[Knarfly]

There are a couple other threads on goal zero electrical, although I wanted to start a new one working off a specific diagram.
My goals are to:

• Run house accessories when Goal Zero is not installed (temporary use only)
• Not blow my single 60A CCP fuse (50A breaker)
• Charge Goal Zero while car is running (yeti link)
• Have Goal Zero run house accessories when installed and not change plugs
• Control Accessories from front and back of van (trigger six shooter)
• Have a kill switch for accessories, or be able to run them only when ignition is on, or all the time (SPDT on-off-on)

I bought the six shooter because it will help minimize my wiring significantly, allowed for controlling accessories from my phone, and just seemed cool. I'm using a Goal Zero Yeti 1000. I think I have it done, my main concern is the BEP switch. It is 1-2-Both-Off. I don't plan on ever using Both, but if I accidentally switch Both, will it fry something as my Goal Zero could potentially be charging itself? Should I add an on-off, or use some other switching mechanism in place of the BEP switch?

Accessories (Trigger Fuse)

1. Dometic Fridge (10A)
2. Maxxair (10A)
3. TV (5A)
4. Internal LEDs (5A)
5. Future (30A)
6. Future (30A)

There is a 100A inline fuse on the Trigger. I don't plan on using near 100A, or running all the accessories at one time, so I think 50A main should be sufficient unless my GZ is way down in charge, running accessories, and driving (being charged by the Yeti Link). In any case I can upgrade to the 3x CCPs and the breaker if that becomes an issue in the future.

Thanks for any feedback!

CCP to Breaker to Bus is all 4AWG

 

[Knarfly]

It took a couple weeks to hear from Goal Zero, however they came back and said that if the unit ends up charging itself it won't ruin anything. With that I put together my power center. I added Hein's SPDT dash switch and tapped some fuses for power (horn and heated seat). This allows me to decide to control all accessories ignition on/all time/all off and from Goal Zero/CCP. The Goal Zero will also be charged anytime the car is running and it is plugged in. I also bought the GZ regulated cable I will run to a few 12v ports for using the Dometic Fridge. I grounded the system to the BEMM noted D pillar grounding present on the wagon behind the trim above the rear AC.

 

[MysteryMachine]

Following, Thanks for posting. I just picked up a smaller yeti and a second AGM battery to go under the drivers seat. I just about killed my AGM battery on the first camping trip with the kids constantly plugging phones, laptop and such in, doors to van opening and closing and internal lights staying on. The second AGM will power a few lights, a fan and an inverter for a few things; probably a small compressor cooler/ fridge. I am tired of hunting for ice and such. I picked up a small Yeti 500x that has already served us well on our first 2 camping trips. Portable and light, and I can remove it from van for day to day use. The second AGM battery should be sufficient for the fan and additional lights and maybe a few other things. I am not tech savvy, but willing to learn. I am trying to figure out what type of battery to battery charging I should use between the vehicle batteries, so that I don't kill the starter battery and the size of inverter or should I just forego the inverter and run the fan, cooler and internal and external lights off of the 12V fuse panel off second battery? I will only be using the Lithium battery Yeti for summer camping as an additional power source so no need to go large. My understanding is that the 12 V source is far more efficient than ac when it comes to those powered coolers. That, I plan on keeping in the van the majority of the time. What do you think? You obviously have a firmer grasp of vehicle electronics than I do.
I like what you are doing with the 8020. That appears to be the 1 inch stock. Do you think the 1 inch is sufficient. I am torn between using the 1 inch and the 1.5 inch to build the bed platform.

 

[lucienpsmith]

My goal zero setup:

• 30amp inlet at bumper
• GoPower 30amp auto transfer switch
• Blue Seas Circuit Breaker
• Dual AFCI/GFCI outlets
• Yeti 25 amp power supply
• Yeti car charger
• AC-DC 120watt 10 amp transformer
• DC 12V 2-Way 10A Dual Power Supply Automatic Switching Controller
• Blue Seas DC fuse holder
• Yeti 1400 lithium power station
• 200 watts gz solar panels

 

[lucienpsmith]

not the best photos to illustrate, but what I have

My goal zero setup:

• 30amp inlet at bumper
• GoPower 30amp auto transfer switch
• Blue Seas Circuit Breaker
• Dual AFCI/GFCI outlets
• Yeti 25 amp power supply
• Yeti car charger
• AC-DC 120watt 10 amp transformer
• DC 12V 2-Way 10A Dual Power Supply Automatic Switching Controller
• Blue Seas DC fuse holder
• Yeti 1400 lithium power station
• 200 watts gz solar panels

View attachment 138378

 

[Knarfly]

My goal zero setup:

• 30amp inlet at bumper
• GoPower 30amp auto transfer switch
• Blue Seas Circuit Breaker
• Dual AFCI/GFCI outlets
• Yeti 25 amp power supply
• Yeti car charger
• AC-DC 120watt 10 amp transformer
• DC 12V 2-Way 10A Dual Power Supply Automatic Switching Controller
• Blue Seas DC fuse holder
• Yeti 1400 lithium power station
• 200 watts gz solar panels

I like your shore power setup! I'll probably do the same when I get around to adding it. Looks pretty easy and intuitive, thanks for adding the pictures. What do you run off of the outlets? Has it been sufficient power for your needs?

