12V install and electrical cupboard wiring! | EP20 | Ford Transit MK8 Campervan Build
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- čas přidán 23. 08. 2024
- In this episode I get the camper van conversion functioning Electrical heart up and running. install and wiring up the batteries and related parts for the electrical system.
EDIT: recommendation for a future or others who are planning to mount equipment such as, check the manual for installation instructions regarding the surface and positioning of unit. I wouldn’t recommend mounting on a bare plywood surface which I have in the test fit in the video. Subsequently they are in a different location in the van in the later videos. ,
If you wish to purchase an Orion B2B here is an affiliate link for my channel
Orion 30A non-isolated:
www.bspksolar....
Orion 30 AIsolated:
www.bspksolar....
Other Victron items
www.bspksolar....
Welcome to my Ford Transit Mk8 Van build series.
My name is Alex Frood, I’m a UK based Freelance Expedition Leader and Outdoor instructor. I am converting my 2018 Ford Transit Mk8 L3H3 into a full-time Camper.
Youll also see my friend Chaz Powell of "The Wildest Journey" ( www.thewildest... ) and his Ford Transit L3H3. Who I met years ago and have had adventures all over the globe with.
Simplysplitcharge.com - most wires and lugs
bimblesolar.com - Victron equipment
12vplanet.com - Fused Switch Panel and Bus bars
These videos are not How-to videos but showing my process for my conversion. feel free to copy me but id always recommend doing your own research as well.
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Really clean wiring man. Best wishes with the van
Thank you this is actually quite an old video now and it’s been subsequently redone a number of times elsewhere on the channel
Another great video Alex, loved the idea of doing the small diagram of the area your working on. So confusing looking at the bigger diagram but cutting them down to small sections is way better. Love the shelf in the shower too. The boards are super neat. Thank you keep the videos coming x
Yeah definitely I think breaking down big things in general to little bite-size chunks makes life a lot easier. Glad you like that shower shelf!
Loving your van build series, Alex. Interesting, informative and entertaining - you deserve more views and subscribers. Maybe you need to talk about spice racks and induction hobs, film a scantily clad female "helping" you and colour grade your footage to make Scotland appear more like LA? J/K
Copper is what's called 'Cold Short': it work hardens when hot. Try and keep it cold, where possible.
For a "non Pro" it's good to see you've done your homework, so many don't are a fire waiting to happen! Just a small point I noticed (which you may have sorted by now) is I would have added a fuse between the batteries, that way if something happens to one of the batteries (I.E. internal short) the other battery wont unrestrictedly dump all it's power into the other battery potentially causing a fire. For systems I design & build where convenience & safety have to be balanced I will often use a fuse & a circuit breaker, 20A fuse / 10A circuit breaker as an example, that way in normal situations if there is a fault the breaker will trip which is easy to reset but should the breaker be faulty & fail to operate the fuse will blow as a last resort as apposed to causing a fire.
Thank you for the comment, the System has changed substantially since than. a lot more consideration to aspects you mentioned have been implemented.
@@MispronouncedAdventures Just found you after seeing you at Ash's, I need to catch up lol.
Ah that’s great! Thank you for subscribing. I’ll thank him in person when I see him in a few days
Thanks for the video, very helpful!
Glad it was helpful!
That moment of “pleaseeeeee work...”
Ollie Barker I mean I knew nothing should actually happen because it’s electricity and if you’ve done everything correct nothing should happen but still flicking the switch is sort of still expect something
20:30 you say its not a how to video But cable management is so important to keep thinks safe and under control. Cable ties never seen this before and will be stealing your tip :) Thankyou
No problem, as I’m not a professional in this area and not going to saying it’s a how to but I’d copying along with your own research is a great option is what I’ve done myself for learning a lot of things.
@@MispronouncedAdventures Cable ties so cheap and strong, easy to cut out later if something needs fixing. What is not to like... yes we understand it is all our own choice But that is why I made the comment. in my opinion it is a good thing... others my think differently LOL :)
Who do you recommend watching for how to videos again? Greg someone? I couldn't quite catch it 🙈
Greg Virgoe
Thanks! We just came across your Norway series a couple of weeks ago, and decided to start with the build series and then get on to the adventures. Loving them a lot!
You mentioned I think in this video, (I have watched nearly all of them so not sure) that you would share a link to your wiring diagram?
yay
Your explication is fantastic ! It helps me a lot during my van-conversion. Where we could find your electrical diagram (4:40 min) ? Thank you a lot mate :)
Glad you found it helpful. Do you have Instagram? If you message me on there ( information in the description ) I can show you that version of the electrical diagram, currently to making it
loved the video just use insulated spanners on the terminals of battery lol
It is a good point. Later videos I’m not using to specifically insulated spanners but at least a ones with plastic handle covers at least
@@MispronouncedAdventures wait to see my van build lol. im sure im going to blow my self up or haha
Your electrics videos are so useful to complete beginners! Thank you! Since you helped your friend install the Ctek MPPT/DC converter as well as your own Victron setup, do you have any advice on choosing between those two? ie. is there a reason you didn't go for the Ctek (as it seems very popular!)? Thanks :)
Glad you found it helpful. The main reason I didn’t go for the CTek was it wasn’t a powerful enough for my power needs. Perfect for my friend Chaz but a bit under powered for me. The Ctek has a max output of 20Amps in total and a rather low max VOC for solar of 23v . ( VOC is the max voltage the solar panel put out. ) my solar panels have a VOC of 37.8v so way to high. I currently have battery bank of 390Ah lithium so high amps Charging output the better for me. I also personally really enjoy the all the stats and information to get from Victron units via the phone app
Basically CTek combo unit is great for smaller systems with small solar arrays and smaller battery banks.
