Batteries, Inverter, Solar,, oh my

[82alaska]

I have completed what I will call phase one of my solar and inverter installation. I decided to install the larger battery bank and inverter as Phase 1. I purchased an Aims brand 3000 watt pure sine wave inverter and 4/0 cables and lugs, a three hundred amp catastrophic fuse block and the Victron 712 Bluetooth capable battery monitor and corresponding shunt and I added two more GC-2 interstate 6 volt batteries to my battery Bank. The battery bank is now 430 amp hours. As you can see from the pictures I mounted the inverter high on the wall of the front compartment put all the 4/0 Cabling on the left side of the wall , mounting everything directly to the plywood wall. There is also a disconnect switch right at the positive battery terminal.
I left plenty of room underneath the inverter on the wall for a future solar charge controller.
I am running my inverter on-off switch and the battery monitor display inside above my panel in the closet but that hasn't happened yet. Currently they are just in my basement area.
My 120 volt feed is a 30 amp RV cord , cut and hardwired to the 120 volt leads on the inverter , and then the cord is fed through the wall outside to my propane tank storage compartment on the curbside, then to the dogbone adapter from 30 to 50 amp which then plugs right into the side of the trailer. By the way that hole in the side wall of the front compartment was pre drilled and filled with a big Gob of foam I just stuck my finger through the foam and did not have to drill that hole.
When I turn on the inverter I have to remember to turn off the circuit breaker that feeds the original equipment converter and I run the fridge on propane, but other than that everything else is fed through the normal 120 circuitry.
I bought everything on amazon.com and I'll find my materials list and post later if anyone is interested.

Phase 2 is going to be running the wires from the solar charge converter which all mount on that wall up the interior walls and through the roof to a combiner box that I'm going to build. So starting at the top, the combiner box will be a 6 or 8 in plastic junction box, which will be screwed and glued and sealed to the roof. Inside the Box will be too little bus bars capable of holding the number 6 THHN wire that I'll feed down the wall into the basement through a little conduit and over to the solar charge controller. Once I have my wires and combiner box and the solar charge controller installed I'll proceed to phase 3 which will actually install 3 Grape Solar brand 180 watt solar panels.
By the way as a side note the Grape Solar Panels were bought through Costco and were delivered in 2 days . the panels are built in the US. I emailed Grape Solar customer service and they did a quote and purchase order through Costco and all I had to do was click on a link and give them my credit card.
Here are some pictures of my installation so far.

First picture is my battery box after installation.
Second picture is the battery Bank. Notice the shirt off switch.
Third picture is the inverter installed on the wall.
4th picture is a detail of my fuse block and shunt for the battery monitor.
Fifth picture , to make the wiring easier I had to go buy a 90-degree 4/0 cable lug.
6 th picture is the 120 volt side of the inverter.
Number 7 is trying to show the cord going through the wall into the propane compartment on curbside.
Number 8 shows my cord coiled around the top of my propane tank and then I drop it out the bottom of the compartment and stretch it over to the plug.
Number 9 shows the cord and the dawgbone plugged into the side of the trailer.


CONTINUE READING I FINISHED THE INSTALL..
SEE BELOW::










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[82alaska]

Pictures

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[82alaska]

Picture

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[gbkims]

The Cantex 6x6x4 box others used for a combiner box has good thick walls, ~1/4"

[82alaska]

Thanks, mine is very similar. Did you tap the box for the glands to screw into?

That's my plan. Had a tap, just need to buy a drill bit.

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[gbkims]

Thanks, mine is very similar. Did you tap the box for the glands to screw into?

That's my plan. Had a tap, just need to buy a drill bit.

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Yes, tapped the threads for the cable glands I used Heyco M4516 which were a good match for my XLPE cable.
Add a bit of permatex RTV to the threads in addition to the gland's built in sealing ring.

[gbkims]

I'd thought of using a cable entry plate by go power!, but wanted some extra room if I needed to change or add something later on.

[Biggzz]

What is the brand name or part number for the dog bone 90 degree connector in the picture? I'm looking for the same thing.

[82alaska]

What is the brand name or part number for the dog bone 90 degree connector in the picture? I'm looking for the same thing.

