connecting car to mains...

Morph (101 Ambi ) has these toys..though I don't think he has the oil pre heater but certainly the water and battery chargers were fitted via....

Would love to get my hands on the origional military plug so heres another appeal if any one has one / knows where I can get one.

Lee D

-- ________________________________

I'm not a caravanner, but I assumed that an electric hook-up was 240v. Is that right, or is it normally 12v DC? If it's 12V then I'm laughing.

The electric hook up is 240 from the post on site to the mains input (blue sockets)

But from the towing veh is a black connector 12n for the normal lights

and a grey connector 12s for supplementary fittings such as a fridge runnning in the caravan from 12volts off the car...reversing lights and anything else you wish to bung through this socket.

What I'm proposeing is you get the 12s male plug wired to the constant 12v live wires (normally the fridge connectors if I recall correctly) and fasten the other end to the battery charger indoors... plug the male connector into the 12s socket on the car and hey presto.

Alternatively you could get a solar pannel for them and wire through cigarette lighter (maplins do one for £14 or they did a while ago) or even hard wire one in on Burt and Ernie. It's not an issue of false economy due to the electric provided offset against cost...more an issue of being able to start them up after what could be a month of standing. I prefer the solar option...Martyn may shed some light as he has solar fitted..also this may be of interest....

-- ________________________________

Hi Lee, A friend with a 127 contacted the manufacturer (Niphan?) and got told they were £205 IIRC! Steve, if you're reading this - chip in! Cheers, Rich

I am, I am! Yes, the plugs seem hard to find ...well in fact the male plug is attached to the vehicle so the bit on the input lead is the female socket so really it's a socket. Unlike Rich my 127 didn't have the hookup cable but try as I might I couldn't find a match (although an ex mil aircraft hookup socket came close) so I've fitted a surface mount CEE socket as used by the motorhome / caravan brigade.

As to the OP query I think I would just buy a robust step charger, do away with the crocodile clips and replace with a suitable socket which can be plugged into matching and permanently wired plugs fitted in a convenient place in each vehicle. I personally wouldn't go to the bother of fitting 240v mains input to each vehicle but would instead just tuck the charger & 240v plug (RCD protected) somewhere dry under the bonnet or wherever.

Steve. Suffolk. remove 'knujon' to e-mail

If you have a full tow electrics ie . twin sockets you just need to plug in 12 V to the Acc socket.

On this plug (If it is wired properly is at least one perm live from the battery.

There is somnetimes a second live but this should go through a voltage sensing relay so it is only on when the car is charging to supply a fridge.

Why bother with extra plugs that are hard to mount when you already have one.

regards

Zen

This all relies on as little volt drop across the cables from the charger, via the cable, plug, cable and to the battery.

A battery only charges when the charger offers a voltage higher than that of the battery. Most chargers these days give less voltage to stop gassing the battery. By the time you get to the battery there may not be enough to give a charge.

Give it a go.

Measure the output of the charger at the charger and then measure the voltage at the battery end.

What's needed is a Wifi charger.

Personally I'd go for a mains connection to the vehicle with a charger inside the vehicle away from any wetness. Also an ELCB in line (inside the house)

This method also allows a fan heater on a timer to be in the vehicle.

Taking mains in via the trailer sockets is definately a no no due to water ingress.

Also look at using cable that can stand the low temperatures (for the mains supply) It soon looses it flexibility and can crack.

Ed

To reply, remove my appendix

Well, you could do it with induction, but you'd need a pretty big inductor. Might upset the car alarm a bit.