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