Fridges in Vans

After almost 35 yrs I stopped taking gas on camping trips and for the CY trip last year bought a kero stove and lamp plus some LED torches ... don't know why I didn't do it years ago... Two fridges, Drivesafe's magic SC80 etc ...no worries...:p

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Originally Posted by garrycol

That is a dangerous no no. Rescue people have been electrocuted (thankfully not killed) attending accidents where inverters were still alive sending 240v through the wreck. An inverter should never be used in a moving vehicle.

There is enough excess capacity in modern charging systems to power the car and provide power to 3 way in the van.

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No one has been electrocuted and NOT killed...

Suffered an electric shock perhaps...

But electrocuted is terminal...


"Where the Desert meets the Sea"
'Did I mention some great 4WDriving is just 5 minutes from home?'

I'd suggest you don't..

4 years ago we buried my mates father after his bus blew up with him inside...


"Where the Desert meets the Sea"
'Did I mention some great 4WDriving is just 5 minutes from home?'

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Originally Posted by Tombie

No one has been electrocuted and NOT killed...

Suffered an electric shock perhaps...

But electrocuted is terminal...

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Thanks Ron :)

I was the so called wise man that Barry jokingly mentioned, it is a system that I had just told him about that is used by many experienced vanners so their three way fridges actually work properly while the van is being driving to its destination. Running a fridge on 12v and having it maintain a temperature below 4c is pretty hopeless at anytime let alone in summer.

At what stage did anyone say that the inverter being powered from the alternator was being used to charge house batteries?

It wasn't, it is a case of running a lead from the alternator through Andersons plugs then more lead to an inverter mounted near the fridge that is used just to run the fridge when the vehicle is being driven nothing else. Turn the engine off and the power goes off.

I'd bet there is a far greater chance of getting seriously sick from food poisening from a 3 way fridge that can't stay below 4c when being driven in summer then getting an electric shock from a system like this.

Has anyone ever heard of anyone getting electrocuted from a system like this?

Re charging house batterys in a van on the move or stationary, its simple, have a properly designed and set up solar and battery system and you have way more then enough charging power 99% of the time. We can last about four days without sunlight before the batterys get to low with normal useage, if we cut back then the batterys would have enough charge for about six days I reckon. In reality if we are free camping somewhere that it is raining constantly for more then four days then we would be packing up and heading somewhere else anyway.


cheers,
Terry

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Originally Posted by Graeme

It is a legal requirement that van gas bottles must be turned-off whilst moving.

Also, the gas bottle(s) must be mounted between the towing and the towed vehicle (ie at the front of the van/trailer) yet I've seen camper trailers with their gas bottle mounted on the driver's side behind the wheels near the back of the trailer.

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That was not the case when we bought our camper, the only law regarding carrying gas bottles (non bulk gas) was that the bottles were to be mounted within the confines of the camper (ie) did not protrude outside the lines of the camper, which includes behind or infront of the wheel arches.

Baz.

My mistake, Baz.

The Vic Office of Gas Safety has provided their interpretation of AS 5601 but I failed to absorb paragraph C in the gas bottle location that allows it to be "in a fully open recess within the profile of the caravan and which is vapour-proof to the inside of the caravan". Hence, located in a recess between a mudguard and a front or rear panel is acceptable.