Well, the big 12v re-wire job is now finished, well, all that is left is for me to tidy up the cables etc, repack the Avan and all done and dusted.
I am very happy too, I have had the 120w Solar Panel hooked up all day yesterday and today and getting 13-14v readings when tested. The double 12v sockets inside front work as does the rear outside 12v socket. I turned the 3 way fridge to 12v and it was so cold in 1 hour I had to turn it down, it was on all day with no problems.
I will keep and eye on the weather and if I can get a week that's not too hot during February (that's a big ask) I will go up to Greens Lake and test it all out properly before I head back into the playground.
When you compare the new cable with the old wire it makes you wonder how the CV industry gets away with fitting toy wire, I say toy wire because that's what it looks like.
jimricho said
03:06 AM Jan 11, 2013
I presume the 3 way only works from the car battery and not the Avan's house battery when on 12v?
Dougwe said
03:14 AM Jan 11, 2013
No Jim, I had it wired direct from Avan battery. The battery will charge from car OR Solar Panel. As you would know, the 12v on the fridge will only work when turned to 12v. Everything is working the way I wanted.
ozi2 said
03:22 AM Jan 11, 2013
G'day Doug and congratulations, its been a bit of hard, hot work but it will be worth the effort.
If you dont mind Doug, did you upgrade the cable of the solar panel (ie, 6b&s?) and use the factory supplied regulator? I have purchased a Waeco 120w folding panel and will be upgrading the Avan wiring tomorrow morning to something very similar to what you have just completed.
Please to read your post mate,
cheers,
ozi2
Dougwe said
03:42 AM Jan 11, 2013
Howdy Roger, Yes I upgraded the supplied short length of cable on the Panel with 5 mts of 6 B&S and wired into the supplied regulator, just fitted.
Beth54 said
03:53 AM Jan 11, 2013
So are you saying that the wiring that comes with the solar panel is not good enough? I have no idea what sort of wiring's on mine.
Dougwe said
04:03 AM Jan 11, 2013
I think it depends on what you want it to do Beth and how long the cable is. In my case 5 mts with the size cable supplied I would have had a major voltage drop by the time it got to the battery but with 6B&S cable (Thick) there is minimum voltage drop so I get the Battery charged quickly and fully.
Marj (Happy Wanderer) had a problem that way at Greens Lake, I think I read in one of her post's she has had that upgraded too.
It's all very technical for Me, Beth but I think I've got my head around it now. Long as it's not my neck I should be OK.
Beth54 said
04:36 AM Jan 11, 2013
Yes, it's hard for me to get my head around it all too. I think I finally understand the battery thing, and now it seems I'll have to study up on the solar panel!
I have the added problem of being a bit dumb at times ,sad as that is to admit. My kids have a long list of dumb things I've said.
Back on topic, my brother-in-law bought his at the same time, and I think I remember him changing wiring, so I'll ask him about it.
jimricho said
05:04 AM Jan 11, 2013
Dougwe wrote:
No Jim, I had it wired direct from Avan battery. The battery will charge from car OR Solar Panel. As you would know, the 12v on the fridge will only work when turned to 12v. Everything is working the way I wanted.
The standard way to wire a 3 way fridge for 12v operation is from the car's battery/alternator system and not the van's house battery. The reason for this is that 3 ways, unlike compressor type fridges such as Engels etc draw a lot of current on 12v and will soon flatten a house battery. As you're charging your house battery from a Ctek 12v-12v charger, you can connect the 3 way (12v) to the feed from the Anderson plug to the Ctek, this will isolate the house battery from the fridge and prevent the fridge from discharging the house battery. In this configuration your upgraded wiring with 6 B&S will have no trouble supplying both the charger and the fridge.
Obviously we are talking about only using the 12v to run the fridge while travelling and the car's alternator is supplying the current. The Ctek will not efficiently charge the house battery from the car if the 3 way is connected to the house battery, as the Ctek will be supplying the power for the fridge as well as trying to charge the battery. It is also advisable to have a relay in the circuit from the car to automatically disconnect it when the engine is not running. You may already have this.
