'77 Scamp Electrical Help Needed

[Jared J]

Yes, no, maybe so. It depends on the length/gauge of the wiring, and the amps your solar can put out.

this should help with that: 12VDC wire ampacity chart

If you keep it setup that way, I would switch to something like this, for safety's sake:

Battery remote terminal

Battery remote terminal

[Thomas G.]

Originally Posted by Otters

..........So now I'd like to get your thoughts on using those remote battery terminals located under the sink, and attach the solar controller to it. Is that as efficient as connecting directly to the battery?......

If you need a remote location to hook up up a battery charger, I'd go with much smaller bolts and I'd put a plastic cap over the heads while not in use. I'd also install a circuit breaker or fuse in series with the battery just in case it gets shorted. The battery circuit breaker is a good idea in any case to prevent a fire.

You can attach a solar controller to the battery via these bolts if the wire is big enough. I think I'd want at least a 12 gauge wire to minimize losses, 10 gauge would be better. Solar panels are getting cheaper every day and an upgrade in the future is likely.

[GMike A]

Oh Boy Linda you have opened up the potential for a whole new forum discussion. Think of the wire in an analogy of a highway. The cars are "electrons or current" and the highway is the diameter of the wire. The bigger the highway the more cars can be on the road comfortably. But you wouldn't put a 32 lane highway in Mountain Home, Idaho. If you use LED lighting as opposed to bulbs then less current is needed. Like narrowing a 32 lane highway down to 2 lanes at the exit point. (but those 5 cars sure love the road to themselves). The smaller road cant handle all that traffic and problems result and visa versa. Sorry for the analogy if you didn't need it. I'm a Ham radio operator and will probably need 20 amps for my rig sitting at the table. I am going to run a #6 or #8 bus wire from my battery(s) to a connector under the seat. From that one sized wire I can literally run all my other terminal breakout points via a fused panel with no problem. As Jared pointed out in the chart probably for most uses on smaller campers a #14 or #12 is quite adequate. The energy (or cars ) from your solar panel feeding your battery wont bog down with those wires. Many panel manuf recommend #10 to reduce voltage drop issues. Obviously you will be limited to panel sizes and your roof real estate.
An alternative to the battery post is a terminal block arrangement as
Eddie suggested on another thread. Trailer Wiring Junction Box Spectro Accessories and Parts 38656

Hope I havent compounded the issue and I am sure others will have more to add.

[Carol H]

Hummm if it was me I would be more than a little concerned with how safe it is having those battery terminal connections located in the trailer and float charging running inside as well, things can go wrong from time to time.

I have my Solar controller connected directly to the battery - pretty easy to run the wire for it back through the hole in the front of the trailer where all your wiring enters the trailer and mounted it on the face of the lower front storage hatch that it enters into if you are wanting to be able to read its state at any time.

[steve dunham]

Being a electrician for over 40 years I can tell you that the hardest thing to repair or understand is home owner do it yourself wiring . We are trained to do our work according to the code and to the standards we were taught in our apprenticeship Non electricians install wiring many times in ways an electrician would never think of and at times are confusing to us. IE short wires, improper splices. too small or no junction boxes , using wrong colored wires .wrong size wires , improperly connected devices , lack of equipment grounding , using plumbing fittings with electrical conduit , lots of tape is better , extension cords buried in walls , wires spliced in a wall. I would rather rewire a 100 year old house that has never been touched than one a home owner has worked on .
The cost to tear out and replace the work done by the homeowner plus the time to explain to the home owner why there are additional charges and what he did was unsafe is not worth the headache. Trying to figure out what someone who did Not know what he was doing is extremely frustating

[Otters]

Eeeeeeeeegads! Okay, I get it. I'll have to think about where to put the controller. At least there are some good options to consider.
Mike:
I like the box you posted Mike. I'll do some more reading about it and the set up. By the way, Hubby is W6XY--you may have crossed radio paths.
Linda

[GMike A]

Thanks Linda, The box was really designed for a trailer 7 wire bus access and termination point BUT I like the idea of the heavy duty terminal strip and it's water tight compartment. There is a mini-fuse distribution panel that was shown somewhere on one of threads. Bet Donna knows where its at. I hope to use that too.

[Donna D.]

Small distribution panel Mike? This one? http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...nel-40281.html

[Thomas G.]

Originally Posted by Donna D.

Small distribution panel Mike? This one? http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...nel-40281.html

Also here:
12 Volt ATC Fuse Panel 12 Circuits 3 Positive Battery Lugs Victory 30507039 | eBay


HELLA H84960091 6-Way Lateral Single Fuse Box : Amazon.com : Automotive

Hella H84960091 Fuse Block Fuse Box 6 Gang Side Connections | eBay

[GMike A]

Originally Posted by Donna D.

Small distribution panel Mike? This one? http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...nel-40281.html

Yes Donna that is the thread and I saw the panel. I also see that Tom just posted something too. The Magnetek in the picture has been replaced by a Parallax 6730D (assuming that number is up to date and then the same company also makes a FB series Mini-fuse block. My Casita never had anything like that at all. One of them had a 20amp converter built in. Don't necessarily care for that as if something goes wrong in an "all in one box" then its lights out. Would rather put together some components and keep AC and DC generation separately.

Tom or anyone please jump in if you have experience with any fuse boxes (not wiring but quality, ease of installation etc). I will eventually have a distribution panel of some sorts probably in the back driver's side with an accessible fuse panel. I would like to get some good ideas.

[Thomas G.]

Originally Posted by GMike A

..........
Tom or anyone please jump in if you have experience with any fuse boxes (not wiring but quality, ease of installation etc). I will eventually have a distribution panel of some sorts probably in the back driver's side with an accessible fuse panel. I would like to get some good ideas.

I made my own to use with a stand alone converter, but only because I wanted to incorporate circuit breakers, a volt and ammeter. Shown here:
http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...ade-56492.html

I think that any of the fuse panels that I posted above would work fine for the 12 volt side. If your needs are simple, a few in line fuses would do the trick.

On my UHaul the 110 volt box is just a separate standard electrical box with a 15 amp pop out circuit breaker and a GFCI outlet.