Wiring/Electrical tips from a pro.

[Nic7320]

That's a very safe approach. My corner case happened a week ago. My high current ground connection wasn't torqued sufficiently because it shared a stud used by a phenolic mounting tab on the BMV shunt. It worked fine for just over a year, but then loosened up and got hot enough to start melting some insulation. I smelled something was amiss, cleaned the ring terminal, and moved it to its own dedicated ground stud.

Like previously mentioned, ANY high current connections can be problematic if not done properly. Good cables, good lugs and proper torque on high current connection points is always necessary.

 

[white whale]

I wish I was more electrical adept as the members here. I would be curious to know if monitoring these modern system is something that can be automated as in electrical would shut down if you got to a critical point where the van would not start. I have seen visible monitoring on gauges and via smart phone. But is there a fail proof also?

 

[Neil2]

I wish I was more electrical adept as the members here. I would be curious to know if monitoring these modern system is something that can be automated as in electrical would shut down if you got to a critical point where the van would not start. I have seen visible monitoring on gauges and via smart phone. But is there a fail proof also?

Yes, there is. Google is the best place to begin. If you post the link here you may receive valuable feedback on the efficacy of a given brand/design.

 

[Plamo]

Hi there I am desperately looking for a qualified installer to look at the victron system I paid to have installed in my Winnebago View and is not operating as expected. The problem is that I am in south east Ontario Canada. Would anybody know someone that actually knows what they are doing in my area? I would appreciate if someone has a qualified referrer. This is not something I can do myself. What a great business plan for someone to start up as they are hard to find.
thank you

 

[Midwestdrifter]

Hi there I am desperately looking for a qualified installer to look at the victron system I paid to have installed in my Winnebago View and is not operating as expected. The problem is that I am in south east Ontario Canada. Would anybody know someone that actually knows what they are doing in my area? I would appreciate if someone has a qualified referrer. This is not something I can do myself. What a great business plan for someone to start up as they are hard to find.
thank you

Your best bet is to find a experienced marine electrician. They aren't cheap, but they typically are familiar with the intricacies of DC and AC power systems. Anywhere around the great lakes should have a few of them. Sometimes talking to larger marine/boat/yacht service centers can yield a recommendation for someone who is freelance, and thus a bit cheaper.

You may consider starting a thread in the "conversion talk" sub forum, asking for a recommendation.

 

[hilld]

Hi there I am desperately looking for a qualified installer to look at the victron system I paid to have installed in my Winnebago View and is not operating as expected. The problem is that I am in south east Ontario Canada. Would anybody know someone that actually knows what they are doing in my area? I would appreciate if someone has a qualified referrer. This is not something I can do myself. What a great business plan for someone to start up as they are hard to find.
thank you

Several of us here have self installed a Victron system, perhaps list the issues and we can perhaps help with some troubleshooting or point out that something you are asking it to do, is not really standard (if that is indeed the case).

 

[Canadiansnowchaser]

in south east Ontario Canada. Would anybody know someone that actually knows what they are doing in my area?

Ray Outfitted


ooh I just noticed you posted that in Aug. Did you find someone?

 

[Nic7320]

And remember nobody's solar in this hemisphere operates as expected this time of the year, with the sun angle in the southern sky. I'm lucky to have days when it hits 40% of what I get in Summer.

 

[Roamers]

The length of the wire does not matter if you size it correctly. Obviously shorter wires will allow you to use smaller gauge as long it is still within the voltage drop guidelines.

I am in the process of finalizing conductor sizing and comparing sizes based on 1, 2, and 3% loss. Checked to see what 1, 2, or 3 means in real life on a system (I didn't like some of the wire sizes for 1% loss). Spoiler alert: more important to consider on lead acid than LiFePO4 if you have components sensitive to low voltage (duh!). Next the anal engineer remembered that every contact point has resistance associated with it (even really, really, really good crimps and real components (i.e, Blue Sea)). Took a bit to find, but Marine How To to the rescue again https://marinehowto.com/fusing-termination-voltage-drop/

It's a good read, if you care about voltage drop. 3 main take away that will improve my design (I'm a ME not EE but have a bit of E experience):

1) size fuse so < 80% of fuse rating is max continous current through it
2) size fuses for max wire ampacity rather than anticipated load
3) allow .00025 ohms per contact point in loss calculation. (i.e., an installed cable has 4 contact points (2) lug to terminal, (2) wire to lug; 100 amp load has .1 volt loss). Now consider the number of contact points through your inverter circuit from battery + to -, could be a significant loss on top of conductor loss.

 

[scurvydog]

Having over a decade experience doing marine electrical the rule of thumb is you either design for a 3% or 10% drop. Given the van is so small in distance the cost to upgrade wire gauge just do everything at 3% is small. Blue Sea has a very handy app called Circuit Wizard that can take into account a multitude of factors and spit out the recommended wire size.

For those looking for help on Victron the two best options would be to either get a marine technician if you live near a body of water with larger boats OR hit up the Victron forum HERE

One other tip if your going to do a serious amount of wiring in your van invest in a lab
Also, I posted some tips on another forum for basic DC voltage work last year in this forum post. HERE

Last if you really want to become competent on DC low voltage get the book Boatowners Electrical and Mechanical Guide by Nigel Calder ( LINK )

 

[marklg]

Having over a decade experience doing marine electrical the rule of thumb is you either design for a 3% or 10% drop. Given the van is so small in distance the cost to upgrade wire gauge just do everything at 3% is small. Blue Sea has a very handy app called Circuit Wizard that can take into account a multitude of factors and spit out the recommended wire size.

For those looking for help on Victron the two best options would be to either get a marine technician if you live near a body of water with larger boats OR hit up the Victron forum HERE

One other tip if your going to do a serious amount of wiring in your van invest in a lab
Also, I posted some tips on another forum for basic DC voltage work last year in this forum post. HERE

Last if you really want to become competent on DC low voltage get the book Boatowners Electrical and Mechanical Guide by Nigel Calder ( LINK )

For something really large such as an inverter, I design for 1% with a 4/0 max AWG. If it is pulling 300A from a 13V Lithium bank, 3% voltage drop is 0.39V. With that and 300A, you are losing 117W in the wiring. I've had inverters that were finicky, so I give up the least possible with practical wring.

With all the issues with Maxxfans, I'd design for 1% for that too.

Thanks for the link to the boat owner's guide. It's not too badly priced. I'm a little annoyed ABYC does not offer free viewing of their stuff like NFPA does. A pro is still going to buy whatever they need for hundreds of dollars, but DIYers that would never spend that much can look at the information for free and wind up safer.

Regards,

Mark

 

[N. Coast]

How can I wire a 12v Whale hot water tank? Can I run this off the house batteries instead of the ignition switch of the van? I don't want to mess this up.

https://whale.navico.com/globalasse...urces/12v-water-heater-installation-guide.pdf
Thanks