Quote:
Originally Posted by TWolf
How difficult is it to separate them onto two separate breakers? Is that the way to go or is there another solution? I'm in the planning stages now so I can shift gears if need be.
Thank you,
Bruce
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You may want to look into using an auto-bypass inverter. The one I chose was a 2kW Ames auto bypass inverter with no charger capability. This way I have a separate charge device and not have all of my "power eggs" in one basket. My shore power cable either plugs into a 30 amp outlet from the generator or the shore power outlet, which is a manual buss transfer process that prevents simultaneous power from both. The other end of the shore power cable originally connected to an electrical junction box that feeds power to the RV WFCO power center.
Now the 30 amp shore power cable goes to a junction box then into the inverter. The junction box has a 15 amp pop-out mini breaker installed which now powers only the WFCO DC power converter/charger, preventing the inverter from powering the battery charger, a potentially bad situation. The inverter output connects to the house electrical. This way, the generator or shore power will hit the inverter and bypass it, no inverter power is required for this. When there is no external power the inverter can supply AC power to the RV's AC electrical system, except the battery charger.
The solar panels, through the PWM controller, connect directly to the battery bank with a 25 amp in-line fuse and an isolation switch. I do have an original Amp-L-Start charger for the starter battery. It is not optimized for lithium batteries, so I switch it off when not needed, like not on shore power. This keeps from draining the lithium batteries as its auto shut off is around the 20% SOC level on the lithium battery bank.
As you can see, what started out as a relatively simple RV electrical system, became quite complex when modifications and add-ons were introduced into the system. Be sure you really think through your design modifications and review them with an electrical engineer to ensure the components will play well together and loads are appropriately cabled. Happy camping.