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pjstock
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Joined: November 07, 2017
Posts: 118
Location: toronto, Ontario
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 Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2018 3:18 pm Post subject: Q4: Power supply 1995 Westfalia camper |
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next question.
what's the story with the power input and out put on this European 1995 T4 Transporter with Westfalia kit?
I have never been to a campground with ... what is it called?... power supply? hookup?
Anyway, what do North American power hookups look like? what kind of power do they offer?
My camper has this socket on the outside:
and it has a 220V socket on the inside. (which is obviously fairly useless )
Does this internal socket only function when hooked up to an external power supply?
So what modifications should I be thinking of for North American use? (besides solar panels, which is under consideration, but is a seperate project) |
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fxr
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Joined: December 07, 2014
Posts: 2315
Location: Bay area CA
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| Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2018 4:50 pm Post subject: Re: Q4: Power supply 1995 Westfalia camper |
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| pjstock wrote: |
next question.
what's the story with the power input and out put on this European 1995 T4 Transporter with Westfalia kit?
I have never been to a campground with ... what is it called?... power supply? hookup?
Anyway, what do North American power hookups look like? what kind of power do they offer?
My camper has this socket on the outside:
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That is a 16A Commando plug. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEC_60309
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and it has a 220V socket on the inside. (which is obviously fairly useless )
Does this internal socket only function when hooked up to an external power supply?
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Almost certainly. I doubt very much there would be an inverter fitted.
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So what modifications should I be thinking of for North American use? (besides solar panels, which is under consideration, but is a seperate project) |
I'd leave the external plug alone, and make up a patch cord: 3-pin US type to Commando socket. - almost certainly you'll want a 'blue' socket. Internally just change out the EU socket with a US one. All fuses and breakers etc can probably stay the same, though they may be lower current than you'd might wish.
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Jim Crowther
1984 1.9l EJ22 Westy Wolfsburg Edition
Vespa GTS 300 |
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Gruppe B
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Joined: January 16, 2007
Posts: 1331
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| Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2018 5:02 pm Post subject: Re: Q4: Power supply 1995 Westfalia camper |
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| fxr wrote: |
Almost certainly. I doubt very much there would be an inverter fitted.
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Be very careful, Westfalia installed both 120v to 12v inverters and 220v to 12v inverters on the T4 and Westfalia Sprinter James Cook. Do not just replace the 220v plugs with 120v without confirming the wiring.
The Eurovan Westfalia has a compressor fridge onboard that runs off battery power. Westfalia installed an inverter power supply and battery maintainer to keep the Eurovan batteries happy when parked.
Busdepot used to sell this accessory to the Vanagon crowd years ago before the supply ran out. There was a few threads on the part here as well. |
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Gruppe B
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fxr
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Joined: December 07, 2014
Posts: 2315
Location: Bay area CA
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| Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2018 5:56 pm Post subject: Re: Q4: Power supply 1995 Westfalia camper |
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Thanks for stating that - though I'd call a 120 - 12V device a charger (or converter) not an inverter. Inverters do the 'inverse' - they step the voltage up rather than the usual stepping down. Chargers (going from say 220V to 12V) normally are dual voltage these days aren't they? Perhaps back in '95 they still had transformers in them rather than being switch-mode.
But yes, check for that!
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Jim Crowther
1984 1.9l EJ22 Westy Wolfsburg Edition
Vespa GTS 300 |
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MsTaboo
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Joined: June 02, 2006
Posts: 4082
Location: East Kootenay, British Columbia
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| Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2018 9:41 pm Post subject: Re: Q4: Power supply 1995 Westfalia camper |
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This thread belongs on the Eurovan forum!
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Currently:
'90 Syncro Westy 3 knob w/Zetec
The information age has morphed into the age of disinformation and willful ignorance. Agnotology!
Help the fight against Truth Decay.
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Zeitgeist 13
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Joined: March 05, 2009
Posts: 12114
Location: Port Manteau
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| Posted: Sun Mar 11, 2018 12:12 am Post subject: Re: Q4: Power supply 1995 Westfalia camper |
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Harrumph, this is an outrage!
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Casey--
'89 Bluestar ALH w/12mm Waldo pump, PP764 and GT2052
'01 Weekender --> full camper
y u rune klassik? |
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MsTaboo
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Location: East Kootenay, British Columbia
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| Posted: Sun Mar 11, 2018 12:39 pm Post subject: Re: Q4: Power supply 1995 Westfalia camper |
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| Zeitgeist 13 wrote: |
| Harrumph, this is an outrage! |
Why? Moving this question from the Vanagon forum to here where it belongs helps the low posting rate!
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Currently:
'90 Syncro Westy 3 knob w/Zetec
The information age has morphed into the age of disinformation and willful ignorance. Agnotology!
Help the fight against Truth Decay.
Defend democracy, support Ukraine. |
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pjstock
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Joined: November 07, 2017
Posts: 118
Location: toronto, Ontario
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| Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2018 3:11 pm Post subject: Re: Q4: Power supply 1995 Westfalia camper |
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so, if a north american campsite has 110v service and I plugged that via a patch cord inito the van, would that not send 110v power to the socket on the interior?
Or is it not that simple? |
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Joshwa
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Location: North Seattle WA
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cap2
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Joined: June 04, 2020
Posts: 4
Location: Seattle, USA
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| Posted: Tue Jul 07, 2020 9:57 pm Post subject: Re: Q4: Power supply 1995 Westfalia camper |
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I know this post is old, but for the benefit of anyone else who needs this info:
The battery charger below the fridge in my '95 Canadian Westfalia says on it that it takes input from 110 -- 220, same as many electronics sold globally these days.
If this is true of yours, you should be able to just use simple US <==> european adapters without doing any power conversion yourself: the battery charger will properly convert either 110. or 220 correctly to charge the battery. The power outlet in your photo is just a direct pass-thru from the shore power, so if you plug into 110 at the campground, you will get 110 from the european socket inside the van. |
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