PLEASE NOTE: The hair dryer ran at about half power. I didn't realise until after I made the video that the AC50 shouldn't run the hair dryer! A 750 watt hair dryer will need the Poweroak EB 1000 or Jackery Explorer 1000 to actually dry your hair!
Excellent video for motorhome owners and well presented in layman terms especially for anyone with limited electrical knowledge. Well done. Paul and jilly ❤
Really helpful video Bob, thanks so much. We often get asked questions like this and will now direct people to your video - very clear and we'll explained, should be great for people new to motorhomes 😁👍
Thanks Bob. Good point about only being able to discharge leisure batteries to 50%. I find many people are unaware of this and get caught out by running their batteries down too low and damaging them.
Great video Bob we have a 599 Sport,looking to add air con as we hope to go to a warmer climate 🤞,maybe look at Lithium as an upgrade too.Keep up the great content 👍
Great video , one point many people get confused with amps A.C. vs amps DC as the values are different depending on voltage ,were as watts remain the same unit value on DC or AC . As an anology a 1000 watt 230v heater would measure at the battery approx 110 amps of current ! (if say it was used with an inverter), were as if used on mains 230v hook up , the 1000 watt heater would measure aprox 4/5 amps current on the mains side, but the 1000 watts remains the same on DC or AC . (Re edit sorry I originally put 9 amp should now say 4/5 I was thinking of my 2kw heater at first )
Hi, I was told to switch of the main power button on the consumer button when not in use as to not drain my batteries even though i have solar. Could I switch power back on before I commence any journey rather than when I arrive on site in order for me to be able to switch on my lights in my habitation area when I get to my destination? Hope that makes sense?
I assume you don't have mains hook up when not in use, so that advice would make sence. You have to switch the control panel and the consumer unit on to be able to switch the lights on, so it makes sence to switch the consumer unit on before you set off. It's a good chance to check things are working before you arrive. I hardly ever switch the consumer unit off, because I'm on hook up at home. I leave the heating on low, during the winter at home on hook up, so I have the control panel on for the heating as well.
Another great video Bob, thanks so much. Out of interest - do you know whether the 12v-5v psu’s in your usb bedside lights have a residual draw on them even when not in use? Thinking of upgrading ours to include usb sockets as I can see their usefulness with phone charging. Thanks again and love to you, J & P. Have watched many of your videos since starting motorhoming in late 2019, so useful and insightful. Keep up the good work!
Yes, the Citroën Relay, Peugeot Boxer and Fiat Ducato are all basically the same vehicle, sometimes slightly different engines, made at the Sevel factory in Italy. They all have the battery under the floor there. I'm not planning on adding any batteries, I don't go off grid enough to warrant it.
Hi Bob, very good thank you. I have a fiat ducato 2000 swift sundance, and i do have a sopcket that totally confuses me, maybe you can help. There are two sockets next to each other beneath the TV wall bracket. One is mains 3 pin socket, the other is a 13amp 2 pin socket. When we bought the MH we were advised that the 2 pin was for use off grid, and that we could use it as it fed from battery/solar panels But we can not seem to get the plug to work. I bought one of those gizmos that has the 2 pin at one end and the cigarette lighter/round thing at the other end. I then bought a usb type fitting that goes in that, so the idea was that i could charge phone, use lap top etc when off grid via that set up. But it doesnt seem to work. Do you have any ideas? Toni
Difficult to say without seeing it or using a multimeter, but if it has rectangular socket holes it is probably an older 12v socket. They always used to be a beige colour.
For what it’s worth, in our Hobby motorhome we can definitely still run all our 12v electrics in the habitation area with the engine running and the vehicle being driven, not least of all because our fridge runs on 12v when in driving mode. All our 12v lights and sockets also work when driving. (All this assumes that the separate master switch for the habitation area is switched on.) Another point is that as well as being charged by the alternator when being driven, both our vehicle battery and our leisure battery are also charged when the vehicle is parked and plugged into the mains. I appreciate that there maybe reasons why your Swift does not allow either of these things but I’ve no idea why that would be!
Think you may have misunderstood, but the Swift Smart charger charges both the leisure and vehicle batteries as required. The 12v electrics are disabled in UK made motorhomes when the engine is running for Electrical Interference Regulations.
@@BobEarnshawMoHo Thanks Bob, Looks like 12v availability when driving is one advantage of a German manufactured motorhome then! On the other point, Sorry if I misunderstood, I thought you had said that the alternator would not charge the leisure battery when driving, but it does do so on our German manufactured unit.
PLEASE NOTE: The hair dryer ran at about half power. I didn't realise until after I made the video that the AC50 shouldn't run the hair dryer! A 750 watt hair dryer will need the Poweroak EB 1000 or Jackery Explorer 1000 to actually dry your hair!
Excellent video for motorhome owners and well presented in layman terms especially for anyone with limited electrical knowledge. Well done. Paul and jilly ❤
Every day is a school day. Thank you Bob that was very informative and thank you for your time making this video.
Thanks glad you found it informative.
@@BobEarnshawMoHo It was, but a lot of us do not have your super dooper Swift control panel.!! But the basics as described are the same. Thanks Bob.
Really helpful video Bob, thanks so much. We often get asked questions like this and will now direct people to your video - very clear and we'll explained, should be great for people new to motorhomes 😁👍
Thank you very much
Great video Bob helpful for new to Motorhomes and recap for those who know !
