What’s the smart move here?

[Bluedog225]

I’ve got a little 12 V system with a 200 amp SOK battery for my shop lighting as an interim measure until I install my big system.

I went ahead and got a 1200 watt 12 V inverter. I can run my little stuff on it and maybe I can run a few small power tools on occasion.

I’m confused about running wiring between the inverter, charge, controller, and the battery.

At 1200 watts (discounting larger surge) it’s about 90 amps to the inverter. And 40 amps(?) [edit-oops. 20 amps] give or take coming from the panel or two I will use to keep this battery charged up.

Those little Amazon bus bars are rated at 180 amps total and 15 amps per connector. Note they have one a large lug and a bunch of little studs.

Seems like I need to stack ring terminals somewhere. I can stack a couple on the large lugs on the bus bars. One going to the inverter and one going into the charge controller. Or I can run dedicated lines between the inverter and the battery in separate dedicated lines between the charge controller, and the battery. This would stack my ring terminals on the battery stud.

Where do I get a larger bus bar that can handle 100 A per connector. And where would I find one of those?

Sorry for the long post and thanks. I’m new to this whole bus bar thing.

 

[koppted]

Here are 2 units that you can trust the current rating on and use copper as opposed to brass hidden under nickel like a majority of the Amazon versions seem to do:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08JKXKF3Q/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

https://www.amazon.com/Blue-Sea-Systems-PowerBar-BusBar/dp/B000XBB758/

 

[740GLE]

For a starter system I’d say double stacking lugs for the battery and inverter is fine, SCC is probably fine with the smaller connectors.

Do you plan on other 12v loads?

 

[Bluedog225]

Thanks for the link.

And yes, I do plan on running two or four cigarette plug sockets off the bus bars for my various 12 V stuff

 

[Decto]

Those bus bars are not suitable for the inverter, you would need to connect that straight to the battery.
They will work OK for cigrette lighters, lower DC loads etc.

I use several of the less expensive amazon 300A M10 x 4 bus bars (brass). Nothing wrong with them for this current.
I have a 1200VA multiplus and even running with the inverter overloaded at ~110A they only increase a few degrees above ambient.
The hottest thing in the circuit is actually a victron 275A battery isolation switch.
Voltage drop is minor at ~ 100A so for your current setup these would be fine.

https://www.amazon.com/AMOMD-Terminal-Distribution-Junction-DC12-48V%EF%BC%88Red/dp/B0BVFJ5ZN6/ref=sr_1_3?crid=22M7LN2GD8LPR&keywords=Bus%2BBar%2BBox%2B300%2BAmp%2BM10&qid=1682638019&sprefix=bus%2Bbar%2Bbox%2B300%2Bamp%2Bm10%2Caps%2C136&sr=8-3&th=1

My main question is fusing... do you have fuses?

I haven't added the 12V minor loads as yet but will use these with a small fusebox

The battery / Inverter and charge controller should all be fused appropriately too.

 

[sunshine_eggo]

Here are 2 units that you can trust the current rating on and use copper as opposed to brass hidden under nickel like a majority of the Amazon versions seem to do:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08JKXKF3Q/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

Big fan of the Pike Industries one. My neighbor and I both have sets.

They're my Victron Dealer as well.

 

[Bluedog225]

I am planning on fuses.

The inverter docs say it is internally fused (replaceable). Would that mean no fuse needed between the battery and inverter?

And interestingly, the mppt is fused as well with a little blade fuse.

I’m still trying to figure out where more fuses are needed. I will have a fuse block for the 23 volt loads.

 

[HRTKD]

I concur with @740GLE on how to stack the lugs.

I started out with brass bus bars. That worked just OK for my 1,000 watt inverter, but once I moved up to a 2400 watt inverter there was no way. Victron Energy has some killer bus bars as does Blue Sea Systems. I went with the latter. 1,000 amp capacity.

You're close to what I built with my Board Build. Same solar charge controller but bigger inverter. I wish I had gone a bit bigger with the inverter, but I was thinking of tent camping, not running a freezer at home off of one of the car batteries.