The only man who can get me to look inside his van without any ice cream

I am not sure how you do it, it was the same with the narrow boat but you have managed to make 'watch a man boil water' quiet entertaining. Well done and carry on. 😆

...I sit gazing at my TV watching you speak a language I do not understand yet mesmerized by your competence, humor and diligence....lol....like a cult member...lol...you remind me so much of my Dad who fitted out his 1982 Chevy van many years ago to sleep 6 (he built overhead slide out beds), with a sink and water supply, gas stove, electricity, and storage. Now I know why he spent endless hours in the garage....it was beautiful when he finished! Traveled all over Canada and the US in that little sweetie!

Heck, did you say five years. Have I really being following your van exploits for that long.? 😲 And then Cruising the Cut!! I need a hobby. Keep the clips coming, always entertaining.

Arggh ! Leaving us on a knife-edge ! You utter swi (2 can play at that game !)

Listening to this episode from my Spanish terrace. In Spain. David definitely qualifies for any award given to folk who could make the reading of Ikea construction manuals sound absolutely rivetting. Now there's a thought...

This is just like an old cinema move serial…. “ come back next week kids ! for another THRILLING episode of ELECTRO MAN ! NEXT WEEK Episode #3 , ELECTRO MAN versus THE GLITCH ! Cheers From California 😊

David, while watching the explanation of your power system, I got nostalgic to the days when you threw a couple of sleeping bags into your VW van and ventured off! Yes I’m old… 😊

You have the best delivery on KZfaq. I always look forward to your videos. Thank you for your work.

You have amazing patience. I’d have given up long ago. Great entertainment for us viewers. Look forward to next instalment.

Nice cliff hanger David. We yelled encouragement to "switch on the second hob"! Audience participation......

Oh nooo! A cliffhanger!! Eeeek!

Tune in next week! Same Van- time, same Van-channel! na na na na na na na na Van Man!

Neat, clean and functional. You did a great job. As a total armchair electrician, I think you need to tear everything out and start all over. Everything on the left needs to be moved to the right everything on top needs to be moved to the bottom, got it?. Good now lets get to work.

That was brilliantly entertaining, not just for the fascinating content but also for the demonstration of amazing self-control. With the narration teetering on the precipice of a rant at times skillfully held in check. Wonders if there are some deleted scenes??? Love your rants - sorry. And wow a cliff hanger ending. Good job you are doing it as you mentioned - for fun.

Brilliant! Don’t take this the wrong way, David, but I had to chuckle most of the way through this intricate vlog - I hadn’t the faintest idea what you were talking about but your voice was mesmerizing and it was (to me) like watching Star Wars readying for a launch into outer space. I’m sure electric aficionados will drool with pleasure and I’m deeply impressed by your ingenuity. I have this vision of your van smoking away like crazy while you’re on the M1 with people frantically waving and pointing to the thick black smoke trailing along behind. Just kidding. John, Ontario, Canada

Over 100 amps is frightening to me. I come from an electronics background and even 1 amp scared me, as most stuff I worked on dealt with milliamps. The thought of over 100 amps flowing through those cables, thick though they are, scares the life out of me! :) Fascinating stuff David, I hope you get it working again.

Now with your new lithium electrical source you ought to consider carrying a suitable fire extinguisher too. That would be a Lith-Ex type which can be relatively more effective where batteries are concerned.

I'll watch this later today. I want to thank you for teaching me the word 'Hob' a year or so ago, as I'd not previous heard it. :) American, but lived nearly a year in Reading, so was delighted to discover and have this word.

You tell em David! Bloody armchair experts! If there’s one thing I’ve learned about you over the years is that doing a healthy dose of research isn’t something that’s strange to you! I was literally laughing out loud to this one.

You bugger! What a cliff hanger 😮😂

The suspense of waiting for Part 2 is going to be unbearable. High Vandemonium drama! 😃

Oh No, this will be like waiting for next weeks instalment of your favourite program on TV. Good Job done there David.

I would only make one comment. You might consider fastening the battery down so that in the case of a roll over it does not smash into things and short out. Looking good.

