Gas Bottle Storage
Submitted: Monday, Jan 17, 2005 at 21:25
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Member - Craig M (NSW)
Hi Everyone,
Just a queery concerning the storage of gasbottles.
We have one 4kg gas bottle in the proper storage space on the outside of the van, what I was wondering is where is it safe to sit a spare, as I don't have a lot of options but would really like to have another 4kg as a backup.
Also have you seen the smallish solar panels being sold through different
places that you plug into you cig lighter and it is meant to trickle charge your battery, do they actually work?
I picked one up last week for $19 and i stuck a multi across it and it seems to kick out about 40odd volts. Anyone had any experience with these?
Could you shove a female socket on the end and use it to charge other things?
Still havent been able to play with the ffridge yet. Still trying to get a couple of probs ironed out.
Cheers
Reply By: greghud - Monday, Jan 17, 2005 at 22:48
Monday, Jan 17, 2005 at 22:48
the gas bottle need to be out side the van if it gets too hot it will leak exess pressure out of the bottle, how bout a bracket off the bumper or the like?
the 40 volts sounds high? or was that watts? and what happens when you turn off the ignition? wont that cut the connection to the battery?
i got more questions than you do sorry i cant be more help. greg
AnswerID:
93688
Follow Up By: Member - Craig M (NSW) - Monday, Jan 17, 2005 at 22:58
Monday, Jan 17, 2005 at 22:58
Hi,
Thanks for that. I am pretty sure it was volts. (could be wrong) in the instructions they say you can wire it direct to the battery if need be, so maybe that would be better.
FollowupID:
352667
Follow Up By: greghud - Monday, Jan 17, 2005 at 23:04
Monday, Jan 17, 2005 at 23:04
thats interesting i wonder if hi volts but low amps is ok for the battery? you wouldnt want to
cook it with high volts. they arnt real big units so it would only be a small amount of amps. also i would
check first bout hooking up the other appliances as 40 volts surely wouldnt be good for a mobile or rechargable aa batterys etc... hopefully someone will give us an answer.
FollowupID:
352669
Reply By: firestang - Tuesday, Jan 18, 2005 at 00:24
Tuesday, Jan 18, 2005 at 00:24
You can install a steel box inside that is vented to the outside of the car . I have one in my work van the has a latched door with a rubber seal and a hose that goes through the floor to the outside .
I would think the people that install the cargo racks and such would know where to get one ,maybe even ARB or the like .
In the old van i had an acetylene bottle in one , that box came from the plumbers supply.
AnswerID:
93704
Reply By: Rod - Tuesday, Jan 18, 2005 at 11:51
Tuesday, Jan 18, 2005 at 11:51
re the solar panel....
I assume you were reading the output voltage with no load (not connected to a 12V battery). If this is true, you should be fine connecting it to a car battery via the cig socket. You will then see the voltage around 12-13V.
Such a small panel (i assume 5-10W) typically does not need a regulator between it and the 12v battery.
AnswerID:
93742
Follow Up By: Member - Rohan - Tuesday, Jan 18, 2005 at 16:50
Tuesday, Jan 18, 2005 at 16:50
At $19 I doubt it is anything more than a 2 watt (0.17 amp) panel.
Because of such a low output, it can be connected directly to the battery (no regulator) with no risk of damage.
Just be aware, it will take at least 3 full days of good sun to put 5 amps back into the battery so don't rely on it replacing any load, like fluro lights, in a hurry.
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