Electrical Modifications

[kinser913]

Finally finished electrical modification that I started 2 years ago.
4 Go Power Lithium Batteries (2 banks of two)
2000 watt Xantrex Inverter
Blue Sky Entergy Solar Controller
Victron Entergy Monitor
Progressive Industries Surge Protector
Kenwood Stereo
JL Audio Amp, Speakers and Subwoofer

[Eggscape]

Looks great!

[splitting_lanes]

Wow! That’s really impressive work. A subwoofer is really beyond anything I’ve ever seen in a trailer.

I have trophies from car audio shows in the ‘80s. I wouldn’t want to be near you in a campground, unless I was part of the party. lol

[kinser913]

Just wanted a little low end at low volume.

[mtnest]

Beautiful layout and workmanship. Well done. -Tom

[Ron in BC]

Folks now know who to come to for advice about doing a great electrical installation.

Very nicely done.

So, redundant battery banks?

Ron

[kinser913]

The RV permanently leans to to the curb side by 3/8 of a inch measured at the bumper. To stop the lean from getting worse, I decided to to put the second pair of batteries on the street side.

[sofmerc]

that work is a thing of beauty ....Kudos!

[jjdeluca]

Very impressive job & great photos of your installation!
I'm planning my solar/lithium/inverter wiring upgrades to my soon to be completed 5.0. Any chance you might have a wiring diagram of your installation that you could share?
Thanks,
Jim

[kinser913]

I don't have a wiring diagram, but I might be able to sketch one in a few days

[iamunique127]

Very impressively neat installation.

[rubicon327]

Wow. Nice work! An install like that would cost $10-15K if done by AM Solar. Great choice in the Xantrex Freedom but just wondering why you didn’t go with the XC model and get integrated charging capability? Would give you a much better charging profile than the stock WFCO charger and adjustable from 5-80A in 5A increments.

[kinser913]

Really didn't know what I was doing and didn't want to stray to far away from what Escape built. I have wired many houses and mobile audio, but that was my first attempt at RV electrical. If I had to do it again, I probably would get the Xantrex Inverter/charger.

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by kinser913

Really didn't know what I was doing and didn't want to stray to far away from what Escape built. I have wired many houses and mobile audio, but that was my first attempt at RV electrical. If I had to do it again, I probably would get the Xantrex Inverter/charger.

The good news is it would be a direct swap with what you have if you ever wanted to make the change. The size, wiring and remote panel is exactly the same. All you would need to do is take the stock WFCO charger offline and program the Xantrex XC with the appropriate charging parameters.

[SteveSgt]

Originally Posted by kinser913

Finally finished electrical modification that I started 2 years ago.
4 Go Power Lithium Batteries (2 banks of two)
2000 watt Xantrex Inverter
Blue Sky Entergy Solar Controller
Victron Entergy Monitor
Progressive Industries Surge Protector
Kenwood Stereo
JL Audio Amp, Speakers and Subwoofer

Your cable management looks brilliant. It resembles the work people I used to hire did when we built remote TV broadcast trucks and trailers.

I have so many questions.

1. Did you pull out all of ETI's wire dressing in that area and re-dress it?
2. Did you upgrade the solar panel wattage, or otherwise install new panels, or are you using the original panels supplied by ETI?
3. I see some exposed junction bolts for battery and inverter connections. Do you plan to leave those exposed, or do they have safety covers?
4. I see four high-current switches. Two look like connections from each bank of batteries to their common junction point, one would be for the solar input. Is the other to isolate the inverter?
5. Did you increase the wire gage from the junction between the pairs of batteries to the inverter? At those high currents, adding just a few inches more of wire can require a larger gage.
6. Does your subwoofer have an onboard amplifier, or does it have a passive crossover? If it is powered, does its amplifier run on 12V, or does it need the inverter?

I have long-term plans to eventually increase my battery by at least 2X, move to the Xantrex 2kw XC inverter/charger, and to install a 4.1 sound system in my dinette area. You had a lot more room to work than I do with my standard (not U-shaped) dinette.

[kinser913]

1. Not 100% sure what you are asking. Removed most of ETI wire loops and installed many more wire ties. Probably used over 1000 wire ties because I didn't like the way it looked or added a new wire to the bundle.
Wire management can be a pain in the butt.

2. I only have one 190 watt solar panel installed by ETI and two 100 watt suit-case panels. We like camping at Smokey Mountain NP and solar panels are useless there. At Big Bend NP, our three panels were enough for a five day trip.

3. The small positive bus bar did not come with a cover. I only put spare sheets and blankets back there anyway. Nothing conductive.

4. I have five switches
1) curb side battery bank
2) street side battery bank
3) solar input from the panels
4) from batteries to WFCO 12 volt fuse panel
5) subwoofer amp

5. All the wires from the batteries thru the bus bar to the inverter are 2/0 gauge.

6. The subwoofer uses a separate 12 volt amp located between the battery banks (See first picture). RCA cables carry the signal from the Kenwood head unit down the wall to the JL Audio amp. I do have passive crossovers in the upper cabinet for the midrange speakers and tweeters. I will post a few more pictures of the subwoofer box, midrange and tweeters.

[Centex]

Originally Posted by kinser913

....
3. The small positive bus bar did not come with a cover. I only put spare sheets and blankets back there anyway. Nothing conductive.
.....

Sheets and blankets are often not non-conductive, they are poor-conducting / high resistance materials which can singe or burn if accidentally completing a DC circuit from a positive power source to any ground (just like the human body).

I would urge you to install proper insulating safety covers over all exposed positive power points. Insulating rubber boots are available or plexiglass covers can be fabricated. It's a matter of 'best practice' for both human protection and reducing fire risk.

[kinser913]

I forgot to mention that the sheets and blankets are in non-conductive PVC vacuum packed bags

[SteveSgt]

Originally Posted by Centex

I would urge you to install proper insulating safety covers over all exposed positive power points.

I second that motion.

All it would take is someone reaching in for something wearing jewelry, a metal watch or watch band, or dropping a tool, and it could get exciting really quick.

If you cannot imagine such a calamity, ask me how I know.

[Centex]

Originally Posted by kinser913

I forgot to mention that the sheets and blankets are in non-conductive PVC vacuum packed bags

I forgot to mention "accidents happen" .... that's the real world and it's just so easy to mitigate harm in this case.

You've put a lot of effort into doing a nice job up to this point, please don't stop short (dark-humor pun intended).