12V 20Amp Regulator???

ste2006

I am looking for what I would have thought would be a standard off the shelf component but cannot find anywhere. I have a range of accessories I am fitting off a second battery in my van but some of them are quite sensitive to having 12V power (LED Lights etc).

Once I switch on the van and the alternator starts the voltage rises on my batteries to about 14V (Charging) which I have successfully already blown my LED Lights with (Forgot they were on). Now I know this is going to happen to me again and I have a few other items such as 12V TV to connect etc. so I do not want to damage these either.

To cut a long story short I am looking for a 12V Regulator rated at approx 20Amps. I really just want to reduce Voltage and am not worried about dips as I start the Van etc but I need to regulate the voltage to a constant 12V and smooth out ripples etc.

I know I can design and build a circuit using some Capacitors and Power Transistors etc but for the sake of time and tidiness I would like to buy an off the shelf item but cannot find one anywhere.

So does anyone know of a 15 or 20Amp 12V regulator I could buy off the shelf??

Thanks,

101sean

I'll shift this over to the Motorhomes forum, they'll be more likely to know straight off.

101sean

Ooops, already posted here, could one of the mods remove the duplicate post.

niloc1951

I have one of THESE. Its 70 watt output is loads for a TV and LED lights, my 19" TV/DVD combo only uses 60 watts max when running a DVD, a non DVD unit will only need about 35 watts.
LED's only need less than 3 watts. Depending on the consumption of the TV the unit above should have ample surplus to run a bunch of LED's.

That said, your charging shouldn't be blowing your LED's, assuming they are for the leisure vehicle / boating market, as they should be compatible with the normal charging voltages. I have all LED's (15) and have had no bother, my charging voltage is set to go as high as 14.8V.

Aidan_M_M

I've seen this on some factory builds , and rather than regulating the voltage , there was a resistor fitted to the line feeding the power to the bulbs .

ste2006

Thanks for the replies guys, No nothing i have is designed for campers,

Its a self build and everything is custom down to the last detail, I have just started designing a nice touchscreen system to control everything including monitoring voltages etc etc,

Just thought i might get something to do this off the shelf as i like small electronics and programming as opposed to Power Analogue Circuits but no matter,

I have lots of interesting plans for new devices and 70 Watts max would be limited to just under 6 Amps which is a little low for what i want but thanks for the advice,

spaceHopper

Not sure if you will find something better off the shelf, and making something it would need to be a switcher regulator or at best a LDO regulator, if your battery was low say 12Volts then a linear regulator would drop out

defike

Hi I also wondered about this and I wondered if a 12v regulator off a motorbike would be any use.You'd get them cheap from a breakers.

Tow

This is only 10Amps (and in New Zealand!) but something like it would do the job : http://www.ebay.ie/itm/12-VOLT-120W-REGULATOR-PROTECT-MOTORHOME-TV-SR12120-/260948526083?pt=UK_Campervan_Caravan_Accessories&hash=item3cc1be8403
or
http://www.ebay.ie/itm/DC-Voltage-Stabilizer-DC-8-40v-Regulate-12v-6A-72W-DC-Regulator-/260949721154?pt=UK_BOI_Electrical_Test_Measurement_Equipment_ET&hash=item3cc1d0c042

The likes of a motorbike/car regulator are too crude and regulate the alternator voltage down to around 14v, which is the OP's original problem. While a basic 12 regulator would prob a need input 15V+ deliver 12v output.

ste2006

Thanks for these guys,

Better than i could find, Shame they are not in Ireland or the UK as its a long way to ship back if there is any fault,

What sort of leds are you running? If they're strips with drivers it's easy enough to get drivers with a 12v-24v tolerance. I can send you links.
I've a few dichroic downlighters too which don't seem to mind 14.4v (although they're not so happy on a transformer...I think that's a circuit issue though)
If you need 20amps have you considered using two of the devices niloc posted on seperate lines?

ste2006

Talking to some more people since and they reckon a DC-DC Converter is what i want,

Ill look into it and post up if i find something useful,

paddyp

14V definitely shouldn't be blowing your leds, probably just cheap chinese ****e ones run at way too high a forward current.

As an aside smart alternators will happily go to 15.75V if the temperature is low enough though which is fine for the cold battery under the bonnet but may not be good for the warm leisure batteries inside.

CharlieZeroOne

everything, - everything is Chinese.

this might be of some use to you

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DC-Voltage-Dropper-24-volt-12-volt-10-amp-max-Audio-Accessory-/250993644483?pt=UK_Cars_Parts_Vehicles_Other_Vehicle_Parts_Accessories_ET&hash=item3a706313c3#ht_500wt_994

Has anyone noticed the correlation of Europeans buying everything from china on ebay, and the chineese having enough wealth to settle Europe's debt? In their defense a lot of it is cheap chineese quality too.