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Old 02-26-2013, 07:47 PM   #1
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home build wiring diagram

I just put this together.. Anyone with more knowledge than me (who has very little) see anything wrong?

I'm probably missing a ground or two, definitely missing some fuses...
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Old 02-26-2013, 08:50 PM   #2
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Re: home build wiring diagram

At a quick glance it looks good. Really you shouldn't need the 40 watt panel and controller. Depending on the separator, it should close when it see a charge (sun) and tie the chassis and house systems. There is some data about not using different size panels banked together. I don't recall what it was and I did have a 40w tied with two 65W panels and it didn't cause a problem but it used the same controller. But like I said, I just don't remember why I thought it was not wise. Maybe Scaff or somebody else knows.
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Old 02-26-2013, 10:26 PM   #3
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Re: home build wiring diagram

Unless you'll be spending a lot of time plugged into shore power you might want to rethink the 110v fridge. It's probably going to be your biggest power draw and you're losing maybe upwards of 20% of that in going from 12v DC to 110v AC.
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Old 02-26-2013, 10:30 PM   #4
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Re: home build wiring diagram

Quote:
Originally Posted by WVvan
Unless you'll be spending a lot of time plugged into shore power you might want to rethink the 110v fridge. It's probably going to be your biggest power draw and you're losing maybe upwards of 20% of that in going from 12v DC to 110v AC.
Fridge is 2way (I think that's what it's called - runs off 12v as well?).
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Old 02-26-2013, 10:32 PM   #5
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Re: home build wiring diagram

Quote:
Originally Posted by daveb
At a quick glance it looks good. Really you shouldn't need the 40 watt panel and controller. Depending on the separator, it should close when it see a charge (sun) and tie the chassis and house systems. There is some data about not using different size panels banked together. I don't recall what it was and I did have a 40w tied with two 65W panels and it didn't cause a problem but it used the same controller. But like I said, I just don't remember why I thought it was not wise. Maybe Scaff or somebody else knows.
Hmm, hadn't considered it could be bad.. Just throwing it in there cause I already have it, and figured then if house batteries were low, start batteries would always be chock full with the little panel charging them.

Anyone have any more info on the potentially bad idea of having two separate solar setups?
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Old 02-27-2013, 07:25 AM   #6
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Re: home build wiring diagram

Using your separate Solar charger when boon docked will put the voltage on the starters above the separator set point. (the wrangler separator looks like a re-branded SurePower 1314). While I can't say that this would be a issue, it could defeat the purpose of even having it on there. If I was going to do that I would make sure that the two systems would be completely isolated when doing so. Otherwise I would just get the wrangle 205 (surepower 1315) and put the 40 watt panel to use all the time. There are also pros and cons of that also.

If I was going to have the two systems I would make sure that the two battery systems would be isolated when doing so.

On the fridge, while having it come off of the shore power solves one potential problem. It means you never run the fridge off of the inverter. Also, you may want some breakers on the output of the inverter
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Old 02-27-2013, 11:28 AM   #7
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Re: home build wiring diagram

Quote:
Fridge is 2way (I think that's what it's called - runs off 12v as well?).
Oops, my bad. It is hooked up to 12v in the diagram and I missed it.
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Old 02-27-2013, 11:47 AM   #8
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Re: home build wiring diagram

Many RV/marine outfitters completely separate the two battery systems. Those higher tech setups usually have a independent multi-stage charger that is powered off the vehicle/vessel DC system rather than letting the less-efficient engine alternator do the main charging of the house bank. This is because very large RV and vessels have multiple batteries and being able to control the charge procedure is a little more important than a van that has one or two batteries. In place of the battery separator a heavy amp switch is used to jump the starting battery system if needed for some reason.

Solar doesn’t play that big of a roll in huge battery systems and automatic generators are more likely to do the charging when not on the move. If you figure 80-120 watts of solar per every 200AH is about the norm for most PV systems, there just isn’t enough room for solar when dealing with the big systems. IMO over building solar can be a huge waste of money (and space) unless you have a specific demand for what the array puts out during daytime hours. Overcast is an issue but even 400 watts of solar in full sun will not supply what most microwaves will draw.

You might want to go to Northern Arizona sun and wind and read up on solar and batteries. They explain why it’s better to use 12 volt batteries as apposed to 6 volt golf cart batteries and why AGM’s are a better choice compared to flooded batteries for our purposes. It’s a really good site. There are links to it and more in the FAQ’s sticky in the electrical section on the forum.
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Old 02-27-2013, 01:12 PM   #9
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Re: home build wiring diagram

Quote:
Originally Posted by daveb
Many RV/marine outfitters completely separate the two battery systems. Those higher tech setups usually have a independent multi-stage charger that is powered off the vehicle/vessel DC system rather than letting the less-efficient engine alternator do the main charging of the house bank. This is because very large RV and vessels have multiple batteries and being able to control the charge procedure is a little more important than a van that has one or two batteries. In place of the battery separator a heavy amp switch is used to jump the starting battery system if needed for some reason.
Yes, I'm not 100% thrilled with having the van charge the house batteries.. I may add a switch to the isolator and only turn it on if necessary..

Quote:
Originally Posted by daveb
Solar doesn’t play that big of a roll in huge battery systems and automatic generators are more likely to do the charging when not on the move. If you figure 80-120 watts of solar per every 200AH is about the norm for most PV systems, there just isn’t enough room for solar when dealing with the big systems. IMO over building solar can be a huge waste of money (and space) unless you have a specific demand for what the array puts out during daytime hours. Overcast is an issue but even 400 watts of solar in full sun will not supply what most microwaves will draw.
Won't be using a microwave. Essentially the only thing that'll be running is the fridge. Don't know how it'll work. Got any anecdotal views on 12v fridges running on batteries? And on the grand scheme of things, the solar set up is fairly cheap (I'll have <$800 in it), so why not?

Quote:
Originally Posted by daveb
You might want to go to Northern Arizona sun and wind and read up on solar and batteries. They explain why it’s better to use 12 volt batteries as apposed to 6 volt golf cart batteries and why AGM’s are a better choice compared to flooded batteries for our purposes. It’s a really good site. There are links to it and more in the FAQ’s sticky in the electrical section on the forum.
Yes, found them the other day and dug around their site. And actually ordered the Blue Sky controller from them.
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Old 02-27-2013, 01:18 PM   #10
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Re: home build wiring diagram

That is a lot of battery and solar for just a fridge and some lights.

Our van has two Group 27 house batteries and our fridge would run 3-5 days on them. After we installed a singlr 125W solar panel we never run out of battery power unless we camp in the shade.

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