Cable glands.

[4String.]

Can anyone recommend (or not...) some decent glands?

I've finally admitted to myself that I don't have the time, and more importantly don't have the energy, to sort out converting my van to a campervan, so I'm looking at having it insulated and lined by a local converter. Before I let them have it I need to install the internal cables and also the external ones. I'm intending to make a lightweight and low profile aluminium roof rack that will have a couple of solar panels on it as well as some marker lights on the rear of it (probably 5 red led's), extra reversing lights, low wattage led "work" lights above both sides, and possibly a light bar at the front.

Obviously need waterproof glands, IP68?, so are they all much of a muchness or are there good and bad? And as an aside, the van is a 66 plate Transit Custom "Trend" so are the electrics a pita when it comes to connecting more lights?

Much thanks, as always.

Martyn.

 

[GRW]

Internal wiring - I didn't want to bury wiring under all the insulation where you can't be sure where it is, if you'll snag it fitting furniture, how to access it if you had a fault etc.
I insulated most of my van first tbh - as I wanted to fit my sofa box & work out where to fit my habitat batteries & diesel heater (esp. The heater to ensure the exhaust & air inlet pipes wouldn't foul any chassis crossmembers etc). I ran my main internal feed cables up inside a vertical chassis frame pillar, then used the horizontal chassis voids in the top of the panels to distribute front & rear etc.

Extra external lights on something that recent I have no idea. I'm guessing there could be CANBUS or sensitive stuff that I don't know what you can get away with compared to conventional looms.

 

[Brad93]

WISKA

 

[Misterg]

Can anyone recommend (or not...) some decent glands?

I used a boat deck fitting for getting the solar wiring through the roof on ours:

(e.g. https://www.force4.co.uk/item/Index-Marine/Side-Entry-Twin-Cable-Gland-3-6mm-Cables/9NE but might pay to shop around.)





I routed flexible conduit up the B pillar from 'electrics corner' and inside the hollow sections of the body to various locations in the van before insulating, then pulled the wiring through afterwards. I went through about 75m of the stuff in a 5.6m long van! You need to think about how many cables you can fit through the conduit, as they fill up fast (and I ran any 240V stuff in separate conduits to the 12V stuff). I also ran some rigid conduit under the toilet floor, etc.







It was a squeeze getting everything wired (but then so is everything on a van conversion), but came out fairly neat in the end:





For things like 'work' lights, you can run these off the leisure electrics.

Best place to start is probably to sketch out what electric things you want where and work out what wire size they need, and whether you'll be running the negatives back to your fuse box, or grounding them to the bodywork locally. You'll then have an idea of how many cables need to run which way, and can start fathoming out how to get them there. (And put in some spares!)

 

[Agroshield]

The boating suggestion is a good one.

The best solution will depend on the number of individual cables and their diameter. Glands have a diameter range, so buying a family pack all the same size probably will not work.

Practically, for the LED lights, you need a positive and negative. If those two conductors are then further insulated by making them into a two core cable, one single gland will do. I guess with the solar it is two individual conductors.

 

[GRW]

I used a boat deck fitting for getting the solar wiring through the roof on ours:

(e.g. https://www.force4.co.uk/item/Index-Marine/Side-Entry-Twin-Cable-Gland-3-6mm-Cables/9NE but might pay to shop around.)





I routed flexible conduit up the B pillar from 'electrics corner' and inside the hollow sections of the body to various locations in the van before insulating, then pulled the wiring through afterwards. I went through about 75m of the stuff in a 5.6m long van! You need to think about how many cables you can fit through the conduit, as they fill up fast (and I ran any 240V stuff in separate conduits to the 12V stuff). I also ran some rigid conduit under the toilet floor, etc.







It was a squeeze getting everything wired (but then so is everything on a van conversion), but came out fairly neat in the end:





For things like 'work' lights, you can run these off the leisure electrics.

Best place to start is probably to sketch out what electric things you want where and work out what wire size they need, and whether you'll be running the negatives back to your fuse box, or grounding them to the bodywork locally. You'll then have an idea of how many cables need to run which way, and can start fathoming out how to get them there. (And put in some spares!)

Very nice & tidy!
My wiring isn't quite as neat (a task I have now it's all proven working is to tidy up the wiring off my 2 habitation batteries under the sofa).
I tried to simplify the wiring by having different distribution points.
So one main feed off the batts up the pillar to my Main Dis.
Main Dis has one feed for the Fridge, & one feed for the forward lighting panel which then splits & individually fuses all the 5 forward lighting circuits.
A third & a fourth feed head to the rear. One goes to all lighting & small power via a fused switch panel (cupboard lights, downlighters, USB's, extractor & pump isolator( wile the other is a Main feed to another mini fuse board (so rear worklights, garage/services lights etc).

AC of course entirely independent to sockets in garage & van, with an extra feed off for the mains charger.

 

[jimbo84]

Wiska are the brand leader.

Personally I wouldn't rely on a stuffing gland on the roof of a vehicle, it's going to leak, maybe not straight away but it will do eventually.

I'd use something like the boat deck fitting somebody mentioned above or drill through the roof and blind grommet it, bond an IP65 box to the roof over the hole and also with a good quality sealant seal the edges of the box where it meets the roof, bring the cables through the blind grommet into the box, out of the box via stuffing glands and then fill the box with gel. That way you've got 3 seals for water to get through before it finds its way through the hole in the roof and quietly rots the wood and insulation inside.

 

[addjunkie]

Wiska are the brand leader.

Personally I wouldn't rely on a stuffing gland on the roof of a vehicle, it's going to leak, maybe not straight away but it will do eventually.

I'd use something like the boat deck fitting somebody mentioned above or drill through the roof and blind grommet it, bond an IP65 box to the roof over the hole and also with a good quality sealant seal the edges of the box where it meets the roof, bring the cables through the blind grommet into the box, out of the box via stuffing glands and then fill the box with gel. That way you've got 3 seals for water to get through before it finds its way through the hole in the roof and quietly rots the wood and insulation inside.

It would be boat deck fittings for me too combined with a good sealant. Keep it simple.

 

[hotponyshoes]

Boat fittings are normally good but pricey.
Or not good and cheap.

Plastic Glands eventually crack on a vehicle due to temperature and vibration.
I use Lapp nickel plated brass ones on horseboxes for cables and also for running hoses through bulkheads etc.
They normally come in bags of 25 but I've got pretty much every size here if you only need a few