Well done David, a great vlog and I really enjoyed your description regarding the 5cm clearance around your inverter. Thank God you didn’t put a politician in there as they blow off so much hot air, they need a 5 meter clearance in all directions. 😇

Ach David……you’re such a blessed tease! I can’t bear to wait but will have too..not too long I hope as I don’t think I could stand it😜

I love the cliff hanger. Great episode.

I have every confidence in your diligence, David. Onwards and upwards!

When you started this adventure a few years back did you think you would be come a master electrician. The one thing I am most definitely sure of, is that you have read the manuals. You always do - lol. Now go chill with two pints after all that was done. You deserve it.

Interesting content, although I make no claim to understand any of it. I certainly admire your industry and perseverance in getting it done. Best Of Luck

Looks great, can't wait to find out what happened. Wiring looks quite nice! Amazed that you were able to get the battery and inverter into that cabinet area.

Oh no, not a cliffhanger, just like an old episode of Buck Rogers starring Buster Crabbe lol

A cliffhanger?! What a cruel tease! LOL

will the hob work again? did the van explode? tune in next time same Bat Channel same Bat station. 🤣

Utterly gripping- not sure I’ll be able to sleep tonight…😮

What a cliff hanger! "Oh" and then silence.

Always use a lid on a kettle when boiling water! Saves energy, a lot! Yes, I know this was a battery/system test.

Well, I haven't got a clue about electronics and much of the explanation went right over the top of my head at concorde speed. Nevertheless, I am slowly learning something from you and that is due to your clear and thorough explanations. I look forward to the next exciting episode to see who shot -JR-, err I mean the dual induction hob!

It always amuses me how all these “experts” never have their own channels.

Shows the problem with 12V. Amperage and heat can be reduced massively by going with a 24V or 48V battery system instead. Well, your Victron charge controller can do 48V, but you'd probably have to replace the charger, inverter, and battery, which would be an expensive proposition. Cables can also be thinner. A 48V system can push 4800W at only 100A, for example. 24V generates 1/4th the heat and 48V generates 1/16th the heat. You might want to have an actual temperature-controlled exhaust fan in that box. The inverter's internal fan isn't going to exhaust air out of the box in any appreciable quantity unless the air duct is directly in-line with the exhaust. It doesn't appear to be. It's in the same corner, but not directly in-line.

Reminds me of the famous words from the Muppet Show..."tune in next time when you hear Dr.Bob saying..." 🤣🤣🤣 But nice to see that you followed my suggestions with the inverter on the front panel next to the battery... 👍👍👍 Thx for showing!

I was half expecting the 'Eastenders Duff-Duffs' at the end of this episode, can't wait for the next instalment 😉. Good luck.

The marathon continues 😂. Looking forward to watching your travel adventures this year x

I think it is great how individuals have great ideas and put them into use. You can heat the van with the inverter heat. 😂😂😂

I think you could make a video of paint drying and I would watch it. I mean that in the nicest possible way of course.

Evil cliffhanger!

No idea what happened David , although I've only ever used 3000 W plus charger inverters , I prefer to have double the capacity that I need

Noooo, David! What a cliffhanger!

Very nice installation David👍. Looks neat and professional. I like the idea of going fuel free to power your camping accessories. I’m interested to see how this works practically and long term.

Very much enjoyed, a better Cliff Hanger than a Cliff hanging film...

Mary Poppins job. Practically perfect in everyway!

keep the positive bus bar. in time you might need to add something else and your bus bar is waiting.

😳 I hope the next video is out tomorrow! Thanks for sharing the update on your van.

Hey! Spring is just around the corner here in Sweden- Looking forward to a new season in my van! Cheerio!

Impressed with the inverter cook top. We have electrical devices and an inverter running in cabin temperatures of up to 40°C. The engine room is much warmer. They all seem to get along fine with whatever cooling they find.

Hey!!! You just made a cliffhanger 👀

I was a day away from ordering my lithium batteries when I found out they were bringing out self heating ones. So glad I was able to get those.

