See any red flags?

TucsonAZ

I'm knee deep in this project with the cuts, bruises, burns, and sore muscles to prove it. Been working on the solar the past few days and I just want to know if any of you see any major red flags, I'm not looking for the "that isn't ideal" stuff as I don't have the time or money at the moment to pick nits. I plan to upgrade to some larger wire in the next couple months and so on but I need the system operational ASAP so I just want to make sure I don't have any fatal flaws.

Clearly things aren't all hooked up yet, no power from the CC to the batteries yet, the inverter isn't hooked up and so on but I want to make sure before continuing I haven't already missed something.

Thank you all for the amazing and wonderful help with this project!

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Cariboocoot

Re: See any red flags?

"No power from CC to the batteries yet" would be missing something; keep an eye on those batteries to make sure they are slowly going dead while you get everything else installed.

Really like the sunset on the panels pic.

zoneblue

Re: See any red flags?

See the previous threads on those busbars. Personally i like post and stud for the important connections (CC to Bat, Bat to Inv). But tin any fine stranded cables and be sure to torque correctly and retorque after one hour.

Is that your negative earth bond, that neg busbar bolted to the case...

ZoNiE

Re: See any red flags?

Batteries under the passenger seat, inside the coach.

gactrx

Re: See any red flags?

Be careful with tinning or soldering multistrand wires when they are in screw or bolted terminals. The solder can creep under pressure which can cause the termination to become loose and heat up. This further melts the solder if the current is high and can burn the terminal and cause other problems. Crimp sleeve are best.
Cheers,

BB.

Re: See any red flags?

Be careful with "batteries under the seat" installations... Over the years, have had a few dead shorts on batteries when seat springs failed (or in once case access door spring failed) and started a nice little fire.

Battery banks should usually have something over the top to insulate/protect against falling metal objects. Or be installed in locked/restricted access rooms.

-Bill

ZoNiE

Re: See any red flags?

Batteries should not be in the passenger compartment at all. I didn't even consider the seat springs when I mentioned them. I was thinking explosive gas and corrosive acid.

On Solder, the residual flux can also cause corrosion issues down the road. Ferrules are best for stranded wire ends when used in direct contact with screw terminals. Ferrules require special crimpers, but are worth it. Once you start using these things, you will never go without.

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TucsonAZ

Re: See any red flags?

Thank you all! Yeah, I will be covering and enclosing the batteries in there, that's a very heavy duty c-channel and each battery has an angle iron slot inside of there. They are AGMs so I wasn't worried about them being in the passenger compartment and I know a lot of people that have put them under their seats. I may have an option in terms of moving them but that is hands down the safest place for now, it's the only area of the vehicle intended for something structural like the seats to be mounted to. Every other inch of the floor is aluminum and there's no way on earth I want 400 pounds of batteries behind me attached to an aluminum floor if I get in an accident.

The bus bar goes like this, battery to shunt, shunt to bus bar and everything else to the bus bar, inverter, charge controller, solar panels and so on.

Much of this stuff I had laying around so I'm using it and will replace as funds come about, as I said, I need this system online and functional this week so I simply don't have time for most ideal.

Ks Solar

Re: See any red flags?

As long as you vent the battery enclosure to the outside I see nothing with placement. As long as the box is reasonably sealed and myself I would want a small computer fan for positive exhaust. AGM will still generate hydrogen. Not as bad as traditional flooded though. This was the first thing I thought but held back, I see most think similar.

zoneblue

Re: See any red flags?

Well that wasnt the consensus of the last big thread on this.

The copper itself is maleable of course and that catn be prevented, but fine stranded wire tends to squish aside the screw where the hole is too big, tinning helps prevent this.

Personally i dont like the things at all. You should crimp pin lugs on the end of the wire if you want to be safe/legal.

gactrx wrote: »

Be careful with tinning or soldering multistrand wires when they are in screw or bolted terminals. The solder can creep under pressure which can cause the termination to become loose and heat up. This further melts the solder if the current is high and can burn the terminal and cause other problems. Crimp sleeve are best.
Cheers,

Ks Solar

Re: See any red flags?

This is good to know. I would have thought tinning the end of a stranded wire going into a lug would be better than bare wire. I didn't know a ferrule on the wire is preferable/ code compliant?

Cariboocoot

Re: See any red flags?

Keep in mind that commercially tinned wire is better than self-tinned (which will have inconsistencies which can cause problems). A piece of copper with solder on it gives you two different metals to tighten down on and they won't perform the same for either pressure or temperature. (Do not confuse this with the 'crimp & solder' method used on some lugs which, if done right, works fine.)

The issue is one of what happens to the wire when the screw is tightened down on it. Most of the time there is no problem, but sometimes the strands "go astray" resulting in an incomplete connection with some of the wire in the hole but not under the screw. Fine strand wire is worse than standard stranded. This is why some of these screw-down connectors are made with 'squeeze plates' that shrink the hole in a consistent oval as the screw is tightened. Using a ferrule traps the strands inside it, allowing the screw to press down on the whole bundle; very much like a crimp fitting except that it can be taken apart again.

That said, any kind of connection can be made wrong so that it fails. Or it may last for years even so.

vtmaps

Re: See any red flags?

Ks Solar wrote: »

As long as you vent the battery enclosure to the outside I see nothing with placement. As long as the box is reasonably sealed and myself I would want a small computer fan for positive exhaust.

What do you mean by 'positive exhaust'? The fan should suck air out of the box (negative pressure in box). If the fan pushes air into the box (positive pressure), you may be pushing air into conduit or through leaks in the box.

--vtMaps

Ks Solar

Re: See any red flags?

Just meant vented to the outside aided with a fan..

ButchDeal

Re: See any red flags?

Ks Solar wrote: »

Just meant vented to the outside aided with a fan..

you would need to make sure that that fan is not going to cause the spark that sets off the hydrogen. I prefer a natural vent which is pretty simple to set up.
I used a 2" PVC at the top of the battery box with 3/4" copper inside (for thermal transfer) that runs to the bottom of the box. Hydrogen goes out through PVC, fresh air comes in through copper.
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