An all-LED light system
Solar charging capacity for long periods off grid
Additional light fixtures
A ceiling vent fan
A fan for the composting toilet
Enough battery capacity for an inverter capable of running a desktop computer
The original 12 volt system consisted of a battery, two inline 20 amp breakers, one 15 amp fuse, the converter and two circuits. One circuit was for the water pump and a 12 volt appliance plug on the top corner driver's side of the closet wall. The second circuit ran on romex wire to the three sconce lights, bathroom light and the stove hood fan/light switches. I kept looking for a fuse box or fuses somewhere with no success. Eventually I found out that the fuse was built into the converter.
The converter was still in the trailer and hooked up. It was pretty rusty and dirty, just sitting on the driver's side front floor. When I removed it I was surprised how heavy it was. Old school, all copper winding and the shell was thick gauge steel. It weighed in at 21 lbs! Compared that to today's converters which only weigh a few pounds. I knew I was going to replace it so I used my grinder to cut off the front cover, which I plan to reuse as a light switch:
:On the floor near the converter I found this instruction plate:
Time to start working on the wiring. First I figured out what circuit ran what by doing continuity tests with my ohmmeter. The circuits appeared intact although they had a poor ground. I was very happy that I did not have to run new wire for the existing lights.
While I was replacing the floor I ran all new wires to the battery area on the front tongue. The original positive wire from the battery is the 10-gauge yellowish wire you see in the middle of the photo. Totally inadequate for my purposes, I guess back when all you had were four lights, a stove fan and a water pump it was ok. Not even close for what I had in mind...
I replaced it with 2-gauge wires for both positive and negative. May seem like a bit of overkill but since I was going to use solar I wanted as thick a wire as I could handle. I feel comfortable crimping wire up to 2-gauge so that is what I used. On the photo you will notice there are two heavy black (negative) wires going back out to the trailer tongue area. The 2-gauge is battery negative, the 6-gauge wire is for chassis ground. More on this later when I blog about the battery monitor
Once the floor was finished I started building the front driver's side seat under which all the electrical gizmos were going to live. After I got the 110 volt system working it was time to party with the 12 volt installation.
I replaced it with 2-gauge wires for both positive and negative. May seem like a bit of overkill but since I was going to use solar I wanted as thick a wire as I could handle. I feel comfortable crimping wire up to 2-gauge so that is what I used. On the photo you will notice there are two heavy black (negative) wires going back out to the trailer tongue area. The 2-gauge is battery negative, the 6-gauge wire is for chassis ground. More on this later when I blog about the battery monitor
Once the floor was finished I started building the front driver's side seat under which all the electrical gizmos were going to live. After I got the 110 volt system working it was time to party with the 12 volt installation.
Here is the finished system:
Pow!
The converter is on the bottom right, the solar controller sits directly above it. On the upper right is the 110 volt surge protector and directly below it is the battery monitor shunt and the negative bus bar. On the left side is the main fuse box. Each one of these circuits is protected by its own Bussman breaker, except for the converter that already has its own fuse protection built in. I a chicken so as far as I am concerned you cannot have enough fuses and breakers. Notice I have left room for a large inverter in the compartment.
All the connections are crimped and shrink wrapped. Unlike in a car system where the amperages are low and soldering connections is ok, you do not solder connections in a system like this, where you are going to be running 1000 watt inverters and what not. If the wire gets hot enough the solder could melt and then you have a loose wire, no bueno. Don't do eeet.
I did not want the electronic components nor the electrical connections to be on the floor just in case there was ever a spill or water leak of some sort. So each component sits on its own 1 1/2 inch thick platform above the floor. Although some wires run on the floor, no connections are at floor level. Better ventilation for the converter and less chance of a major leak damaging anything.
Power comes in from the battery through a "catastrophic failure" Bussman 150-amp breaker to a bus bar. The bus bar supplies power to the converter, main fuse box, battery monitor and solar charge controller. The propane/carbon monoxide alarm and the trailer breakaway switch are powered from the battery side of the 150-amp breaker so they have power at all times, as required by the manufacturers.
Here is a closer view, from top to bottom: Negative bus bar, battery monitor shunt and positive bus bar all underneath the 110 volt surge suppressor, then the 150-amp breaker and converter.
All the ground wires, including chassis ground join at the negative bus bar and then go through the battery monitor shunt before heading back to the battery negative.
Pow!
The converter is on the bottom right, the solar controller sits directly above it. On the upper right is the 110 volt surge protector and directly below it is the battery monitor shunt and the negative bus bar. On the left side is the main fuse box. Each one of these circuits is protected by its own Bussman breaker, except for the converter that already has its own fuse protection built in. I a chicken so as far as I am concerned you cannot have enough fuses and breakers. Notice I have left room for a large inverter in the compartment.
All the connections are crimped and shrink wrapped. Unlike in a car system where the amperages are low and soldering connections is ok, you do not solder connections in a system like this, where you are going to be running 1000 watt inverters and what not. If the wire gets hot enough the solder could melt and then you have a loose wire, no bueno. Don't do eeet.
I did not want the electronic components nor the electrical connections to be on the floor just in case there was ever a spill or water leak of some sort. So each component sits on its own 1 1/2 inch thick platform above the floor. Although some wires run on the floor, no connections are at floor level. Better ventilation for the converter and less chance of a major leak damaging anything.
Power comes in from the battery through a "catastrophic failure" Bussman 150-amp breaker to a bus bar. The bus bar supplies power to the converter, main fuse box, battery monitor and solar charge controller. The propane/carbon monoxide alarm and the trailer breakaway switch are powered from the battery side of the 150-amp breaker so they have power at all times, as required by the manufacturers.
Here is a closer view, from top to bottom: Negative bus bar, battery monitor shunt and positive bus bar all underneath the 110 volt surge suppressor, then the 150-amp breaker and converter.
All the ground wires, including chassis ground join at the negative bus bar and then go through the battery monitor shunt before heading back to the battery negative.