I assume you don't intend running the fridge on 12v when "in camp". If you do forget it, you won't have the battery/solar capacity to do this. That's what the gas is for.
Jim
PS: Please accept my apology if I'm saying things you're already well aware of as I don't know the extent of your knowledge on these matters.
Dougwe said
07:14 AM Jan 11, 2013
No need for any apology Jim. Your contributions and advice are always welcome my friend. I am aware of what you are saying. All the changes are my choice and so far during testing stages all works as I wanted so time will tell now and if it goes wrong it is my fault and no one else but I don't think it will go wrong.
Thanks again for all your advice during this rather big project and in the past. Keep up the good work.
Edit...Yes I will only be running the fridge on 12v when travelling mate and Gas when staying put without 240v.
-- Edited by Dougwe on Friday 11th of January 2013 07:18:35 AM
beiffe said
03:47 PM Jan 11, 2013
Hi Doug there is a thing such as a motion switch that you might add into the fridge circuit and then when you stop (eg van is stable) the switch power will be disconnected. My portable panels have the larger 6B&S cables and anson plugs. Mine are about 10m and I bought the leads from ebay with the plugs on them. just cut a short piece off one end and used that for a convertor cord to the other style of plug I use so I can use where ever I want. I don't use them anymore, but I carry them in case as I had them so why throw them away. Regards Brian
Dougwe said
05:03 PM Jan 11, 2013
Always good to keep little mods and leads etc Brian. As for the motion switch, if I have a Relay in the circuit from car already, there shoudn't be a need for the motion switch I think but good idea having one or the other. Never heard of a motion switch so now I know.
The more talked about these things the more we all learn and could help others out at the same time. We all have room for improvement.
beiffe said
06:40 PM Jan 11, 2013
If your fridge is powered from the van battery then you need something to cut the power between the fridge and the van battery JUST in case you forget. Another option is to wire a small light where you can see it and remind you if the fridge is still 12v. I have a couple of these in my bus to remind me if the ignition is on as it draws a lot of power if I don't turn it off. I have a separate power switch before the ignition, just the way it was wired when built LOL. One to tell me that the power amp is still on for the radio. Regards Brian
jetj said
10:45 PM Jan 11, 2013
I bought a 6B&S extension lead from Ebay with Andersons and soldered andersons on the connections.
jimricho said
02:31 AM Jan 12, 2013
beiffe wrote:
If your fridge is powered from the van battery then you need something to cut the power between the fridge and the van battery JUST in case you forget. Another option is to wire a small light where you can see it and remind you if the fridge is still 12v. I have a couple of these in my bus to remind me if the ignition is on as it draws a lot of power if I don't turn it off. I have a separate power switch before the ignition, just the way it was wired when built LOL. One to tell me that the power amp is still on for the radio. Regards Brian
A qwik comment on solar regulators. It is best if you can mount the regulator close to the batteries as the panels put out about 20V. With 20V along the leads you will have less loss. Also, check the regulator that came with the panels, they are usually only a basic regulator and if you can replace it with an MPPT regulator you will have a more efficient charge rate.
Well, the big 12v re-wire job is now finished, well, all that is left is for me to tidy up the cables etc, repack the Avan and all done and dusted.
I am very happy too, I have had the 120w Solar Panel hooked up all day yesterday and today and getting 13-14v readings when tested. The double 12v sockets inside front work as does the rear outside 12v socket. I turned the 3 way fridge to 12v and it was so cold in 1 hour I had to turn it down, it was on all day with no problems.
I will keep and eye on the weather and if I can get a week that's not too hot during February (that's a big ask) I will go up to Greens Lake and test it all out properly before I head back into the playground.
When you compare the new cable with the old wire it makes you wonder how the CV industry gets away with fitting toy wire, I say toy wire because that's what it looks like.
G'day Doug and congratulations, its been a bit of hard, hot work but it will be worth the effort.
