1st Campervan

[executivetravel]

I use bottled gas in my campervan for the fridge, cooker, grill, water heater. ect.. so it made sense to fit a gas heater as well. The type that I bought was a Propex Heater.

gas bottle installation?......

"specific requirement is access to gas bottle must only be from outside the vehicle via its own access door and must have vents in door and floor and must be totally sealed against the possibility of any gas/fumes from entering the inside of vehicle."

[solarman]

I use bottled gas in my campervan for the fridge, cooker, grill, water heater. ect.. so it made sense to fit a gas heater as well. The type that I bought was a Propex Heater.

Thanks Dachre,it would make sense to use propane as it can power all the main components,will look at these propex heaters
on Ebay,cheers,
Solarman.

[solarman]

i need to make an instrument panel for monitoring batteries and other meters,there doesn't seem to be any ideal
places on the dash for mounting them,so i was considering a custom fascia console mounted below te centre of dashboard
here...
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bought a radio signal clock to mount so cut it up which will make it easier to mount and also the battery monitor
from maplins which also is a power supply for various things,progress is very slow as i'm still waiting for a 3 way fridge to turn up on ebay....
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i've had a a bit of measuring up on the roof for the solar panel and it looks like it will have to be mounted
at the rear just behind the skylight,this may be used as an entry point for my solar wiring instead of drilling through.
noticed some hex bolts on roof is this normal for factory fitting or do i suspect the roof is a later add on?

[solarman]

darkbluevanman pics are on now cheers for the constructive advice....
Solarman

[dachre]

I dont think hex bolts on the top will be factory fitting.
The only sort of external fixings will be around the top of the front windscreen for the black rubber weather strip.
There are internal fittings along the side of the roof. But they are on the inside only.

Bolts may be left over from some equipment which was once placed up there.

Good job by the way.

[solarman]

I dont think hex bolts on the top will be factory fitting.
The only sort of external fixings will be around the top of the front windscreen for the black rubber weather strip.
There are internal fittings along the side of the roof. But they are on the inside only.

Bolts may be left over from some equipment which was once placed up there.

Good job by the way.

Maybe someone had a roof rack on,i have decided not to put a roof rack on now,it's high enough already and don't want to disturb these bolts.I may just seal over them to make sure they will not leak before fitting the solar panel,
Solarman

[solarman]

I put up a different solar charge controller which has more details on load draw,charging rate,temperature and battery SOC,so at a glance i can see exactly what power is coming in and going out,the other controller was a bit basic using LED status lights but no way of knowing battery SOC.Tommorow i will put a small solar panel in the van to charge the leisure battery
this is only a 20 watt panel and will trickle charge the battery until the 80 watt panel goes on the roof in the next few days.
I have decided to bond the solar mounts to the roof with sikaflex just need to get the right sikaflex number.Also i boughbt a LUXOR tv dvd freeview combi from Asda for £100 and have put this up,this works well withb portable satelite system i bought for £40 from a friend who had never used it!
Here's some pics....
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[solarman]

The weather has delayed the roof solar panel installation for now so i put a 20 watt solar panel against the side
window just to trickle charge the battery,which on a sunny day will put a couple of amps back in to it and since i won't be using the battery for a while anyway it will at least keep topping it up.The 80 watt panel should be about 4 times as fast at charging and the SOC should give me an idea of battery condition,meanwhile i will assemble the roof mount and try to fabricate a hinged arm to tilt the panel on winter days,
Solarman.

[solarman]

Well there's too much snow and ice to do anything on it,and starting problems have taken a priority for now.
Had to buy a replacement battery as i was getting in work late,and so far the new battery has been able to keep starting the van in this cold temperature.Been looking for bits and have found a fridge cooker oven and sink on Ebay for 40 quid a bargain,picking up tommorow.Now that i have a fridge i can start on the inside cupboards and fitting etc.Have also got my two volt meters from hong kong for just under 7 quid(took a month to get here),also ordered a couple of battery isolators,so as you can see still gathering bits to finish it off,my deadline for insurance camper conversion is march will try and get it on the log book as well by then,
Solarman

[solarman]

Picked up items from ebay seller and fridge is undergoing a freeze test since i put a plug on it.Would like to get the gas side
tested,anyone on here who can advise or have a look at it for me?12 volt i can test myself but from what i gather this is only to be used while driving as it uses a fair bit of energy and apparently not as cold,the reason it's there is to keep it cool in between gas or mains use i believe.I wouldn't use it on 12 volt stationary as it would flatten my battery,i'm hoping the gas side works as this will be one of the main power sources,
Solarman.

[solarman]

Freeze test is working on mains so 1 out of 3 tested,hbere's some pics.......

3way fridge
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watt meter showing amps drawn whbile plugged in...
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freeze test on mains....
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ice forming in cup of water....
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Volt meter from Hong Kong......
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Solarman.

[AndyA]

I've got the same fridge, except i've got the door on the other side.

*Goes to check that solarman hasn't half inched it*

[redcube]

Nice camper van your doing I take it your very good at electrics

[solarman]

Nice camper van your doing I take it your very good at electrics

i hope so,won't be taking any shortcuts best to err on the side of safety eh?
Solarman

[solarman]

i have read every link i can find on fitting 3 way fridges in with all the explanations,but still i can't picture behind the fridge
area and how to seal the back off but allow air to circulate.Does only the upper half of the fridge need to be sealed from habitation area and lower half have air from inside campervan underneath the fridge to circulate upwards?Are there any clear
photographs of these details in someone's conversion which could make things clearer?I don't want the O'Briens link as i've read it a thousand times and some parts still leave me confused also the diagrams are a bit unclear,
Solarman.
just to add that my gas bottle will probably be boxed in at the other end of camper(back of van)but will be linked with copper pipe(8mm i think) and connected midway via an accessible service hatch where the manifold/isolation tap will be.I understand the gas bottle will have to have separte sealed chamber so that's not a problem,just the fridge itself and how should i seal it off?