I cut out the incorrect information about wire gauge sizing that you may see down in the comments below--thank you for the feedback! Here is everything we used in our build: www.amazon.com/shop/jayxnina/list/3GONMA5NA5PL8?ref_=aip_sf_list_spv_ofs_mixed_d
At 4:20 it's called alternating current not alternative. It sounds like you have a decent grasp on what you are doing, but you should be more careful before giving advice 😂
*Seems like a good solar **Generater.Systems** . I have not had to put it to the test yet in a situation without power but it has seemed to operate fine so far.*
Im not sure what exactly you mean by “generator.” Solar panels are what generate the energy. I do not know much about the difference between panels, I would simply figure out how much energy you need to generate and get more or less panels accordingly. I went with renogy because they have the best bundle deals
@@jayxnina i think he mean the prebuilt units that companies like Jackery makes. Those are usually called "solar generators" though i do hate the name lol
The title says "Don't Get a 12v Fridge" But you didn't give any info about why not???? Plus there is also shore power that you can install cheap for when you are at camp sites or home etc. Plus a few of the YT channels I watch do also give spread sheets / PDF's about the equipment use etc.
WARNING!! Your lesson about wire gauge sizes is WRONG and backwards! That's very dangerous, incorrect information to be telling people. The longer a wire run is the more resistance there is and the larger gauge wire is necessary for the given current (amps) that will be running through it. Proper wire sizing is critical to get correct and is more complicated than your short lesson. TLDR; more power needs larger wire and LONGER distances needs EVEN LARGER wire for the same amount of power passing through.
Good video but here are some suggestions: Please don’t give wire size advice without backing up your recommendation (charts/code reference). The truth is the longer the distance the larger the wire. Also you needs fuse at the source (alternator) not at the destination. Fuses are sized off of the wire size, they are there to protect the wire not the device (that is a plus not the intent). DC = Direct current AC = Alternating Current You have made things work for your situation and I’m glad it’s working. Be safe and have a smoke alarm and fire extinguisher also accessible. Cheers 🍻
This video needs to be deleted or edited cuz you're saying incorrect information. Short does not equal thick and long does not equal thin that's completely independent of the truth
I freaked out with the explanation in the video. Safe practices are basically opposite. The longer a cable is the more resistance it'll have and the more it'll drop voltage across it. By increasing the cable thickness you reduce these issues and increase the amount of current it can carry. A long thin wire for a high power device is a big hazard.
Thanks for correcting it. It was a rookie mistake that could be dangerous. Re fridges, people usually get dedicated 12V fridges because they are more efficient, for example don't require inverter running all the time and inverters can waste 20-30 watts, some even 60 watts, without any load, on standby. Chest fridges are more efficient when opening, especially deep, larger ones.
Here is a tip..get a Pecron S1500F 1500 watt powerstation ( for example). It charges in about 3 hours and you can charge it as you drive from your inverter or if you are some where in public where you can access an outlet..say a coffee shop or gym..you can charge it while you are in there. Then use it to cook with the toaster oven. One more tip is to get several of those low wattage DASH mini kitchen devices for making waffles, eggs, pies, grilled sandwiches. They cost between $10-$20. They cook really fast and use under 300 watts! I have the Black n Decker 3 in 1 device so I can do waffles or grilled sandwiches or chicken with one device because it comes with 3 swap out cooking grills. It takes about 600 watts and less than 10 minutes to make a meal. There are now a whole host of regular household cooking devices you can buy and use that cook with under 800 watts down to as low as 100 watts. I have a 100 watt slow cooker (cost $20 that I got from Walmart) that I cook chicken in.
Try to keep the fridge full, so the fridge does'nt have to cool the warm air in it again when u open the door :) stuff (beer) will keep it cool and so ur power draw will be lower :)
What people fail to consider is having a shutoff switch from charging off the alternator. The more load you put on the alternator, the lower the fuel milage. When you are traveling in times of good sun, it's wasteful to still use the alternator. It makes more sense to use excess power from the solar panels to keep the car's battery topped up if you idle at one location for a long time. Also dumping that extra energy to a hot water tank is always nice. This is providing you stay at 100% on many sunny days. Your big wire short runs, small wire long runs is troublesome. The wire size needs to be related to the amps that can be pulled. That's why you have fuses to prevent undersized wires from heating up. Meaning longer runs at 10 amps is going to need a thicker wire than the same length at one amp. Finally, extra big wires means you are still safe from heating up the wire at the absolute peak amount your inverter(and everything else) can draw. As for the toaster oven.. Looks like you have a shelf right on top of it. The top should get very warm/hot and is a great spot for heating things up, while the oven is in use. If you didn't want to make use of that heat, I would have added fiberglass insulation, around it where the contained heat wouldn't cause the oven any issues. If it was made for contained spaces and does have insulation as part of it's construction, that's wonderful. Because I found the 'Lost Renegades' channel and watched all their videos, youtube is filling my feed with van life content. I'm looking for the real life channels, for fun entertainment. I just watch another video when creators reply. My current thinking is shorts is not what small youtubers should rely on. You see your most viral video is the tour one, but those really don't seem to get many subs. You have to crank out videos trying to get one that more watch and actually subscribe. I subscribe according to the personality and dynamic as a couple, basically how well they would fit in as a friend for me. I think that's what a lot of people do..just saying. Congratulations if you read all my musings.🎉
Wow! What did we deserve to get this kind of feedback? Incredible. I almost put a shutoff switch for the alternator but from the amount of research I did it didn’t seem necessary (I guess I was wrong). Appreciate you taking the time to give such in depth analysis of our video/channel. You could probably get paid for what you do hahaha
@@jayxnina I just found this video that I think will help you understand the losses of efficiency using the alternator for bigger loads. If the sun isn't shining it should be the last option when your house batteries hit 50%. th-cam.com/video/tEPBdztGMdI/w-d-xo.html the data part starts at 9:17 for the alternator.