Hi. Interesting video as usual. Just one thing that I noticed regarding the connection between the battery and mppt controller. From memory I believe that Victron warn against connecting solar panels to an mppt controller that is not connected to a battery. They indicate that doing so can cause permanent damage to the controller. Mind you given our current weather (no pun intended) there might not be too much solar power being generated. Keep the good work

Shouldn't be too big a problem, I ran a 2000w induction on a 1200w inverter on 2x120ah AGM batteries. The induction started on 1800w so I had to immediately drop it back to 1000w or lower, but it worked fine by doing that. I'm pretty sure you'll find that when the induction is working properly, you won't use the kettle

Loving the set up (proof I watched this) 😄

Looks very smart. Glad it all fitted so neatly and pleasingly!

13:00 It wants an external temperature sensor because the temperature that the charge controller is doesn't that much matter; the differences it will inflict are more related to how full it can charge the battery than any particular harm it can do to the battery. The temperature of the battery is what matters and where damage can be done. And that battery is a SIGNIFICANT mass of a thing that's going to warm up and cool down much more slowly than the charge controller will. So you want an external sensor, physically in contact with the battery and if it's convenient to throw a bit of insulation material on so that the sensor is protected from the temperature of the air around the battery and instead measures the battery, so much the better.

Oh David, you master of cliffhangers!

This video made me so happy that I bought an all in one unit, hook up to solar or household current, plug in devices into unit or route out to other outlets.

AAARGH! Cliffhanger! Nooooooooo. Cheeky fellow.

There you leave me. 😳. It’s like those films the Perils of Pauline that left the hero chained to the rails with a train bearing down on them. I will quickly move to the next video

Oh, the suspense

Small slip with the hole saw cutting the vent holes. Been there. I feel your pain.

Totally understandable Frustrations. Quality content

Someone got a lil jiggle with the whole saw,,, lol

Actually it looks like an excellent installation. I can’t see a problem with anything. What just happened at the end is exactly the same problem that I am having. Looking forward to the solution!

NOOOO!!!! Not another cliffhanger! 🤣🤣🤣

From Deb…David, I found a must see KZfaq Van channel…Foresty Forest! Great Van re-build and cooking, this guy hikes US canyons & US and Canadian mountain ranges with little dog, death defying, epic scenery, crazy drone footage and set up shots. Gotta see it to believe it! Gob smacking…hold on to your eyeballs!

Well this sounded like it was of a "shock" than some people thought it might be. Glad to see it's all well. :)

That "Oh" right at the end sounded a bit ominous to be honest. I hope nothing exploded, melted or went into a different dimension? Next vlog will tell I guess! 🙂

The temp sensor.... There's no guarantee that the MPPT will be at the same temp as the battery in many installations. Hence the need for an additional temp sensor.

Obviously a man of many talents.

A cliff hanger, how nice. May as well venture a guess. The wiring looks good, there was no bang and you said "oh" right after the apparent power loss, It must be something simple and easily fixed like the plug fell out of the socket. No those over-engineered plugs would never so casually fall out. More like you accidentally bumped the off switch.

With all the 'smart' talk, I'd put lids on the pans. Greetings from Bali.

I have a 2000 and a 1000W of that inverter model - never had a problem but at least Renogy are good at support. I use a double hob on a 2000W inverter just fine.

Nooooooo. You can't leave it like that. We need answers. Horrified by the suggestion you read instruction manuals and by the sounds of it, back to back. Loving the videos thank you

Mmmn, time for several cheese sandwiches while you wait for the kettle to boil. David in Dudley.

David, another enjoyable video, thank you. While watching, it did come to me, if you ever need a secondary channel name, "Campervan Boffin" would be on point. Of course, to be a proper Boffin, work would need to be done in a garden shed. Cheers!

They sell heating pads for batteries, I’ve seen some are USB plug-in most likely low voltage. Maybe have temperature monitoring in the battery bay?

Please don’t make us wait too long. If the inverter does overheat you could always move the top socket and fit a vent directly into inverter fans. Regards AJ.

Slightly off topic as I didn’t understand the topic! But you can pop kitchen towel under the pans to keep the induction hob nice if you wanted. I am going back to the last video where I paused to laugh for the roar of the engine. Good luck with whatever this is.

Someone actually thought you had not read the instructions??????? They have not been watching the channel for very long 🤣🤣🤣🤣

You only put one shilling in the meter, didn't ya.................................

