Dometic 3.5Kw Travel Pack

[Emer]

Hello All!

 

Does anyone know anything about this travel pack? We have one on our new boat and there has been no light - green, red or otherwise - or any other evidence of it working for the past month. It was supposed to charge the battery bank quicker and we were assured by the boat builder that we would have ample power for our needs but this is not the case.

 

Any suggestions as to what may be wrong with it would be greatly appreciated.

 

Emer

[Ernie]

Hi Emer,

 

I have an Electrolux travel pack on my boat, the original owner had it fitted from new. I believe they are generally supplied with the engine as the engine needs mods in order to drive the high voltage alternator that is (on my boat) driven from a belt about an inch wide.

 

My travel pack works fine. It is rated at 3.5kW. I have never fully loaded it but I have a washer dryer on board and it runs that with no problems.

 

If you have a new boat, I would go straight back to the supplier.

 

Regards

Ernie

[Emer]

Hi Ernie,

 

Electrolux was the one we were supposed to get. We just need the boat builder to pick up the phone now so that we can sort this out - he has been avoiding us for the past month! The boat's only 2 months old.

 

Thanks a million for responding.

 

Emer.

[Golden Duck]

Hi Emer,

 

We have one. In essence its an AC generator attached by belt to the engine.

It was once described to me as a "strap-on generator" !!!

The unit on the engine looks like a large alternator. The electronics box is a silver

bulkhead mounted unit with a switch and a LED light.

It effectively produces 230V mains when the engine is running. It won't charge the

battery as such but it can produce a mains supply to drive your charger, which will

of course charge the batteries. However, if your engine is running, then your

alternator will also be doing that at DC ??

 

I suggest you quiz your builder about how they are wiring it up so that you understand

how the two things are inter-related.

 

Our drawings are pretty pants so we still cannot fully understand if there is some form of

interlock to stop the batteries being charged by both simultaneously which doesn't sound

very healthy.

 

We use our Electrolux Travel Power (the proper name I think) to drive the washing machine and tumble dryer when needed.

 

When we switch it on, the green light comes on and if we have an electric kettle on, you can hear the

engine pitch change with the load. If you push the rocker switch the other way, the light goes out and the engine breathes a sigh of relief

 

Hope this helps.

 

Hello All!

 

Does anyone know anything about this travel pack? We have one on our new boat and there has been no light - green, red or otherwise - or any other evidence of it working for the past month. It was supposed to charge the battery bank quicker and we were assured by the boat builder that we would have ample power for our needs but this is not the case.

 

Any suggestions as to what may be wrong with it would be greatly appreciated.

 

Emer

[Gary Peacock]

Have a look and make sure the belt is still on the alternator.

 

Electrolux used to market them followed by Dometic but they are actually a Siemens VDO product.

 

There was a batch of faulty rocker switches on these units a couple of years ago so you might be unlucky and have been supplied one of those, but it is very easy for the builder to rectify.

 

A pound to a penny the unit will have been supplied by the engine manufacturer and if so the warranty lies with them so you could cut out the builder and go direct to them.

[Ernie]

Following on from Gary's advise to check the belt...

 

A couple of months back, my Electrolux stopped working abruptly. The bolt holding the alternator on the engine which is 9mm thick suddenly sheared for no apparent reason. The alternator adjustment bracket also sheared off due to the bolt fracturing. The alternator was left hanging onto the engine by the last remaining bolt. When I contacted the engine supplier, they mentioned that they had seen this a few times before and sent me a replacement set of bolts and a thicker mounting bracket - free of charge. As Gary suggested, check that the alternator is still in place and turning.

 

Regards

Ernie

[Emer]

Thanks everyone - finally got hold of the builder and he's supposed to come over next week (there are a few other teething problems that he has to look at too). Alternator belt has been checked and it's fine so the wiring and chances are that rocker switch are the problem. Hopefully he'll sort everything out next week!

 

Thanks for all the help!

 

Emer.