Yurtle
New Member
greetings all... I know there are thousands of posts on here regarding electrical system safety,
but I'd like to get a thread started about a system I'm building with particular focus on how to maximize safety in this particular situation.
I have a 4x4 E-250 and regularly drive very rough and washboard roads, so the point being to devise an electrical system capable of withstanding very high vibration and relatively violent levels of movement, as compared to a stationary system (where even just small movement caused by much more subtle things like cell swelling, shelving deflection, and heat cycling, etc can have us shaking hands with danger).
The basic concepts I'm currently brainstorming:
1. physical stability: every component needs to be locked down/fastened very securely to a stable mounting point. To reduce vibration of electrical components I'm planning to use sorbothane pads between each item and whatever it ends up mounted to
2. isolation: I (probably stupidly) bought some super cheap LiFePO4 batteries. I'm going to suppose these are likely the highest (fire) risk elements of the system. My plan, which I'll detail more fully as the build progresses, is to install them within a stainless box vented to the exterior of the van. I have a bunch of leftover high temp insulation from building a propane forge that I'll likely use as well (and/or maybe some sort of "fire-blanket"), and I plan to install at least one or more automatic fire suppression devices. The hope here obviously is to attempt to protect flammable materials for as long as possible from the heat and flame generated if the batteries were to blow. I wouldn't expect 100% containment in the event of a catastrophic failure, but at worst these precautions should at least buy time.
3. cable routing and protection - there are lots of sharp metal edges in a vehicle
4. overkill over-current protection - I'm still doing A LOT of reading and research here. I'm very familiar with residential a/c systems, but all the different types and applications of DC Ignition protected fuses/OCP are a bit confusing so far
anyway, more to come, and thank you all in advance for your participation
but I'd like to get a thread started about a system I'm building with particular focus on how to maximize safety in this particular situation.
I have a 4x4 E-250 and regularly drive very rough and washboard roads, so the point being to devise an electrical system capable of withstanding very high vibration and relatively violent levels of movement, as compared to a stationary system (where even just small movement caused by much more subtle things like cell swelling, shelving deflection, and heat cycling, etc can have us shaking hands with danger).
The basic concepts I'm currently brainstorming:
1. physical stability: every component needs to be locked down/fastened very securely to a stable mounting point. To reduce vibration of electrical components I'm planning to use sorbothane pads between each item and whatever it ends up mounted to
2. isolation: I (probably stupidly) bought some super cheap LiFePO4 batteries. I'm going to suppose these are likely the highest (fire) risk elements of the system. My plan, which I'll detail more fully as the build progresses, is to install them within a stainless box vented to the exterior of the van. I have a bunch of leftover high temp insulation from building a propane forge that I'll likely use as well (and/or maybe some sort of "fire-blanket"), and I plan to install at least one or more automatic fire suppression devices. The hope here obviously is to attempt to protect flammable materials for as long as possible from the heat and flame generated if the batteries were to blow. I wouldn't expect 100% containment in the event of a catastrophic failure, but at worst these precautions should at least buy time.
3. cable routing and protection - there are lots of sharp metal edges in a vehicle
4. overkill over-current protection - I'm still doing A LOT of reading and research here. I'm very familiar with residential a/c systems, but all the different types and applications of DC Ignition protected fuses/OCP are a bit confusing so far
anyway, more to come, and thank you all in advance for your participation
