Solar installation has started

Toaster: If you don't have a gas grill, what you do is this. Put a frying pan on the hob and light the gas. Don't put any fat or oil in the pan. When it has heated up a bit, put a slice of bread in the frying pan and wait 30 seconds, turn it over and wait 30 seconds. In one minute you will have toast and it is quicker than our electric toaster at home.
In a dry cleaning shop in Market Harborough there is a gas iron. It's probably from the 1950's and they made things properly in them thar days so it probably still works so you could use that for ironing. I think my grandad had a steam TV - it only worked in black and white but if you are prepared to watch in monochrome you could probably attach a pipe from kettle to TV.
The only suggestion I have got for a microwave is to hold your hand out and wiggle your little finger. That is a Micro Wave.

Dave, if youve been using the large inverter previously and you (and the van) get on all right with it then thats great....
however, you may not have had cheap refillable gas in your previous van, and, if it were in expensive small replacement bottles, you may have looked at a way of using 'normal domestic' gadgets...hence the inverter solution...
i agree these are great when away from EHU, i have one myself alongside 190AH twin AGMs...we also have a Gaslow refillable and a spare 'slot' for a large (cheap and lasts forever) Spanish bottle for our winter tours..
however, id never consider using an inverter with an electric kettle just for a cuppa...surely gas on the hob?
ok, microwave you dont have much choice....we dont have one!
i can also see Gassys point re toast....
the reason for my suggestion....good batteries are expensive and dragging them down too far, too often can serious damage, sometimes without thenowner realising....whereas a bit of gas....is just sooooo cheap.
sorry if this sounds like Granny Sucking Eggs....im sure your 'on it' with regard to your previous usage but, as i said, you may not have had the 'very cheap gas' option previously....
i know some Calor users who will do 'anything' not to use gas....
either way, good luck on your van and new system.

Thanks for the reponses! Some tongue in cheek!

I do have gas on the new van - I think a 25kg tank that refills with LPG (when you can find it). My current van and my boat do not use gas and we adopted electric cooking and use diesel heating on boat (not on very often in Greece). I accept that having a gas supply does reduce tbe need for electrical power. So perhaps the inverter will not be used for kettle and toaster but would like to use the microwave as we use the one on the boat a lot and we are mostly off grid and this required having a energy source ( 4 x 160AH Victron Lithiums in series and a 48V 3kVA charger inverter + 1500W of solar). I can't expect to get to that level on my little van but a scaled down system would be nice and is where I'm headed. Maybe I need 12 months of van use first and see how we adapt to having the gas back (we had it on the boat for one season before I did the solar project). It looks like I might be fixing some other issues caused by the smart electronics doing some dumb things and get distracted from my solar quest.

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Dave, you sound like a chap who knows his Watts from his Whats? Microwaves take a big punch of power on start up, so maybe you can find a 'low kilowatt' microwave that will be gentle on your batteries. My MH had a small microwave in it but it didn't work and we haven't been able to find a small sized one that will fit in the cupboard that the original one went in. They all seem to be a standard size now -at least the ones in the supermarket do.
Oh and by the way something to watch out for: The other day I saw an electrician doing PAT tests and he did a radiation test on a microwave. I asked if he ever found any that were in fact radiating X rays. He said very occasionally, but watch out for the cheap models, they radiate the most. In a house kitchen you are likely to be able to stand away from a microwave, but very unlikely in a motorhome.
And yes it would be a good idea to use your Fairford as it is for a bit, you might find that it is OK as is. And bear in mind that the 25 ltr (You said kg - is that the same thing?) gas tank can only be filled 80% full so when you refill it from empty don't expect more than 20 litres to go in. Don't keep pumping the trigger once it has stopped or you might break the float off and then that's real trouble. Apologies because you may well already know this, from your boat. Forgive me any implied superior advice, I thought I would mention it  - - -

Thanks for the tips on the gas - yes it's a 25 Liter - 20 usable, I'm used to bottled gas which is sold by weight hence my confusion. It seems that LPG is getting harder to find than it was. I've found some sites / apps that show filling stations that still have it. The nice thing about the solar setup is that the fuel is readiy available everywhere but just a lot slower to fill especially in the UK. 

