Homebrew electrical layout and shopping list

[GreyDawg]

Hi Greg --

No worries -- many thanks for your inputs (and for the time and effort you take to write and draw). Your suggestions may be more robust than I will need, but I am learning a tremendous amount from the discussion. It all makes me a more knowledgeable consumer of 12V systems.

After reading these discussions and going back to study the diagrams on FarOutRide and elsewhere, I have more "oh, now I see why they did that" moments.

The run from the van batteries/CCPs to the house batteries will be about 6.0-6.5 feet. I am still (slowly) learning about sizing fuses, circuit breakers and wiring. And safety.

Cheers,
Meredith

[arctictraveller]

[QUOTE=GreyDawg;For the on/off switches (Blue Sea Systems 350 Amp E-Series Battery Switches) do I need the simple on/off switch, or the switch with AFD (whatever that is?)

So many questions.... I apologize, but I suspect annoying y'all is better than electrocuting myself....[/QUOTE]

The AFD is short for Automatic Field disconnect. This is used when a battery is to be completely disconnected from the alternator, and the alternator sees no battery voltage. That will cause the regulator to think the battery is at zero volts, and it will attempt to raise the output of the alternator until it destroy's the alternator. So, the switch will disconnect the field voltage from the windings, preventing the alternator from self destructing. In your case, since the starter battery will always be connected to the alternator, there is no need, but never disconnect it while the van is running.

Blueseas has a lot of very useful information on their website that will help you understand and calculate wire and fuse sizes

Circuit Wizard - Blue Sea Systems#

https://www.bluesea.com/support/refe...e_Sizing_Chart


If you would like to read up more on 12V electrical systems, I can't recomend this book highly enough. It's written for boaters, but covers all the systems we might have or install in a van, and he writes in simple, easy to understand language. https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_s...=2FITP059MYDAQ

[Scalf77]

Actually, for your project, have you thought of a DC to DC battery charger instead of the traditional ACR that most of use. I know a couple of people that have installed the KISAE DMT1230 Abso 30A DC-DC Battery Charger. This also is a MPPT solar charger, so when you add in the future cost of a solar charger, it is a cost efficient solution. It does not give you a jumpstart option of the 7622, but tat is a feature you are not looking for anyway. Not planing a shore charger, this will give you a true multi-stage charger when using alternator and solar.


-greg

[86Scotty]

That is a phenomenal product! Thanks for sharing Greg. If I didn't need AC I would certainly go for that myself.

I can't find a source for the remote panel but did find some info on it. Page 13 of the manual here:

http://docplayer.net/48211735-Abso-d...-s-manual.html

[Scalf77]

The last I knew the remote panel was not available yet. They make a remote for their AC chargers (but it does not work with it). A couple of forum members have this installed (MG & Jsweezy), they probably have some real use feedback.

-greg

[arctictraveller]

I forgot to mention that one reason to consider a shorepower based charger is to make sure the beer is always cold. There will be times when your solar can't keep up due to shade, clouds, or batteries discharged overnight with sub optimal solar availability in the morning. I like to plug in the night prior to a trip to pre-cool the refer, and reducing the number of cycles on the batteries will extend their life too. In addition, some charging relays / battery combiners won't close if batttery voltage gets too low, so the only way to recharge is to plug in.

[Scalf77]

I put together a spreadsheet for ACR comparison, it is also an attached PDF. It makes it a little easier to compare the features side by side.



The obvious difference between 7620/7622 and 7610//7611 are the current ratings. It should also be noted that 7620/7622 are Magnetic Latch Relays, and thus have a lower operating current 13 mA (their change current is high, but only when changing states) The 7610/7611 operating current is 15 mA open, and 175 mA closed. The 175 mA closed is still pretty low.

The 7620/7622 also gives you a switch to close the relay (Start Assist) and open the relay. The switch also houses an led indicator, that can provide ACR state and diagnostics information. The 7610/7611 can be wired for an optional LED to perform switch state and diagnostic information. I recommend wiring in the optional LED if going with 7610/7611

The 7622 also has a manual switch on the top of the unit. This will allow you to open and close the ACR Manually if the smart battery monitoring logic were to fail, it also gives you the ability to lockout the ACR if you are performing maintenance on the vehicle or taking it into a shop. (they won't find out the hard way there is another 12 volt source) You could add a manual switch to the other units if you wanted to duplicate this feature.


This feature also comes in handy if you accidentally drain your house batteries to low, the 7620/7622 & 7610 have a low voltage lockout setting of
9.6 or 9.5 volts. While the 7611 does not have the low voltage lockout, at some conceivable voltage I expect the ACR would fail to operate.

The 7620/7622 & 7610 can all be wired to perform start isolation, they will open during while the key is in the start potion. The 7611 can not perform this feature.

The 7611 has an Auxiliary Priority (Optional) setting, that can change the open low voltage to 12.25 from 12.75.

-greg

[GreyDawg]

Sorry for my absence this weekend -- it was a long weekend with Habitat for Humanity raising walls for two houses for awesome partner families.

@Scalf77: Thanks for the information about the alternative to the ACR -- that's new to me. More to read and learn (but I *think* I have had a couple of "ah-ha" moments thanks to this thread). And thanks for putting together the PDF comparing the Blue Sea ACRs. It is a useful reference; is it possible that it could become a "sticky?"

@ArcticTraveller: thank you for the post explaining the ADF; it now makes sense. The Calder book is in my Amazon cart.

However, your second post (#16) leaves me somewhat dumbsquizzled: I find myself looking at my UK passport and wondering "what is this 'cold beer' that Arctictraveller is going on about?" ...

I will have very basic shore power: I have fed a 15Amp extension cord up through the B-Pillar and to a GFCI socket for those rare occasions I have access to shore power and need to precool the portable fridge or run an electric space heater.

[JWA]

Originally Posted by GreyDawg

However, your second post (#16) leaves me somewhat dumbsquizzled: I find myself looking at my UK passport and wondering "what is this 'cold beer' that Arctictraveller is going on about?" ...

[arctictraveller]

Originally Posted by GreyDawg

@ArcticTraveller: your second post (#16) leaves me somewhat dumbsquizzled: I find myself looking at my UK passport and wondering "what is this 'cold beer' that Arctictraveller is going on about?" ... .

I doubt your any more dumbsquizzled than I am when I think about Britt's reaching for a "warm one" after a long day on the trail or at work. It's been decades since Lucas made refrigerators, so the option to chill ones beer has been around for many years. Perhaps it's an aquired taste? Sort of like "well done" steak?