Newbies Req Assistance - seeking knowledge.

TheCrazees · Member

Newbies Req Assistance - seeking knowledge.

Possum3 · Guru

Not sure if this helps, Narva | Trailer Plug Wiring Guide

-- Edited by Possum3 on Monday 23rd of August 2021 06:09:33 PM

TheCrazees · Member

Thanks for the quick reply, these are the van plug as per standard.

iana · Guru

You should have this diagram in with the folder of instructions. Ignore my markings.

TheCrazees · Member

Thanks Iana,

yep true,
but still none the wiser as to whether this charges my system from the car ( not electrically savvy) ?

Could 9 & 10 go directly to an anderson plug ?

Cheers

Carlos

PeterD · Guru

TheCrazees wrote:
Does this also feed into & charge my van battery ( assuming all is standard from Jayco).
Carlos

Well, that's the best first post I have seen. Well done, there is plenty of information on your system

If your van is stock standard then I have atttached two files with instructions from Jayco that probably will show how the van is wired up. The third file is the handbook for the ST III if you don't have one. Do you have handbooks for the other devices? Drifter Vehicle and Battery Monitoring System will get you the Drifter handbook.

As you can see from the tug wiring diagram, pin 9 is used to supply 12 V power to the fridge and pin 9 is connected to the DC External Input on the Setec. You can wire leads to connect to the tugs Anderson plugs for supplying the fridge and charging the battery. Just peel back the wires from the 12 pin plug at the devices, not the plug end. This will allow you to restore the van when you part with it. Be careful, when you wire in the battery cable for charging and any other charging device, make sure nothing is connected between the Drifters current shunt and the battery. If you do then this will disable your SOC (state of charge) readout.

TheCrazees · Member

Peter,

Thanks so much,

So I can now redirect pin 9 & 10 to my anderson plug to specifically run the fridge from the tug. ( I get that) smile .

If I use the other anderson plug and run a completely new cable and connect directly to the van battery via the shunt I can charge via external supply (tug or 2ndary panels/mppt) along with original roof mounted panel ? will it need anything else ??? confuse

I am starting to get this stuff

Carlos

iana · Guru

Your Silverline is the same as ours, I can say that the two heavy gauge wires only feed the fridge.
There is an auxiliary 12v input to the Setec. However I cannot see that you can charge the inboard battery from the car, as the car will already be running the fridge. You could add another 145w solar panel to the system, that regulator can handle that, and also add another 100AH battery, again the regulator is ok with that, but the panel (Drifter) showing the battery status will need to be set up and calibrated for the extra battery.
Don't forget to disconnect the solar panels first from the regulator before disconnecting the regulator from the battery, it blows up.
By doing this you should have enough power from the sun to cater for your needs.
Because we have a compressor fridge our power needs are quite a bit higher, and I have connected the aux power in to the Setec from the car, but I doubt if it contributes much.

-- Edited by iana on Tuesday 24th of August 2021 10:21:39 AM

TheCrazees · Member

Thanks Iana , this is all good stuff.

Carlos

iana · Guru

To charge your battery from the vehicle, you really need to fit a DC/DC charger into the van to compensate for voltage drop. Then the van battery would only get a good charge if you intend to drive for long periods. We only drove for about 2 hours or so. I don't know what amperage the 3way fridge draws when running on 12v, but its way higher than the compressor fridge, so I'm thinking that the poor BT50 alternator maybe struggling.
With solar the battery is being charged all the time that the sun is shining, and if "low cost camping", you will need the extra solar when camped. In saying that I have set up our combination so that if the batteries are flat in our van, I can connect to an axillary battery in the BT50.
Cost for cost, I think looking at an extra panel would be more beneficial. It is possible the wiring is in place, in our van the panel wires come out above the fridge, and are yellow, joining onto red and black going to the regulator. If you have two pairs of yellow wires, it means the wires are already laid in the roof for the extra panel.