 

[Knarfly]

Following, Thanks for posting. I just picked up a smaller yeti and a second AGM battery to go under the drivers seat. I just about killed my AGM battery on the first camping trip with the kids constantly plugging phones, laptop and such in, doors to van opening and closing and internal lights staying on. The second AGM will power a few lights, a fan and an inverter for a few things; probably a small compressor cooler/ fridge. I am tired of hunting for ice and such. I picked up a small Yeti 500x that has already served us well on our first 2 camping trips. Portable and light, and I can remove it from van for day to day use. The second AGM battery should be sufficient for the fan and additional lights and maybe a few other things. I am not tech savvy, but willing to learn. I am trying to figure out what type of battery to battery charging I should use between the vehicle batteries, so that I don't kill the starter battery and the size of inverter or should I just forego the inverter and run the fan, cooler and internal and external lights off of the 12V fuse panel off second battery? I will only be using the Lithium battery Yeti for summer camping as an additional power source so no need to go large. My understanding is that the 12 V source is far more efficient than ac when it comes to those powered coolers. That, I plan on keeping in the van the majority of the time. What do you think? You obviously have a firmer grasp of vehicle electronics than I do.
I like what you are doing with the 8020. That appears to be the 1 inch stock. Do you think the 1 inch is sufficient. I am torn between using the 1 inch and the 1.5 inch to build the bed platform.

I'm learning as I go as well. Not sure about the battery to battery charger, but I'm sure there are several threads on it. If your accessory is 12V it is more efficient to use a 12v source rather than adding an inverter into the mix. I believe the YetiX line already has a regulated 12v output which helps with the coolers. Good luck!

The 8020 is 1.5inch, I order from Tnutz as it is much cheaper.

 

[lucienpsmith]

I like your shore power setup! I'll probably do the same when I get around to adding it. Looks pretty easy and intuitive, thanks for adding the pictures. What do you run off of the outlets? Has it been sufficient power for your needs?

I wanted AFCI/GFCI protection, and the blue seas don't offer breakers with AFCI/GFCI so wiring through outlets was my solution.

I have the following things run off the power outlets:

• refrigerator
• air conditioner
• electric space heater
• electric hot plate
• electric water pot
• anything else requiring AC power

 

[Turbonsa]

Nice, I am looking at something similar. Goal zero maybe 1500x or 3000x. I am trying to also make my van usable as a van and like that I can remove the pack.

 

[Turbonsa]

Hi, if I am following your set up correctly, you use the transformer to power the DC workload from the transfer switch when it's plugged into shore power?

 

[lucienpsmith]

Hi, if I am following your set up correctly, you use the transformer to power the DC workload from the transfer switch when it's plugged into shore power?

You are correct - when connected to shore power, DC workload comes from a transformer powered by shore power via the transfer switch.

 

[lucienpsmith]

Nice, I am looking at something similar. Goal zero maybe 1500x or 3000x. I am trying to also make my van usable as a van and like that I can remove the pack.

My goal zero setup:

• 30amp inlet at bumper
• GoPower 30amp auto transfer switch
• Blue Seas Circuit Breaker
• Dual AFCI/GFCI outlets
• Yeti 25 amp power supply
• Yeti car charger
• AC-DC 120watt 10 amp transformer
• DC 12V 2-Way 10A Dual Power Supply Automatic Switching Controller
• Blue Seas DC fuse holder
• Yeti 1400 lithium power station
• 200 watts gz solar panels

View attachment 138378

I replaced the "DC 12V 2-Way 10A Dual Power Supply Automatic Switching Controller"
with this 30 amp Automatic DC Power Switching System: Backup power transfer switch Repeater Battery Backup DC Switching System PWRgate | eBay

 

[Knarfly]

I've been having issues with my Dometic CFX50 being powered from the Goal Zero, I'm not sure if anyone else has had this issue. The main scenario is when the Goal Zero is under 70% with or without (but especially with) other loads being powered when the Dometic compressor starts to kick on it stutters and gives me a low voltage warning. It is being fed through a GZ 12v regulated cable which outputs 14v. No fuses blow, no low voltage cutoffs have been triggered, and in certain conditions it may start up after 4 or 5 tries. Loads powered are usually less than 4 amps when the Dometic tries to start. I can switch to my van battery and have the same result with an increased load (around 10-12amps total being ran not including Dometic). When the van is running the Dometic has no problem either powered by GZ or Battery, as the GZ is getting charged by the alternator at that time.

The 12v regulated cable has a 15 amp max, while the dometic pulls a max of 8 amps. After weeks of emails back and forth with goal zero they sent me a new regulated cable, and that does not appear to fix the issue. The line of thought is that the regulated cable may not be able to handle the initial surge of current on compressor startup. Some reviews of the regulated cable seem to say the same thing. I'm going to delete the regulated cable and test some more and see if that helps, although I think I had this issue before which is why I added the regulated cable in the first place.

