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For what reason? John Swift Stove Warning.pdf

Hi Pete As a matter of interest is your van insured by an insurer that offers layup cover at a reduced rate from standard road use cover for extended periods? Cheers John

Weigh it for a tare weight check. Cheers

Didnt read the subject properly

I was told today at the Perth 4 WD show by a radio manufacturer that the use of 40 channel radios is banned by the government from July 2017. Cheers John

Danno This web site only allows positive messages about Kedron, the negative experiences cannot be posted. Cheers John

Hi Tony Thanks for that information those Ebay ones are certainly very attractively priced. These are the ones that led me to ask the question, particularly the 2000W model with the capability of mains connection. http://www.projecta.com.au/Products/Inverters/Intelli-Wave.aspx#!prettyPhoto Cheers

How is your inverter wired? Independent of the mains 240v circuit or connected to it? There is 1 post on this forum indicating at the time of build an inverter was connected to the mains circuit but a 2 way switch allowed the inverter to run separated from the mains. This is what I want to do but all the inverters seen to date have only mains socket connections so how has anyone fitting an after market inverter wired it up? The mains isolater in my van is not near to the battery and boot probably making wiring of a 2way switch a bit difficult. Cheers John

A very good question as I haven't bothered with it for 8 years nor with the small 25A charger just below it. When connecting to mains supply I have just left it on 12V. However in installing my 200AHr Lithium battery I tried it to see what it really did and as far as I could see when all batteries are removed switching to 240V and the 25A charger allowed all the 12V circuits to work in the van. I did not find a simple switch to switch off the solar system as when the battery was installed it appeared that when on mains power both mains and solar chargers were working on 12V and 240V selections and relying on their own controllers to regulate their supply charge. Asking your question to Kedron did not bring a proper answer and I did comment that they should supply circuit diagrams of the electrical installations which again brought no comment. Over to the KOG experts!

Query for those who have fitted after market extra solar panels. Where did you run the wiring of the extra panels - to the existing solar panel wiring and connect at roof level or run the wiring directly to the solar controller? If you ran the wiring to the solar controller where did you run the wires in the van assuming you did not remove cladding to run the wires along with the existing wires? Cheers John

Hi All I have decided to buy 1 x 200AH LifePo4 battery as it is the best value $/AH in the range of 100, 200 & 240 AH batteries from my chosen supplier. Weight saving over 2 x 100 AH AGMs is about 37Kg. Cost factor over 2 x my original Fullriver batteries is just over 3/1 and compared to the Enerdrive systems Kedron are fitting my conversion costs are reversed at about 1/3. Value for money is a combination of factors relavent to individuals. Time will tell if the choice is right. Cheers John

Hi David The supplier told me the batteries have their own built in BMS which is confirmed on the Fusion web site. http://www.fusionagmbatteries.com.au/tabid/337/cid/8/Products/LithiumIonPhosphateBatteries.aspx Regarding the testing I have already concluded my batteries have reached their useby date after the cycles I put them through whilst my fridge was playing up and the fact that they would not charge above 97% SOC. Cheers John

Hi David Thanks for your informative response, however did you mean to say your points 1 - 5 really are myths? The reason why I am not considering the price differential between the batteries is because my starting point is the cost of a new van upgrade would include a tug upgrade and would be around $70-80,000 to do the same job as the existing ones with a few mods.(Tony I can laugh at the cost saving) Weight saving is a consideration as we have a plated ATM of 3.1t and only 60-70kg to play with when water tanks are full and fully loaded to travel across the country.. If I lose 30kg with Lithium batteries that could give me enough extra load for a grey water tank and a couple more solar panels. The straight cost comparison of the offers received from the one supplier is 2 x 120AH Bosch AGM at $600 and 2 x 100 AH lithium with BMS at $2800. I believe the Lithium batteries would give me a lot more AHrs available without the concern as with AGM's of running the batteries too low and causing damage to them. Also my fridge stops working around 11 - 11.5V and Lithiums are likely to maintain a working higher voltage longer. As David said the Lithiums are relatively safe to fully discharge and quick to charge fully. No decision has been made yet as my old batteries are with the supplier being tested. I did not know that apparently a proper test of agm deepcycle batteries involves multiple cycles of charges to 100% and discharges to flat over several days. Cheers John

