There is a new power management system available for Australian caravans. It’s called the Powersync 3680 RV Management Hub and it’s by HiTech, a business in Cambellfield, Vic, that’s closely aligned with caravan manufacturing. The Powersync system is an all-in-one charging and power management unit with the potential to streamline your life on the road.
I had the opportunity to come to grips with this system when I took out the Hilltop Mawson. This van was equipped with the full HiTech suite of gear, which also includes a television, a 4G wi-fi hotspot and a 4G antenna mounted permanently to the roof of the van.
Let me walk you through how the Powersync system works and what it does – you might decide it’s the right choice for your next van.
HITECH POWER MANAGEMENT
The nerve centre of the Powersync 3680 RV Management Hub incorporates three main components: a three-in-one charger, a 2600W pure sine wave inverter, and the central controller. These components are mounted on the one board for installation inside the van, and work hand in hand to provide seamless battery charging and monitoring. But that’s not all: built into the system is the ability to control the van’s 12V circuits, whether it’s the lights inside and outside the van, or even the power to the rangehood or fridge.
I was tasked to explore the system, to develop a feel for how it works and to imagine how I would integrate it with my daily life on the road. But first, a little. more about what it entails.
The central control module, known as the HT-2560 – is what controls the lighting and other 12V circuits. It supports up to 10 lights, two water pumps, provides six 10A and four 15A AC outputs, as well a one 30A and two 20A outputs for particularly heavy loads.
It also provides temperature monitoring, with indoor and outdoor sensors part of the kit. Further, there’s a shunt sensor to track the current flow and power usage, water sensors to keep tabs on water tank levels (both fresh and grey), and inverter/charger monitoring.
If this sounds complicated, the supplied touch panel/digital display screen and accompanying app, HiTech Connect, make perfect sense of everything. The central control module ‘talks’ to both and lays out the information concerning your battery state of charge and any load on the battery in a clear way.
Both the app and display screen also serve as a way to switch the lights on and off, and to deliver power – or shut it off – to individual 12V circuits. Picture laying in bed, scrolling your phone, when you realise you’v left the van’s rear work light on. No need to get up! Simply open the app, push a button, and the light will go off. It’s the same with the water pump(s). Are you the type to turn yours off overnight, in case the pump decides to kick in and wake you up? I am. I rather like the idea of being able to do that from bed!
After some exploration, I came to terms with the Powersync’s touch panel and found it to be uncomplicated and convenient. You can customise the names given to the various circuits and light switches, too. The app is just as intuitive; further, once you’ve downloaded it from the App Store or Google Play store, it’s just a case of scanning a QR code to pair your device – I had no hassles. Both the app and the touchscreen display provided at-a-glance information about the battery state of charge, the ambient temperature, the load on the battery, as well as the amps going back into the battery, whether via the solar panels, AC or DC-DC.
CHARGER AND INVERTER
The HT-ADS31 is a DC-DC charger providing up to 60A of input off the vehicle’s alternator. It’s an AC charger that can provide up to 40A. And it’s also an MPPT solar regulator providing up to 60A.
This unit, which is mounted to the same board as the central control unit, automatically selects the best power input, and will prioritise solar if available. The MPPT solar regulator will automatically switch to 15V fixed voltage if current drops below 2A.
The HiTech battery charger supports all the main battery profiles: lead-acid; AGM/gel; calcium; and lithium. It has four modes: trickle charging; constant current charging; constant voltage charging’ and float charging. Over-voltage and input reverse polarity protections are included too.
Then there’s the 2600W pure sine wave inverter, which converts 12V DC power into usable AC power for your domestic appliances, such as a coffee machine and toaster, and it will also power some RV air-conditioners, depending on their current draw, of course. That said, this inverter does deliver surge/peak power up to 5200W.
The idea behind the Powersync RV Management System is to provide a fully integrated energy solution for the van – which it does. After a few minutes of playing with the touchscreen and the app, I was hooked. And I don’t mind admitting that since my phone barely leaves my pocket, the app became a convenient way to operate all of the lights inside the Hilltop Mawson.
But there’s a couple more points to make on this topic. First, just because the van’s 12V circuits are operable via the touchscreen display and the smartphone app doesn’t mean you can’t physically turn your appliance on at the appliance itself.
And if you like the idea of this system, but would prefer to have a traditional light switch, never fear: two wireless light switch panels, each with six switches, are provided. They can be mounted with double-sided tape anywhere that’s convenient in the van.
SUMMING UP
Efficient power management has become an essential component of modern vans and the HiTech system really does make it easy. On a related note, HiTech lithium batteries are available too and, perhaps unsurprisingly, there’s a separate app allowing you to monitor the battery parameters. That said, if you had the Powersync system, you wouldn’t need the battery-only app as that info is displayed in the Powersync app, HiTech Connect.
Overall, it’s an excellent system. In this day and age, why shouldn’t we be able to control our van from our phone?