If you dont mind Doug, did you upgrade the cable of the solar panel (ie, 6b&s?) and use the factory supplied regulator? I have purchased a Waeco 120w folding panel and will be upgrading the Avan wiring tomorrow morning to something very similar to what you have just completed.
Please to read your post mate,
cheers,
ozi2
So are you saying that the wiring that comes with the solar panel is not good enough? I have no idea what sort of wiring's on mine.
I think it depends on what you want it to do Beth and how long the cable is. In my case 5 mts with the size cable supplied I would have had a major voltage drop by the time it got to the battery but with 6B&S cable (Thick) there is minimum voltage drop so I get the Battery charged quickly and fully.
Marj (Happy Wanderer) had a problem that way at Greens Lake, I think I read in one of her post's she has had that upgraded too.
It's all very technical for Me, Beth but I think I've got my head around it now. Long as it's not my neck I should be OK.
Yes, it's hard for me to get my head around it all too.
I think I finally understand the battery thing, and now it seems I'll have to study up on the solar panel! 
I have the added problem of being a bit dumb at times
,sad as that is to admit. My kids have a long list of dumb things I've said. 
Back on topic, my brother-in-law bought his at the same time, and I think I remember him changing wiring, so I'll ask him about it.
The standard way to wire a 3 way fridge for 12v operation is from the car's battery/alternator system and not the van's house battery. The reason for this is that 3 ways, unlike compressor type fridges such as Engels etc draw a lot of current on 12v and will soon flatten a house battery. As you're charging your house battery from a Ctek 12v-12v charger, you can connect the 3 way (12v) to the feed from the Anderson plug to the Ctek, this will isolate the house battery from the fridge and prevent the fridge from discharging the house battery. In this configuration your upgraded wiring with 6 B&S will have no trouble supplying both the charger and the fridge.
Obviously we are talking about only using the 12v to run the fridge while travelling and the car's alternator is supplying the current. The Ctek will not efficiently charge the house battery from the car if the 3 way is connected to the house battery, as the Ctek will be supplying the power for the fridge as well as trying to charge the battery. It is also advisable to have a relay in the circuit from the car to automatically disconnect it when the engine is not running. You may already have this.
I assume you don't intend running the fridge on 12v when "in camp". If you do forget it, you won't have the battery/solar capacity to do this. That's what the gas is for.
Jim
PS: Please accept my apology if I'm saying things you're already well aware of as I don't know the extent of your knowledge on these matters.
No need for any apology Jim. Your contributions and advice are always welcome my friend. I am aware of what you are saying. All the changes are my choice and so far during testing stages all works as I wanted so time will tell now and if it goes wrong it is my fault and no one else but I don't think it will go wrong.
Thanks again for all your advice during this rather big project and in the past. Keep up the good work.
Edit...Yes I will only be running the fridge on 12v when travelling mate and Gas when staying put without 240v.
-- Edited by Dougwe on Friday 11th of January 2013 07:18:35 AM
My portable panels have the larger 6B&S cables and anson plugs. Mine are about 10m and I bought the leads from ebay with the plugs on them. just cut a short piece off one end and used that for a convertor cord to the other style of plug I use so I can use where ever I want. I don't use them anymore, but I carry them in case as I had them so why throw them away.
Regards
Brian
Always good to keep little mods and leads etc Brian. As for the motion switch, if I have a Relay in the circuit from car already, there shoudn't be a need for the motion switch I think but good idea having one or the other. Never heard of a motion switch so now I know.
The more talked about these things the more we all learn and could help others out at the same time. We all have room for improvement.
I have a separate power switch before the ignition, just the way it was wired when built LOL.
One to tell me that the power amp is still on for the radio.
Regards
Brian
I bought a 6B&S extension lead from Ebay with Andersons and soldered andersons on the connections.
The relay that Doug already has installed is the better option as you rightly point out. Alternately the motion switch mentioned in your previous post is called a "Fridge Switch" more info at http://rvelectronics.com.au/index.php?route=product/category&path=57