Series vs Parallel have their own cons and pros - series keeps current low and voltage high, perfect for MPPT charger controller which steps down Voltage and Ups the amperage. This means your wires from the solars don't have to be large and less loss due to resistance. Pros of parallel is that if one is partially shaded, the amps drop dont suffer as much as the series setup.
we are definitely getting a 12 V fridge for our van. The amount or power consumed by a 120 V AC fridge is substantial. If you are a van lifer who lives off grid, or even someone who take s a few trips per year and boondocks, your power consumption will need to be conserved for the use of high power draw appliances such as your AC unit, induction stove, and water heater. We also travel a lot in the winter and live in ski hill parking lots for multiple days. It looks like your conversion works well for you, living in a warmer climate. i also noticed that you did not insulate your van fully, so i am assuming that you do not venture in subzero climates.
Alternating, not alternate current, Short not shortage! You have no clue. Short distance does not require bigger wire, longer distances require bigger wire (smaller numbersize)
I came here to hear about the fridge, the video title is about the fridge, there is only one line in the video about the fridge and the rest is about solar setup, including potentially dangerous mistakes about wire gauges ;) People usually get dedicated 12V fridges because they are more efficient, for example, don't require an inverter running all the time and inverters can waste 20-30 watts, some even 60 watts, without any load, on standby. Chest fridges are more efficient when opening, especially deep, larger ones, etc. So you can get a slightly cheaper fridge, but need a more robust power system.
If I could recommend anything even though this video is 2 years old excessive amperage high output alternators has been a sponsor of mine since 2004. I've been a car audio competitor for a very long time and their products are second to none and the customer service is amazing. A 360 amp GM large case alternator under the hood of that thing with charger battery backup real quick😂
So refreshing to see plastic caps covering exposed connections. But you drop something metal on positive and negative contacts and you short something out or burn something up.
Finally dude U have no idea how much I've been through trying to put 2gether my solar system well sorry U must an honest straight forward tutorial thank U 🙏 😊 my two brain cells were fighting even as I slept thanks soo too much ✌
Hey are!! We just used painters/double sided tape. If you’re really concerned about it messing up the finish of your walls command strips always work great!
@@jayxnina I'm more concerned about it ripping the postcard paper if I ever want to take them off reposition. I probably have thousands of postcards from my travels and want to alternate them out maybe every few months
Yup always on! The only time we would ever flip it off is in emergencies if we over-discharge our batteries (in the middle of the night for example) it will start beeping and we shut it off to shut it up. You can also just unplug the fridge if you don’t want it drawing power!
Great video! What kind of fan is that? Does it mainly heat or cool with the temp gauge? And how good is it at cooling or heating the van? Do you use any other heater/cooler to supplement? Thanks!
We use a max air fan! Its mainly to vent and keep airflow. Our van can get pretty hot in the summers so we typically run it all night. In the winters we use a diesel heater to stay warm! We’ve got a whole video dedicated to it!
@@jayxnina ok thanks! So to clarify is there an aircon function to the fan? I’ll be sure to watch the heating video. I just came across your channel and it’s great.
Thanks, great video! I'm really interested in the fuse tap portion (now I'm going to try and ask question(s) the best I can for a non-experienced person in this area so please forgive me if I use a wrong word(s) or term(s), I just hope you get the general sense of what I'm asking) ... You picked the wiper fuse because it's off when not driving, I got that and trust me I fully understand as I did have an horror roadtrip incident this past August 2022, directly related to faulty alternator & unknowingly taking too much while driving from battery. 😵💫 My question is what "fuse size" did you use for your fuse tap set-up? (In my vehicle I have 3x fuses: 2x(15A & 25A) for rear wiper and 1x(30A) front wipers. Thanks a lot for any feedback and thank you for not playing really loud music during the video (obscuring what you're saying and waking up everyone when I watch the video late at night). Great job !!! 👍 As per the info on wire sizing & power well people can offer advices without nastiness, most of us are learning and we are only human.
For the fuse tap your first fuse is always the one that you’re tapping into so if you’re putting it in a 15A slot, then use this same fuse. Now for the fuse you’re “adding on” it depends on how much power the device you’re adding will draw. I have never seen an add a fuse that has needed more than 4A but I wouldn’t use anything above a 10A here. Let me know if this answered your question or not-happy to clarify
Thanks mate that was good bought this camper bus. The wombat that did the wiring was a dick so now I’ve got to sort it out. So that really helped. Thanks bud. Joe.
Do you have a video of your entire solar setup? I just bought a van that already has 2 solar panels of 100 watt mounted and the same charge controller like yours I think it's PWM not MPPT. And I'm trying to just finish existing setup. I need to purchase battery and inverter and my only need is to run dorm fridge. I want to use one 100 ah lithium battery instead if it's possible to run the fridge alone with it. Also I saw other comments stating about fuse placement that's done wrong, if you have the video already may be can edit and explain the correction or can make one. I looked everywhere on your page but couldnt find one. By the way, I also have similar van, it's chevy express 1500 high top with similar inside setup. Im debating to knock out all, but not having insulation is tempting me to knock it all out and may be I will get extra inch of headroom too. Love your build and diesel heater install video.
This video was meant to cover most of the electrical components in the van. One LI 100ah battery is just as good as two 100ah gel. As for the fuses, you could do a breaker which is a little more expensive than just regular fuses like I used, but they all work the same. Let me know if you have any other questions!
after 2 years .. any updates on how long it lasted ? i have a similar setup , 450 wp solar , 200 amp gel bat , charge when drive , old college fridge . first months on sunny holidays it ran perfect . started having heating problems on the back of the fridge , drilled some holes , . run this in less sunny months and the batterys discharged to min every night . added a timmer so the fridge shut off after bed time / night . after some months got anoyed turning on and off , so just turned the fridge off . had some cold trips , messed up the batterys a bit after 1.5 years . next year : during the day in decent sun days unlimited power , fridge is off . just eat what you buy. if the sun is down , batterys 30 min max before charge is down . after 2.5 year of vanlife im now switching to 200 a lithium and a 12 volt cooler , got the 450 wp solar . your setup in vanlife should suck like mine did . i wonder if you learned to let go of comfort van lifing ? we all start somewhere trying the easy way finding out if you want shit to work better buy decent stuff.
@@myjakuhintai8206 we honestly didnt have many problems at all. We sold the van a year ago and haven’t heard of any issues either. I think it totally depends on your setup. We did enough driving to always keep our batteries charged and when we knew that we would be parked for awhile/in winter months when theres no sun, we made sure to hook up to a trickle charger to keep everything running smoothly! Sorry you ran into so many issues-thats never fun.
