[Streetdoctor]

Looking for opinions on my setup. I have purchased everything except for wiring/fuses/CB's/and the Solar setup but I'm fairly certain this is the final draft.

The entire electrical system will be located 6' behind the drivers seat so the longest cable run will be from the van battery to the Sterling B2B. All other cable runs will be as short as possible, hopefully less then 2'. I'm doing the install myself.

Product List

Lifeline 255Ah 12V AGM
Sterling BB1260 60Amp battery to battery charger
AIMS Power 2000W Pure Sine Wave Inverter/70Amp charger
Victron Bluesolar 100/30 MPPT Solar Controller w/Bluetooth
Grape Solar 180W Panels x2
Victron BMV-700 w/Bluetooth
MaxxFan 7000K Deluxe
x3 12V outlets (2 switched)
x2 2.1 Dual USB outlets switched
x8 LED puck lights switched
x2 LED reading lights
150A Busbar Positive
150A Busbar Negative
Temp sensors for the Sterling and AIMS (The MPPT will be in the same compartment)

My questions/concerns-

general wire size? The Sterling and AIMS size was taken from the manual.
80A CB ok for AIMS since it's a 70A charger?
Do I need protection between the shore plug and inverter or is the fuse on the inverter suitable?
Wire size for solar setup? 8AWG seems hard to source? Will 10 work?
Fuse between panels and MPPT?
Catastrophic T-Fuse 150A since busbars are both 150A?
Switch locations-
1. Complete system shutdown
2. Shutdown 12v Appliances
I don't think I need a switch on the solar or inverter since the inverter?
Any other main switches helpful?

Do I have the shunt wired correctly? Is the Chassis ground necessary? It'll be kind of a pain to do.

Any other advice would be appreciated!

 

[Streetdoctor]

For those of you using a BB1260 are you operating it in mode 3? Where did you find your ignition feed?

 

[proeddie]

You might want to consider using dimmers in line with the LED lights....nice to be able to "lower the lights"... less than $5 each on de'Bay

 

[Streetdoctor]

You might want to consider using dimmers in line with the LED lights....nice to be able to "lower the lights"... less than $5 each on de'Bay

DOH good catch, I actually already have them!

I also swapped the 80A CB on the inverter to a 200A, added a switch for the solar, and the T-fuse to a 300A. I think I need to order larger busbar's now as well though...

 

[Streetdoctor]

I'm fairly certain my common ground size is incorrect. I'm unsure on what amperage to calculate for though.

 

[Melmike]

Just my 2 cents;

I also use the Aims 2000W Pure Sine and it has worked very well for the last 2 years.

I did add a Blue Sea 30A breaker panel. [ame]https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000AXNVA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1[/ame] This protects the system from an overload and verifies polarity prior to starting up the inverter.

As for the rest of your setup, I'll be very interested in seeing further responses from the others in the group--they have been very helpful to me.

Mike

 

[Streetdoctor]

After talking with a buddy a redo is coming... the shunt is shown wired incorrectly.

 

[nebulight]

That's a ton of switches... Do you really need to switch all of your USB and 12V sockets? If so, why?

Also, school me on that Sterling B2B. Why is that needed with an AGM vs a simple continuous duty solenoid wired to a 12v ignition switch inline with an on/off switch?

 

[Streetdoctor]

That's a ton of switches... Do you really need to switch all of your USB and 12V sockets? If so, why?

Also, school me on that Sterling B2B. Why is that needed with an AGM vs a simple continuous duty solenoid wired to a 12v ignition switch inline with an on/off switch?

The switches on the USB are probably not necessary but 12v is nice for an auxillary fan without having to wear out the socket by plugging and unplugging constantly. they're small rocker switches that are easy to wire, but more of a pain to add down the line I guess.

Let's not dig too deeply into the proper way to charge an AGM in this thread please. I'm really just looking for help with the diagram. Read about smart chargers here https://www.batterystuff.com/blog/3-stages-of-smart-chargers.html

The original diagram has the shunt wired incorrectly. I'm also thinking of just eliminating the inverter all together. I will rarely if ever use shore power, and I can plug a small portable inverter into one of the 12V sockets to charge a laptop when necessary. This will eliminate the need for gigantic wiring.

Here's the updated wiring diagram simplified. I'd love any opinions on the ground wiring specifically. According to the bluesea calculator 2AWG will be fine for this setup. I'll probably ground to the vertical support in front of the driver side wheel well.

 

[copa]

I'd use a circuit breaker on the +ve from the solar panels vs a fuse. It allows you to turn of PV input to the charge controller. Id put it above your Isc values by probably 1.5x, assuming that wire size is appropriate.

You might need 2/0 for the inverter, depending on how much over 2000w it can put out and for how long. The manual probably has it right though.

I think your busbars and fuses need to be larger if you plan on using the inverter fully. At 2000w you can draw north of 150 amps, without anything else running. I have copper bar for some of the larger +ve busses and ground my inverter directly to the shunt using 2/0. You need a much larger CB than 80a for the inverter/charger. Probably above 175amps, but you need to coordinate with wire gauge and what your max output is for the inverter.

You need to ground to the chassis to charge from the alternator. You can run a -ve wire to the battery ground chassis point by the car battery or tap into the chassis somewhere else. Not sure how the sterling handles it though.

 

[copa]

And for the other questions I missed:

2awg seems ok for a short run with a 200 amp T fuse on the battery, but it would be too low with the 2000w inverter.
I'd use a household CB after the shore power inlet before the inverter.

 

[MsNomer]

You can probably get a 12V power supply for your laptop.

 

[Streetdoctor]

Alright thanks for the comments, I ended up ditching the inverter. I'm not planning on running a microwave and my fridge is 12v/120v capable so I think it was just complicating things. I spent the better part of two days redesigning a cabinet/bed layout to save as much space as possible. The cabinet measures 20" deep, 36" tall, and 16" wide. Everything is 3/4" plywood except the floor which is two 3/4" pieces glued and screwed together. The battery has ratchet straps in both directions with a tiedown bolt through the van floor, L brackets on all sides and the rear of the battery backing to a cabinet over the wheel well that's bolted to the wall. In the end it's still a 155lb battery but hopefully it's secure for all but the worst of accidents.

I still need to shorten some of the wires and plug everything in. I hooked up the sterling for a trial run and it worked perfectly in mode 1. I'm using one of the holes on the wheel well for a ground. I meant to get everything wired up today while at work but I was afraid to drive the van without the cabinet supported more horizontally. The cabinet is also secured to the van wall and to itself with wood glue and pocket screws. Monday I'll be finishing the wiring and adding a couple shelves. The plan is to have two horizontally opening cabinet doors that open against the wall of the bed. One with two shelves for a pantry/storage, the other with access to the electrical system.

Initially I was going to make this cabinet floor to ceiling but decided to make it the same height as the galley that will be next to it for extended counter space. I should have about 60" x 20" (with a 12" fold up extension) of counter and still have access through the driver side slider.

Not sure why the uploader turned all my photos sideways, sorry.