how they went

[@nicroams]

Hey 🤗 we do have Eco Tree lithium batteries in the van we live in and they have been amazing 🤗. It’s not that I don’t want lithium batteries in this rental van too, it’s simply down to the fact I can’t afford them 😊

[@paulcrockford8718]

@@nicroams Yes totally get that👍😅! I currently have flat panels/AGM set up but the panels have stopped working and I've been saving for 2 years to replace them but also installed Lithium batteries, (1 probably!) I'm worried because a lot of people on here have said you can't just simply replace the lead batteries with Lithium but I recall you went somewhere and they sort of did that but they were brilliant and knew everything about them. I'm about 1 hour south of Birmingham so not sure how far that place would be?

[@sabrinacrisp8942]

I just love you guys. You're a very cute couple. I think you're doing a great job. Merry Christmas to you guys God bless m🙂🥰🥰💜💜👍👍🙏🙏🙏🌲🌲🌲☃️☃️⛄️

[@nicroams]

Aww thank you so much, sorry for a late reply, we've just returned from our festive break 😆. Hope you had a good one too and your 2023 is off to an awesome start 🥰

[@jamieroe5292]

Question... how comes you have chosen to go with a split charger over a DC-DC charger? I assume you'll be putting in some pricey batteries. Whatever batteries you use, you'll extend their life by charging them properly with a DC-DC. (Dc-dc optimises the charge input for the leisure batteries' current temperature and charge state whereas a split charger just dumps power in regardless of any variables.)

[@nicroams]

As it stands we will be getting AGM batteries but if anything changes where we get lithium then we will upgrade the split charger to DC-DC 🤗

[@pauljonah1139]

Hi. I'm in need of some help please... I'm about to fit solar to my campervan. It already has a split relay connected to batteries and then an Inverter. What do I connect my solar wires to? Direct to batteries? I'm not 100% Cheers 😊

[@nicroams]

Hello 😊 you will need a solar charge controller / MPPT to wire your solar cables in. This will then go to your batteries. The Solar charge controller converts the power gathered from the solar panel in to a useable energy. This video runs over the electrics in more detail and we share our wiring diagram kzbin.info/www/bejne/oH_TkJqtpbtlY5osi=k4Kt6fEGQUBhdm8H Hope this helps 😊

[@pauljonah1139]

@@nicroams perfect thanks I think it comes with a little blue box which I think is the mppt? :-)

[@nicroams]

@@pauljonah1139I wouldn’t want to say unless I see it. If you’ve bought it as a package, then I imagine it will say what the blue box is 😊

[@dpmurray9795]

@1.44 The corner of the solar panel is broken..

[@nicroams]

They’re definitely not broken 🤗 I think it’s the film/ corner protector that came in the packaging you’re spotting 🙃

[@dpmurray9795]

@@nicroams Check it, i was thinking typical Evri delivery stuffed in the back of a hatchback.

[@littliofficial]

❤❤❤

[@nicroams]

🤗

[@wild_childofthe80s]

Hope you're back to 100% power soon sweetness 🥺 I know where you could visit.. There's weeding to be done 🤭🤣 Hahah! I'll make you a stew :) Look after yourselves xxxxxxx

[@wheelsadventures3436]

Just note you should not use a split charger with a lithium battery bank. You need to use a DC to DC charger such as a Victron b2b. Lithium has very low internal resistance. When the bank is low it will pull loads of amp and potentially pop your alternator. A DC to DC charger regulates the current.

[@nicroams]

That’s a very good point 🤗 we are currently planning on installing AGM batteries unless something changes 🍀

[@mrbluesky9891]

PS. Take vitamin D and K2 EVERY day even in summer.

[@nicroams]

Great shout, will grab some tomorrow at least for the duration of me being ill. I’m not the best at remembering to take vitamins for long periods of times 😆

[@mrbluesky9891]

@@nicroams Hi Nic, Check out Dr John Campbell on YT. He's done a vid on vitamin D and loads of stuff on covid etc. Best wishes xx

[@paulcomptonpdphotography]

Guys I just sent you a message on Instagram give me a shout.

[@nicroams]

Just seen it and replied 🤗