We have 2 100watt panels and 2 100ah deep cycle gel batteries. You can find out kit on out website-let us know if you have any other questions! www.jayxnina.com/vanbuild
Excellent video! Great vocals/pace, no irrelevant tangents like some newer TH-camrs tend to do 😆 Great basic intro to solar, and ALL the links!!?! 🙋🏼♀️Subscribed
This video was very helpful, thank you so much for it. Gave me a lot to think about for my van conversion. I wondered if I could use solar power only on my fridge and be very very conservative on any of the other appliances that I may add to my van.
I haven’t done an AC unit but I’m sure those things suck a ton of energy. I would say absolute minimum 3-400watts but honestly I would call a company like Renogy to ask for their professional advice.
This was super helpful, we’re turning a barn into an off grid home and I’ve been trying to figure out the proper size solar set up to run a 12 volt mini fridge and a few lights and this answers my questions! Looks like I want 200 watts solar and 200 amp hour battery bank and at least 1000 watt inverter. Harbor freight has a sale right now and we’re ordering our first solar panels from them. Congrats on surpassing 1000 subscribers, I’m hoping to get there very soon, you’ve got a new subscriber here👍
You got your wire sizing information dangerously wrong! Maybe you've figured this out by now, but in case you haven't, here's a quick primer. First and foremost, the size of wire is determined by the expected current (amps) that that wire will see. Specifically it needs to be able to handle more amps than the fuse on that circuit, otherwise the wire will burn up instead of the fuse in the case of too much current (and an electrical fire in the van is not what you want). The more amps through the cable, the thicker the cable you need. For the line running to your alternator you probably want something like a 70 or 80 amp fuse or circuit breaker. Which means you need something like 4 gauge wire. But you got to check the details for yourself on your alternator and see how many amps it may send to your battery (or the max you'd want it to send) and choose your fuse or breaker based on that (the fuse is usually picked to be 25% more than normal max load). Then you choose your wire to be more robust than the fuse rating. I hope that makes sense. This is the way to do it for any circuit, so same for your fridge, lights etc. Check how many amps your device uses maximumly (use Watt = volt * amp to figure it out if you need), choose your fuse 25% higher than that number, choose your wire to handle more than the fuse. Now where the length comes into play is that the longer the distance the more waste there is. A thicker wire has less voltage drop over a thinner wire, and so for long lines you may want thicker wire. But for your van it shouldn't matter too much. You definitely don't want thinner wire over longer distances, especially if that wire is rated lower than your fuse.
I would think if you get 2 100ah batteries, wouldn't it be better to run double the solar panels to charge them faster? In this case, 2 of 200 = 400 so your 100x2 batteries would be charged faster and not depleted while you use them and charge them at the same time?
@@jayxnina I thought you might've overlooked it or knew something else we didn't lol my wife and i are trying to convert a dodge ram van 1500 and trying to decide what to buy and know nothing either! But we have 2 months till our lease is done so we have some learning time. You guys are our relationship goal! Haha best wishes!
Good to know that you are using 110v fridge without any issues. I really want to have mini upright fridge like you without spending fortune on 12v fridge.
So, actually ya have 100ah since those gels shouldn't go below 50% discharge. Yep, Lithium is expensive but with 90% discharge capability at half the weight...I'll take the newer tech 👍😎.
The longer distance=smaller wire and shorter distance=larger wire is completely wrong and super unsafe if people follow that. You need to know two things for wire size. The current/amps (you can get this by dividing how many watts an appliance uses or has going through it by the voltage of the appliance). The reason your inverter needs a large wire size is because it’s a large current draw. Your wire for the dc-dc charging should also be much much larger
I dont understand how anyone gets the full use out of their solar panels with the panels being flat on the roof. When I place my panels down flat on full sun days, I get low watts compared to when I have them slanted toward the sun. I saw my watts go from 12 watts laying flat to 75 watts when slanted. What is your experience? Solar panels arent cheap and it takes a long time charging at a low wattage. What is your experience and thoughts?
Yeah the slant is definitely ideal, however its just not very aerodynamic while driving and makes the high clearance even worse… between the alternator charging and the solar its plenty of power for us. I find that hot days top off our batteries no matter what. Its really just the cloudy days that it doesn’t.
Very awesome and well done. I would recommend a battery isolator though instead of that fuse add on. Much easier to install and probably a little better in the long run
not to my knowledge? but we are also almost always stopped on level ground... We definitely drive off road and on lots of hills which hasn't shown any impacts. Hope this helps!
Trying to figure out what to do for my set up. Just ordered a 200w renogy premium kit, thinking a 200ah lithium battery. Why inverter size do you suggest? I want to power a fridge, diesel heater, and lights, plus charge devices when needed. I was thinking 1000w-2000w will be enough. What do you think about this?? Any more tips and tricks. Congrats on 1K guys!!! Road to 10k next!🎉
That sounds like it should work, as for what’s ideal that’s a different question. I messaged you back on instagram but I assumed you were using gel batteries but 200ah lithium should be great
Get yourself some 12v USB phone chargers. It's much more efficient than using a mains powered chargers. You can also get a 12v USB-c charger for your laptop that works for all but the most power hungry laptops, as long as it can charge with USB-C
@@jayxnina I'm currently van laughing myself and I started a TH-cam channel it doesn't have many views and one subscriber but it's a start and I found your guys's channel cuz I'm having the problem of I will I need a refrigerator and I need a way to power I said fridge cuz all I have is a cooler with ice and well..... that's not working so great. I like your videos they're very informative and I am considering down the road getting that DC to DC inverter from renergie well you guys have a good night I'm going to get some rest 🥱 (Justin a fellow van lifer.. TH-cam channel is ( just vanlifing in the USA) currently in Kentucky. Take care and God bless Dixie.
@@Justvanlifingintheusa Yeah the cooler with ice is a lot of maintenance. Vanlife is quite the experience-you’ll never forget it hahaha. good luck out there!
@@Justvanlifingintheusa there’s a lot i could say, but it really depends on your situation. Are you planning on driving a lot or are you gonna be stationed in one spot parked for long periods of time? Will you have access to power or do you need to generate your own electricity?
