RB50/EB50: Mounting House Electric Systems? Location vs. Airflow?

[geoffff]

Hey RB50 and EB50 owners --

• Where do you put your house electrical system?
• Are you worried about overheating / fire?

I'm in the process of upgrading the electrical system on my EB50 van to something modern. In my old RB50 van and my new old EB50 van, the original electrical stuff (isolator, shore power charger, solar charger, inverter) was all tucked in on the left under the folding rear seat / bed.

My plan is to do the same with my new house electrical system. It's a tight fit, but I think I can make it work.

Here I am doing some test placements, with my Victron 30A DC-DC charger, and the huge AcoPower all-in-one solar charger / inverter. I still need to add those two 4" furnace hoses, some Blue Sea switches, bus bars, fuses, cables, etc.




However, someone just pointed out to me that I may not be providing sufficient airflow for cooling, especially for the 3000W inverted in the AcoPower all-in-one solar charger/inverter pictured above. (I don't plan on actually using anywhere near that much inverter power in real life.) Sure enough, AcoPower recommends 8" of clearance along the sides, and almost 2 feet of clearance at the ends!!



I mean, who has that kind of room!!?!

Furthermore it says to mount on non-combustable surfaces only. Everyone I see out there mounts their camper electrical stuff onto plywood -- is this a problem?

So, RB50 & EB50 owners -- did you also squeeze in your house electrical system under the seat there? If so, how did it go? If not, where else did you put this stuff? It's not obvious to me. I'm putting the 230Ah LiFePO4 battery under the seat, too, on the other side of my centered 15-gallon water tank, and I suppose I could put some of the electrical stuff there too, but anything I add there is decreasing my general purpose storage.

Furthermore, I could add some kind of extra cooling fan down there under the seat to keep the air moving.

 

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[1der]

Victron DC to DC - mount on vertical face with wires up or down, not to the side. And closer the 230Ah battery would be desirable.

I am not familiar with the chosen inverter but if it has another vent on the other side face, then it definitely needs to be clear of obstruction. Flat and raised up off the floor (w maybe a small fan) would be my choice given the height constraints under the seat.

Adding a couple vent openings at the front and rear would be advisable, and a fan is great idea.

You can add solar controller, battery monitor and circuit breakers/fuses in that space with no problem.

Double check all the lugs on your cables for a very secure/tight crimp fit. Do not solder lugs. Loose connections on heavy gauge cable are the sources of many failures.

 

[Twoxentrix]

All my electrical is also under the gaucho along with 2 Amps for the Stereo, so early on I was also concerned about the heat. I have two vent covers SMB installed on the lower portion of the gaucho base, but heat rises so I installed six 2" round vents across the top of the gaucho base & 2 more on each end to allow the heat to escape. It's worked well.

Amazon.com

Concerned about a possible fire, I installed a 9ft BlazeCut automatic fire suppression tube inside the gaucho base and over the electronics...just an added precaution.

Amazon.com

 

[Scalf77]

I agree with Ray on this.

Probably the most important is the Victron 30 Amp DC-DC . They generally runt hot and derate themself down to 20 amp modules pretty easily. external airflow is recommended.

The natural air flow will be like this.

I expect the best way for the Acopower in your van is flat, unless you have space to mount it vertically. I believe the airflow would be like this.

I would check it out because it most certainly has inbuilt fans. If you choose to add external fans, make sure they work with designed airflow not against it. I suspect the Acopower is a high frequency inverter so it will also generate a lot of heat, and need good airflow at even at lower output.

 

[geoffff]

Concerned about a possible fire, I installed a 9ft BlazeCut automatic fire suppression tube inside the gaucho base and over the electronics...just an added precaution.

https://www.amazon.com/BlazeCut-Automatic-Suppression-Automotive-Extinguisher/dp/B09XKWVSJ3/

Oooh! Cool idea. I had not heard of these.

 

[geoffff]

Probably the most important is the Victron 30 Amp DC-DC . They generally runt hot and derate themself down to 20 amp modules pretty easily. external airflow is recommended.

Yes, thanks for catching that. I can rotate that 90° and mount it in the preferred direction.

The natural air flow will be like this.
View attachment 1068986

I expect the best way for the Acopower in your van is flat, unless you have space to mount it vertically. I believe the airflow would be like this.

The only way it will fit is on its side like I have pictured. The unit does have fans which suck air out of the unit, on the "rear end" which is facing the camera in my photo.