Questions regarding "So, you want to setup a good electrical system in your camper?"

Interesting, I wonder if the vintage or dinette style dictated no venting...our '16 hawk [purchased new in Oregon] with side dinette has a small wire screened battery compartment vent on starboard side on the shelf in front corner.  Same, we had FWC AGMs until I went to BB Li.

Edited by Wallowa, 09 December 2022 - 03:41 AM.

I am planning a project to swap out my dual AGM batteries with a 170 AH LiFePO4 battery. While I am at it, I will add a Victron Orion DC-DC charger (12/12-30 amp) and also a 1500 watt inverter (Aims pure sine)  IMG_3442.JPG   297.61K   29 downloads. I have put together a wiring diagram showing the wire sizes, etc. (attached). I would appreciate any comments on the wiring diagram. Does anyone see any issues with this plan?

Also, looking for feedback on whether 4 AWG wire size is good for the inverter or whether I should go to the expense (and difficulty) of 2 AWG wire size. My current plan is to mainly use the inverter for a 600 watt water kettle. I use propane for cooktop and heater.

Thank you in advance for any comments.

What gauge cable do one of the various cable sizing guides call for?

My own preferred guide: https://www.ancorpro...om/en/Resources I tend to use the 3% Voltage Drop table exclusively, but that can result in an excessively Conservative selection.

Well the Blue Sea “Circuit Wizard” calculator says that 6 AWG is adequate with inputs of 80 amps and a 10 ft circuit length. If I bump the amperage up to 125 amps then I need 4 AWG. Hope I am running the calculator correctly…

Looks like the change from 6 AWG to 4 AWG required happens at about 90 amps (per the Blue Sea calculator).

The AIMS inverter specs indicate that it is capable of 3000 watts surge. That might be over 200 amps? I assume that the 120 amp circuit breaker will trip before any hazardous condition is reached for my setup.

Speaking from ignorance....but why not use a 4 AWG cable if it has less resistance?  Cost not a bigee, but sucking every V/A out of the system is a winning proposition....why not less resistance?

This is my thinking too. I am planning on using 4 AWG for the inverter circuit. I was wondering if I should consider 2 AWG. That seems like overkill to me.

As the fridge is likely to be the largest energy consumer, you should evaluate its impact on the truck battery per your circuit diagram. You may want to run it off the camper battery instead. Nothing in my camper comes close to drawing down the battery as much as the fridge.

 

If you kill the camper battery, you can easily recharge it by the truck charging system but if you kill the truck starting battery, you will be in a tough spot.

 

With a dead camper battery, you can still heat water with propane. I carry a JetBoil/MSR for that purpose while sitting outdoors anyway

 

Paul

And Paul I carry this on my motorcycle trips and in the Tundra just in case the Tundra or bike starter battery goes flat...redundancy is my mantra.   Light weight and compact.

 

  "Antigravity Batteries XP-1 Micro-start Personal Power Supply & Jump Starter