This was such a helpful video! I’m a bit surprised your guys channel hasn’t gotten bigger tbh. Very well outlined, clearly spoken, and made it easy to understand for an electrify dummy like me without being condescending hehe
try this, bigger and cheaper,,, What does a 3cu ft (approx 90 qt) chest freezer cost,,,,,maybe $150. to $200.,,,,,add a thermostat that costs $30 to $40.,,,,plug the freezer into the thermostat, and the thermostat into you power, set it at refrigeration temp, 36 to 42,,,,and you have a 3 cu ft (90 qt) refrig for about $200.. The only thing you need to make sure is the thermostat electrical rating covers your chest freezer/refrigerator energy needs If you run a 12v system you need an inverter, about $40 more
"short distance = thick wire; long distance = thin wire" COMPLETE LIE!! Wire thickness is dependant on AMPERAGE. And the LONGER the distance, the more RESISTANCE is going to be in the wire, meaning, the LONGER the distance, the HARDER it is for the electricity to flow through, meaning it has to be THICKER to accommodate the increased RESISTANCE from RUNNING THE CABLE FURTHER...... I hope this saves someone's vehicle from catching fire. Also, the amount of time's you asked for a like was... too much. I'm sorry but for the misinformation, I've given you a dislike.
Hey bro nice setup but i had to stop watching at the wiring part where you say shorter distance bigger wire etc. The longer the distance from battery to item the bigger the gauge should be. Too small of a wire cause the wires to heat up, melt or even catch fire.
Good video. It seems like you got little lost in the weeds there for a while and covered a half dozen things when the video was about what fridge to use. I might be wrong but it seemed like you only spent about 2 minutes talking the fridge and the rest was your solar setup, your alternator, and your toaster oven. Stay focused on your topics and your subscribers count should climb. Good luck and happy life.
Do not listen to this guy about wire sizes and application. Look up wire ampacity charts. The majority of these charts show the amperage a certain guage wire can handle and at what length. Longer runs need thicker wire and shorter runs not as much. Location is key for these parts of your system. Keep dc parts of your system as close as you can safely can to each other. So you can run shorter thicker wires for your inverter to run a bit more efficiently. Ac doesn't suffer drastic losses through thinner wires because of the higher voltage and lower amperage. If you are going to be running an induction cooktop. Consider running a 24v+ system for efficiency.
Wire gage my guy. Your WRONG. There is a chart you need too look at. That will show you wire si,e based on amps/current that is traveling through the wire and the longer the wire depending on the amount of energy the thicker the wire needs to be. I'm almost 100% positive. The wire you have coming in from your alternator is way to thin.
The shorter the distance you need smaller gage wire instead of larger, you said the opposite unless you refer to AWG . Anyway you didn't enlighten us how to run a fridge?????
Haha you have me laughing like crazy with your " the shorter the distance, the thicker the wire advise". It's all about the amps man, then the distance comes next. So if I am putting my 2000 watt inverter 20 feet away from my battery can I use a smaller wire? HELL NO!!! Bad advice, no wonder you don't have many subscribers.
Wow, i have to watch your entire video about your whole electrical system when you labeled the video about how someone SHOULDNT get a 12v fridge. Another BS video.
There are too many people,like yourself,who have no idea what they are talking about and give out incorrect or even dangerous misinformation . Do some research and check your facts beforehand. Your wiring information is incorrect and could cause overheating or even a fire.
I cut out the incorrect information about wire gauge sizing that you may see down in the comments below--thank you for the feedback!
Here is everything we used in our build: www.amazon.com/shop/jayxnina/list/3GONMA5NA5PL8?ref_=aip_sf_list_spv_ofs_mixed_d
At 4:20 it's called alternating current not alternative. It sounds like you have a decent grasp on what you are doing, but you should be more careful before giving advice 😂
*Seems like a good solar **Generater.Systems** . I have not had to put it to the test yet in a situation without power but it has seemed to operate fine so far.*
Im not sure what exactly you mean by “generator.”
Solar panels are what generate the energy. I do not know much about the difference between panels, I would simply figure out how much energy you need to generate and get more or less panels accordingly. I went with renogy because they have the best bundle deals
@@jayxnina i think he mean the prebuilt units that companies like Jackery makes. Those are usually called "solar generators" though i do hate the name lol
The title says "Don't Get a 12v Fridge" But you didn't give any info about why not???? Plus there is also shore power that you can install cheap for when you are at camp sites or home etc. Plus a few of the YT channels I watch do also give spread sheets / PDF's about the equipment use etc.
WARNING!! Your lesson about wire gauge sizes is WRONG and backwards! That's very dangerous, incorrect information to be telling people. The longer a wire run is the more resistance there is and the larger gauge wire is necessary for the given current (amps) that will be running through it. Proper wire sizing is critical to get correct and is more complicated than your short lesson. TLDR; more power needs larger wire and LONGER distances needs EVEN LARGER wire for the same amount of power passing through.
Good video but here are some suggestions:
Please don’t give wire size advice without backing up your recommendation (charts/code reference). The truth is the longer the distance the larger the wire. Also you needs fuse at the source (alternator) not at the destination. Fuses are sized off of the wire size, they are there to protect the wire not the device (that is a plus not the intent).
DC = Direct current
AC = Alternating Current
You have made things work for your situation and I’m glad it’s working. Be safe and have a smoke alarm and fire extinguisher also accessible.
Cheers 🍻
appreciate the feedback!
This video needs to be deleted or edited cuz you're saying incorrect information. Short does not equal thick and long does not equal thin that's completely independent of the truth
I freaked out with the explanation in the video. Safe practices are basically opposite.
The longer a cable is the more resistance it'll have and the more it'll drop voltage across it. By increasing the cable thickness you reduce these issues and increase the amount of current it can carry. A long thin wire for a high power device is a big hazard.
The information in this video is wrong and dangerous. Using improperly sized wires can start a deadly fire.
Thanks for correcting it. It was a rookie mistake that could be dangerous. Re fridges, people usually get dedicated 12V fridges because they are more efficient, for example don't require inverter running all the time and inverters can waste 20-30 watts, some even 60 watts, without any load, on standby. Chest fridges are more efficient when opening, especially deep, larger ones.
