Autoterm Heater & Powerstation Connection.

[T6VanLife]

I am about to pull the trigger on installing a dedicated Autoterm Heater under the drivers seat, but due to the nature of my fully modular camper the heater needs to be easily connected/disconnected from my AC70 PowerStation.
The following diagram is my current setup, I just need to wire the heater to the fuse box with a removable connector of some sort.

AC70 PowerStation ----240v---- Victron Bluesmart 12v 30amp converter ----12v---- 6 way fuse box ---- Removable Connector ? ---- Autoterm Heater.

The biggest problem I have is making an easy, reliable and very neat connection from the heater to the fuse box (in bold).
These would be ideal: Blue Sea Systems Weatherproof 12V Plugs & Sockets | 12 Volt Planet

They are Neat & Tidy, have twist lock and are rated for 10-15amps, but my concern is are these connectors actually man enough to to power the heater on its startup/shutdown phase ?

I know the heater pulls 30W when running at full power but it will pull a lot more than that on startup, which is why I am doing it from the 240v end on the PowerStation and converting it to 12v via the Victron, Autoterm dont say just how much power/amps the heater uses on startup on any of their literature.

 

[Dellmassive]

You could also use a SB50 Anderson connector.

The autoterm pulls up to 15A on startup and shutdown.

Then 1A when running.

 

[T6VanLife]

I looked at the SB50 Andersons and their still an option but they need a 6mm cable for the terminals which seems utter overkill and their not the best looking of things ! I have used them before on winches for the Argo & Quad.

So would the above Blue Sea connectors with a 2.5mm cable be able to take the 15amp draw for 3-4mins while the heater spools up ?

These Plugs & Sockets were my second choice as their rated to 20amps IP67 Waterproof 2-Pin Panel Mount Connector Plug (12/24V DC, 20A)
But the problem with these is the socket sticks out by about 20mm and the twist lock is on the external side of the socket which is going to cause a major ball ache where I need to fit them and gives me other problems !

 

[T6 Syd]

Hi, I'm in the process of doing the same set-up. Is yours up and running ok from the power station and Victron 30A 12v smart charger as a power supply?

 

[T6VanLife]

Hi, I'm in the process of doing the same set-up. Is yours up and running ok from the power station and Victron 30A 12v smart charger as a power supply?

Hi @T6 Syd, at this moment in time I haven't gotten round to buying & installing the Autoterm in the van yet, but I have tested the Bluetti AC70 with the Victron 30A Charger/Power supply setup with a cheap 5Kw Chinese diesel heater that I use in my summer house and it works perfectly so I don't see any reason why it wouldn't work with the Autoterm as the both operate from a 12v DC supply.

Having tested it and looked at the data on the Victron App the 5Kw Chinese heater pulls 9Amps on startup peaking briefly at 11amps for about 20 seconds which then drops to
0.8 - 3.4 Amps when running on low to high heat.

I still haven't decided which connector to use yet, I ordered both the above 10A Blue Sea type and the 20A plug and socket which arrived yesterday to see what works best. it will be the weekend before I get a chance to see what's going to work best. I will post an update once test things out.

 

[T6 Syd]

Thanks for the detailed information. I was wondering whether I could get away with the 20A Victron charger, but I'll go with the 30A for the safety factor. My concern was the reaction time of the charger as a power supply, whether there would be a lag before it delivered which would drop the voltage and shut the heater down before it starts. From what you say that probably won't be an issue, although the Chinese heater looks to have a lower start up current.

It will be a while before I get mine connected, as I haven't bought the charger yet.

I may try it with the standard 12v 'cigarette lighter' type connector, as you say that is more convenient.

 

[T6VanLife]

Well the Autoterm is only 2kw so I would assume it has a smaller initial draw then my 5Kw Chinese heater, but maybe not ?
the Blue Sea plug is rated at 10A and the socket 15A so the plug is running just right on the limits of the Chinese heaters startup cycle. I would love to use it as I have only a tiny space to put the socket in and it would be the ideal solution, but for safety headroom I can see me fitting the 20A socket which is going to be a real squeeze and might not even be possible find out at the weekend..............................

