diy solar

diy solar

A few questions - switches, cable size, shore power, fuses...

Tomthumb62 said:
That’s not a mess of wires lol! Very clean looking, nice job!

When I remove the fridge next for some insulation upgrades, I’ll get some photos of our literal mess of wires. And some after photos once I clean them up. We spent 8 weeks of every after work minute and weekends doing major upgrades, including insulation, new flooring and completely redoing the solar system. I literally finished the electrical a couple of hours before my wife took off for a long trip and didn’t have time to tidy the wiring. But at least it all works!
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Thanks;

Our Roof ,,, as little as possible up there, as built to travel far and fast as efficiently as practical;

IMG_9867.jpeg

FYI ,,, I prewired for the awning, only to find out it comes with a wiring harness ? sometimes these things are not apparent until the purchase. Spec also stated a 20 amp fuse ,,, Here is the increased draw from 0.2 amps when I have the awning motor running IMG_3850.jpeg


I wired for worse case scenario & if I had the info, I would not have 10 gauge ,,, oh well
 
RV8R said:
FYI ,,, I prewired for the awning, only to find out it comes with a wiring harness ? sometimes these things are not apparent until the purchase.
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Been there. I've failed twice to check the box for other items. Wired a cig plug only to realize later there were two inline fuses included. Wondering if they can be located near the fuse box instead. Another item had the pre-wired spade connectors in the box which of course I found after I made my own. And I found cables included in the inverter box-fortunately before I made any up but I didn't realize they came with it.
 
Tomthumb62 said:
Our setup isn’t for a cabin but a 14’ trailer, so basically similar to a van. Photos:

View attachment 169170

View attachment 169171


Electrical stuff except the charge controller is in the tiny cubby under the 7.2cf fridge. Yes that’s a mid size fridge in a tiny 14’ trailer. We like to eat well!

Second photo L to R :
Victron 12/1200 inverter
Victron 12/30 shore charger
Powerurus 12v 200ah lifepo4
Not seen: dual USB charger for phones, 20A manual transfer switch, 20A AC breaker, 150A bus bars (advertised as 300A brass bus bars) and a mess of wires.
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Wow, that's a tight space. I feel more confident now I'll fit my set up in my space.
Those straps on your cabinets- what are they called? One of mine concerns is the torque in an accident or near accident and the cabinets remaining closed. The common latches I see used in vans look like it wouldn't take much to pop them open. I'm considering the barrel bolt type latches but they aren't very attractive. Are the plastic straps on yours fairly rugged?
 
Kayte said:
Wow, that's a tight space. I feel more confident now I'll fit my set up in my space.
Those straps on your cabinets- what are they called? One of mine concerns is the torque in an accident or near accident and the cabinets remaining closed. The common latches I see used in vans look like it wouldn't take much to pop them open. I'm considering the barrel bolt type latches but they aren't very attractive. Are the plastic straps on yours fairly rugged?
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The straps are child proof type of latches. Not all that easy to open but once you get the hang of it it’s not too bad. Very rugged. 3M adhesive that will remove mostly clean and goo gone will remove what’s left.

Some of the cabinets also have barrel latches but others don’t. The fridge is bolted down to the plywood platform that houses the electrical stuff. Wife wanted the electrical stuff to be behind a door or curtain but I said no, it needs air circulation.

It is a tight fit but it works. The bus bars help a lot. The battery now slides out with only two 1/0awg cables attached, enough length to fully pull the battery out for disconnection for winter storage. The bus bars are 90% not accessible without removing the fridge, but it is what it is.
 
Kayte said:
Because I may only have the fridge on the 24v fuse box, then this smaller one should suffice? https://a.co/d/a7rtKNk
I'm assuming the fuse boxes don't have to rated for 12v or 24v? The above work for both voltages?
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Ya, if that be the case, I guess you could also “tap off“ your pos bus & neg bus if they are 24v.

The pos bus tap should have an appropriate “in line fuse” close to it pos bus lug, if you go that route.

Van electrical systems sometimes have a growth as time goes on, so spare spots on a fuse block can be a good thing.

Yes up to 32V so 24V should be good, always best to check with manufacturer if unsure.

Also good for 100amps total;

IMG_9870.jpeg
 
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HarryN said:
It is like that sometimes. This stuff is easy for me, but nutrition is challenging. Maybe we should do a trade.

As far as your van, the typical 2022 Ford Transit was shipped with:
- 250 amp alternator
- Single starter battery
- customer connection point 1 ( CCP1) that is always on
- customer connection point 2 ( CCP2 ) that is on / off with the van running

Some did not include CCP2 but most did.

There was a dual starter battery option and dual alternator option as well.

The ( + ) terminal for the CCP1 and CCP2 are located on the base of the drivers seat.

There are specific factor roof mount points that should be used for mounting solar panels framework or anything else that goes on the roof.

As you can tell, I have built a few electrical systems for Transits.

Harry
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Harry, you know Transits so will this alternator charger work just in case I decide to add one?
https://a.co/d/1OH5u8p or do I need this one with the higher amps? https://a.co/d/3cgYxNp
 
Kayte said:
will this alternator charger work just in case I decide to add one?
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Any battery charger 12 to 24 will work , provided the maximum current taken does not exceed the recomended 70 amps, ( see Transit upfitters data in Resources. It does not need to be isolated output, thus this will be OK

Isolated or non isolated will work OK, ( non isolated are lower cost.)