 

[harryn]

15 amps of 12 volt regulated power is a pretty marginal rating for a van power system. That is at best 50% of what is needed.

The compressor might officially pull 8 amps but there are alway start up surges.

The reason for the stutter with that cheap ____ GZ converter vs a higher performance converter is that the response time required for the converter to deal with these load surges is quite short.

Just give up on it and use a 120 vac in / 13 volt / 500+ watt out converter, as that GZ solution will never be reliable.

 

[Knarfly]

15 amps of 12 volt regulated power is a pretty marginal rating for a van power system. That is at best 50% of what is needed.

The compressor might officially pull 8 amps but there are alway start up surges.

The reason for the stutter with that cheap ____ GZ converter vs a higher performance converter is that the response time required for the converter to deal with these load surges is quite short.

Just give up on it and use a 120 vac in / 13 volt / 500+ watt out converter, as that GZ solution will never be reliable.

Are you referring to the electronics of the GZ itself, or the buck/boost regulated cable?

 

[OutsideJack]

I've been having issues with my Dometic CFX50 being powered from the Goal Zero

Goal Zero X series? Curious, as I have the X series and I’m under the impression that with X you don’t need their max current cable, which I think? is suppose to solve this exact issue you are having.

 

[Knarfly]

Goal Zero X series? Curious, as I have the X series and I’m under the impression that with X you don’t need their max current cable, which I think? is suppose to solve this exact issue you are having.

Not the X series. I have the Yeti 1000.
I do use the Max current cable. The non X series also had the downfall of a non regulated output. So the output voltage can get as low as 11.2V, which is why a boost was recommended for accessories requiring a steady 12v.
The low voltage cutoff on my Dometic is 10.1v but it is receiving 14v after the boost.

 

[harryn]

Are you referring to the electronics of the GZ itself, or the buck/boost regulated cable?

Whatever items are holding you back from getting enough regulated DC out to your refrigerator , but probably the DC - DC cable is what is doing it.

If it were me using a GZ, I would follow the lead of lucienpsmith.

Of course I build van electrical systems so I won't be buying a GZ but since you already have one, that general concept of getting the regulated 12 VDC using a converter plugged into 120 vac outlet is pretty common.

Not just for GZs, but the import solar generators in general.

 

[MCQ]

There are a couple other threads on goal zero electrical, although I wanted to start a new one working off a specific diagram.
My goals are to:

• Run house accessories when Goal Zero is not installed (temporary use only)
• Not blow my single 60A CCP fuse (50A breaker)
• Charge Goal Zero while car is running (yeti link)
• Have Goal Zero run house accessories when installed and not change plugs
• Control Accessories from front and back of van (trigger six shooter)
• Have a kill switch for accessories, or be able to run them only when ignition is on, or all the time (SPDT on-off-on)

I bought the six shooter because it will help minimize my wiring significantly, allowed for controlling accessories from my phone, and just seemed cool. I'm using a Goal Zero Yeti 1000. I think I have it done, my main concern is the BEP switch. It is 1-2-Both-Off. I don't plan on ever using Both, but if I accidentally switch Both, will it fry something as my Goal Zero could potentially be charging itself? Should I add an on-off, or use some other switching mechanism in place of the BEP switch?

Accessories (Trigger Fuse)

1. Dometic Fridge (10A)
2. Maxxair (10A)
3. TV (5A)
4. Internal LEDs (5A)
5. Future (30A)
6. Future (30A)

There is a 100A inline fuse on the Trigger. I don't plan on using near 100A, or running all the accessories at one time, so I think 50A main should be sufficient unless my GZ is way down in charge, running accessories, and driving (being charged by the Yeti Link). In any case I can upgrade to the 3x CCPs and the breaker if that becomes an issue in the future.

Thanks for any feedback!

CCP to Breaker to Bus is all 4AWG
View attachment 137815 View attachment 137816

I think I must have oversimplified my set up

I am running GZ 12V Max Cable to Blue Sea fuse block for these switched accessories:

4 overhead LED ceiling lights 10 Amp Fuse
Fan 10 Amp Fuse
Exterior LED flood light rear door 10 Am p Fuse
Diesel Heater 15 Amp Fuse
CO Detector 5 Amp Fuse
USB power point 10 Amp Fuse

Charging Yeti with EC8 cord and extension from CCP post (ground to ebrake area) to Link Module on Yeti unit

Do I need to protect more with breaker, BEP switch etc....?

 

[Knarfly]

I think I must have oversimplified my set up


Do I need to protect more with breaker, BEP switch etc....?

My BEP switch is so that if I don't have the GZ in the van I can still switch to starter battery and not lose accessory function (like Maxxair). I also added a breaker after reading about how hard it is to get to the CCP fuse if you blow it. Theoretically the Yeti 1000 won't pull that many amps, however I did pop my 50A breaker the other day and I haven't figured out why. So that might be a good addition.