Wow David, that cliff hanger was rather abrupt, like a full stop landing on an aircraft carrier! Through much assumed trial and error on the electric cabinet, your layout looks good. I know you thoroughly research everything before you begin so, confident you will get it all sorted out. And now for my "what it's worth" comments: It's difficult to tell since I am not viewing your setup in person but, the power cables between the battery and inverter appear to be good for about 50 amps. For the type current you will run at "full tilt", I recommend the copper conductor diameter of at least 9mm. When operating the cooktop at maximum power none of the cabling should be getting warm. I use an infrared camera to check this. I don't use shunts, it's just another connection point where power is lost due to the high currents. Instead I use the inverter current monitoring, which is not necessarily that accurate. To double check, I use a high accuracy clamp meter to test the calibration of the built-in current monitoring. As you may have noticed, I'm fussy about 12 volt systems because, DC currents must be extremely high in order to make 1,000+ watts of Mains power. I have designed several inverters, as well have reverse engineered various brands and found the overheat protection very poorly implemented on most inverters. Some act so late, they were obviously added to prevent the unit from catching on fire. A good design will start throttling back the output power when unit internals reach +60 to +80 degrees Celsius. As to the abrupt power cutoff on your induction cooktop, I assume a fuse blew or a sensor shut things off. I looked at the battery datasheet for your battery and the current rating is very strangely stated. It says a maximum of 43.2 amps Normal, then 200 amps continuous, then 300 amps maximum for 3 seconds. I'm not sure what to make of that rating. Lithium batteries are extremely unstable so, must be protected by several layers of protection circuitry. For this reason, Lithium batteries are not recommend for engine starting applications.

We really enjoyed this series of videos David, only you could make this so entertaining. Thanks for the videos 👍

Great, now I have to turn on my notifications to find out what happens asap!

As already noted for a limited techno interesting but ...on a positive note the vlog is informative/ the camera work makes it easy to follow for other DYO's.....but (again) OMG you have left us in a state.....has he just tripped the safety- blown something up - set fire to the camper or ???? PLEASE put out another Vlog ASAP....Jan Adelaide - -

All looks very neat - hope you haven't killed it. Induction hobs are very quick - mine boils the stove top kettle in the same time as the electric jug kettle. The cost of extras is what put me off Victron, I've just had to get a new Solar Controller and have gone Renogy, it came with a temperature probe to put with the battery, plus I can upgrade several bits without changing it, add a Bluetooth module ($30), add a quality monitor ($95) - or go flash and get the new Renogy One all singing and dancing monitor for less than a Victron Solar charge controller costs here. Victron charge controller without Bluetooth was twice the cost of the Renogy unit including the Bluetooth module here in NZ - Renogy kit was bought via Amazon AU - though we have a local Renogy Official stockist opening soon.

I've got the same induction hob, no van yet though! If that hob trips your inverter then....you need a more capable inverter.

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No its David

PS, I fitted a megafuse of 200amps to my inverter. It did fine with a kettle (camping one 1000w max output). IIRC last inverter was an old 2000w and was happy with it. :P

What a nail biter. It was like at the end of Lassie, where the little boy he was with got trapped down a mine as it started to rain and fill the mine shaft up with water, and then - as Lassie runs off, barking, for help - he [the dog] gets trapped by a falling branch after a tree was hit by lightening; "TO BEEE CONTINUED" *spooky voice*

That's easy.. the flux capacitor created a time loop effecting the battery making it think it's old and empty inside.

Think of the chassis as a giant bus bar. You ground to that and the chassis is connect to the negative terminal…that known as a”Negative ground” and that’s how it is mostly done. But in the spirt of being different a lot of earlier British cars had a “Positive ground” system. The frame again acts like a bus bar but it is connected to the positive side of the battery. My brothers 1964 MG is positive ground. Needless to say you can fry a lot of things if you get them crossed.

HI DAVID.. FYI.. FACTS THAT HAVE WORKED FOR ME OVER YEARS... 100AMP BATT X60 DIV BY LOAD-150 = 40 MINS TOTAL RUN TIME..THE ???ON HOW LONG TO CHARGE BACK TO FULL POWER.. OK .. NEED ANY HELP JUST ASK..TONE