Home › Forum topic › Campervan Conversions › Newbie: Leisure battery, coolbox and roof window questions
- This topic has 2 replies, 2 voices, and was last updated 8 years, 8 months ago by tee_cee.
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- July 1, 2015 at 8:01 pm #107279emilybParticipant
Hello All,
I bought a Citroen Dispatch 2008 (new style) last year and I am just planning the conversion now. I have never done this before and my brother in law is helping me with some bits.
It won’t be a full conversion with appliances etc but I do want to fit a leisure battery that will power some lights, van stereo, 12v coolbox and have a couple of 240v plug sockets for a laptop and phone chargers. Any advice as to what battery I should get? Are the split charge relay kits worth getting? What about the adding solar panels to that lot? What else do I need or should consider?
Is there a decent 12v coolbox that we could use instead of a fridge? Any recommends?
Also I would like to fit a roof vent, can I do that if the roof isn’t flat metal but more corrugated?
Thank you for any advice, I’m totally new to this so it’s going to be a very steep learning curve!!
EmilyJuly 5, 2015 at 10:32 am #114987tee_ceeParticipantI’ve done a conversion on the
I’ve done a conversion on the older shape Peugeot Expert, which has corrugated strips on the roof. At the time I rang around a few of the roof window people and most said that it could not be done, I did get one guy who had done one, but his attitude did no inspire confidence, so I gave it miss. Another possibility would be to fit a Flettner vent, which may fit.As for batteries, you don’t say how you intend to use the van which will have a large impact on your choice.
A couple of points I would make though, is that standard peltier type coolboxes consume a lot of current – typically 4 or 5 amps per hour – which would men that you could only expect to get maybe 12 hours out of a 110Ah battery before it drops below 50% charge. 12V compressor coolboxes – like the waeco coolfreeze range will consume much less current – and will give a far better performance.
Adding 240V is probably unnecessary since most mobiles now charge off USB – a 12V to 5V stepdown board will do the job nicely. Likewise laptops can be charged via 12V adapters.
Some of these issues are covered in my build log http://blue-van.blogspot.co.uk
tJuly 5, 2015 at 10:32 am #114989tee_ceeParticipantI’ve done a conversion on the
I’ve done a conversion on the older shape Peugeot Expert, which has corrugated strips on the roof. At the time I rang around a few of the roof window people and most said that it could not be done, I did get one guy who had done one, but his attitude did no inspire confidence, so I gave it miss. Another possibility would be to fit a Flettner vent, which may fit.As for batteries, you don’t say how you intend to use the van which will have a large impact on your choice.
A couple of points I would make though, is that standard peltier type coolboxes consume a lot of current – typically 4 or 5 amps per hour – which would men that you could only expect to get maybe 12 hours out of a 110Ah battery before it drops below 50% charge. 12V compressor coolboxes – like the waeco coolfreeze range will consume much less current – and will give a far better performance.
Adding 240V is probably unnecessary since most mobiles now charge off USB – a 12V to 5V stepdown board will do the job nicely. Likewise laptops can be charged via 12V adapters.
Some of these issues are covered in my build log http://blue-van.blogspot.co.uk
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