@@MispronouncedAdventures That's so helpful - thank you! I agree the smart functions on the Victron system look brilliant, but it sounds like the Ctek would work just fine for our use. Thanks again!
Also really enjoying reading about your friend's adventures too!
Great to hear, he had definitely does some interesting things ( and more to come, as do I ) ! It’s been a difficult year for both of us as we are both freelance expedition leaders as our jobs.
@@MispronouncedAdventures I can imagine that's tough - but the van project seems like a pretty ideal way to spend this time until expeditions can continue (for both of you!) - CZcams van tutorials are a very different kind of leadership but we're all appreciating it!
Hey mate, I paused when you were showing your wiring diagram and zoomed in…the smartshunt. Is that how you’ve actually wired it? I’ve just bought one myself and wondering wether to put a -ve to the chassis on the system/load side of the shunt. I noticed you put your chassis ground on the battery side of the shunt, everything Ive read and the instructions say only the shunt should be connected to the -ve battery terminal.
I think the shunts smarter than me at the min!ha
Cheers Ant
Hey,
I don’t use a -Ve to the chassis as it’s not needed in my set up as I’m using a isolated version of the DCDC chargers. The shunt is connected to the negative battery terminal
I like the fuse/switch panel. Very tidy compared to the blade type fuse holder. Has it lived up to expectations?
Yes, been in for two years now it’s quite excellent
@@MispronouncedAdventures Thanks for the info. Did you supply the Auxbeam from this panel or direct to the 12V bus bars?
I supply the Auxbeam directly from the 12v bus bars as the each switch on the fuse board is a 30amp or something like that. Whilst the Auxbeam needs 60a. How I do power the auxbeams signal turn on / off wire for from the switchpanel so I can turn the whole thing off and on if I wanted.
Many as I use the fuse switch panel as the main control panel for interacting with most things in the van
@@MispronouncedAdventures Excellent stuff! I was looking at the Victron Lynx Distributor for the bus bars but they have fairly limited connection points. Tidy though!
The Lynx is a great unit. I would most likely install one of those if I doing it again for my main parts
@21.02 That's what she said 😂😂😂😂😂😂
Re "EDIT: recommendation for a future or others who are planning to mount equipment such as, check the manual for installation instructions regarding the surface and positioning of unit. I wouldn’t recommend mounting on a bare plywood surface which I have in the test fit in the video. " What would you recommend? What is the issue? The bare plywood or the position? I see you have painted it it later videos and placed it nearer to the battery bank (shorter cables lengths?). Would air holes in the plywood, behind the MPPT charger help?
Closer to the batteries will always be more efficient with shorter cable runs. However the overall plan was to condense my electrical equipment into one area
. Generally the manual recommends a noncombustible surface, which is understandable as these devices do put out some heat. how ever for many van builders that’s easier said than done. Im planning on using a 2mm aluminium sheet cut to the size of the unit back, mounted between the unit and the ply surface.
Having said that I have tested the new surface with the paint on which does have a fire rating. Which held up to 30 seconds of direct contact with a blowtorch and didn’t combust or burn, it’s scorched the direct area but didn’t stay ignited. Which I am quite happy with.
@@MispronouncedAdventures Ok, got it, thanks. I might try mounting the devices (MPPT and DC to DC) to an aluminum perforated sheet with bolts. Then attach the sheet to the plywood using stilts to lift it off and provide airflow around the back
I think that’s a good idea. The MPPT doesn’t get particular hot, The DC to DC does. But hot is subjective, might be hot for a person to touch but perfectly within the unit rating for the DC to DC. It starts to slow it self down when it’s above 40°. Whilst the combustion temperature for ply 230°
Nice video! So you used 25mm cable from the battery to the connectorpanel, and 16mm cable from the connectorpanel to the fusebox and victron right?
Indeed, 25mm is rated to 170amp and 16mm is 110amp ( or around that I think ), I have probably oversized it if I’m honest.
23:00 Nope. Negligible resistance in the cable, doesn't matter where you connect along its length.
Not sure what you referring too? 23:00 I’m connecting up batteries in parallel, while you can connect if wanted and your main positive and negative on the same battery it’s not optimum set up and the effect is more exaggerated more batteries you have in you bank . While you can do it off the same battery your not going to find recommendations to do so over the other methods
What was the name of the channel you recommend for the detailed explanation of the electrics? Greg...?? Thanks
Greg Virgoe
@@MispronouncedAdventures That was quick, Thank you. You also mentioned that you'll be releasing the wiring diagram at some point, is it available somewhere? I'm mostly interested in finding out what to buy so I have everything beforehand, i.e. right sizes of terminals / cables, all the connectors. Thanks
Dose the Victron dc dc charger and the Victron solar controller work together to charge the same battery pack, ie one dosent cut out the other? Great videos thanks 👌
There can be used together no issue. The don’t “work together” as such as there is no communication between the devices but that isn’t important. There are happy to both be charging at the same time and will sort themselves out
Mispronounced Adventures, blody hell that was quick!!! Thank you so much for the response, very helpfully I’ll be getting both in that case, cheers dude 👌
No problem. Best of luck with you build. Both brilliant units!
Ledge 🤙
What was the name of the video series you mention at 1:29? I didn't quite catch it. Thanks
No problem, it was Greg Virgoe. I should of added it to video description!
Where is Astro do you take him on trips
Atlas, not Astro, he has been some trip but overall no, as he is my ex’s dog so. I don’t seem him that often
@@MispronouncedAdventures sorry to hear that I think I was auto corrected. Well I wish you safe travels, I was just binge watching all the build videos.