Fitting the 240 Volt - 15Amp Inlet & Main Power Distribution Cables

This turned out to be really very easy, just took my time as cutting any hole in the side of a new van is daunting.  Getting a watertight seal was a little more problematic, it took two goes and a more weatherproof inlet to make me happy.

Locate the Centre Point for the inlet hole

Working from the location inside the van, noting where the flattest section of the external panel was, I drilled a pilot hole from inside the van to centre the template outside.

TIP: don't locate the inlet on any curved surface of the external panel, the plastic inlets don't seal well on a curved surface and if you bend them they won't stay closed.

I decided that my 240 Volt - 15amp power would come in the left side of the van next to the battery bank and Victron gear between the reinforced wall pillars (the slots shown below) in the rear panel.



Make a Big Template

I made a large template that covered the side of the van so that I could drill and jigsaw the larger hole in the wall panel without any damage to the van's paint.


Tape the Template to the Van

Using high quality painters masking tape I fixed the template to the centre point.

Drill and Cut and Rust Proof the Hole 

I used a jigsaw with a metal blade to cut the big hole and small drill and then 5mm tap to threads in each of the holes.

I then used epoxy paint to rust proof the bare metal.  The following photo shows the finished hole ready to fit the inlet and the internal panel and wall rivnut fixing point.

Caution, you can easily disturb the panel glue between the inner and outer panels when rivnutting cutting and drilling.  To take it easy and if they are loose use Panel Bond or T-Rex Power X-treme to re-bond these flanges.  I added two thick lines of T-Rex Power X-treme to these flanges on either side of the inlet on the inside of the van.


Wire the Inlet & Get the Sparky to Check it 

It is a NSW RMS requirement that a licensed electrician must certify that the installation of the 240-volt system complies.  It must comply with Vehicle Standards Bulletin "VSB 14 NCOP6_Section_LH_Body_and_Chassis_01Jan2011_v3  see: from page 60 "CAMPERVAN, MOTORHOME CONVERSION CODE LH11"

TIP: Read the "CAMPERVAN, MOTORHOME CONVERSION CODE LH11" and "CHECKLIST LH11
CAMPERVAN, MOTORHOME CONVERSION CODE LH11" at page 72 , as there are many more requirements if you are doing a conversion of a van to a campervan.

The 240 Volt 15amp System complying with AS/NZS3000, Australia’s and New Zealand’s electrical system is being checked by my daughter's boyfriend, a licenced sparky.  He will do the final connections and testing.  

There is no 240-volt lighting only 12-volt lights.    2 x RCD / MCB Safety Switch 2 Pole 6kA-16A will be provided.  One on the connection inlet line to the Victron MultiPlus 12/3000/120-16 230V VE.Bus Inverter/Charger and the other on the 240 volts out from the Victron MultiPlus 12/3000/120-16 230V VE.Bus Inverter/Charger.   This is double the minimum redundancy - that is safer than AS/NZS3000 as power into and out of the Victron MultiPlus 12/3000/120-16 230V VE.Bus Inverter/Charger is RCD.MCB protected.  

This will be detailed when that is installed in the coming weeks.

Whilst there are no NSW RNS requirements for the 12-volt side, I designed and built it myself and it has been bench tested and programmed by gun Victron expert - Alex Yates, Operations Manager. WISE Integrated, it is also protected by a NOARK M2 Frame 100~250 A (MCCB) that sits between the two 300AH lithium batteries and the main bus bars and the Victron MultiPlus 12/3000/120-16 230V VE.Bus Inverter/Charger,  The 12-volt side is Lithium and as safe as I can get it.  NO GAS IN THIS VAN.


Fitting the Inlet

I used M5 Stainless Steel Button Head bolts tapped into the van's sheet metal wall of the van, rather than screws.  The foam gasket was glued in place on the outside panel opening with T-Rex Power X-treme. 


The inlet was glued to the gasket and additional T-Rex Power X-treme filled the gap between the panel hole and the gasket and inlet, that is 3 layers of sealing.  

TIP once installed get a hose and check that no water penetrates the van before fitting the insulation of walls.  I found a pinhole leak and that is why I redid the inlet immediately (an before that T-Rex sets as it does not come off easily.)  I did not find this Telsa inlet to seal well enough for my liking at the socket.  

I purchase another immediately and ended up redoing this and the finished inlet is perfect.

T-Rex Power X-treme was also used on each bolt and bolt hole and worked well as a thread lubricant and sealant.  The bolts are only really needed to hold this in place while the T-Rex cures as this adhesive is so strong this thing ain't going anywhere.

TIP use the Soudal primer before using the T-Rex, the adhesion is so much better.

This is all visible from inside the van at this stage  The hose will be out in force to check for any leaks before the internal wall panel's final fixing.

The Nexus of the POWER

On the inside of the van, I brought the 240V 15 Amp Cable into the back left corner.  The 240 volt 10amp from the Victron MultiPlus 12/3000/120-16 230V VE.Bus Inverter/Charger goes back into the wall at the same location running through the van's wall rail toward the front and up the inside of the left door pillar to the overhead cabinet area where all 12-volt junctions will be within the main 12-volt fuse box.  This will all be shown in further blogs.

The thick black 35mm2 cable in the photo below is the solar panel cable coming down from the overhead cabinet area and the 16mm2 cable is the main 12 volt supply running back up to the overhead cabinet area.

So the majority of the main cable runs will be from the rear left battery/inverter area to the cabinet above the kitchen area are within the wall of the van.  Flexible conduit protects cable entry and exits..




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