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- Today
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We had an extra external vent installed so we have a vent just below the compressor shelf and one just above. I’ve also installed a low current exhaust fan on the top vent. We turn this off at night. The RPD218 performed perfectly on our recent trip to the TopEnd and Gulf in 40 degree temps. We had it on setting 3 up north and now we are in central Qld where it’s cooler we’ve wound it back to 2 as it was freezing our tomatoes. With lights, satellite TV, shower pumps etc plus fridge we use about 35 to 40A each night. We are normally at between 80% and 89% charged in the mornings. Not sure exactly what the fridge uses but it does cycle on and off during the night ( and during the day in these cooler 30 to 25 degree temps). cheers Stu
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Hi Warren I wish you luck ,but the fan works extremely well ,I used it on my last holiday up north for 10 weeks 30/35 every day and was impressed the fridge held 0.c all the time .
- Yesterday
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Generally, three way fridges are not more efficient in the tropics and high heat. There will be differing opinions on this but over the years I have seen too many informed comments from people on the topic indicating there to be a problem with the three way fridges - even the tropical rated fridges. Kedron will have made the decision to stick with the 12volt fridges for a reason.
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Thanks for that, speaking to Dometic they say you don't require a fan, I questioned them on that saying that I have an outside glass double door bar fridge which has two fans in it. They came up an excuse, now I have to take it down to Brisbane and they are going to pull the fridge out and leave it in the workshop and use it and see how it operates. I said to them that the operating temperatures in the workshop will be different from a caravan. anyway I will see what happens. Friends were telling me on the weekend that some of the manufacturers are going back to 3 way fridges as they have become more efficient. Warren
- Last week
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Hi Warren If your fridge is going all the time and not coming back to temperature ,i put in a small computer fan ,tie it to the top rail with some cable ties ,wired it up to the power from the door light ,this then moves the air around ( must blow onto the back plate of the fridge ) and i have found it works extremely well in 35/40 c temps . I have had 2 computer boards put in so far ,the fridge is the week link in a Kedron caravan every thing else works very well.
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Hi I have been experiencing similar problems with the RPD215, when I load it full of food the temperature goes up then it really struggles to get back down hence it chews up the battery power. I have had Dometic put data logs in but only with no food, and shows it working ok. The now want to pull the fridge out and put it in their workshop for a week or so to see how it runs, I questioned that as it is not running under the same operating conditions as in the van. Is the 218 a much better fridge?? How does it go when off the grid if you only get around 5hrs of Solar?? Thinking about changing to a Three Way fridge never had trouble with one of those before. Looking forward to some advice Warren
- Earlier
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untilKOG XMAS PARTY.pdfKOG XMAS PARTY.pdfKOG XMAS PARTY.pdf KOG XMAS PARTY.pdf
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New Bull On The Farm:I recently spent $2500 on a young Black Angus bull. I put him out with theherd but he just ate grass and wouldn't even look at a cow. I was beginning to suspect he was gay, if that's possible with a bull. Anyhow, I had the vet come have a look at him. He said the bull was very healthy, but possibly a little young, so he gave me some pills to feed him once per day.Holy Cr*p. The bull started to service the cows within two days. All of mycows! He even broke through the fence and bred all my neighbor's cows! He'sbeen breeding just about everything in sight. He's like a machine!"I don't know what the heck was in the pills the vet gave him, but theytaste kinda like peppermint.
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G`Day John and Lyn We changed all of our fly wire to midge mesh some yrs. ago. A fiddly job but well worth the effort.It cut back the midge entrance by about 98%.
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Hi everyone Another question.What can you do to stop midges and mozzies getting into your van-think they are coming in through the fridge vent.Could we attach flyscreen wire inside the vent or would that block off too much air? Any other ideas? Thanks John and Lynne
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Hi all Tried the purple and deoxidiser-magic!Thanks for the tip. John and Lynne
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Hi Karen & Paul, Great to hear.....you know I wouldn’t give you a ‘bum’ steer!👍
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We did as you suggested tony and put the metho in the diesel heater. Made the world of difference. It is now cycling which it just didn't want to do before. Heater is coming up faster.
