Installing a 20 Amp DC Power Supply

[Campmobile Chris74]

I inherited a few of these Tripp-Lite PR20 DC power supplies. I think I might be able to use this in the Westy but I wanted to ask the forum first.

Converts 110VAC to 14VDC 20 Amp Max Current

My thoughts are that I would use this when I am parked and hooked up to shore power. Ideally I would like to wire this in to the Westfalia’s existing electrical circuits so that I could power the interior lights, water pump, fridge, radio and recharge my battery. But I’m not sure how to go about accomplishing this or if it’s even possible.
My second thought is to create a whole new electrical circuit separate from the Westy’s. The separate circuit would have its own fuse panel, 12V lights and accessories.
So here are my questions:

1. The output of the power supply is 14VDC. Is that too much voltage for 12VDC lights and accessories.

2. Will the excessive voltage cause them to heat up and burn out or worse catch on fire?

3. Can I wire it in to the existing electrical system of the Westfalia?

I can test this out on my own but I wanted to get the forum's opinion before I go out and start spending money on this thing.
Here’s a link to the spec sheet
Thanks
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[Mal evolent]

that is a very good electronics power supply. kind of a waste to use it on a water pump, but nothing wrong with that

12 volts is what they call it, but it is actually 13.8 volts. most electronic equipment is fine with 11 - 16 volts.
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[busdaddy]

That will work as you propose but you'll need a timer or something to regulate the charging time or you'll boil the sh*t out of your battery, you also may need a diode or relay incase current can flow back and drain the battery when it's unplugged.

You may be better off selling it on Ebay or CL and buying a dedicated RV/marine power converter that does all that automatically.
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[telford dorr]

X2 on likely needing the diode: many power supplies have a big problem if connected to a battery and their input power is removed. Connect a test light between the power supply and the house battery. If it lights when the AC power to the supply is removed, then the supply is unusable without an isolation diode. If the light does not light, then substitute a milliammeter in place of the light, and measure the reverse current draw by the power supply's voltage sense circuitry, as it may be significant. Again, a diode will fix this if it is.

If you install a diode, it needs to be a big honker, enough to handle the full output current of the power supply. Alternator diodes work well, but you'll have to fab your own press-fit mount for it.
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[chazz79]

I did just this with a six amp version and cooked it. I still have the leads and diode set up to add something simular back in later but a self regulating source would be more suitable.

Without a diode the bus will backfeed and burn up the power supply.
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[SGKent]

you don't want to charge your battery with that. Just wire in a circuit so things like the fridge, stereo run off it when parked. The fewer the better. You can run 120V lights, laptop all those things when you have power. Just use a single pole double throw center off switch so that the position is convertor, off or car. That way you can minimize surges by flipping it to the off position for 10 seconds or so before you flip it to the car battery. Your car battery won't be run down if all you aren't pulling from it when you are parked and running off AC, what need would there be to charge it?
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[Vince Waldon]

Running lights etc will probably be ok but I'd suggest checking the current draw on the fridge... it may be pretty close to 20 amps all on its own.

[Campmobile Chris74]

Thanks for the input all I think I have a game plan. I get the diode thing ( it allows current to flow in one direction only) but what t.d. is saying (big diode - prefabbing) it sounds like a lot of work. So cross that one of my list - No to recharging my battery with the DC power supply. Which also means I won't be connecting the P/S to the Westy's electrical circuit.

The more I think about it, the more I think it doesn't make much sense to lug this around with me when I camp. When I'm hooked up to shore power I can just use AC power to run the lights and radio. I've gotten by this long without draining my battery and I camp mostly at designated RV sites so I'm never too far off the grid.

But I haven't ruled the P/S out totally. I'm going to take a trip to the local RV store and see what 12V accessories are out there. If I do use this thing it will be wired to its own circuit. What I want to make sure is that I use the correct gauge wires and correct fuses. I'll will probably mock up an electrical circuit with a fuse panel and the SPDT toggle Steve mentioned in the garage and see if anything smokes.
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[chazz79]

I can't remember the diode I used but it was @2.00 for the pack of five at radio shack. The diameter was @1/4 and it was sufficient. Most of my damage was done prediode as I had hooked this up and noticed a buzzing while off. The little diode proved sufficient tho make it work but my damage was done and the power supply was short lived.
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