How is my electrical diagram?

[italianub]

I have zero experience with electrical but after seeing several diagrams, I went ahead and gave it a try! I am thinking I need a bigger fuse box cause I don't think that will work for this many connections? Or maybe I can combine some? Any insight would be amazing!

 

[italianub]

I would also like a master switch to turn everything off, but don't really know where to put that in the diagram.

 

[GTS225-TNT]

Solar panel to solar/charge control(ler), then to battery, with it's own fuse at battery +. (Don't go through the fuse/terminal panel.)
Master disconnect right at battery plus, then a master fuse right behind it.
You have battery negative (blue) coming off of terminals marked +. You should NOT run battery negative to your fuse panel, unless there's a dedicated ground/negative bus there.
I don't see fuses depicted (schematic symbol) on your drawing, but it looks like a pictorial representation on that terminal block in the center. Am I reading that correctly?
The purple "wires" aren't wires, are they? I think you're using those to represent remotely mounted switches?

Just my quick observations.....Roger

 

[Pmullen503]

I think you have positive terminals along the sides (with fuses) with the neutral bus on top. You show the power converter wires both coming off the neutral bus. Same thing with the galley light. That won't work.

It looks like you have 12 fused circuits, if that isn't enough you can double up low amperage circuits like led lights.

Depending on your solar controller, it should have circuitry to handle the the battery/panel charge switch over. Consult the manual that came with it. But either the battery or the controller (usually) should be hooked up the fuse block, not both.

Sometimes, if the controller is designed to handle it, a high amperage device (like a big inverter) can be hooked directly to the battery. Again, consult the manual.

If you plan to have a 120V inverter and shore power as well, it is vastly simpler and safer to run separate shore power and inverter 120V circuits and do not cross connect the neutrals. (I personally, would never ground 120V power to the trailer frame.)

 

[italianub]

Solar panel to solar/charge control(ler), then to battery, with it's own fuse at battery +. (Don't go through the fuse/terminal panel.)
Master disconnect right at battery plus, then a master fuse right behind it.
You have battery negative (blue) coming off of terminals marked +. You should NOT run battery negative to your fuse panel, unless there's a dedicated ground/negative bus there.
I don't see fuses depicted (schematic symbol) on your drawing, but it looks like a pictorial representation on that terminal block in the center. Am I reading that correctly?
The purple "wires" aren't wires, are they? I think you're using those to represent remotely mounted switches?

Just my quick observations.....Roger

I found this fuse panel diagram online, I am assuming actual ones will be more clear for which are positive and negative. The purple "wires" are not wires, that is correct, it's just showing where the switches will be going.

Thanks for the solar charger -> battery and not through the panel info! I know I read that somewhere and I figured I was screwing something up when I was drawing this up.

It looks like you have 12 fused circuits, if that isn't enough you can double up low amperage circuits like led lights.

Depending on your solar controller, it should have circuitry to handle the the battery/panel charge switch over. Consult the manual that came with it. But either the battery or the controller (usually) should be hooked up the fuse block, not both.

Sometimes, if the controller is designed to handle it, a high amperage device (like a big inverter) can be hooked directly to the battery. Again, consult the manual.

If you plan to have a 120V inverter and shore power as well, it is vastly simpler and safer to run separate shore power and inverter 120V circuits and do not cross connect the neutrals. (I personally, would never ground 120V power to the trailer frame.)

Yeah I think I will double up the internal lights since they will be LED, so both sets of reading lights and both sets of cabin lights should all share 1 fuse, if I decide to use the reading lights with USB ports, I'll separate them.

Are you saying don't use 120v circuits connected to the battery, but run a line for them via shore power only? I am likely getting a beefy battery so I was hoping that I could run everything off of that and not rely on being somewhere with shore power.

 

[Pmullen503]

.

Are you saying don't use 120v circuits connected to the battery, but run a line for them via shore power only? I am likely getting a beefy battery so I was hoping that I could run everything off of that and not rely on being somewhere with shore power.

