He owns a shop that does high-end automotive upholstery and interiors, custom machine parts, and sheet metal fab. Good friend to have around, I wish he lived closer.
cycle61's Adventure Van build
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I have to ask this question, not trying to criticize the nice work you have done, but…. Why are all these electrical components and connections located down in a box at shoe top level? For the batteries that makes sense, but servicing that equipment would be a lot easier if it was at eye or chest level. I have seen other van electrical boxes in the same place and always wondered why. Admittedly, I am learning about vans before I do my own, and my experience installing solar is 100% in home building & construction.
@rimcanyon Good question! With low voltage DC wiring, the cable lengths make an enormous difference. Since these 2/0 cables between the batteries, the disconnect switches, and the bus bars may see up to a couple hundred amps at 24 volts, it is imperative to keep all the components as close together as possible. The AC wiring is less sensitive to length and therefore the controls may end up in a more convenient location. I also think of this stuff like the breaker panel in my house...I know where it is, and how it works, but I certainly don't need to access it very often. Nothing in our normal operation of the system will require switching any of this, so it doesn't need to be taking up valuable real estate in the people space.
@cycle61 Thanks for the reply. One thing I have found with home wiring, is that no matter how permanent you think it is or how well it fits your needs, plans change, technology changes and things wear out or don't work as advertised. So accessibility and ease of making changes or adding new components is just as high on my list as real estate in the people space. But then again, I'm an old fart and it takes a lot of planning for me to get moving.
This stuff should ultimately not need servicing. I think the electrical system in the van (or any RV or boat, trailer, or whatever) should be as visible as it is in a house - which is to say... on a remote wall that you never think about unless a breaker blows.
We had an accessible panel-mount set up in our last van - mostly because I'd seen other people do that and it was a bit of a trophy in some ways. But once it was all dialed in and working correctly, it was just something that didn't need to be visible or even very accessible. It just worked.
This rig, it's all out of sight - gotta remove a panel to get to the fuses and breakers and then remove a cabinet (a half-dozen bolts) to really service it. But it almost never needs service - only when we change things, really.
Funny post because I was thinking, "why such a large box taking up such usable space," when I saw the box! 🤣
All the electronics are behind those panels and under the fridge in that box... accessible but not out front.
I told the wife that I'm going to give a lot of this space back, but I need to reserve it for the moment. Lol
Also...it's ALIVE!!!!!!
Much cleanup of wiring still to do. Tonight's goal was to get it operational, with the batteries, inverter, and AC outlets all connected and working.
The unsheathed +DC red wire heading into the inverter is because somehow I ran out of 5/16(8mm) lugs and I'll need to trim it back re-terminate, and sheath it once received. Currently using a 3/8" ring on both ends, which fits the disconnect switch but is slightly oversized for the inverter.
![Blue Circuit component Engineering Electrical wiring Electronic engineering]()
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Also...it's ALIVE!!!!!!
Much cleanup of wiring still to do. Tonight's goal was to get it operational, with the batteries, inverter, and AC outlets all connected and working.
The unsheathed +DC red wire heading into the inverter is because somehow I ran out of 5/16(8mm) lugs and I'll need to trim it back re-terminate, and sheath it once received. Currently using a 3/8" ring on both ends, which fits the disconnect switch but is slightly oversized for the inverter.
What temperature probes are you using to show on you Cerbo?
I thought the positive and negative cables were recommended to be the same length? I see yours are quite a bit different?
Looks like a nice clean simple setup.
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I am finishing the front face of my of my electrical system cabinet (wanted to get it running before winter) and I too am realizing like, 'why did I want doors on all this again?'
I am probably going to just enclose it with some bolted on panels, after I'm done running wires and what not. Next summer I will probably redesign it and really make it compact as safely possible.
I'm also planning full panels that if needed can be unscrewed to remove. Doors are just not needed as far as I can tell. Only reason for doors would be to show off what you have.
Those are Ruuvi sensors and the Cerbo is flashed with a different GUI.
Common misconception on the cables. Parallel paths need to be as identical as possible to balance amp draw across batteries or strings. The positive and negative are in series with each other and by definition will have the same amperage.
My parallel runs are all very closely matched. Makes for some funky routing at times.
Can you point me to were you found the new GUI for your cerbo. I will have temp sensors, tank sensors and a couple switches on the relays.
GitHub - kwindrem/SetupHelper: Helper functions to simplify writing setup scripts that modify VenusOs functionality. The package includes automatic reinstallation of the package after a VenusOs update.
Helper functions to simplify writing setup scripts that modify VenusOs functionality. The package includes automatic reinstallation of the package after a VenusOs update. - GitHub - kwindrem/SetupH...
github.com
GitHub - kwindrem/GuiMods: VenusOS GUI enhancements and modifications
VenusOS GUI enhancements and modifications. Contribute to kwindrem/GuiMods development by creating an account on GitHub.
github.com
Nice work getting it all up and going, @cycle61!
Looks like you could bring those batteries in end-to-end to save some space. Or... more work... put the batteries on top of the wheel-well and move the other gear around. We did that with Nick's van recently - bunch of hours relocating the electronics and batteries and stuff - and the batteries over the wheel-well saved a lot of garage space.
I dig the Ruuvi sensors. Added a couple more recently to get the fridge and freezer temps. Pretty cool.
GuiMods (was GuiMods2 replaces GuiMods) - Victron Community
community.victronenergy.com
Running this on the Cerbo. Lots to tweak and tune.
With regard to accessibility, I'm also int he school of thought that once this system is commissioned, it should rarely need to be accessed. Plug in the van at home or if we camp with power, unplug when on the road, and it should all just work.
Putting the batteries end to end was considered. That area in the front is going to house our propex heater, so it's spoken for, and I really wanted both batteries low due to their weight, so stacking above the wheel well wasn't optimal. I think this will end up with generous drawer space above the batteries and other components.
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6,990 Posts
Very timely. Could you be so kind and chime in on this question that I just posted. Thanks
Question on cable lengths when parallel wiring multiple...
All of the diagrams I have seen show all of the positive cables at equal length as well as all of the negatives at an equal length. My question is will the batteries stay in balance if the trip of the total cable length to each battery (positive plus negative) is equal but made up of...
www.fordtransitusaforum.com
Answered as best I know.Very timely. Could you be so kind and chime in on this question that I just posted. Thanks
Question on cable lengths when parallel wiring multiple...
All of the diagrams I have seen show all of the positive cables at equal length as well as all of the negatives at an equal length. My question is will the batteries stay in balance if the trip of the total cable length to each battery (positive plus negative) is equal but made up of...
So less than 12 hours after energizing the system, I spent the day using it to power lights and test equipment out on a remote corner of a project site. Total load was about 250 watts, give or take.
No need for access for most of the electrical. My accessable electrical includes a Magnum inverter remote and 5 light switches located where I am located when I want a particular light on.
Magnum remote set to read SOC. No need for any more information. Did use other remote information at initial setup. Do use remote to turn inverter on/off.
I do have an accessable panel with solar in/out breakers, a 12 volt DC breaker feeding the DC fuse block and an AC breaker feeding a single string of AC duplex outlets.
Have two selector switches. One to select which shore power to use and the second for where to send the power.
Magnum remote set to read SOC. No need for any more information. Did use other remote information at initial setup. Do use remote to turn inverter on/off.
I do have an accessable panel with solar in/out breakers, a 12 volt DC breaker feeding the DC fuse block and an AC breaker feeding a single string of AC duplex outlets.
Have two selector switches. One to select which shore power to use and the second for where to send the power.
Bummer, I'd say. Much fun as it is to have more free time... not so good to have less money to do cool stuff with the free time. Either $1000 for an IKON pass OR $1000 for a decent used set of skin gear for back-country...
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