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Hi Paul and Belinda Given the option, I would go for the biggest system, ie the 400 amp system, you can afford. The reason we didn't go with EV Power is the distance from Brisbane. There is no use spending big money on a system that 'might do' compared to a lithium battery system what 'will do'. Considering your family of six, go for system more than what your current needs are (children grow and does their screen time) and what you can afford. I feel that if you go with a 300 amp system system, and with a family of 6, you maybe at the limits of the system, and that would defeat the object of want you want to achieve. The simple fact is, the more power you have, the more you use, and with a family of 6 you would more than the two of us. The Enerdrive people do put out a good system, that is why Kedron are using it. Why not contact Springers Solar at Capalaba for a quote, Cheers Peter
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Hi Everyone. Thanks very much for your informative replies. To give you a little more information on our circumstances, we are a family of six, We only go to caravan parks when we have too and love free camping. Unfortunately it is a constant struggle with keeping our power up. My wife and I have discussed upgrading to Lithium. I know a bloke is not suppose to stress over the lack of power. But on numerous occasions we have just about walked away due to our frustration and disappointment. Well I bit the bullet and been given a quote from EV Power in WA for 400ah which I thought was reasonable. But my wife Belinda would like me to investigate into the Enerdrive system which is only 300ah. Living on the Gold Coast, Enerdrive are only up the road if anything goes wrong. I would love to talk to Terry but sadly we won't be going down to SA in the near future. Kindest Regards Paul and Belinda
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Hi there Paul We recently replaced our 5 year old AGM batteries in our ATV for two. I am writing this so you can compare lithium battery systems so that when the time comes you make an informed decision that suits your needs. We replaced our 3 AGM 120 watt batteries with 4 Victron 90 watt lithium batteries. We also replaced the original Kedron installed AC battery charger with a Enerdrive 60 watt charger suited for lithium batteries. We also replaced the original 25 amp Redarc DC to DC charger with a Victron buck boost 50 amp DC to DC charger. Plus some other components to link the whole thing together to form a 'system'. We kept the original roof mounted solar system (130 watt panels x 4, plus a 80 watt panel). Out of $10 grand, I had just enough change to buy a burger and coffee at Maccas!!!!!!!!!! Our usage I similar to what Chris has said. We opt for unpowered sites, and use our 1800 watt Zantrex pure sine wave inverter to supply 240 volt throughout the van. We use the toaster, electric jug etc. one night we even used our electric blankets all night. However, we do monitor our battery status daily or several times a day. The 50 amp DC to DC charger is the key to success because it charges the batteries with a quick regulated charge. And with 600 watts of solar, we never seem to run out of power. We used Springer Solar here in Brisbane to do the work, and are very happy with the work they did. From what I see on different forums and from comments others have made, Terry at T1 has a very good reputation. Paul, whatever lithium battery system you choose, if it has the capacity you need and has a bit in reserve, caravanning is so much easier. Good luck Peter
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As John and Jo have commented, the price will depend on what you currently have in place. Terry was able to set the system up with our current charger and Inverter, as well as some other minor items. It took a few days but he would not have been working on it all the time....I think he rests a bit between bouts of work! This is not cheap, you understand. You will probably be looking at over $7000, depending on the size of system. BUT you save money by having this system installed. For example: We don’t elect to use powered sites at parks very often, choosing cheaper non-powered. We can freecamp indefinitely if we choose, topping up water in various ways away from caravan parks We use less gas as we are using the electric kettle, toaster and coffee machine rather than the gas cooktop. One 9kg gas bottle last about five months. We only stay at a caravan park if we are sightseeing for a few days or visiting nearby friends. I much prefer the freedom of a spot on a river or up a gorge somewhere than crammed into caravan parks.
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Hi Paul and Belinda , we like Chris also had TI Lithium install our system. 600 amp with 580 w existing solar . Terry told us that while he installs a lot of 400amp systems he has had people coming back saying they wish they had another 200 so we bit the bullet and are very happy with the set up and happy with lots of power . Ok the cost was high but now long forgotten and have had great after sales service from Terry he knows his stuff . One thing we still need to buy is a portable solar panel . As Chris said these batteries can be drawn down to 15 percent causing no damage but you do need a good charging system including a dc to dc charger . As far as pricing goes every system will be different according to size, what you currently have and how much labor to install. John
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Thank you all for your replies, it sounds like the fans run while the charger is on so I will have to live with that, yes I did put it in my vehicle to charge 2x 120ah AGM when on grid or gen power, happy travels. 32Kev
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Hi Chris Can I ask what was the final figure for your system and how long did it take him to fit, and apart from the batteries what else was required? Thanks Merv
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Our experience is with Enerdrive batteries so I hope the following advice is relevant. We have a 520ah set up, installed here in SA by T1Lithium, a national 'guru' of Lithium. It is nothing short of a miracle. Previously we had an array of 4 x 120ah AGM batteries, and our solar is 4 x 120 watts on top of the van, a 100watt portable panel and two x 100 ahs on the roof of the car. The car panels run the Engel in the car through a dedicated AGM battery. You can opt for a 'drop in' system or a system such as ours which has the capability of being tweaked if a cell dies or any other problem occurs. The drop in system will not allow for any tweaking by a novice. Well, that is my limited understanding of the situation. The advantage of lithium is that it re-charges much more efficiently than AGMs and can be discharged toa much lower level. Ours is set to discharge to no more than 15% of the total capacity. If we took so much out of the batteries that only 15% remained, the system cuts itself off to prevent any damage to the batteries. The other advantage is the weight saving. We saved 70kgs of weight. Feel free to ask further questions. Chris
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Hi, Would there be any fellow Kedron owners out there be able give me their experiences with this battery and their setup? My wife and I are looking to replace our 3x120ah agms in our 2014 XC3 with lithium possibly using The E Power setup but can't find any feedback. Could anyone please give their feedback. Kindest Regards Paul and Belinda
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I just leave mine in the 12v position, regardless of whether I'm free camping or on power.....works for me.
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Good Morning Mike We have a 2007 Top Ender and when we got it new they told us that when travelling down the road always switch to 240 V then if you have left anything on like lights etc. they will be off and also the water pumps can not come on and pump your water out on to the road. The fridge runs only off 12 V and is wired direct to batteries and I think you will find a fuse under one of the battery box lids. Happy Travels Neville.
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Hi Grahame and Tony We've had a 2004 ATV (our first caravan) for two years now so we're still novices. Do you mind if I ask a related question? I only occasionally switch my van to 240V, even when we're connected to 240V. The fridge detects and uses 240V when it's connected and, as far as I can tell, there's nothing else running on 12V that causes any significant battery drain/voltage drop that the solar panels don't replenish (unless we're in shade). If we're in a shade, I'll switch the van to 240V to switch on the battery charger and keep everything topped up. Am I doing something wrong? Should I always switch the van to 240V when we're connected to 240V? In regard to charger fan noise, I think our charger is a CTEC unit but I'll check that for you tomorrow. Our charger is very quiet and I can only hear fan noise when I open and stick my head in the the drivers side wardrobe and listen very carefully. Cheers Mike
