Making the Connection

When we purchased our new Leisureline caravan nearly four years ago we were told that it had been fitted with a cable from the house battery that could be connected to the car so that the house battery could be charged while travelling.  This in fact was fitted on our caravan in error, but the manufacturers decided to just leave it in place.  Lucky for us, we have had one half of the system all this time, at no cost.  Early in the week our car and caravan was booked into an auto electrician to fit the remaining part. 

Discussing the job to be done

This consisted of cabling the length of the vehicle.  In the front was fitted a VSR (Voltage Sensitive Relay).  This relay monitored the voltage of both the vehicle battery and the house battery.  The relay charged the vehicle battery first and when fully charged switched to the house battery.  The relay also prevents the vehicle battery from being drained by the house battery and therefore always being able to start the vehicle. 

The new connection is the cable next to the tow ball (hitch)

The net result is that the house battery is always fully charged when we arrive at our destination.  In the summer months this feature will not be employed much as the solar panel will be providing more than enough free power but in winter when the sunshine hours are a lot less then having the vehicle charge the house battery will be much appreciated.

VSR unit fitted under the bonnet

Another acquisition is our new microwave.  We were unaware that we had a problem last time we used our caravan microwave as the light came on, and the turntable turned around.  But no heat was being produced.  After testing, it showed that magnetron was not working, and it was uneconomic to repair.  We purchased a replacement, the same size and brand of our previous one, as it had to fit into an existing aperture.

New caravan micro-wave

Last but not least, our new rimu clock is now installed on the wall, and held in place with a mounting screw and self adhesive velcro.  As it has survived the rigours of travel over the Rimutaka Hill without coming loose and falling off the wall, we are confident that we used enough velcro to keep it secure.

  What’s the time?