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Tottaly new to the world of Caravans. Where do I begin?

M

Mark_Inder

Hello. I'm no stranger to camping and have had the joy of VW campervans for many years. I have now entered the world of owning a caravan and could do with some help and advice on where to start. I have only bought an Abbey 215 GTS so nothing to mamoth-esque. I don't even understand what to do to get the water systems operational. I will use it in literally a few days, so I need a steep learning curve. Please tell me I'm in the right place.
 
Does the leisure battery charge from the EHU once connected? I do have solar panels that I use in the campervan but unsure how the electrics work in the caravan. (I will make campervan/caravan typing mistakes for a while, I can feel it!)
 
Yes your leisure battery will be charging when hooked up to a site 240v EHU. You may have to press a switch near the PSU to make sure the battery receives charge. Abbey are now subsumed into Swift, but my last Swift was built 2011 and the 12v charging switch was a black round button on the bottom left of the PSU assembly.
 
Sorry, 'PSU' ??
Also, how do I switch from EHU to LBat? If I'm using EHU, what role does the LBat have? In my Campervan I have fixed solar panels on the roof that charge LBat which is needed as I annually go 'off-grid' for a couple of weeks. What if I were to attach solar panels onto the leisure battery? I don't want to fuse the entire system! Obviously, use a control unit.
 
It's your caravan Power supply unit where the EHU feed comes in and is distrubetd to 240 and 12 v users like lights, heaters, water heater, etc. It will likely have switches for heating, water heater and battery charging. It also encloses the electrical protection such as system/component fuses and breakers. Switching is easy as when 240v supply is switched off or removed the van 12v circuits are fed by the battery.
 
borderbilly said:
GTS means Go To Scotland 🍺
Click to expand...
Get Te Scotland ! Now based in Hampshire so Scotland is a bit of a way, but used to live in North Cumbria, used to watch football on Scot Sport in ITV, and family from Scotland. Some of this must count for something. I described something as 'quite gash' the other day and then had to explain.
 
otherclive said:
It's your caravan Power supply unit where the EHU feed comes in and is distrubetd to 240 and 12 v users like lights, heaters, water heater, etc. It will likely have switches for heating, water heater and battery charging. It also encloses the electrical protection such as system/component fuses and breakers. Switching is easy as when 240v supply is switched off or removed the van 12v circuits are fed by the battery.
Click to expand...
I'm assuming that I will have internal control of the EHU on/off. In the campervan this would be the 'Jig' unit. Otherwise the LBat would only serve as a back up when EHU disconnected (??)

What if I were to connect my solar panels to LBat? at 100W I doubt there would be enough power for things such as the fridge. From what I can see there is only space for 1 LBat which would prohibit me having up to 4 in parallel to supply adequate ampage (which is what I can do in the camper.)

I guess it may depend on the PSU of the van model, but is it possible to power 24v circuits from EHU and 12v from LBat.

I have these ideas with little knowledge of the actual mechanical magic that makes it happen.
 
I assume your Abbey is around pre2010.
All high energy appliances eg fridge, heating, hot water all use gas or 230V to provide energy. 12V will only be used for controller electronics if any and fans, all low power items. Lights maybe mixture of 12V and 230V, with only 12V working when off grid. Water pump is 12V.

Battery should start charging when caravan is powered by EHU (230V), may need to be manually turned on. Monitor Voltmeter if you have one should be 13-14V if charging.

Should be able to run 2-4days off grid on battery especially in summer, the big power consumers will be lights and heater fan. Battery voltage and state.
12.8V 100%, 12.2V 50%. These voltage readings need to be taken with lite loads so best measure with lights and heater fan off.

Try not to take battery below 50% on regular basis, as it will reduce its life considerably.
Switching 12V light bulbs for LED ones will reduce power consumption, as bonus should get better lighting. Cheap from likes of ebay or aliexpress.
 
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