Solar/Alternative Power in My Campervan

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I have a 1982 Nissan Civilian Campervan that I have restored. There was mechanical repairs, rust to remove and a repaint.
The van used to be all mains power (240v) but I have converted it all to 12 volts. My van is called “Waka Wiremu” or “Bill's House”, my is NZMCA Number is 21028. http://nzmca.org.nz/

I have upgraded or replaced most of the wiring/battery etc. I have always used the 12v cigarette lighter technology.

Introduction

You need to look at your lifestyle and see what you are actually doing and what you could do differently.

I see little use in having an independent campervan, with water, toilet, cooking etc. and then having to plug into mains electricity to get all the mod cons. I always make sure when buying things that they will work on 12v and not to energy hungry.

It is not feasible to get refrigeration and heating in particular from 12v power. Most campervans have LPG gas, so refrigeration and heating can be done by LPG. I use the LPG stove for heating if I get desperate but have a hot water bottle. For refrigeration I either use nothing but have a 12v chilly bin if needed. I use packaged/tinned food and UHT milk etc. so a fridge is not really needed.

Warning/Caution

While we are only talking about 12 volts DC, there is still the need for caution.

12v can cause sparks and fire and can ignite gas etc.

12v can be deadly!

Every plug and appliance should have a fuse.

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Costs

item	supplier	cost
Battery	local	175.00
400w inverter	Jaycar Electronics	200.00
1000w inverter	trademe	350.00
wiring/switch	bunnings	54.00
microwave 240v	warehouse	79.00
printer 240v	trademe	20.00
solar panel	Dick Smith	800.00
solar regulator	Dick Smith	90.00
fuse panel	burnsco	39.00
B&W TV	Dick Smith	24.00
Cigarette Plugs/wiring	DSE/Jaycar/Recycler	50.00
Night Light	Jaycar	39.00
Battery Charger 12v for AA/AAA	Jaycar	89.00
Burglar alarm	Jaycar	59.00
Magic bullet	trademe	70.00

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General

I now have have a 40 watt solar panel, a 400w inverter (shaver, small appliances), a 1000w inverter (microwave, computer),

The 1000w inverter needs to be close to the battery and have the biggest diameter wiring you can get. I used I think 6mm diameter wire, but two wires for positive and two wires for negative. My inverter is two metres from the battery. I also used a heavy duty oven switch to turn the power off. Got the wire and switch from the local building hardware supplier.

I have installed a fuse panel from a ships chandler shop and have all the mod cons like, TV, CD player, radios, tape deck, AA/AAA battery charger, shaver, etc.

I love LED lights, got an LED kit and bulbs from electronics store, car ceiling lights from car wreckers and made my own LED lights by replacing the batten light of the ceiling lights with the LED light.

I have collected many LED torches from $2 shops etc. as well heaps of knick knacks to make life easy in my campervan.

Now that I have the campervan restored and I have completed my operations etc. for bowel cancer, I plan to get a life and hit the road, for weekends in the Waikato (the region were I live) and to see parts of the country I have either not seen or have not seen for yonks.

I would confess to using mains power at work and when mains available to charge cellphone/mp4 player/computer. I also usually start the motor when using the microwave.

Communications on the Road

I get broadband on my laptop at various hotspots, this is fantastic as it means my campervan is like a flat on wheels and as I live in it during the week when I work nights it is great. I go to McDonalds at Frankton and can do my Email etc, though it costs $9 an hour it is not too bad! http://www.telecom.co.nz/content/0,8748,204173-203328,00.html Telecom Hotspots There is of cause Cyber Cafes and Public Access Points at Shops and most Libraries. About Combined with my 3G Cellphone which does voice, text, email, pictures, video, I can keep in touch with friends and family from most anywhere in the country.

You can also upload pictures to places like Yahoo or Flickr and Movies to Youtube. You can have a Blog, a spot at My Space or use Instant Messages via a Web Page. (see the Links below [Links])

BTW did you know that you can text my mobile for free just use my Vodafone Email. leftfieldnz at vodafone.net.nz (Replace at with @)

For Voice you can use your cellphone, Skype (VOIP) on the Internet and calling cards like Kia Ora Card.

There is also places like My Google or My Yahoo and a new place esnips.com were you can store files. I use Yahoo for Photos and Google to store my Web Bookmarks.

For making web 2 txt or email to txt aka sending SMS text messages via the Internet

http://smspup.com/ Free Web to SMS for Australian Cellphones

http://www.smseverywhere.com/send.htm USA

https://www.vazu.com/ USA Canada

http://www.freesms.co.nz/ NZ

http://www.icq.com/sms

http://www.sms-txt.co.uk/ UK

http://www.coolmobilekiwi.com/

Vodafone NZ (not free)

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Some Interesting Links

Solar Power

http://www.electricsystems.co.nz/

Maps/satellite/aerial

Chat/Blog

Share Photos/Videos

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