Leisure Batteries

still

Hi All

I am in the middle of converting a 97 transporter into a camper. Have a few windows to put in the back and all.

I'm looking to get a leisure battery to run a fridge and electric hob cooker off, nothing else for now. I would want a system that could be charged by the engine when its running.

Does anyone know of any where i could lay my hands on such a system? One with self assemble and install instructions would be great, failing that maybe someone willing to do the install.

I'm in waterford.

Thanks for your help, i'll probably be back asking other q's soon enough as soon as i get into the full swimg of the conversion.

Thanks

Still

peasant

I'm afraid you won't get very far trying to run a fridge and a cooker off a battery.

The fridge draws about 8 amps and the cooker probably double that.

Even the biggest battery would go to its knees after a few minutes only.

I don't know of any electrical cookers in campers and even the fridges only run on 12V when the engine is running and the alternator is charging.

Gas is the way to go for independence.

stapeler

I agree with Peasant, The fridge itself would be enough to rapidly drain a battery.
Even after a long drive and a new battery(s) you'd be lucky to get a few minutes out of a hob.
Gas would be my option.

zagmund

Huh ? Are you guys saying that most fridges won't work for long when parked up and running off the leisure battery only ? I can see that a cooker would eat the battery pretty quickly, but I didn't think the same problem existed with fridges. I haven't had occasion to do it too often, but I'm sure I have had the van parked up and and the fridge on battery without anything melting before and have still been able to run the lights off the battery when I come back after a few hours. I understood that the cooling ability of the fridge would be reduced compared to running on mains, but it still works doesn't it ?

z

peasant

Eh ...no !

If your fridge is wired correctly, it will not work (atall,atall) on battery once youre parked up.

There is supposed to be a switch in there that only supplies 12V to the fridge once the alternator is charging (ie. running).

On the other hand, once cool, your fridge will hold its temperature quite happily for a while (especially in Irish weather:D ) as long as it isn't opened.

zagmund

Well now, we learn something new every day. I must check this at home. I'm sure I have previously powered it up via battery when parked up at home (and not linked to the mains), but I could well be imagining things. I'll check and report back. Is the issue primarily that it will drain the battery or is there some safety issue also ?

z

peasant

The issue should only be one of battery life.

What kind of fridge have you got?
If its one of those cooler boxes (the kind you can connect into your cigarette lighter) it may well work on battery, but a "proper", built-in three way fridge shouldn't.

still

Thanks Lads

I have revised the whole cooker thing as I cant get a 12v electric cooker anywhere on the internet so my guess would be that it would be even harder to find in town.

A far as the fridge goes, if it never runs when the van is not running then what is the need for the leisure battery in the first place? can it not be connected to the engine battery and run off that power source or is it for the sake of saving whats for the engine for the engine?

Thanks for the help

peasant

still wrote:

...what is the need for the leisure battery in the first place? can it not be connected to the engine battery and run off that power source or is it for the sake of saving whats for the engine for the engine?

Thanks for the help

That's pretty much it in a nutshell.
The normal installations in a camper like lights, water pump, ignition(s) for fridges and heaters and possibly the radio/cd would eat away at the battery when you're parked up for a while.
(ever left the lights on in your car for a few hours?)

So basically everything that is used when the engine is not running gets connected to a second battery in order not to drain the main one.

The second battery doesn't have to be a "leisure battery", it's just that (unlike starter batteries that are desigend for short, big drains) what is commonly sold as a "leisure battery" is designed for continous small drains.
Leisure batteries are supposed to last longer than starter batteries in those kind of applications
(I've always used a starter battery as a second one, as they are much cheaper)

KoNiT

Hi

I've my doubts about you finding 12v cooker.

You'll need leisure battery to run everying else, Lights TV, etc. as the Leisure battery has more staying power than the Car/van battery & you'll flatten the car battery in no time.. Car battery is designed to give max power for starting engine & relying on alternator to run everything else.

My fridge runs when the van isn't, only discovered that a few days ago as the vents were warm & gas was off. Maybe its wired backwards!!

What are your intentions about the fridge? you can get a 12v from tescos's which is more like a cooler than anything else. but if you want something more stable then a 3 way fridge (gas-240v-12v) with locking doors would be the option.

I can understandt not going the gas route as you'll have to house the bottle outside the van by chopping the door & sealing off the locker.

link may be of help.
http://www.carpages.co.uk/volkswagen/volkswagen_the_volkswagen_camper_conversion_manual_26_05_04.asp


There are companies in UK that offer conversion parts

still

My reason for not going with gas is that its not classified as a campervan for insurance purposes. Then im not insured to carry flamable substances etc so I think gas is out.

I will however be getting the van fully converted throughout the winter. I need to get a workable solution in place by august 31st as im off on hols until oct to france for the RWC.

What im thinking now is:

97 Transporter panel van (have it, fine machine i must say)
2 new rear windows ala Caravelle (getting from a breakers yard on sat, and hoping to get autoglass to remove the existing panel and replace with the glass)
Ply line some of the walls (maybe insulate beforehand) to use to fix some cabinets and bed/couch to
Clean the inside and spray paint the celling,
Build bed/couch fold out thingy and install
Build a unit to hold fridge and cooker with small counter.
Bring butane camping stove with replacement cans of gas
Build storage unit and fit
Hang some lovely curtains (made by the missus just for the van)
Fill her up with diesel and were off

Well I hope

Then over the winter id love to

Raise the roof
Fit sink unit
Get gas cooker and fit it.
Build in some place for a small keg of gas.

Any ideas lads?

or better still any ideas who might be able to help with the window install in the southeast of the country.

Busy few weeks ahead, but it will be plenty of fun.

Thanks

peasant

Your plan sounds good so far but I think there may be a minor hitch.

I'm not 100% sure (so best check), but I seem to remember that the Caravelle windows dont just fit in a hole cut into the side panels of a panel van. I think they sit in their own kind of subframe or the panels are somewhat re-inforced to take the glass and the frame ...I could be wrong,though.

Best have a good look at that caravelle before you buy the windows.

Aftermarket plexiglass windows on the other hand are usually designed to just "fill the hole"

As for "fridge" ...get yourself one of those picnic type cooler boxes and lots of those freezer blocks (a lot of campsites re-freeze them for you over night) and you should be alright for your holidays. They don't cost the earth, work sort of well enough (if you have a good supply of frozen blocks to keep them cool) and can be got anywhere.

After your hols you can then put the thinking cap on and decide if you want to go three way fridge with gas and gas coooker or maybe compressor cooler box (not cheap but good and easier on the (second) battery) and maybe a little camping-gaz stove without the need for the big gas cylinder.

ousty

Still
You can run a fridge and a cooker from 12V
Providing you have about 40 110amp Deep Cycle batterys
Does answer your Q
ousty

BenFoldsFive

Hope this link helps with your window question.

http://www.vwt4forum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2489

3ps

park by a river and put all your fridge contents in it??