Complete Rewire & Appliance Upgrade

[fartmanedd]

Hi,

I am completely re-wiring my Abi Monza 1991 Caravan after coming across the below that was running the 240v as well as the rats nest of connection that was taped to the gas line :blink:





I am completely re wiring both 12v and 240v as I can't trust what is currently installed, I am also removing the water heater and gas.

We don't have a shower in the caravan and the previous owner said they didn't use the water heater and to fair we would only use caravan sites with shower facilities etc.

The gas would go and I would do all the cooking on a portable stove in the awning

I'm a planning on removing the current Electrolux RM 212F Fridge as I would never use this on gas or 12V. Can I install a standard fridge? It is most likely to be a fridge with no freezer compartment, and with a bit of slight persuasion i could get 1 to fit.

I also removing the wiring for the towing lights as I don't need this to charge the caravan battery as I'm installing a solar panel that would keep this topped up.

The towing lights would just go from the car to the lights as if i was using a towing board, the question is what size cable do i use? Is know I will need 7 core do I use 11 amp cable? I'm changing the lights to led.

Thanks for your advise

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hi,

Have you posted before under a different name, because it seems an identical proposition to one we saw just a few weeks ago?

What you choose to do to your caravan is of course entirely up to you, but I have to say I disagree with your reasoning in a number of areas.

Firstly let me make it clear that any work on electrics or gas should be compliant with the regulations. so unless you are competent in such matters it would be best to refer it to a professional for reasons of safety, and insurance if it should go wrong.

Why remove the gas equipment? Unless it's in your way for other projects, it's best to leave it in situe, and just choose not to use it. However if for any reason the mains power fails or is not available when you are on site, you at least have other ways of heating and cooking,

Specifically about the fridge, you could of course choose to replace it, but you are likely to have trouble finding a replacement that will fit the shape of the hole. Again the fridge that's already fitted can be run on mains (but if theirs no mains available you have the option of gas! - so why change it for a less flexible solution? It will also run on 12V when its coupled to the car so it will keep thing cooler on journeys.

There will be times when you may want hot water, After all most water heaters fitted after 1988 had the option of gas or mains power to run them, so why change? The one already fitted will have a mains element designed for teh power available to caravans, Just as heads up you would not have enough mains power to run an instantaneous electric water heater.

Your plan seems to cripple several functions of the caravan, and if they're already fitted, it seem strange to have to go to a lot of trouble and expense to remove them when they are quite likely capable of being fully functional. If you remove them you will have several holes to fill.

Another concern will be if you are relying on mains power alone for everything, you will quickly exceed the capacity of the mains input system. The caravan is limited to 16A of 230V ac which equates to just over 3.5kw of power, and you will quickly exceed that if you try to use normal domestic appliances in the caravan. Not all caravan sites have the full 16A of power available, and you will not be flavour of the month if you continually exceed the power capacity of the site and cause the site trips to operate.

Please think again!