Caravan & Camper Battery Charging Feedback

I should have also asked if the fridge runs on 12 volts whilst you are driving.

Hi Notso

- no the lights don't work

The fridge is three way & we have run it on DC when travelling & it works

What I'd look at getting done when you have the second battery done is add an anderson plug to the back of the tow vehicle then have em put an anderson plug on the van with decent sized wires to run your 12 volts in the van. I don't know how it's wired at the moment so you'd need advice from an auto lec, or your caravan dealer.

Most van wiring is borderline when you try to run the fridge on 12 volts and a 7 pin plug is right at the limit with the amount of amps a fridge on 12 volt draws. That's why most of us vanners use the anderson plugs as a separate power supply independant of the 7 pin.

Thanks for your advice.... I note also that the solarforce has a DC + & DC - ports at the back of the unit. Perhaps that is where I could run the wiring to the Anderson plug to attach to the 4wd

It sounds like that, just check what amps it needs as a supply and make sure the wires from the vehcle battery to the plug and the Van wiring is big enough to supply the necessary amps. I have something similar but mine is fairly old and only needs 20 amps, I know some of the later ones need a better supply.

The solarforce unit is designed to supply 28 amps continuous current at 13.8 Vdc

Yep, so with any losses in the system you'll need supply wiring a bit more than that so have chat to someone who can do the calculation s for you. You may get someone on here reply later on.

cheers for your help

Hi
Did you receive a manual for it?
If it's the model I think it is ,you have a combined regulated power supply & multi stage charger suitable for all types of batteries

It does need to be programed & wired correctly, suggest you do not attempt anything with out a manual & understanding what it says

Peter

No Manual just a couple of pages. Its a SFPS-1228 model . It has an input voltage of either 115 or 230V its factory set to 230.

Hi B5

Ok, that model is purely a regulated power supply
Will not charge batteries even on mains supply

Since ,@ this stage you are only looking for overnight use of battery while travelling & driving each day
I would suggest you feed battery from tug battery
Ignition controlled relay to avoid possible flattening of crank battery
Heavy cables battery to battery & Anderson plugs for connection between.
it would be best if you had a selector switch rather than connect battery to the solar force output .

Peter

Cheers for that. Will speak with Auto Elec soon, agree selector switch sounds the better option.