A 'learn as I go' trailer

[Mushin]

Those switches will be fine, simple and easy to work with.
The 12 guage wire is fine but unless it's something you have lying around is way overkill and may be difficult to work with, 16 gauge would be more then fine to use and be easier to use and terminate.
Most 12 volt vehicle wire is 16 or even 18 guage.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

[brx017]

Those switches will be fine, simple and easy to work with.
The 12 guage wire is fine but unless it's something you have lying around is way overkill and may be difficult to work with, 16 gauge would be more then fine to use and be easier to use and terminate.
Most 12 volt vehicle wire is 16 or even 18 guage.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

Agreed. 12 GA will work just fine, but is overkill for sure.

18 GA can handle 5 amps over 25' and 15 amps over 10'. 16 GA can handle 10 amps over 25' and 24 amps over 10'.



Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

[antalog]

Yeah, the 12ga is something I bought and opened But not the worst mistake to make, Im about to go see if I can exchange it. It WAS super hard to work with when I was just playing around, couldn't twist it together with any of the accessories. Thanks for the info.

Thanks for the chart too brx017, nice way to look at everything.

I think I want to air on the side of safety and go with 16ga. From what I can piece together theres no major advantage with going with a thinner gauge in this instance, no? Other than cost? I mean I already crapped the bed buying 2 spools of 12ga. In for a penny, in for a pound at this point.

[brx017]

No problem. I use 14 gauge for a lot of random projects "just because". Mainly because I've always got a partial spool laying around.

It doesn't hurt to use a larger wire. It is safer, as it will stay cooler under load... which may be a concern if you are burying it in the walls of your camper. Then again everything should be fused, so it SHOULDN'T be a problem.

16 gauge is a good universal size for a project like this. Large enough to handle the load, but small enough to be easily worked with. If course it's more economical too.

I don't like working with smaller than 18 gauge unless I need to, especially stranded wire. It can be delicate, there's just not a lot of strands there, or the strands are so small they break easily.



Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

[antalog]

I picked up some 16ga today and its so much easier to work with! 18ga would feel too fragile, I agree.

I realized today that my PD4045 is actually missing the 120V hot bus bar that sits all the way on the right side of the panel. Or its not installed and its in the box somewhere. Is this common and Im just totally missing something? The black wire is there but not plugged into anything as well.

Other than that hopefully minor setback, Ive run most of the neutral (white) wire but I only purchased red and white wire. From what Ive read its not uncommon to use red for hot, but I want to use black since that seems the majority for hot color.

Im eager to get the electrical set so hopefully this 120v bus bar thing can be fixed quickly.

[aggie79]

I realized today that my PD4045 is actually missing the 120V hot bus bar that sits all the way on the right side of the panel. Or its not installed and its in the box somewhere. Is this common and Im just totally missing something? The black wire is there but not plugged into anything as well.

For most converters, there is no hot terminal. The hot circuit from the power inlet terminates in a breaker (30-amp) and "back feeds" the hot bus for the remainder of the breakers/circuits.

[antalog]

Ok, my mistake, I just found this on the product page on their site.

"As of January 1, 2016, the hot buss in our model PD4045 and PD4060 is no longer supplied by Progressive Dynamics as it is not required for the proper function of the power center. "

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N920A using Tapatalk

[antalog]

Ok, well Im pretty much stumped on my DC power....

Ive done some preliminary tests by setting up some basic circuits running them through the PD4045. I was able to get the DC cutoff switch to work fine, I was able to get shore power working fine and got electricity running through the 120v outlet in the galley.

My issue now is getting a successful circuit out of the 12v DC. Im able to get a simple light to work when I touch the neutral white wire to the negative post on my battery when its coming out of the PD4045. But when I go to get that same circuit to work when I try to ground it to the frame, it doesnt work. It doesn't work in the neutral bus bar in the panel either.

I tried grinding a bit of the paint and whatnot to get down to bare metal on the trailer and that didnt do it either. Theres clearly something Im missing and Im just not sure what it is. I called Progressive Dynamics and left a message but no word today.

I would love to get some input on this. Im just unclear where I may be going wrong.

On another note, here are some picture updates of the galley



Ready to get the electricity working so I can start tightening everything down.


And heres my test circuit.

[Padilen]

Do you have a breaker for the 12v (15 amp) connected?
Are you not using a terminal strip ? I'm on a cell phone and pics are hard to see.
I have one grounding strip - for connecting grounds.

And one for positive

Some do some don't use.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[antalog]

Im not currently using a terminal strip. I was never really sure how to go about setting those up.
Right now I have the 30amp for shore and 15amp for converter. THe rest Ive been using for 120v.

Is that terminal strip a common thing and why do some people not use this method? Ive read in a few places that some people prefer it and some dont.

And where do you affix these bars within your setup? Is there a specific gauge to go from break to terminal?

[Padilen]

Is the 15 amp breaker connected to the 12v converter?
I no longer have pics on my phone of mine. And I can't answer tech questions. I just know basics. I worked maintenance and it was usually a simple thing over looked that was the cause of a failure. Maybe check threads about setting up PD.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[SCwood]

My issue now is getting a successful circuit out of the 12v DC. Im able to get a simple light to work when I touch the neutral white wire to the negative post on my battery when its coming out of the PD4045. But when I go to get that same circuit to work when I try to ground it to the frame, it doesnt work. It doesn't work in the neutral bus bar in the panel either.

If you're grounding your lights to the frame, what else do you have hooked up to the frame to complete the circuit? Either the battery needs to be grounded to the frame or a negative DC lead of some sort from the PD needs to be, otherwise you're not completing the circuit. I'm no electrician, but my guess is the negative lead from the battery needs to be attached to the frame too.

[antalog]

Ahhh Thats an interesting thought.

No, I dont have any connection going from the battery to the frame. So now I think that makes more sense to me, the circuit is completed through the frame and grounds through the tires. ...right?

Thanks for that nugget of information SCwood. Gunna research this more and see what I can learn.

[Padilen]

Ahhh Thats an interesting thought.

No, I dont have any connection going from the battery to the frame. So now I think that makes more sense to me, the circuit is completed through the frame and grounds through the tires. ...right?

Thanks for that nugget of information SCwood. Gunna research this more and see what I can learn.

See it's usually something simple.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[SCwood]

I'm not entirely sure, but I don't think a dc circuit has a ground like an ac circuit does. I'm thinking about it like a car- the negative lug of the battery is attached to the frame and the positive terminal is routed to a fuse block. From there you can attach an accessory like a radio by running a positive wire from the fuse block to the radio, and then grounding the radio to the frame. When you turn the radio on the current runs through the radio, the frame, and back to the battery


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk