Do I need to "Ground" my small system in my van?

[bobsacimano]

Title of the diagram:

Lucians Victron Van - Automotive

It's not very complicated, and I pointed out the important parts - where the grounds were: The lynx, which is battery (-) and the Multiplus housing grounding terminal.

I really recommend you put in 15 minutes tracing connections. It's a trivial matter to ignore the parts that don't apply to you.

I don't even know what a lynx is lol. Or a multiplus housing grounding terminal. If you don't think that diagram is incredibly confusing to a solar rookie like myself ok, but it is. You're basically speaking a foreign language to me. I was looking for advice in layman's terms. I think I will just ground my inverter via the grounding lug to the vehicle chassis as others and the manual have suggested. Thanks anyway.

 

[df00z]

Just be careful. My inverter specifically says do not bond the grounding lug to 120v neutral, and I have seen videos on YouTube of mounting hardware glowing red and lots of smoke. A GFCI may protect it but without an isolation transformer current can flow.

Yes, you can bond the grounding lug to the shell of the trailer. But also do not bond the shell of the trailer to battery neg unless the inverter says its OK to do.

In many cases it is for electrostatic protection only, and a grounding stake would not be bound to bat neg nor neutral in an AC circuit.

A QUALITY inverter with an isolation transformer would allow it.

 

[bobsacimano]

Just be careful. My inverter specifically says do not bond the grounding lug to 120v neutral, and I have seen videos on YouTube of mounting hardware glowing red and lots of smoke. A GFCI may protect it but without an isolation transformer current can flow.

Yes, you can bond the grounding lug to the shell of the trailer. But also do not bond the shell of the trailer to battery neg unless the inverter says its OK to do.

In many cases it is for electrostatic protection only, and a grounding stake would not be bound to bat neg nor neutral in an AC circuit.

A QUALITY inverter with an isolation transformer would allow it.

Thanks a lot man. So to be clear, I will only be attaching a 14 AWG wire from the inverter chassis ground to my vehicle chassis. This is what you are suggesting right? Nothing else as far as "grounding"? The inverter has a GFCI as well. I've attached a screenshot of the grounding section of my renogy inverter manual to add some clarity.

 

[df00z]

You are fine to ground to chassis. Make sure there is no connectivity from 120v ground\neutral to chassis - at least the Renology 3000w manual above says do not neutral ground bond. I wouldn't have bat negative attached to chassis either, just a ground stake. It's not a return path for AC at all, it's basically an electrostatic ground, not a don't zap me ground.

 

[bobsacimano]

You are fine to ground to chassis. Make sure there is no connectivity from 120v ground\neutral to chassis - at least the Renology 3000w manual above says do not neutral ground bond. I wouldn't have bat negative attached to chassis either, just a ground stake. It's not a return path for AC at all, it's basically an electrostatic ground, not a don't zap me ground.

Thanks! So I will ground my inverter via the grounding lug to vehicle chassis. I don't even know what you mean when you say "make sure there is no connectivity from 120V ground/neutral to chassis" so I don't think I will be doing that unless it can happen accidentally or something lol. What is a ground stake and do I need it? Excuse my ignorance but what is neutral ground bond? I'm just trying to make sure I don't need to do anything other than grounding my inverter to the vehicle chassis. Thanks in advance.

 

[JRH]

YOU SAID …Thanks man! There's so much conflicting information out there regarding "grounding" in a vehicle. People have a tendency to write out long paragraphs using terms I don't know half the time and it's confusing and often incomprehensible to a rookie like myself.

SO I SAY……

Haaaaa… so your confused about all the different grounding methods offered by different people and why…! He he he

It is confusing as hell…I agree ….ain’t Gona get it down in one day…Doubt anyone does.

it takes time…


now I mostly get it…

So ..peace - resolution- happiness..
J.

 

[df00z]

Thanks! So I will ground my inverter via the grounding lug to vehicle chassis. I don't even know what you mean when you say "make sure there is no connectivity from 120V ground/neutral to chassis" so I don't think I will be doing that unless it can happen accidentally or something lol. What is a ground stake and do I need it? Excuse my ignorance but what is neutral ground bond? I'm just trying to make sure I don't need to do anything other than grounding my inverter to the vehicle chassis. Thanks in advance.

If you are just using the outlet built into the inverter, and don't have shore power, and make no further connection to the trailer body, it won't happen and you are good. If you are gonna be somewhere for a while, it's a good idea to drive a grounding stake into the earth attached to the trailer body if it is metal.

Grounding is actually an insanely complex topic.

If you are building a shore power system, running outlets in your trailer off the inverter, there are further considerations.

 

[bobsacimano]

If you are just using the outlet built into the inverter, and don't have shore power, and make no further connection to the trailer body, it won't happen and you are good. If you are gonna be somewhere for a while, it's a good idea to drive a grounding stake into the earth attached to the trailer body if it is metal.

Grounding is actually an insanely complex topic.

If you are building a shore power system, running outlets in your trailer off the inverter, there are further considerations.

Thanks a lot man! It's much appreciated. No, I won't have any shore power or be making any other connections to the vehicle chassis other than the inverter ground wire. So it sounds like I'm good, thank god lol. I won't be in any 1 place for a while either but if I am I'll definitely heed that advice. I have been learning over the last couple weeks that as you say, grounding is insanely complex lol. Glad it's not just me. Thanks again!

 

[0truck0]

I feel you man, yes there is a lot of over-technical answers for a simple question.
Basic vehicle system is a battery with the battery neg grounded to the metal frame of vehicle.
I think OP is asking if he should ground the inverter. Two ways to ground an inverter are using the neutral or ground, or using an actual "ground" lug on the inverter that says "ground". Mine does not have a "ground". Mine is 300 watts and is attached to a wood panel and used as an outlet, not to feed wiring in the camper. Mine has an aluminum case that I guess could be grounded to the frame, but yea, Im more confused after reading this post if I should ground the case or not...