Well, were officially grey Nomads.....Picked up the van and off on a months long service...
Just trying to get my head around the workings of the van and the plumbing has me a bit stumped, and dont feel like crawling around under the van in the rain.
It has two water tanks which must have a balance hose, as I filled them both, put a hose in one and pressurized it a bit and it blew water out of the second filler.....they both have an inline valve on the hose at the bottom which Im assuming is the balance pipe.....so is one tank the main tank which the 12v pump draws from and the other a reserve which can be isolated or balanced?
Also...The two Anderson plugs on the front....one runs the fridge and the other I assume charges the van batteries while driving...do the PV panels need to be isolated when plugged into the car? Or does it accept charge from both?...and the solar controller only has connections for one panel and one battery, but I have two of each...so are they both normally run in parallel as if one big battery and one big solar panel??? There are two large breakers near the 240v-12v ctek charger but Im guessing everything is run in parallel after them?
I realise its a bit hard without seeing the system, but whats the norm....
Sorry Hairyone, No normal plumbing or electrical systems in caravans -= they are uniquely built - there are no workshop manuals either - rogue industry unfortunately.
You will need to draw your own diagrams using visual and following cables and pipes.
__________________
Possum; AKA:- Ali El-Aziz Mohamed Gundawiathan
Sent from my imperial66 typewriter using carrier pigeon, message sticks and smoke signals.
Well, were officially grey Nomads.....Picked up the van and off on a months long service...
Just trying to get my head around the workings of the van and the plumbing has me a bit stumped, and dont feel like crawling around under the van in the rain.
It has two water tanks which must have a balance hose, as I filled them both, put a hose in one and pressurized it a bit and it blew water out of the second filler.....they both have an inline valve on the hose at the bottom which Im assuming is the balance pipe.....so is one tank the main tank which the 12v pump draws from and the other a reserve which can be isolated or balanced?
Also...The two Anderson plugs on the front....one runs the fridge and the other I assume charges the van batteries while driving...do the PV panels need to be isolated when plugged into the car? Or does it accept charge from both?...and the solar controller only has connections for one panel and one battery, but I have two of each...so are they both normally run in parallel as if one big battery and one big solar panel??? There are two large breakers near the 240v-12v ctek charger but Im guessing everything is run in parallel after them?
I realise its a bit hard without seeing the system, but whats the norm....
Cheers Hairyone
As vans and MH are often plumbed and electric system is different even for the same brand I suggest to put these questions to who you purchased it from new or second hand
Hi Hairyone,
You might find a tap between the two water tanks that has a pointer like the hands of a clock "Both off," "Front on," "Back on," "Both on".
I rewired my electrics in that the Anderson plug feeds my fridge via a Fridge Switch & my solar panel looks after the in-house battery. When I'm on power & if I need to, I run off the supplied Setec charger, power supply.
Beware that tracing everything out can cause you to become bald or balder especially if you do it all without assistance!!
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Warren
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If you don't get it done today, there's always tomorrow!
Hi Hairyone, You might find a tap between the two water tanks that has a pointer like the hands of a clock "Both off," "Front on," "Back on," "Both on".
I rewired my electrics in that the Anderson plug feeds my fridge via a Fridge Switch & my solar panel looks after the in-house battery. When I'm on power & if I need to, I run off the supplied Setec charger, power supply.
Beware that tracing everything out can cause you to become bald or balder especially if you do it all without assistance!!
I agree with the previous posters who stated that caravans are not wired (or even built) to any standard.
One of the most valuable things that I did with my van was to draw up detailed diagrams (schematic, block & wiring where applicable) of my 12v, 240v, driving lights and plumbing systems. It involved lots of crawling around under the van but it was well worth the discomfort. It's marvelous what issues or potential issues that you discover.
Together with my descriptions of each item & the suppliers' paperwork on all 'appliances/devices', I established a 'Users Manual' for my van (& mods to my vehicle electrical systems). This is a valuable resource that will stay with the van. Pitty that the builders didn't do the same. But then I have done dozens of 'improvements' over the years and carefully documented each.
You are certainly starting off with a well regarded brand of van (Lotus). From your post I think that your enjoyment will be enhanced once you understand how it is put together (just like me). IMHO you should start your manual now & not rely on memory.