Aus-Kiwi · Guru

3 way fridges on 12v has up to 20 amp draw ! On 12v In most cases is a temp situation. The thermostat is not used on some models !!

PeterD · Guru

Fridges of up to 150 litres have an element that is rated at 175 W. The 90 litre fridges of the 1990s and into the 2000s drew 10 to 12 A

PeterD · Guru

TheCrazees wrote:
My van setup currently has a setec drifter, setec st35-III & TPS555 with a 150w solar panel feeding 100aH Gel battery.

Carlos, what are you going to power from your battery when on unpowered sites? You can be careful with your power consumption and live quite happily with your current solar system. We found that most of the campsites we used off power lacked TV reception. In those days we carried a 34 litre Waeco fridge. We could go two days on a 115 Ah battery before it needed charging (we did not have solar in that van.) In the current van, we have a 110 Ah battery with an 80 W solar cell to maintain it. We are normally only a couple or three days off power but have spent a week at Cape Conran where there was shade from trees for part of the day. We coped there with TV available to us. There is a propensity for members here to urge people to install more power than they require in their systems. The big problem is that batteries have considerable weight and that eats into the amount of other stuff you can carry. (You can however scrap the system, spend over $1,000 and install a lithium battery and you will have far more power without adding to the weight of your system.)

You have a good battery monitor. I would suggest that see if you can live with your current system. If you are careful with your power usage you can live with just the solar panel providing power for your needs. If you add a DC-DC power charger or a charging cable from the tug then this will not assist whilst you are on site. It will only assist if you shift camp every few days. Watch your batteries SOC with the power monitor. If you do run short of power it just means that you miss out on TV for that night. By doing that you will see if you can live with what you already have. THEN before you consider adding more battery power weigh your rig when it is loaded for a trip to see if you actually have the capacity to carry an extra battery. Adding another battery and panel will take 40 kg of your load allowance. Your van most likely only has 300 kg of load allowance - and that 300 kg includes the battery system and every other attachment that has been added to the van since it was delivered. (I have upgraded our van to carry 500 kg of load and we use 450 kg of that when we fill the water tank.

You can save a bit of battery power if you change the lighting in your van to LED lights if that has not already been done. Recharge your portable devices (phones and tablets) in your tug. If you recharge them in the van do not use an inverter, they are power wasters. Use USB chargers directly from your DC supply. If you are going to use your computer in the van you can get a 12 V power supply for it from Jaycar or other places, this is far more efficient than using an inverter,

TheCrazees · Member

Thanks guys for all the good oil,

I think I will go ahead and move the 12v tug fridge charge from the 12 pin to the anderson plug.

I have just read some use the second anderson for ALKO Esc. ( Something to consider later).

I still think I will install an aux. feed into the silverline to enable a portable 250w solar panel /mppt setup.

The fridge is a 3way so I would during offgrid setup be running on gas.

All the lighting is LED, and we are not real TV keen. So we will test the current system as suggested before splurging on upgrades.

Any suggestions on portable gennies ?

I hear Honda are the standard go to. I have seen a company called Outbax selling a 3.5 kva gentrex for around $600 ish anyone got one of these ?

Thanks again

Carlos

Possum3 · Guru

Carlos I note on the Gentrax site outbax.com.au/camping/inverter-generators that the 3.5kva is 28kg ($739) Do you have the capacity to carry that weight for the limited use you would need it.

TheCrazees · Member

Possum,

It would be factored in, as a necessary evil / insurance policy.

I think most weigh around 20 -30 kgs.

Cheers,

Carlos

bomurra · Veteran Member

Hello CArlos,

My Silverline came wired like the diagram attached, with a single anderson plug that feeds both the battery charger and the fridge.

My suggestion is that Jayco (if true to form) have done the same on yours, but wired the Fridge/Battery feed wires to the large pins in the 12 pin plug. If this is the case they will definitely benefit from and anderson plug.

Hope this helps,

Regards

Bob

TheCrazees · Member

thanks bob.

this supports my thoughts to using the anderson plug for the fridge.

Carlos