Anyway, don't want to hijack this thread any further and I may start a new post when and if I get any response from Sargent or AS on the plans to upgrade my solar and add the inverter so that I can use the microwave that is fitted as standard in the Fairford. That's my goal and if the battery needs a boost (I suspect it will) I will also do that.

I think you will find Sargent pretty good at responding to technical queries Dave. Our Nueveo has a microwave and all we use it for is a bread bin. It's never been turned on, to my knowledge. Another thing I have noticed - (I am a retired gas 'engineer' - ha ha - boiler repair man) is that the propane which is what LPG is mostly, has a higher calorific value than the methane that comes into your house. This means that basically it will boil a kettle in the motorhome faster than the same amount on a gas ring at home.
Morrisons have started selling LPG. Maybe with the boom in motorhome sales, others may rethink their policy of not selling it. Trouble is whereas they would sell £50 worth of petrol in one go, the average LPG sale will be about £8 to fill a motorhome, where Calor would charge £35 for the same amount.

Hi Freelander
Can I ask? I have a Kemerton XL and about to embark on a similar solar project, very nervous about where to drill the dreaded hole through the roof!
Can I ask where you decided on and why?
Many thanks
Andy

One up on the roof I took various measurements and placed masking tape lines that extended down to the windows and across the sky lights , this gave reference points for measuring in side the van, I wanted all cables hidden so this required the cable to be behind the wardrobe panel which is doable with a bit of care the wardrobe rear top panel was moved.

Measure 3 times drill once

Andy  Chris got there before me!!! Also saying more or less the same!!

Decide where you are going to install the solar controller, the wires from the solar panel are going there so it makes sense for the hole to be approx above that.

From that, take measurements relative to, say, a window edge or a door frame and then transfer that to a bit of masking tape on the roof. Do this from several locations until all the wee crosses are near enough.

Then drill a tiny hole, say 2mm dia from the outside. Poke a wire through it and find that inside. If correct all is roses, if not, get a wee self tapping screw, dunk it in sikaflex (which you'll need anyway, use 252) and put it in the hole, it'll be near invisible anyway.

Have a look in Members Factsheets on the forum front page, go there then scroll down to Executive, a new project, all my solar info is in there.

Some pics from Warwick Duo. Holes through roof painted then fitted with grommets. Cables run in self adhesive cable ducting from B&Q, then painted to match roof

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Don’t forget though the solar regulator needs to be as close to the batteries as possible for the most effective charging

Fantastic, now I am only moderately nervousits the route to the battery inside I'm struggling with? I'll  now have a look at your info. Brilliant thank you

On the Warwick I removed the microwave and ran the wires behind it so the roof drilling was easy for me and didn't need to be all that accurate. This gave me a direct route down the B pillar to the solar controller.
The solar controller dual battery PWM (Photonic universe) I mounted on a sheet of ply in front of the LB under the driver seat. Upside down as this made the wiring easier. From it went the wires to the batteries direct (NO Sargent influence at all) via an inline 10A fuse to the +ve terminals. The remote display was mounted beside the microwave as seen. That's the coil of grey cable in the microwave area. Should be clear from the pics.[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Andyhardie wrote:Fantastic, now I am only moderately nervousits the route to the battery inside I'm struggling with? I'll  now have a look at your info. Brilliant thank you

If you go to my kemerton xl improvements post it shows how to put the wires from the roof down to the batteries

FreelanderUK wrote:One up on the roof I took various measurements and placed masking tape lines that extended down to the windows and across the sky lights , this gave reference points for measuring in side the van, I wanted all cables hidden so this required the cable to be behind the wardrobe panel which is doable with a bit of care the wardrobe rear top panel was moved.

Measure 3 times drill once

Yes Yes, I still came out in front of the locker! Not too bad as I used a very small drill bit and wife shouting STOP.
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Richard