Here is a tip..get a Pecron S1500F 1500 watt powerstation ( for example). It charges in about 3 hours and you can charge it as you drive from your inverter or if you are some where in public where you can access an outlet..say a coffee shop or gym..you can charge it while you are in there. Then use it to cook with the toaster oven. One more tip is to get several of those low wattage DASH mini kitchen devices for making waffles, eggs, pies, grilled sandwiches. They cost between $10-$20. They cook really fast and use under 300 watts! I have the Black n Decker 3 in 1 device so I can do waffles or grilled sandwiches or chicken with one device because it comes with 3 swap out cooking grills. It takes about 600 watts and less than 10 minutes to make a meal. There are now a whole host of regular household cooking devices you can buy and use that cook with under 800 watts down to as low as 100 watts. I have a 100 watt slow cooker (cost $20 that I got from Walmart) that I cook chicken in.
Whhhhaaaaaattttttt this is a game changer. Thank you so much!
Omy!!! Thank you so much for this suggestion, im a sucker for cute things and since i will be living alone anyway this is perfect!
I almost pulled the plug on a Jackery but the Pecron has more Wh for less and fast charging! MVP with this comment lol thank you!!!
I love mine I use it in my massage therapy room I love it
@@jayxninahow long does the battery last to power a fridge? Is it years?? And how do you keep the battery charger
Try to keep the fridge full, so the fridge does'nt have to cool the warm air in it again when u open the door :) stuff (beer) will keep it cool and so ur power draw will be lower :)
Thats a huge pro tip. Much appreciated!
What people fail to consider is having a shutoff switch from charging off the alternator. The more load you put on the alternator, the lower the fuel milage. When you are traveling in times of good sun, it's wasteful to still use the alternator. It makes more sense to use excess power from the solar panels to keep the car's battery topped up if you idle at one location for a long time. Also dumping that extra energy to a hot water tank is always nice. This is providing you stay at 100% on many sunny days.
Your big wire short runs, small wire long runs is troublesome. The wire size needs to be related to the amps that can be pulled. That's why you have fuses to prevent undersized wires from heating up. Meaning longer runs at 10 amps is going to need a thicker wire than the same length at one amp. Finally, extra big wires means you are still safe from heating up the wire at the absolute peak amount your inverter(and everything else) can draw.
As for the toaster oven.. Looks like you have a shelf right on top of it. The top should get very warm/hot and is a great spot for heating things up, while the oven is in use. If you didn't want to make use of that heat, I would have added fiberglass insulation, around it where the contained heat wouldn't cause the oven any issues. If it was made for contained spaces and does have insulation as part of it's construction, that's wonderful.
Because I found the 'Lost Renegades' channel and watched all their videos, youtube is filling my feed with van life content. I'm looking for the real life channels, for fun entertainment. I just watch another video when creators reply. My current thinking is shorts is not what small youtubers should rely on. You see your most viral video is the tour one, but those really don't seem to get many subs. You have to crank out videos trying to get one that more watch and actually subscribe. I subscribe according to the personality and dynamic as a couple, basically how well they would fit in as a friend for me. I think that's what a lot of people do..just saying.
Congratulations if you read all my musings.🎉
Wow! What did we deserve to get this kind of feedback? Incredible. I almost put a shutoff switch for the alternator but from the amount of research I did it didn’t seem necessary (I guess I was wrong).
Appreciate you taking the time to give such in depth analysis of our video/channel. You could probably get paid for what you do hahaha
@@jayxnina It worked out, you are a positive person. Thanks and you're welcome.
@@jayxnina I just found this video that I think will help you understand the losses of efficiency using the alternator for bigger loads. If the sun isn't shining it should be the last option when your house batteries hit 50%.
th-cam.com/video/tEPBdztGMdI/w-d-xo.html the data part starts at 9:17 for the alternator.
Great video my dude. Super transparent. Extremely useful!!!
maybe change the title. said nothing about the fridge
Series vs Parallel have their own cons and pros - series keeps current low and voltage high, perfect for MPPT charger controller which steps down Voltage and Ups the amperage. This means your wires from the solars don't have to be large and less loss due to resistance. Pros of parallel is that if one is partially shaded, the amps drop dont suffer as much as the series setup.
we are definitely getting a 12 V fridge for our van. The amount or power consumed by a 120 V AC fridge is substantial. If you are a van lifer who lives off grid, or even someone who take s a few trips per year and boondocks, your power consumption will need to be conserved for the use of high power draw appliances such as your AC unit, induction stove, and water heater. We also travel a lot in the winter and live in ski hill parking lots for multiple days. It looks like your conversion works well for you, living in a warmer climate. i also noticed that you did not insulate your van fully, so i am assuming that you do not venture in subzero climates.
We did do a winter season in Wyoming which had some -20 nights. Our diesel heater was enough, but yes-definitely could’ve insulated better
Alternating, not alternate current, Short not shortage! You have no clue. Short distance does not require bigger wire, longer distances require bigger wire (smaller numbersize)
I came here to hear about the fridge, the video title is about the fridge, there is only one line in the video about the fridge and the rest is about solar setup, including potentially dangerous mistakes about wire gauges ;) People usually get dedicated 12V fridges because they are more efficient, for example, don't require an inverter running all the time and inverters can waste 20-30 watts, some even 60 watts, without any load, on standby. Chest fridges are more efficient when opening, especially deep, larger ones, etc. So you can get a slightly cheaper fridge, but need a more robust power system.
right bro say little to nothing about the fridge
If I could recommend anything even though this video is 2 years old excessive amperage high output alternators has been a sponsor of mine since 2004. I've been a car audio competitor for a very long time and their products are second to none and the customer service is amazing. A 360 amp GM large case alternator under the hood of that thing with charger battery backup real quick😂
So refreshing to see plastic caps covering exposed connections. But you drop something metal on positive and negative contacts and you short something out or burn something up.
Finally dude U have no idea how much I've been through trying to put 2gether my solar system well sorry U must an honest straight forward tutorial thank U 🙏 😊 my two brain cells were fighting even as I slept thanks soo too much ✌
Thats exactly why I made the video hahaha. Too many headaches and sighs from wanting to give up. Glad it helped!
Are those National Park postcards on your wall? What was the best way that you found to mount it to the wall without ruining it?
Hey are!!
We just used painters/double sided tape. If you’re really concerned about it messing up the finish of your walls command strips always work great!