I meant that I would run separate, parallel 120V systems. Separate outlets and wiring for shore and inverter power. No expensive switch needed, no chance of screwing the wiring up and no risk from a faulty shore power source.

Be realistic about your electrical requirements. Electric heaters and A/C units will require a very beefy battery and charging system.

 

[Tony Latham]

I am thinking I need a bigger fuse box...

The top of the fuse box is the neutral bus bar. (You've got it wired wrong.) That's where you connect all the negative wires to. The sides are where you connect the positives. That box size is fine. It has room for 12 circuits.

I would add an AiLi meter to monitor the battery, it'll tell you a heck of a lot more than the voltage meter and you won't have to turn all of your power off for 45 minutes to measure the status. I would also reconsider putting that lighted switch panel in the cabin or get rid of it entirely. The lights would drive my wife and me nuts --and they produce a steady drain on the battery.

Also, if you use light fixtures with their own switches, life will be a lot simpler on this project and equally functional.

AiLi Meter:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CTKYFTG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

My electrical center is in the galley:

Tony

 

[featherliteCT1]

I would add an AiLi meter to monitor the battery,


+++10

 

[Pmullen503]

Especially if you are using LiFePO4 batteries. The discharge curve is so flat that voltage is almost worthless.

 

[italianub]

awesome info, thanks everyone!! Hoping to get my trailer frame started as the new year rolls over

 

[italianub]

Solar panel to solar/charge control(ler), then to battery, with it's own fuse at battery +. (Don't go through the fuse/terminal panel.)
Master disconnect right at battery plus, then a master fuse right behind it.
You have battery negative (blue) coming off of terminals marked +. You should NOT run battery negative to your fuse panel, unless there's a dedicated ground/negative bus there.
I don't see fuses depicted (schematic symbol) on your drawing, but it looks like a pictorial representation on that terminal block in the center. Am I reading that correctly?
The purple "wires" aren't wires, are they? I think you're using those to represent remotely mounted switches?

Just my quick observations.....Roger

I would add an AiLi meter to monitor the battery, it'll tell you a heck of a lot more than the voltage meter and you won't have to turn all of your power off for 45 minutes to measure the status. I would also reconsider putting that lighted switch panel in the cabin or get rid of it entirely. The lights would drive my wife and me nuts --and they produce a steady drain on the battery.

Also, if you use light fixtures with their own switches, life will be a lot simpler on this project and equally functional.

Tony

How does this look? Redid it using someone else's diagram but edited it for my own purposes (much cleaner!)

 

[Tony Latham]

How does this look?

The first thing that I noticed was the ground to the chassis. Perhaps that's a good idea since you're running an inverter for 120-volt outlets. We keep an inverter in our tongue box, but I can't recall what we've used it for. It's been a long time since I dug it outta the box. I'll be curious to read other's thoughts on it.

But secondly, don't run the negative of the solar directly to the battery. Run it to the fuse box so it goes through the shunt so you can monitor production from the AiLi meter.

And by the way, we have one dome light in our cabin and don't need two. Teardrop cabins are tiny.

Tony

 

[italianub]

The first thing that I noticed was the ground to the chassis. Perhaps that's a good idea since you're running an inverter for 120-volt outlets. We keep an inverter in our tongue box, but I can't recall what we've used it for. It's been a long time since I dug it outta the box. I'll be curious to read other's thoughts on it.

But secondly, don't run the negative of the solar directly to the battery. Run it to the fuse box so it goes through the shunt so you can monitor production from the AiLi meter.

And by the way, we have one dome light in our cabin and don't need two. Teardrop cabins are tiny.

Tony

In regards to the dome light, I am only going to use one main one in the cabin and likely the second will run as strip lighting inside the cabinets or something. Just wanting to make sure to run a second line in for anything I might need. Future-proofing myself, haha.

Fixed the solar! I would need the inverter to run a cpap machine in the cabin, and things like a coffee pot in the galley. Unless I am very confused about how power works LOL

 

[Tom&Shelly]

I would need the inverter to run a cpap machine in the cabin, and things like a coffee pot in the galley.

