26 replies to this topic

[ElGigante]

Thank you all for the thoughtful responses. Sorry this took so long but again life was in the way. I finally got a chance to hit the shell and look behind the wall panels.

It looks as if the only things wired into the shell were the rear flood light. The fan. And the 3 ceiling lights. They were tied directly to the pigtail. No fuses. No isolation that I could find.

I wired this pig tail to my truck battery to attach. So they were draining the starter battery I guess? Terrible set up.

There was also a separate system wired in the back. 2 6v batteries an inverter and solar charger. A shore power plug wired straight to an AC socket and the battery. All that wired to a fuse box which ran the heater a water pump and one 12 V socket.

I decided I am going to install 1 Battleborn Li battery. A victron 100/30 mppt charger with 712 charge controller. One 200 renology panel on the roof. Use the old 1000 watt inverter that’s in ther for now. (I may eventually add a shore power hookup and a second battery and a second panel and a better inverter)

I will add a new fuse box and wire the heater to it and re wire the lights and fan to it as well. Plus 3 12V sockets. That’s it I think. Since this model doesn’t have running lights the pig tail will be completely un needed. I’ll keep it on and may eventually add a dc/dc charger through this connection.

Oh and I decided to not reconnect my shurflow pump and to just use the larger whale foot pump to run a water system out of 5gallon cans under the sink.

Anyone see any problems with this overall setup?
Thanks again.

[rubberlegs]

Your 1000W inverter, at full power, would need over 80 amps at 12 volts. Just be sure your wiring and battery can deliver that.

[ElGigante]

Thanks. Just looked it’s an older 750 watt. It’s wired in with 8 gauge now. But only a few inches from the battery. I was planning on 4 for this one. Larger if I go up to a better inverter later.

[rubberlegs]

Can your battery deliver 80 amps? I guess some of them can these days!

[ElGigante]

Yup. 100a till she dies lol. But I don’t anticipate using that thing much if ever. Not till I have different needs or a different setup. Cheers.

[Vic Harder]

ElGigante, your intended setup should work fine.  FYI, I tested the BB 100AH battery draw as I was building out my Puma.  It will deliver 150A (I think that was the number) for a few minutes before shutting down, so your Inverter is fine.  I have 2 BB batteries in my setup, mostly for the 3000W pure sine inverter and an 1800W induction cooktop.  We use that sparingly, but it does work for about 45 minutes on high (way longer on simmer!) and produces no flame to worry about inside.  We use it outside too occassionally.

 

Also, your equipment list shows a 712 "Controller".  The mppt is the controller.  The 712 is a true battery SOC monitor, and likely THE most important part of your setup.

 

For your ancilliary gear (fuse panels, 12V/USB sockets) I strongly recommend staying away from your typical RV gear and going marine grade.  Blue Sea gear.  I've used PKYS.com in the past and been very happy with them and their service.  No affiliation.

[ElGigante]

Yeah. I got the blue sea stuff. Fuse box 12v outlets andkill switches. I made room for a bigger inverter and a second BB battery. In the plan. Now I just need to build it out and wire it up. Panels and some of the hubs and such will be here tomorrow. I’m away most of next week but next weekend I hope to make a dent in the build.

It’s 100pct shell now. Nothing inside but carpet on the sides lol. I’ll post some build pics and such and of course some questions as I go lol