@@jayxnina I'm more concerned about it ripping the postcard paper if I ever want to take them off reposition. I probably have thousands of postcards from my travels and want to alternate them out maybe every few months
@@americanpettransport you could also maybe laminate the post cards? That would help preserve the quality of them
Do you leave your inverter on all the time since you can’t know when the 120V fridge will need power to cool down? Thanks!
Yup always on! The only time we would ever flip it off is in emergencies if we over-discharge our batteries (in the middle of the night for example) it will start beeping and we shut it off to shut it up. You can also just unplug the fridge if you don’t want it drawing power!
Problem is most wire you can buy is copper clad aluminum that has more resistance making it harder to calculate and larger wire
Great video! What kind of fan is that? Does it mainly heat or cool with the temp gauge? And how good is it at cooling or heating the van? Do you use any other heater/cooler to supplement?
Thanks!
We use a max air fan!
Its mainly to vent and keep airflow. Our van can get pretty hot in the summers so we typically run it all night.
In the winters we use a diesel heater to stay warm! We’ve got a whole video dedicated to it!
@@jayxnina ok thanks! So to clarify is there an aircon function to the fan?
I’ll be sure to watch the heating video. I just came across your channel and it’s great.
@@gunterstunter i don’t think I know what “aircon” is? You can change the direction of the airflow as well as the speed/power
Thanks, great video!
I'm really interested in the fuse tap portion (now I'm going to try and ask question(s) the best I can for a non-experienced person in this area so please forgive me if I use a wrong word(s) or term(s), I just hope you get the general sense of what I'm asking) ...
You picked the wiper fuse because it's off when not driving, I got that and trust me I fully understand as I did have an horror roadtrip incident this past August 2022, directly related to faulty alternator & unknowingly taking too much while driving from battery. 😵💫
My question is what "fuse size" did you use for your fuse tap set-up? (In my vehicle I have 3x fuses: 2x(15A & 25A) for rear wiper and 1x(30A) front wipers.
Thanks a lot for any feedback and thank you for not playing really loud music during the video (obscuring what you're saying and waking up everyone when I watch the video late at night).
Great job !!! 👍
As per the info on wire sizing & power well people can offer advices without nastiness, most of us are learning and we are only human.
For the fuse tap your first fuse is always the one that you’re tapping into so if you’re putting it in a 15A slot, then use this same fuse. Now for the fuse you’re “adding on” it depends on how much power the device you’re adding will draw. I have never seen an add a fuse that has needed more than 4A but I wouldn’t use anything above a 10A here.
Let me know if this answered your question or not-happy to clarify
Thanks mate that was good bought this camper bus. The wombat that did the wiring was a dick so now I’ve got to sort it out. So that really helped. Thanks bud. Joe.
Glad it helped!
Do you have a video of your entire solar setup? I just bought a van that already has 2 solar panels of 100 watt mounted and the same charge controller like yours I think it's PWM not MPPT. And I'm trying to just finish existing setup. I need to purchase battery and inverter and my only need is to run dorm fridge. I want to use one 100 ah lithium battery instead if it's possible to run the fridge alone with it. Also I saw other comments stating about fuse placement that's done wrong, if you have the video already may be can edit and explain the correction or can make one. I looked everywhere on your page but couldnt find one.
By the way, I also have similar van, it's chevy express 1500 high top with similar inside setup. Im debating to knock out all, but not having insulation is tempting me to knock it all out and may be I will get extra inch of headroom too. Love your build and diesel heater install video.
This video was meant to cover most of the electrical components in the van. One LI 100ah battery is just as good as two 100ah gel. As for the fuses, you could do a breaker which is a little more expensive than just regular fuses like I used, but they all work the same.
Let me know if you have any other questions!
Thank you! Very informative.❤
@@melissa-jh4wb youre welcome!!
i like your van setup can i ask you what model its your van?
Where did you get your wire gauge information from
after 2 years .. any updates on how long it lasted ? i have a similar setup , 450 wp solar , 200 amp gel bat , charge when drive , old college fridge . first months on sunny holidays it ran perfect . started having heating problems on the back of the fridge , drilled some holes , . run this in less sunny months and the batterys discharged to min every night . added a timmer so the fridge shut off after bed time / night . after some months got anoyed turning on and off , so just turned the fridge off . had some cold trips , messed up the batterys a bit after 1.5 years . next year : during the day in decent sun days unlimited power , fridge is off . just eat what you buy. if the sun is down , batterys 30 min max before charge is down . after 2.5 year of vanlife im now switching to 200 a lithium and a 12 volt cooler , got the 450 wp solar . your setup in vanlife should suck like mine did . i wonder if you learned to let go of comfort van lifing ? we all start somewhere trying the easy way finding out if you want shit to work better buy decent stuff.
@@myjakuhintai8206 we honestly didnt have many problems at all. We sold the van a year ago and haven’t heard of any issues either.
I think it totally depends on your setup. We did enough driving to always keep our batteries charged and when we knew that we would be parked for awhile/in winter months when theres no sun, we made sure to hook up to a trickle charger to keep everything running smoothly!
Sorry you ran into so many issues-thats never fun.
How many watts of solar do u have and how many batteries to operate your refrigerator
We have 2 100watt panels and 2 100ah deep cycle gel batteries.
You can find out kit on out website-let us know if you have any other questions!
www.jayxnina.com/vanbuild
Excellent video! Great vocals/pace, no irrelevant tangents like some newer TH-camrs tend to do 😆 Great basic intro to solar, and ALL the links!!?! 🙋🏼♀️Subscribed
Glad you found it helpful! Always appreciate the affirmation to out videos that are useful rather than copy what the mainstream youtubers are doing
This video was very helpful, thank you so much for it. Gave me a lot to think about for my van conversion. I wondered if I could use solar power only on my fridge and be very very conservative on any of the other appliances that I may add to my van.
You could I would just be worried about when you aren’t getting sun-depending on where you’re traveling!
How much Solar Panel Wattage and Battery Ah would be needed to run a mini dorm fridge and a small 5000 btu window AC?
I haven’t done an AC unit but I’m sure those things suck a ton of energy. I would say absolute minimum 3-400watts but honestly I would call a company like Renogy to ask for their professional advice.
