Anderson SB50 coloured plugs and chassis mounts

dhardyuk

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Hi everyone

I’m starting to get myself organised with my T6 Caravelle and putting together the bits and bobs that I want to include whilst I’m waiting for my Reimo pop top to be scheduled and fitted (in November if the schedule at the workshop holds)

I have decided that I’m going to standardise on the Anderson SB50 connectors for the majority of the connections in the leisure battery side, including a pair of blue SB50 connections for external solar panels.

Looking at the various types of chassis brackets I have found the ones I like most are from Trailer Vision in Australia.


They make them in red, black, blue and yellow. I’ve found the black ones on eBay from a UK seller for £8 but the blue ones are only available from Oz for £15 + £25 shipping + £duty + £vat + £fees etc.

I’ve asked the UK seller if they could get me a couple of blue ones and thought I would ask here if anyone was as pedantic as me and wanted a blue chassis mount that could be used with a standard grey, red, blue, yellow or any other colour SB50 you wanted (with the caveat that the coloured plugs generally only mate with the same colour).

My plan is to have a leisure battery outlet on each side under the sliding doors alongside a blue solar panel inlet for one or more folding panels. It’s not the end of the world if I have to use black chassis mounts with the blue plugs, but think of the possibilities!!

I’m going a little (!!) overboard as I also want to put a higher current Anderson connector somewhere on the front of the van for jumpleads (I know, it’s not a recovery truck) it’s a little scratching of a neatness itch I’ve had for a long time.

Don’t be shy, who wants to jump in with me?
 
i love an Anderson plug.

I've used RED, GREY, BLACK . . . ( seen the BLUE too )

The AUZ guys use Anderson for Solar more oftern . . . but as you say the different colours normaly mate with earch other . .


so its best to get different colours for different jobs.

i personally use MC4 for the solar side.


They do a 150A version for the the front . . . . its massive.


.............


Anderson is the Original manufacturer . . . . but you can find loads of cloans online in the UK.

the main difference i have found is in the pin design . . . ie what gauge cable will fit and how hard it is to crimp. ( some will have smaller openings etc)

so i normally but a few selections from different placed.

+++++



example.



1653971797514.png



and







1653971848693.png
 
why not try SB50 Grey like normal for power and SB50 RED for Solar?

@VanDamMan has this arrangement.
 
It’s a proper rabbit hole once you start looking


1653975848789.jpeg1653975943002.jpeg1653976017606.jpeg1653976192810.jpeg
[edited to shrink the dimensions of the images]
 
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I bought some panel mounts for a UPS project I did that were 3D printed plastic, they were for the 30A version anderson's but might that be an option if you can find a maker somewhere that can do them in different colours?
 
@Skyliner33


Those links... The red is a 50A sb50.

But the Blue is a much larger 120/150A version. ( Also available on Amazon etc....)

Any chance of another look, but for a UK based sb50 50A blue?
 
£6.85 2 blue SB50 connectors with terminals on eBay from Torberry

Its the chassis mount covers with the spring door I'm struggling to find in the UK.
1653983794362.png
 
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@dhardyuk - Bit of an old post I know, but did you ever manage to source the chassis mount SB50 covers with the spring doors in the UK?

I'm looking to do very similar to you and have settled on the same connectors, with the same nice spring loaded covers/mounts. Only problem is the spring loaded covers only seem available in Australia. I can't even find the black ones now that you previously located.
Thanks in advance.

 
@campkingnewbie the UK seller I found was useless. They are the UK agent for the product but never shipped me anything I bought on eBay from them and never properly quoted me for anything I asked about.

To be frank I tried escalating with them and got nowhere. Eventually I was poking the CEO of their American parent company on LinkedIn which I’ve never done before and he was as useless as the rest of them.

eBay refunded all my money after a month.

PM me if you want the detail of company names etc. it’s 2 uk companies and a seller on eBay that is a shop front for both companies. I am interested in getting some blue SB50 spring covers and a black SB175 & black SB350 but will resort to 3D printing my own if it’s too expensive to ship the oem ones.

I have family in New Zealand coming over in December (for a lockdown funeral part 2 scattering) so I’m going to investigate getting stuff shipped via them but I’m not overly hopeful it’ll work out.

Happy to collaborate on getting these modelled and printed if you want to give it a go. Be really helpful if someone was able to help with the modelling side as my skills are better than rudimentary, but not by much :cool:
 
@dhardyuk - Many thanks for the update.
It's a real shame - those spring covers are just about the best mount / cover combo I've seen for the Anderson connectors. Can't believe they are not more popular in the UK.
I'm also thinking I will resort to trying to design and print something similar. My CAD skills are probably not up to the job and it will take me quite a while to get anywhere with a design but I can print out prototypes to test and modify repeatedly. If I do have any success, I'd be happy to share the files so you can modify/print your own.
 
OK, back in the room ;)

I've tinkercadded the main body of the SB350 mounting a bit to debulk it:

t725.png

3D design SB350-mounting | Tinkercad

I'm going to separate the lid hinge from the body and rework the whole thing from a disc into a couple of options for surface mounting etc.. It's probably going to take a me a while to get the time together to work on it so feel free to use and abuse what I've done so far. :cool:
 
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