Here ya go.
Epicord 12" 90-Degree Dogbone RV Adapter 30-Amp Male and 50-Amp Female with Twist Lock and LED Power indicator https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079JX3F91..._F3aGBbJTYDR39

Scott

[82alaska]

THIS IS THE FINAL WRITE UP

PHASE 2;
On my 2017Solitude 300GK, the main electrical panel and the switches and monitor panel islocated behind a door above the coat closet, at the stairs into the bedroom. The walls on either side are 2” thick and actas a chase for the factory wiring. I cutinto the right side wall in the cubby above those panels opening it up enoughto see and feel the ceiling panel. I cutaway the ceiling panel as well to gain access into the attic space. My AC ducting is right there above thatcubby, but I was able to find enough room to drill a ¼” hole up thru the atticand thru the roof sheathing and membrane. That ¼” hole acted as a pilot hole for my hole saw up on the roof. I drilled a 1.25” hole thru the sheathing.
Back in thecubby I fished my #6 wire (along with a #10 green ground) down thru the wallinto the basement, and poked up a foot or so thru my new hole in the roof. Then it was time to build my combiner box andget that installed up top.
I followedthe same ideas as many of you have done and built the box out of a 6 x 6 GreyCarlon junction box that I picked up at Lowes. What I did was to drill a 1.25” hole thru the bottom of the box and gluein a bushing from the inside, then glued a coupling onto the tail of thatbushing. This gave me a box with asealed short stub protruding out the bottom. Just right to insert thru my roof into the attic. For the connections inside the box I attached2 - aluminum buss bars that I stood off the bottom of the box with 3/8” rubberbeveled faucet washers. I used SS #8 x32 machine screws and nuts and washers. I also countersunk the screw heads into the bottom of the box so theywere flush. One bar will be for thepositive feed from the solar panels and the other of course is for the negativefeed. I know that the plastic of the boxis non-conductive, but I figured the washers will give me some extra protectionfrom any voltage tracking and a cross phase issue.
Next it wastime to install the box. I used a ton of clear silicone on the bottom of thebox and over the screw heads in the mounting tabs. I installed with SS #12 x 5/8” woodscrews. I’ll finish sealing with theAlpha Systems 1021 self-leveling lap sealant when I install the solar panels.
Once the #6wires were connected, I put the lid on the box.
Back in thecubby I glued in a front facing panel and a removable side panel that wouldhide the big holes I cut into the hollow wall. I found some scrape wood flooring that sort of matches the existingwood. That front panel will hold myremote on/off for the Inverter and the display for the Victron BVM712. I fishedthe wires thru the wall from the basement, cut mounting holes and installedboth items.
Next, downin the basement, I slipped the control wires that had previously been just lyingin my basement, into a split flexible wire loom and attached to the roof of thebasement. The #6 solar feed wires wentinto a larger split flexible wire loom, were attached to the roof as well. Then I drilled thru the wall and fed thesolar wires into the front compartment.
The Solar ChargeController was next to install. Iscrewed it to the front wall just below the Inverter. This would give me plenty of room to routethe various wires. My SCC is a Victron100/50 smart device.
My #6positive wire comes from the solar panels and thru a 50 amp circuitbreaker/switch. That allows me to cutthe feed from the panels. The#6 positivethat goes into the battery bank also has a 50 amp circuit breaker/switch. That allows me to isolate the SCC from thebattery bank. The terminations on the #6at the battery are crimp type copper ring terminals with 5/16” holes. The circuit breakers have set screw lugs.
Ready forphase 3.

The Solarpanels are Grape Solar 180 watt Monocrystalline. I mounted them on the basic zippity feet,screwed to the roof with #12 x ¾” SS sheet metal screws, and sealed withsilicone and the Alpha 1021 lap sealant. I placed the panels hoping that I could avoid full shade, but am wiringthem in parallel so even if one panel is shaded, the other 2 should supply fullpower.
I ran thesolar wires into the combiner box thru the wire glands I had threaded into the plasticbox. My glands had 3 holes in them sizedfor #10 wires, I ran the positives first, then the negatives then thegrounds. Each set thru its owngland. I taped the solar wires to theTPO roof with Eternabond tape.
Theconnections to the buss bars were made and I brought the ground wires into asplit bolt and taped it up. Then sealedthe box.
I shouldnote that the manufacturer, Grape Solar did tell me that in an RV installation,I didn’t need to ground the panels, but I did it anyway.
So then itwas time to close the circuit breakers and power up the SCC. It worked perfectly and started charging in BULKmode.
Since bothmy BVM712 and the SCC are Bluetooth, I downloaded the app from Victron, onto myIPad and phone, and paired them up. TheSCC app was showing the panel production in Watts, the current voltage andamperage from the panels and the battery charge voltage and amperage.
Therewasn’t much of a draw, I hadn’t kicked on the inverter, but the battery monitorscreen did show the small draw of the trailer lights and the normal parasiticdraw.

Everythingworks.