This was super helpful, we’re turning a barn into an off grid home and I’ve been trying to figure out the proper size solar set up to run a 12 volt mini fridge and a few lights and this answers my questions! Looks like I want 200 watts solar and 200 amp hour battery bank and at least 1000 watt inverter. Harbor freight has a sale right now and we’re ordering our first solar panels from them. Congrats on surpassing 1000 subscribers, I’m hoping to get there very soon, you’ve got a new subscriber here👍
Appreciate the support man-right back atcha!
I think I was just your 1000th sub!! Congrats!
@@jayxnina ahhh you guys are awesome thank you glad I found your channel!
You got your wire sizing information dangerously wrong! Maybe you've figured this out by now, but in case you haven't, here's a quick primer.
First and foremost, the size of wire is determined by the expected current (amps) that that wire will see. Specifically it needs to be able to handle more amps than the fuse on that circuit, otherwise the wire will burn up instead of the fuse in the case of too much current (and an electrical fire in the van is not what you want). The more amps through the cable, the thicker the cable you need. For the line running to your alternator you probably want something like a 70 or 80 amp fuse or circuit breaker. Which means you need something like 4 gauge wire. But you got to check the details for yourself on your alternator and see how many amps it may send to your battery (or the max you'd want it to send) and choose your fuse or breaker based on that (the fuse is usually picked to be 25% more than normal max load). Then you choose your wire to be more robust than the fuse rating. I hope that makes sense. This is the way to do it for any circuit, so same for your fridge, lights etc. Check how many amps your device uses maximumly (use Watt = volt * amp to figure it out if you need), choose your fuse 25% higher than that number, choose your wire to handle more than the fuse.
Now where the length comes into play is that the longer the distance the more waste there is. A thicker wire has less voltage drop over a thinner wire, and so for long lines you may want thicker wire. But for your van it shouldn't matter too much. You definitely don't want thinner wire over longer distances, especially if that wire is rated lower than your fuse.
Appreciate you taking the time to write all of this out. You must be an absolute pro!
@@jayxnina just hope it was helpful.
I would think if you get 2 100ah batteries, wouldn't it be better to run double the solar panels to charge them faster? In this case, 2 of 200 = 400 so your 100x2 batteries would be charged faster and not depleted while you use them and charge them at the same time?
Of course! More solar is always better. Solar panels are just very expensive
@@jayxnina I thought you might've overlooked it or knew something else we didn't lol my wife and i are trying to convert a dodge ram van 1500 and trying to decide what to buy and know nothing either! But we have 2 months till our lease is done so we have some learning time. You guys are our relationship goal! Haha best wishes!
@@AvengerOnCall y’all are too kind! Hope our videos give you some guidance!! You guys have some pretty awesome adventures to look forward to soon!
Good to know that you are using 110v fridge without any issues. I really want to have mini upright fridge like you without spending fortune on 12v fridge.
Definitely do it! Works like a charm!
Do you have a link for the 110v fridge
Yes please say which fridge it is. I really like the size and want to know the name brand. Thanks!
@@katekaos i guess he won’t say 😢
@@jcardosa02I got an AC 110v fridge with great reviews from builders and van lifers. It’s a 3.1 Galanz and I got it on sale for $200 🙌🏼👍🏼
What kind of fringe do you have
So, actually ya have 100ah since those gels shouldn't go below 50% discharge. Yep, Lithium is expensive but with 90% discharge capability at half the weight...I'll take the newer tech 👍😎.
I guess when you put it that way yeah hahaha
Not to mention that when you do the math of how much you can store and use at what lifespan they also end up being cheaper in the long run
FYI, the Betty Crocker toaster oven draws less amps;)
Good pro tip!
The longer distance=smaller wire and shorter distance=larger wire is completely wrong and super unsafe if people follow that. You need to know two things for wire size. The current/amps (you can get this by dividing how many watts an appliance uses or has going through it by the voltage of the appliance). The reason your inverter needs a large wire size is because it’s a large current draw. Your wire for the dc-dc charging should also be much much larger
Excellent detailed explanation, thanks for the lesson. 👍👍
I dont understand how anyone gets the full use out of their solar panels with the panels being flat on the roof. When I place my panels down flat on full sun days, I get low watts compared to when I have them slanted toward the sun. I saw my watts go from 12 watts laying flat to 75 watts when slanted. What is your experience? Solar panels arent cheap and it takes a long time charging at a low wattage. What is your experience and thoughts?
Yeah the slant is definitely ideal, however its just not very aerodynamic while driving and makes the high clearance even worse… between the alternator charging and the solar its plenty of power for us. I find that hot days top off our batteries no matter what. Its really just the cloudy days that it doesn’t.
What size inverter do you have?
Its 2000W!
Very awesome and well done. I would recommend a battery isolator though instead of that fuse add on. Much easier to install and probably a little better in the long run
great video! how many watts does your mini fridge use?
best i have seen
@@bill1i2am love to hear that! Glad its helped
Hi bro, what investor are you using in this van ?
informative and tasteful
Army problems with water draining from any condensation?
No sir!
Curious .. do you have to be on level ground for it to work?
not to my knowledge? but we are also almost always stopped on level ground... We definitely drive off road and on lots of hills which hasn't shown any impacts. Hope this helps!
Trying to figure out what to do for my set up. Just ordered a 200w renogy premium kit, thinking a 200ah lithium battery. Why inverter size do you suggest? I want to power a fridge, diesel heater, and lights, plus charge devices when needed. I was thinking 1000w-2000w will be enough. What do you think about this?? Any more tips and tricks. Congrats on 1K guys!!! Road to 10k next!🎉
That sounds like it should work, as for what’s ideal that’s a different question. I messaged you back on instagram but I assumed you were using gel batteries but 200ah lithium should be great
Get yourself some 12v USB phone chargers. It's much more efficient than using a mains powered chargers. You can also get a 12v USB-c charger for your laptop that works for all but the most power hungry laptops, as long as it can charge with USB-C
Thats an awesome idea. Will definitely look into that!
Some inverters draw as much energy as a laptop, and under no load. The worst one was drawing 60 watts!
Thanks for you detail description.. this helps a lot..
Always happy to help!
Thanks! Great video!