Further to my post on replacements for my Fullriver batteries I am seeking information that others may have collected or have experience knowledge of. Duting my 8 years of use of the batteries on my van I have never montitored the SOC and only checked the batteries voltage making 12v as the low limit. In seeking prices for replacement AGM batteries I founf an importer/retailer who could supply 2 AGM's for a good price or supply 2 LifePO4 batteries for a much larger price. I have been advise by the makers of the solar controller and battery charger fitted in the van that both are suitable for use with LifePO4 batteries that have their own battery management system. The batteries supplier agrees with that proposal. However my dilema I now have is that I do not know how many A/Hrs are able to be safely drawn from each type of battery so my questions are simply the following - For a 120 AHrs AGM battery how many AHrs can safely be drawn in regular use without charging. For a 100 AHrs LifePO4 battery how many AHrs can safely be drawn in regular use without charging. If I can get comparable information I can make the decision of which battery to buy, ignoring the cost difference of course. Cheers John

G'Day Rick I got a price guide from Kedron and about the same time received an Email from Caravan World that has an excellent article published this month. I am currently spending a lot of time brousing to see what is available in the way of types of batteries, costs and their specs. The latest of interest is Victron batteries where they have 12v Gel batteries with a design life of 12 years. A price of them when I get one may be interesting. Yes I agree with you regarding longevity of Lithium batteries and it is very difficult to justify the costs involved particularly when converting a system. Cheers John

My 2 x 120AH Fullriver batteries are 8 years old and reaching their useby date having shown a much lower capability of running our 230l fridge over winter whilst home parked. I have read about battery failures and would appreciate feedback on those brands by Email if not allowed to be published on this site. Having costed the Enerdrive LifeP04 systems Kedron are now installing I have dismissed them at a probable conversion cost between $7000 - $9000 and so will keep using AGM batteries but what brand? Suggestions and feedback will be appreciated. Cheers John

Sullie If I am looking at your photos correctly I see a butt weld without any reinforcing at a high stress point in the chassis/Aframe junction. To prevent a crack starting in the weld at this point I believe there should have been an angled plate across the corner spreading the loads and stresses. I would put the problem down to a design issue. Any repair you have done should include reinforcing at this point particularly as welding the galvanised chassis without zinc inclusion will be difficult. Cheers John

Mike Preferably before purchase test every grease nipple will actually allow grease into that suspension point. If it will not there is every chance of that point being dry and well worn. If the suspension pins have not been replaced in 10 years allow for removing them to check for wear. Mine had significant wear after only 3 years but I understand the Alko suspension pins were not case hardened. We do a lot of dirt road running but regularly greased the suspension. The case hardened pins from Industrial Springs in Adelaide have fared much better. The other thing to check is if the springs have flattened. Cheers John

Hi 32KEV Yes it is the other way around. Have you only just caught up with the financial problems we living in WA have to pay from WA susidising the rest of Australia with GST? Perth can be an expensive place to live particularly for visitors rip off merchants are many. Cheers

but was more concerned with the fridge vents (seeing as it is 12v all the time, and of course the water heater vents. Would not like to seal them up to find a problem later on;(( Michael

I have indeed checked around the door posts and all seems OK. I have sealed the vents on the door but was more concerned with the fridge vents (seeing as it is 12v all the time, and of course the water heater vents. Would not like to seal them up to find a problem later on;(( Michael

Hi Michael I would hope the Top Ender does not have any dust problems but I will offer my recent observations of the door on my van. Check to make sure the door posts of the door frame are parallel to within -0 to +2mm if it is a Camec door, the width depends on the door fitted. Check to make sure the fur seal is properly contacting the door post. Check for any gaps in the rubber seals around the door and at door hinges. As Pete suggested search this web site for posts on dust issues. Cheers John

Hi All Further to my posts on this topic, after our recent trip around the WA Goldfields and the Pilbara we got a bit of dust in the van and decided to have a close look at doors on other vans. I noticed that the gap between the edge of the door and door frame was equal on other new vans (not Kedron) and a close examination of ours showed that the frame on the catch/lock side bowed by 8mm in the centre. This meant that the door seal was only contacting by 2mm or so which combined with what are old seals probably lead to dust ingress. As there are no signs of panel movements around the door frame it has probably been like that since new. Have any other owners measured the width of their door frame to see if it is installed in accordance with manufacturers instructions which in the case of Camec are installation limits of -o/+2mm? Cheers John

Rick & Lea What went wrong with your fridge causing it to have to be scrapped? Ours has lost a support screw for the top shelf of the freezer allowing it to bend down at the back so it might be interesting trying to straighten it again. Cheers John