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Old 05-02-2018, 08:58 PM   #11
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Originally Posted by Jeffrey View Post
Damn good explanation.
+ 1 nicely done.

Here is a good snap shot of the changes you need to make. I don't think any of the wiring from the isolator can be used for the ACR. I generally look at 2 awg to be the minimal size needed for the Blue Sea 7622. It also depends on how your current rig is wired. For mine I had a Inverter/charger that had 2/0 awg. Instead of running all the way to the battery I connected to the 2/0 gauge.



I would put the ACR somewhere you could easily get to the yellow manual knob when needed.

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Old 05-03-2018, 12:06 PM   #12
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Originally Posted by Wire89 View Post

Last, I'm running a single 130 amp alternator, so using that Blue Sea wiring chart am I to assume that a full 130 amp could reach the house battery? And, is the wiring length just the positive lead from battery terminal to battery terminal?
The amps to the battery are a function of it's state of charge. As a battery gets charged it's resistance increases, drawing less amps. In my van with a stock 130A (I think stock is 130 amps) alternator, the max amperage I see going to my house batteries when the van is running is maybe 35-40 amps or so.....similar when I plug in to shore power and use my 60A charger to charge the batteries. I seldom let them get below about 70% S.O.C. so if you really drain them they will draw more amps.
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Old 05-04-2018, 06:36 AM   #13
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The amps to the battery are a function of it's state of charge. As a battery gets charged it's resistance increases, drawing less amps. In my van with a stock 130A (I think stock is 130 amps) alternator, the max amperage I see going to my house batteries when the van is running is maybe 35-40 amps or so.....similar when I plug in to shore power and use my 60A charger to charge the batteries. I seldom let them get below about 70% S.O.C. so if you really drain them they will draw more amps.
While all the above is true, the safest thing to do is use the Alternator Max output as your Max current for your cable computations. Also for the purpose of the circuit wizard the length is a combination of the positive and the negative return (even if your return path is the frame). The length of cable is going to have an impact on your voltage drop calculations. In this case 130 amp will recommend 2 awg up to about 17 feet (with 3% voltage drop) This gives you a wire with ampacity of 210 Amps, this easily covers a worse case 130 amps and gives you fusing room. I would feel comfortable using even higher voltage drop criteria for this first calculation ( say 5%). Understanding that voltage drop is a factor of current and wire resistance. If we take the same calculation and put in 45 amps for 17 feet, with a 1% voltage drop we come up with a recommendation of the same 2 awg wire.

The other secondary use of the ACR can be emergency jump start or start assist, in this case your load becomes your starter. Luckily the starter load is short term and not a constant load, but we again want a cable big enough that allows us to use it for that sort term case, this also allows you to fuse around this.

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Old 05-14-2018, 10:28 PM   #14
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Hi All...in addition to getting my fuel issues sorted out this weekend (separate thread) I also installed my new house Lifeline battery and Bluesea ACR. I have made some notes on a diagram posted above by Scalf77 to show the actual conditions I found on my rig and how I made use of them.

On the van side, the alternator feed to the isolator and vehicle power distribution were right in the same driver's side corner of the van. Also, terminal 'A' and terminal 1 were linked together with a black wire which I've not quite figured out. Instead of running a new feed direct from alternator to the battery, I chose to maintain the alternator power through the vehicle distribution by splicing lines 'A' and 1 after removing the isolator. Is this an acceptable long term solution? The van battery already seemed pretty crowded with connections for second battery, house battery, winch, starter, power feed, and PTO.

On the house side, I did run new #2 wire. I mounted the ACR on the small wood panel that holds the relays and 12v fuse panel under the gaucho. Just enough room there for it. A single wire run goes from van battery to the ACR terminal, then I ran new wire from second ACR terminal to the positive buss bar, and again from the buss to the new house battery. This seemed easier then trying to go from the interior ACR direct to house battery and then trying to get a third wire up through the body from the battery to the power distribution. Again, ok for a long term solution?

Last, i'm pretty sure I also resolved a sporadic flickering battery dummy light. When we dropped the house battery we found the sheathing had been worn through and there had been contact between the copper and the body.

thanks all, and especially Scalf77, for helping me out.
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Old 05-21-2018, 10:26 AM   #15
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on a somewhat related note - can someone confirm that the 7622 based on the install discussed in this thread allow for charging of both house and starting battery via solar setup? anything special to consider or would the existing solar connections remain the same?
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Old 05-21-2018, 02:53 PM   #16
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The 7622 is bidirectional so if you have solar charging your house batteries it will also charge your starter.

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Old 05-21-2018, 03:04 PM   #17
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The 7622 is bidirectional so if you have solar charging your house batteries it will also charge your starter.

greg
Just to throw another question in here but can you also just leave the solar panel on while driving and charging with the alternator. Or, is it best to simply disconnect the panels (in my case I have a breaker). And does that also apply to the original isolator? Two questions actually.
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Old 05-21-2018, 03:42 PM   #18
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If you are referring to the Surepower separator that sportsmobile used, the answer is it is also bidirectional. The Diode based isolator referenced in this thread is not.

Both your alternator and your solar charger, look at voltage levels to determine their charge, so many times your alternator can be fooled and not put out the what would be its normal charge, the same could be said for the solar charger, but in most cases it is already charging, when you turn the vehicle on. This is why people don't really see an accumulative affect when charging with two sources.

Many times after I have charged the batteries to 90% with alternator / solar I actually disconnect the isolator ( I have a 7622 ), this allows the solar to finish the absorption phase and get a good complete charge on the system.


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Old 05-22-2018, 11:25 AM   #19
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And a general question about installation - Where is the best place to tie in the isolation #1 wire to teh engine start switch on a 93 econoline e350? I'm assuming based on some basic googling that you open up the cover for the ignition and find the wire that's connected the start switch?
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Old 07-16-2018, 10:05 AM   #20
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So I replaced my old Surepower isolator with the 7622 over the weekend and everything is working great. I know that the 7622 will allow for solar charging of my starter battery as well, which I did confirm was working. However, the solar charging would only kick in if the solar charger needs to charge the house battery correct?


What If my House battery is fully charged and I want to charge my starter battery? Then based on my current setup this would not be possible. Is there a way to set this up to work where I could charge my starter battery via the solar panels even if my house battery is fully charged?
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