http://www.orionairsales.co.uk/planetsaver-low-power-ultra-low-profile-led-420mm-2434-p.asp spotted these a long time after I'd fitted the swivels....would buy these over and above anything else on the market....but depends on what you like/need/hope to achieve
I spent ages looking for a warm white LED fitting to replace the burnt out strip light with. In the end I went with one of these twin LED strips, which I'm very pleased with. Nice and bright and low power consumption. http://www.furneauxriddall.com/acatalog/Traditional_LED_Lighting.html
I'd only use the inverter for things that do not have a 12v equivalent. They'll be lots of conversion inefficiency going from 12V DC -> 240V AC and then back down to 5V for phone chargers, better to use a cig lighter charger in the first place. For laptops it might be convenient though, even then you can get 12V ones that have a DC to DC converter up to 17V or whatever the laptop needs.
When you buy these rope lights, do they come with a positive and negative wire at one end that you then connect to your fuse board and ground? How do you then add either a switch to the circuit or a dimmer. Explanation or diagram would be much appreciated
The invertor is just in there for emergencys!!! - i'm running in 12v lighting and adding a triple cigarette lighter socket with usb connector to the fuse board - well was going to but the weather has stopped me doing so now until January.....
The LED strip lights can be bought with switches built in but they tend to have transformers on them as well. Ikea do some decent ones. If you cut the wire between the switch and the transformer (as you don't need the transformer) you can then connect the positive of the wire from the lights to the fuse board and ground the negative. However you may not have enough wire to reach so you can just extend the wire as you would normally. If you buy the lights as "stand alones" then you would need to also wire in a switch between the end of the strip lights and the additional wire. Both positives to one terminal and both negative to the other I believe - simples
I need to get myself some auto wire to run in some 12v sockets - am i right in saying that if I am intending to run a 12v kettle at 170w that I need a minimum 16amp rated wire or is it ok to run 30amp wire in to cater for other bits and bobs? Anyone ever bought this off ebay or am I better off going to an electrical store?
In many vehicles the 12V cigarette lighter is fused at 10 Amps, which will give you around 120 Watts max. If your kettle has a cigarette lighter plug, it's borderline whether it'll work reliably. If you're fitting a new cigarette lighter (socket), then you can use use bigger cable and a higher rated fuse. Cables tend to run warm at or near their rating, so I would usually go one or two sizes up - especially at 12V where voltage drop is really significant. In our camper, I used 2.5mm2 cable (as I have loads lying around) and a 15A in-line blade fuse. I use the cigarette lighter for sat-nav, electric cool-box, and a solar cell battery maintainer. Single core 1.0, 1.5 & 2.5mm2 cable can be had from local electrical wholesales: TLC direct, CEF, etc. For specialist auto-electrical, try: http://www.vehicleproducts.co.uk/ ...but finally - do you not have a gas ring in your van? If not - I recommend a whistling kettle and one of those small portable single burners which take an aerosol sized gas cartridge. They're amazingly powerful (approx 2kW) and will boil the water much faster than a 12V kettle. You can use it outside the van too - eg on the beach, picnic, etc. We have one similar to this: http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/9099562.htm Most mains electric kettles are 2 or 3kW. Your 12V kettle is 170W, so it'll take roughly 12 times longer to boil the same volume of water than a 2kW kettle (or 2kW gas ring)...
I believe you calculate the amperage by dividing the watts by the volts so 170W / 12V = 14.12 amps But WHS ^^^ get a single burner for kettle, if you go to pound shops you can get canisters 4 for £4
Exactly as @MarcT512 has said. His recommendation to use Vehicle Wiring Products is spot on. If you are in anyway unsure call them for advice. They do 15amp accessory sockets if you do need your 12VDC kettle. He mentions volt drop, which is important when considering low current loads especially elements or motors (pumps). An incorrectly sized cable may not only run warm, it can catch fire. Just because it's rated at 16amp it doesn't follow that it will safely run a 14amp load over the total cable run. It's all to do with the internal resistance of the cable over distance. This is why the starter motor cable is so large. You can work volt drop out, but on a small van it's probably easier to go with conventional wisdom. 2.5mm2 is perfectly adequate for most cable requirements over the runs we have in the buses. However if you are running both live and earth over a combined distance of about 6m you will need to up the size to 4mm2 plus when running a 14amp load. You are right, there is no harm in going bigger! We live off a 12VDC system, which is a bit more sensitive to loads as we can't earth to a chassis like in a bus but the principles are the same. Whatever cable you buy, make sure the insulation is rated for where you need to use it & it is specified for the current you need to run (12V), is multi core and you protect the wiring (not the appliance) with an appropriately rated fuse.
170 divided by 12 = 14.16.........so 16A cable (will be fine) you're not going to be running a kettle continuously...use a 10A fuse. The problem with 30A cable, aside from the physical size, is if it were to disconnect, you have a mini arc welder....over-speccing cables won't do any harm, but you may have problems matching fuse holders....
Thanks gents - I'm wiring in my LEDs directly to the fuse box and a triple 12v socket to cater for my sat nav and charging phones etc. wont be more than 2 metres so I'll stick with 2.5mm 2 core. After reading about how long a 12v kettle will take to boil, i think i will stick with my single ring gas stove.