 

[T6 Syd]

I have mine installed now. It runs fine off the 30A smart charger in power supply mode. I actually also have the solar output from an mppt controller feeding into the output circuit and on the sunny day I was testing it the solar provided all the running power after the initial start up phase. The smart charger kicked in when required. I only saw the smart charger output go to 10 or 11 Amps, but I don't know what the solar was contributing at that time.

My next quandary is that I will not have the smart charger powered all the time but the solar output will be present as it is used on that circuit through an Ablemail to top up the vehicle battery. So, without the power station or EHU connected, that circuit will only see power when the solar is working and may or may not maintain the Autoterm heater stand-by power. The Autoterm may be subject to frequent shut down and re-powering during the day, off all night. Not sure whether that will cause it any harm, can't think that it will be good for it.

I could power the heater permanently through the starter battery, hoping that the Ablemail and solar keeps it topped up, but would be at risk of draining the starter battery when I use the heater to pre-heat inside the van on a cold morning. When camping and not going for a drive I'd have to have a way of switching the heater into the power station system.

 

[T6VanLife]

Hi Syd, glad you got it all installed, I am still trying to find the time to get mine finished off !
Your system sounds a lot more complicated than mine ! I assume you don't have any other leisure battery's, only the PowerStation & EHU ?

 

[T6 Syd]

Yes, only the power station. Having had time to watch it, the heater panel powers up and down very frequently on the solar, so I’m going to add a relay to inhibit the heater unless the power station or hookup are connected. Don’t think I dare run the heater off the starter battery!

 

[NB1]

I'll add this to the thread as it might help someone ! I wanted an air heater for my T6.1 and had a few quotes for a Webasto plus leisure battery of around 4000 € fitted in Berlin. This was a bit more than I wanted to pay so went the diy route ! Decided on the Autoterm 2kw as reviews and recommendations were ok. The fitting under the van was straight forward although time consuming as I didn't have a ramp and had the van was raised only 20 cm. (Any competent diyer could fit one). The Autoterm cost 650 € with the the Vw fitting Kit and original vw venting for the B post. Instead of the second battery I went for the portable power station . I chose the AFERIY AF P210 (2048wh) simply because it has a 12v 25A output which meant I can plug the heater directly without going to the AC side and because it has a 7 year guarantee . It cost 699€. I've just spent 6 nights in the van in the Alps with a nighttime temp of 2c and can make these observations :
The Aferiy is very quiet and could not be heard unlike the heater which takes some getting used to! The light clicking of the fuel pump is loud when you are alone on a silent mountain. I will try and wrap with sound insulation. The heater heats ! The first night I switched it on without setting the thermostat and woke up because it was too hot and when I looked it had reached 35c withe 3 windows open about 2cm. I found it better not to use the Thermostat as the cutting in and out of the heater and air fan was more disturbing than when the heater was on constant at its lowest setting. It is great to have 240v for a kettle, espresso and for charging the e bike ! On a long winter night the heater used 12% of the power station battery, so should be good for 6/7 nights without recharging. Anyone considering a power station should make there own decision as there are many different pluses and negatives with every make.If anyone wishes to know the the start up and running amps used by the heater Im happy to go and switch on and read from the power station . My next thoughts will be on the 500w solar charging as at the moment I only have the mains charger or 100w car .

 

[Dannyb6467]

Just catching up on this thread...I have a Ecoflow Delta Max 2 with an 800w alternator charger. I run the 4kw Autoterm using the van battery. The alternator charger has a "Battery Maintenance" feature whereby the Ecoflow supplies power very slowly to the power being drawn from the vehicle battery and as long as the Ecoflow has charge, the van battery stays at the same voltage and the Ecoflow loses approx 15% of its power during early evening to late morning warming. No scientific data but my general observation during the ladt 12 months.