Note the house lithium 24 volt battery needs a connection to van body metal for safety.
 
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Kayte said:
I forgot to include my battery in the list of electrical items I have which is a 100a 24v lithium. I don't think I mentioned 2 200w solar panels either. It's tempting to switch to 12v but since I also have the battery and those are a pricey item...... I'm wondering since my inverter is 3000w if I need another battery or if just putting inverter in standby mode will be sufficient. I can just wait and see if the one battery will be enough. I've decided to skip the shore power, I don't think I'll use it much and prefer to use solar and/or B2B. I'll wait on the B2B too and install later if the solar isn't enough. There isn't much room on van roof for another panel so B2B would help here or portable panels which would enable parking in the shade but then one has to find storage in the van for those. I have a mid-roof so not alot of garage room.
A 7.4 fridge would be great!
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If it helps with your 24 vs 12 volt decision any, anyone who stops by my van electrical shop in Livermore CA with a 24 volt system gets a free cup of coffee. LOL.

Anyway - there are very efficient 24 - 12 volt converters out there for the few 12 volt loads that are left overs.

A lot of refrigerators on the market are dual 12 / 24 volt even if they are not labeled that way. Just contact the mfg.
 
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The V 3000 is a good solid 2400 watt inverter. It is not a true 3000 watt inverter but really only the magnum is.

There is no downside to the V3000 vs the lesser units unless you are out of space or the shape does not work for you.

For various reasons I separate the inverter and charger capabilities and buy things that are a different shape to fit how I build things but there is nothing wrong with that setup.

I am also in the camp of charging from mostly solar and use the CCP2 charging as secondary so you can use the path that you are on. Others can tell you more details about the V based component operation as I tend to not use them in favor of US made items but my setup uses special settings to make it all work.

For DIY I highly encourage 24 volt but I build 48 volt for this power level. This really only works because I am kind of a fanatic and use essentially parts that no normal person would use. They are all available on line but just not what you routinely see on van forums.

Keep following the advice of the people on the thread - you are doing fine.
 
Kayte said:
I don't understand these well enough to answer this question - will this B2B charger work too? It's about $100 cheaper. https://a.co/d/1SX6uNB
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The cheaper one is similar to have 1 each 200 watt solar panel, the more expensive one is like having 2 of them.

Similar to solar panels, they tend to under perform their label so don't cheap out on this if you decide to buy one.

Either buy the better one - or delay completely until you are ready.
 
RV8R said:
Ya, if that be the case, I guess you could also “tap off“ your pos bus & neg bus if they are 24v.

The pos bus tap should have an appropriate “in line fuse” close to it pos bus lug, if you go that route.

Van electrical systems sometimes have a growth as time goes on, so spare spots on a fuse block can be a good thing.

Yes up to 32V so 24V should be good, always best to check with manufacturer if unsure.

Also good for 100amps total;

View attachment 169223
Click to expand...

Buy the version with 12 fuses and 12 ground connection points built in, not just 6 fuses and no grounds.

It sounds strange but you will end up using more grounds than you think.
 
HarryN said:
The cheaper one is similar to have 1 each 200 watt solar panel, the more expensive one is like having 2 of them.

Similar to solar panels, they tend to under perform their label so don't cheap out on this if you decide to buy one.

Either buy the better one - or delay completely until you are ready.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the advice. I do plan on delaying, I may not need one but if it turns out I do, I'll get the better one. I want to do my build as inexpensively as possible but I do want quality equipment. I'll "cheapen" my build where it won't matter.
 
HarryN said:
unless you are out of space or the shape does not work for you.

For various reasons I separate the inverter and charger capabilities and buy things that are a different shape to fit how I build things but there is nothing wrong with that setup.
Click to expand...

For space reasons I too went with separate devices:

camptrailer-LABELED COMPONENTS.jpg

This cubby hole is about 24" wide, 20" deep and 13" tall. It's a tight fit for everything in there. The wires are currently a mess (seen in the back), but when I have time, I'm going to clean them up. The switch for the inverter is now in the back, but with the additional Bluetooth dongle, I can control the inverter through the VictronConnect app, or I could wire up a physical remote switch. Since space is a premium, I opted for just the app control. I rarely use it as it stays in ECO mode 99% of the time.
 
Tomthumb62 said:
For space reasons I too went with separate devices:

View attachment 169702

This cubby hole is about 24" wide, 20" deep and 13" tall. It's a tight fit for everything in there. The wires are currently a mess (seen in the back), but when I have time, I'm going to clean them up. The switch for the inverter is now in the back, but with the additional Bluetooth dongle, I can control the inverter through the VictronConnect app, or I could wire up a physical remote switch. Since space is a premium, I opted for just the app control. I rarely use it as it stays in ECO mode 99% of the time.
Click to expand...

Nice work. Half the battle is just finding things that will fit.
 
HarryN said:
The Transit van has some small amount of standby power draw from the starter battery.

I don't remember exactly how much it is, but after 3 - 4 weeks it will be drained down.

A lot of people put a small solar trickle charger in the windshield to keep it charged up.
Click to expand...
So my transit won't charge without the key on. Is that ok with the solar trickle charger plugged in?
 
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