Nice write up, Mark.

Are you using a 1315 Sure Power Separator and are you going from the
alternator to the main or aux side of the separator?

Thanks,
Jeff / 87 Subie Syncro Westy
On Aug 5, 2009, at 2:30 PM, Automatic digest processor wrote:

> Date:    Wed, 5 Aug 2009 13:14:42 -0700
> From:    mark drillock <mdrillock@COX.NET>
> Subject: Vitrifrigo trip results, wiring, battery life, charging
> issues, etc
>
> Anne and I just returned to San Diego from a 3 week camping trip in
> the
> PNW area. Just before starting out I installed a Vitrifrigo in place
> of
> our working Dometic 182A. Due to time constraints I pretty much
> slapped
> it in and hoped for the best, making no changes to our existing aux
> battery setup other than new Group 48 batteries for both starting and
> aux positions. I realized this rushed install might bite me and
> eventually it did. I also brought one of those battery voltage
> display/alarms that plugged into the cig socket, planning to wire it
> directly to the aux battery at some point since it gave lower than
> true
> readings while plugged into the cig socket powered by the aux battery.
> After about a week on the road I knew I would HAVE to do something to
> improve the battery charging. The battery voltage would drop lower and
> lower each night, rising some of the way back up during driving each
> day. Finally one night the fridge stopped running because the battery
> was too low.
>
> I stopped at that retail giant we love/hate and bought a set of 8
> gauge
>  battery booster cables and a roll of solder as well as a pocket
> butane
> torch. I stopped at a NAPA and bought a pack of ring terminals, 5/16"
> for 6 gauge wire and an extra 8mm nut and washer. Then we headed off
> to
> camp where we were meeting friends at the SyncroSafari near Mt St
> Helens. That night the battery voltage again dropped too low, though
> we
> had driven for several hours during the day. I had to fix this and
> soon.
>
> As a test step I cut the giant battery clamp off one end of one
> booster
> cable and crimped on a ring terminal. Then I attached it to the
> alternator stud using the extra nut and washer. I ran the cable on the
> ground around the driver side of the van, extending it with the other
> cable so it would reach the battery under the driver seat. First I
> started the engine and revved it a bit to get a voltage reading at the
> cig socket. Then I connected the far end booster cable clamp to the
> positive post of the battery. The voltage reading jumped by .7
> volts, a
> good sign, and I could hear the alternator belt chirping a little
> under
> the load, another good sign. I let the engine run a few minutes and
> the
> voltage slowly increased as the batteries charged. Even with two 12
> foot
> booster cables connected end to end there was enough increase in
> charging current to make a huge improvement at the batteries. Time to
> make a more permanent fix.
>
> I borrowed a 1/2" battery powered drill and a grommet from some Syncro
> friends and installed the new wire. I cut the booster clamps off,
> put a
> ring terminal on the battery box end, drilled a hole in the bottom of
> the battery box, installed the grommet, pushed the cable down through
> the hole and put the battery back. Under the van I routed and zip tied
> the cables into place, working from each end of the vehicle until the
> cables reached each other in an easy to work in space. Then I cut off
> the excess length, stripped and wove the copper strands together, and
> soldered the joint with a small butane torch. A little electrical
> tape,
> and all done.
>
>
> The bottom line of this is that the nightly draining of the aux
> battery
> by the Vitrifrigo brought to the fore an existing weakness in the
> charging path. Even driving for 4 or 5 hours in daylight did not
> sufficiently recharge the deeply drained battery. The addition of a
> new
> 8 gauge wire from the alternator to the separator relay corrected
> this.
> We had no further problems with the battery voltage dropping too low
> during the night and the voltage came back up higher and much quicker
> while driving.
>
> As to replacing the propane capable Dometic with the electric only
> Vitrifrigo, the jury is still out. The fridge is nicer in every way
> but
> will need a larger battery capacity installed before it can be used
> for
> more than a day or 2 without driving.
>
> Anne and I have since talked about various additions to help out the
> battery capacity. We noted that virtually none of the campsites we
> stayed in would have worked with a solar panel. I may still install
> one
> for our Baja trips as there is plenty of sun there on the beach.
>
> Mark