Glad you enjoyed it
What inverter did you use thanks
We have the 2000W renogy inverter!
AC is alternating current / not alternative current. It's all good
Nice catch!
@@jayxnina I'm currently van laughing myself and I started a TH-cam channel it doesn't have many views and one subscriber but it's a start and I found your guys's channel cuz I'm having the problem of I will I need a refrigerator and I need a way to power I said fridge cuz all I have is a cooler with ice and well..... that's not working so great. I like your videos they're very informative and I am considering down the road getting that DC to DC inverter from renergie well you guys have a good night I'm going to get some rest 🥱 (Justin a fellow van lifer.. TH-cam channel is ( just vanlifing in the USA) currently in Kentucky. Take care and God bless Dixie.
@@Justvanlifingintheusa Yeah the cooler with ice is a lot of maintenance. Vanlife is quite the experience-you’ll never forget it hahaha. good luck out there!
Do you have any advice for the new guy?
@@Justvanlifingintheusa there’s a lot i could say, but it really depends on your situation.
Are you planning on driving a lot or are you gonna be stationed in one spot parked for long periods of time? Will you have access to power or do you need to generate your own electricity?
I really enjoyed your video.
JAY EAGLE !!! EXCELLENT VIDEO BROTHER
Do you really mean it? (:
AC stands for Alternating Current
that was the point where I lost my interest.
I wish you would’ve showed us the unit while you were talking about it
Thanks, the video was informative and I'm leaning a lot. Just keep up the good work. 👍🏽
Apprecite the feedback!
Very informative..thank you for taking the time to make the video
Glad its helpful!
This was such a helpful video! I’m a bit surprised your guys channel hasn’t gotten bigger tbh. Very well outlined, clearly spoken, and made it easy to understand for an electrify dummy like me without being condescending hehe
Hahaha its hard to be condescending when you were coming from the same place not too long ago.
Appreciate the encouragement!
try this, bigger and cheaper,,,
What does a 3cu ft (approx 90 qt) chest freezer cost,,,,,maybe $150. to $200.,,,,,add a thermostat that costs $30 to $40.,,,,plug the freezer into the thermostat, and the thermostat into you power, set it at refrigeration temp, 36 to 42,,,,and you have a 3 cu ft (90 qt) refrig for about $200..
The only thing you need to make sure is the thermostat electrical rating covers your chest freezer/refrigerator energy needs
If you run a 12v system you need an inverter, about $40 more
Very interesting idea. Have you done this before?
"short distance = thick wire; long distance = thin wire" COMPLETE LIE!!
Wire thickness is dependant on AMPERAGE. And the LONGER the distance, the more RESISTANCE is going to be in the wire, meaning, the LONGER the distance, the HARDER it is for the electricity to flow through, meaning it has to be THICKER to accommodate the increased RESISTANCE from RUNNING THE CABLE FURTHER...... I hope this saves someone's vehicle from catching fire.
Also, the amount of time's you asked for a like was... too much. I'm sorry but for the misinformation, I've given you a dislike.
Alternating current
For your fridge... does that mean your inverter is always on?
@@WexWorld correct!
Great video Bro !!!
Apprecite it!
Good stuff you guys.
Hey bro nice setup but i had to stop watching at the wiring part where you say shorter distance bigger wire etc. The longer the distance from battery to item the bigger the gauge should be. Too small of a wire cause the wires to heat up, melt or even catch fire.
I don’t blame ya. Definitely could’ve done that better
Why not just a simplify things Just get a big old eco flow solar power station
You said alternative current haha
Welp at least you know what I mean hahaha
Yea, I was going to say it's alternatIng current, not alternative current.
Good job!
Good video.
It seems like you got little lost in the weeds there for a while and covered a half dozen things when the video was about what fridge to use. I might be wrong but it seemed like you only spent about 2 minutes talking the fridge and the rest was your solar setup, your alternator, and your toaster oven.
Stay focused on your topics and your subscribers count should climb. Good luck and happy life.
Gotcha-thanks for the feedback. I figured how we powered it was probably the most important point since people go for the 12V fridge to save power!
Do not listen to this guy about wire sizes and application. Look up wire ampacity charts. The majority of these charts show the amperage a certain guage wire can handle and at what length. Longer runs need thicker wire and shorter runs not as much. Location is key for these parts of your system. Keep dc parts of your system as close as you can safely can to each other. So you can run shorter thicker wires for your inverter to run a bit more efficiently. Ac doesn't suffer drastic losses through thinner wires because of the higher voltage and lower amperage.
If you are going to be running an induction cooktop. Consider running a 24v+ system for efficiency.
Wire gage my guy. Your WRONG. There is a chart you need too look at. That will show you wire si,e based on amps/current that is traveling through the wire and the longer the wire depending on the amount of energy the thicker the wire needs to be. I'm almost 100% positive. The wire you have coming in from your alternator is way to thin.
The shorter the distance you need smaller gage wire instead of larger, you said the opposite unless you refer to AWG . Anyway you didn't enlighten us how to run a fridge?????
Title says, "Don't get a 12v fridge" but video doesn't say why not to get a 12v fridge. Very strange.
👍🏼
your short vs long talk about wire size is very wrong. Longer distance = resistance . you need bigger wire for longer distances
Haha you have me laughing like crazy with your " the shorter the distance, the thicker the wire advise". It's all about the amps man, then the distance comes next.
So if I am putting my 2000 watt inverter 20 feet away from my battery can I use a smaller wire? HELL NO!!! Bad advice, no wonder you don't have many subscribers.
You really need to edit this video. Telling people bad info on wire sizes will cause them, and likely also you, lots of problems.
Wow, i have to watch your entire video about your whole electrical system when you labeled the video about how someone SHOULDNT get a 12v fridge. Another BS video.
So much wrong in this video. Beware.
Too many bad information in one video.
i didnt know tom cruise lived in a van
@@mekg2439 🤷🏼♂️🤷🏼♂️🤷🏼♂️
There are too many people,like yourself,who have no idea what they are talking about and give out incorrect or even dangerous misinformation . Do some research and check your facts beforehand. Your wiring information is incorrect and could cause overheating or even a fire.
brilliant video guys 👍👍❤️ @bettyourcampervan xx much love from.the UK ❤️❤️ just subscribed 👍
Appreciate it!