I'd check the power draw on the coffee maker. I doubt you can run one on a reasonable sized teardrop battery, especially through an inverter. (It's a problem I've taken seriously!) Heating water takes a lot of energy and it's one of the things like air conditioning and electric heating of the cabin that requires shore power or a generator.

Best to heat the water on your propane (or white gas, etc.) stove and then there are several methods for converting to coffee from instant (Starbucks makes some that are as good as regular, but pricy) to presses, to the old school percolator.

I know Tony has some experience with CPAP machines, and I think there are 12 volt versions. That would be more efficient, but if you already have one that will work with a 600 watt inverter, that's probably a good choice too.

Tom

 

[Tony Latham]

I would need the inverter to run a cpap machine...

I too use a (Phillips) CPAP. But I run mine off 12 volts.

CPAPs use DC voltage. That black box in your CPAP cord is a converter that changes the AC power into DC power. You're planning on converting DC voltage (from your battery) into AC voltage (from your inverter) and then changing it back to DC voltage (with the converter in the cord). Each time you do it, you'll lose 15-20% of your power. And that's a lot of juice.

You'll save a lot of power if you just get a 12-volt cord for your CPAP and install a cigarette plug. That's why I have a 12-volt outlet next to my fuse box:

And coffee? (Electric coffee post are power hogs.)

:thumbs-up:

Tony

 

[Tom&Shelly]

We keep an inverter in our tongue box, but I can't recall what we've used it for. It's been a long time since I dug it outta the box. I'll be curious to read other's thoughts on it.

Tony

There aren't a lot of things these days that only require the energy in a teardrop size battery that are just made to run off of 120 vac. Since there is a conversion loss in the inverter it's usually more efficient to buy the 12 volt version.

Of course, if someone doesn't want to buy the 12 volt dc version, an inverter may make sense.

Tom

 

[italianub]

Yeah I agree about the coffee... but unfortunately I am not the boss when it comes to that (I don't even drink coffee!) so I have to appease the better half hahaha.

I will definitely check out about getting a 12volt cord for the cpap, I'd love to not need an outlet inside the cabin!

 

[Tom&Shelly]

Yeah I agree about the coffee... but unfortunately I am not the boss when it comes to that (I don't even drink coffee!) so I have to appease the better half hahaha.

Well, the physics says you may not be able to do it. Your battery holds so much energy, and it takes so much to make hot water. The inverter can only pass so much energy through it at a time.

Bruce Osborn, on this forum, built a humungous electrical system that he says was motivated by the desire to heat a mug of water. (Please correct me if I remember that wrong, Bruce.) But that's his hobby and there is a considerable amount of space devoted to batteries and the electronics necessary to keep them happy.

Edit--(After a cup of coffee): OK, I do see a 600 watt coffee maker on the market. No idea how good that is, and it is the lowest wattage of the coffee makers I've seen. Most are around 1300 watts. My guess is your wife may be disappointed.

So, keep in mind a 600 watt inverter will take a 50 amp input from the 12 volt battery. That will require some hefty wire (depending on the distance from the battery). You'll need to size the fuse box and other components with that in mind.

Tom

 

[Tony Latham]

Bruce Osborn...built a humongous electrical system...

And he does that kind of stuff for a living. When Bruce says something about electricity, I listen. He's been a big help for me.

Tony

 

[italianub]

Yeah I agree about the coffee... but unfortunately I am not the boss when it comes to that (I don't even drink coffee!) so I have to appease the better half hahaha.

Well, the physics says you probably will simply not be able to do it. Your battery holds so much energy, and it takes so much to make hot water. The inverter can only pass so much energy through it at a time.

Bruce Osborn, on this forum, built a humungous electrical system that he says was motivated by the desire to heat a mug of water. (Please correct me if I remember that wrong, Bruce.) But that's his hobby and there is a considerable amount of space devoted to batteries and the electronics necessary to keep them happy.

For grins, I could try going through the numbers (after I've had my coffee!) I don't want to sound pessimistic, but facts are facts.

Tom

Yeah, I get it, but I have to keep up appearances that I'm trying