Thanks Bob I find all your information blogs interesting and informative.
Kind regard to you and Jenny.
Thank you
Brilliant 👍
Another great informative video - thanks Bob
Thanks Bob. Good point about only being able to discharge leisure batteries to 50%. I find many people are unaware of this and get caught out by running their batteries down too low and damaging them.
Very very good and informative for those not knowing or unsure :-)
Great video, very informative.
Thank you
Hi Bob I have a Jackery 500 would that hair dryer you was using work with it. If so what dryer was you using. Thanks
To be honest I was a bit surprised that 750watt hair dryer worked on the Poweroak 500w!
Great video Bob we have a 599 Sport,looking to add air con as we hope to go to a warmer climate 🤞,maybe look at Lithium as an upgrade too.Keep up the great content 👍
Thank you
Great video , one point many people get confused with amps A.C. vs amps DC as the values are different depending on voltage ,were as watts remain the same unit value on DC or AC .
As an anology a 1000 watt 230v heater would measure at the battery approx 110 amps of current ! (if say it was used with an inverter), were as if used on mains 230v hook up , the 1000 watt heater would measure aprox 4/5 amps current on the mains side, but the 1000 watts remains the same on DC or AC . (Re edit sorry I originally put 9 amp should now say 4/5 I was thinking of my 2kw heater at first )
Hi, I was told to switch of the main power button on the consumer button when not in use as to not drain my batteries even though i have solar. Could I switch power back on before I commence any journey rather than when I arrive on site in order for me to be able to switch on my lights in my habitation area when I get to my destination? Hope that makes sense?
I assume you don't have mains hook up when not in use, so that advice would make sence. You have to switch the control panel and the consumer unit on to be able to switch the lights on, so it makes sence to switch the consumer unit on before you set off. It's a good chance to check things are working before you arrive. I hardly ever switch the consumer unit off, because I'm on hook up at home. I leave the heating on low, during the winter at home on hook up, so I have the control panel on for the heating as well.
Great video Bob
Thanks
Thanks again Bob
You're welcome
Very informative and much appreciated. You should have a usb socket in the central glove box, I have in my Fiat ducata.
Thanks, I don't have a central glove box, but there is one for connecting a smart phone to the radio, not for charging though.
@@BobEarnshawMoHo mine is a camper van so different from yours, I wrongly assumed that all Fiats were the same spec.
@@carolynhaywood7701 they removed the glove box on 2019 models, gave us two cup holders instead.
Another great video Bob, thanks so much. Out of interest - do you know whether the 12v-5v psu’s in your usb bedside lights have a residual draw on them even when not in use? Thinking of upgrading ours to include usb sockets as I can see their usefulness with phone charging. Thanks again and love to you, J & P. Have watched many of your videos since starting motorhoming in late 2019, so useful and insightful. Keep up the good work!
I don't know, but I wouldn't think it would be significant. Thanks.
Is it a standard thing to have your vehicle battery in the cab like that? Also will you be adding more leisure batteries or upgrading them?
Yes, the Citroën Relay, Peugeot Boxer and Fiat Ducato are all basically the same vehicle, sometimes slightly different engines, made at the Sevel factory in Italy. They all have the battery under the floor there. I'm not planning on adding any batteries, I don't go off grid enough to warrant it.
Hi Bob, very good thank you. I have a fiat ducato 2000 swift sundance, and i do have a sopcket that totally confuses me, maybe you can help.
There are two sockets next to each other beneath the TV wall bracket. One is mains 3 pin socket, the other is a 13amp 2 pin socket.
When we bought the MH we were advised that the 2 pin was for use off grid, and that we could use it as it fed from battery/solar panels
But we can not seem to get the plug to work.
I bought one of those gizmos that has the 2 pin at one end and the cigarette lighter/round thing at the other end. I then bought a usb type fitting that goes in that, so the idea was that i could charge phone, use lap top etc when off grid via that set up.
But it doesnt seem to work.
Do you have any ideas?
Toni
Difficult to say without seeing it or using a multimeter, but if it has rectangular socket holes it is probably an older 12v socket. They always used to be a beige colour.
@@BobEarnshawMoHo yes beige. Does that make a difference?
@@CampK9DogWalking then it's probably a 12v two pin socket. They were always beige.
For what it’s worth, in our Hobby motorhome we can definitely still run all our 12v electrics in the habitation area with the engine running and the vehicle being driven, not least of all because our fridge runs on 12v when in driving mode. All our 12v lights and sockets also work when driving. (All this assumes that the separate master switch for the habitation area is switched on.)
Another point is that as well as being charged by the alternator when being driven, both our vehicle battery and our leisure battery are also charged when the vehicle is parked and plugged into the mains.
I appreciate that there maybe reasons why your Swift does not allow either of these things but I’ve no idea why that would be!
Think you may have misunderstood, but the Swift Smart charger charges both the leisure and vehicle batteries as required. The 12v electrics are disabled in UK made motorhomes when the engine is running for Electrical Interference Regulations.
@@BobEarnshawMoHo Thanks Bob, Looks like 12v availability when driving is one advantage of a German manufactured motorhome then!
On the other point, Sorry if I misunderstood, I thought you had said that the alternator would not charge the leisure battery when driving, but it does do so on our German manufactured unit.
@@michaelgoodman8742 thanks, I better check that!