I've a Millard Weekender & we are finally heading off in about ten days. I fitted a 12 volt water pump for free camping and looking for a power source. I thought that running through to the solar equipment would do but lots more holes to drill, fusing etc, then I thought that there's a 12 volt transformer under the seat. On checking though, it turned out to be 240 ac in BUT 14 volt AC again out.
It's an Omega FP 10 made in Australia. I did ask Millard about this unit a few years ago with a view to replacing it due to some noise, but they didn't reply.
It is just a transformer to convert from 240 to 12 volts to run the lights. The bloke I sold my Millard to, ripped it out and fitted a proper battery and invertor system. It won't run a pump safely. So you probably need to quickly put in a battery and wire it for your pump, or wait until you come home. A suggestion, when we travelled to WA some years ago with it, I bought a genni to use freecamping and ran the transformer off the 240 ac output, to keep the lights on and run the fridge, Did this all with a 2 stroke 750 watt genni. 9 weeks and it worked well. So you could get a 1 kilowatt genni to do the same. Their are some reasonably price genni's out there.
-- Edited by Bicyclecamper on Sunday 25th of April 2021 02:07:38 PM
Thanks BC; I rigged the new sink pump up to the AGM battery that I'm installing along with the Solar Cells and it trialled well. It will work better when I set up fusing etc. It just surprised me that the unit was a transformer. I did find that it ran internal lighting only but also makes an annoying humming noise.
I did buy an el cheapo 2 stroke inverter genny for $200. Everything works; Cells, PSW Inverter etc but all over the place at the moment and need proper installation. Maybe switch lighting to DC?? Nah! Let well enough alone.
Why buy a new van when you can have this much fun with an old one?
-- Edited by harrydiculous on Monday 26th of April 2021 07:52:27 AM
Your van should be able to run lights off your car battery, thru the 7 pin plug. Some of your lights should be 12 volt DC, or incorporate DC lighting in with 240 volts lights. I had a 12 volt DC, light on outside running from the car, on overnights as well as 2 indoor lights. If this is possible on your van, you maybe able to wire to the 7 pin wiring, with a switch, from your house battery, to isolate from the car battery. I was intending to do this myself, but ended up selling the van. You will have a black switch or should have a black switch to turn on for 12 volt lighting from the car. This is usually a main switch for the car battery. My van was a 1980, so depends on your vans age if it is similar.
I've a Millard Weekender & we are finally heading off in about ten days. I fitted a 12 volt water pump for free camping and looking for a power source. I thought that running through to the solar equipment would do but lots more holes to drill, fusing etc, then I thought that there's a 12 volt transformer under the seat. On checking though, it turned out to be 240 ac in BUT 14 volt AC again out.
It's an Omega FP 10 made in Australia. I did ask Millard about this unit a few years ago with a view to replacing it due to some noise, but they didn't reply.
How old is your van? It sounds like it was built in the 1980s, well before batteries were supplied in vans. There wa a long gap in the production of vans bearing the brand Millard and the later ones have no connection with the ones built by the Darlingtons or a bit later when Viscount owned the name. Back in those days, most vans had 240 V lighting and 12 V globes were incorporated in the same oyster fittings. The 12 V globes were powered from the tugs battery via pin 2 in the trailer connector. A few premium brands had 12 V lighting that could operate from the tugs battery or alternately from a power supply or as in your case a transformer.
If I am correct in my assumption that you have one of those older vans I suggest you do the following. Scrap the transformers and power the lights from your solar battery system. When you have this working properly and are using DC power you can convert your existing lights with LED units. I suggest you convert the lights with LED boards rather than replace them to maintain the heritage look of your van.
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PeterD Nissan Navara D23 diesel auto, Spaceland pop-top Retired radio and electronics technician. NSW Central Coast.
We had the 12 V power supply on our Jayco poptop fail twice in 2 years. Eventually, I gave up and bought a switchable power supply from a mob in Brisbane (I think it was Redarc). This has been there now for nearly 20 years and still works very well. I also moved the power supply from its position under the lounge seat into the front storage boot to cut down on fan noise from the unit. Maybe you should consider a similar change?
We had the 12 V power supply on our Jayco poptop fail twice in 2 years. Eventually, I gave up and bought a switchable power supply from a mob in Brisbane (I think it was Redarc). This has been there now for nearly 20 years and still works very well. I also moved the power supply from its position under the lounge seat into the front storage boot to cut down on fan noise from the unit. Maybe you should consider a similar change? This has the advantage that it is a DC supply, which will also be able to run your pump. You should size the unit to suit the pump power draw plus at least one light being on at the time - At a guess, I would go for a 20 amp unit.
It's a 2003 model. It didn't have provision for batteries, though.
I've installed a 12 volt DC distribution panel with fuses to run the pump and also a gas detector which I believe runs on 12 volts. I also should be able to run several 12 volt DC devices from this although I don't have any others in mind at present. The TV can run off the inverter if we need it.
I do like the idea of moving the unit from under the seat to the boot area to stop the fan noise. This is in the "to do" list. Thanks for that. And Peter D, that's a great suggestion too. I was trying to maintain it as original as I could but mainly because we've decided to not buy a new van. We'll just make this one work for us and didn't want to make it look too "bits & pieces" by changing things too much.
Other suggestion good, too. I'll throw them in the mix. Limiting the number of power supplies is very attractive. I'll check out Redarc.
There's a switch in the front storage which looks a bit clumsy. It's just a household light switch which has "van" & "car." I've generally ignored it & doesn't seem to make any difference. I'll have to fiddle with that & try & understand it.
-- Edited by harrydiculous on Tuesday 27th of April 2021 06:15:03 PM
