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  • #16
    Tommy, looks like you are on a good track. Norm
    Norm & Karla
    2019 Imagine 2150rb
    2018 Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD
    2016 - 2018 Hobie Kayaks

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    • #17
      I'd appreciate any suggestions/advice:
      I want to install a fuse in the 4g charge wire that will run from my 55amp charger to a positive busbar near the three x 100ah battery bank.
      I'm guessing something like 60 amp maybe?
      If 60amp is ok, how about this one:
      https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M0P45C3...ding=UTF8&th=1

      Thanks
      Tommy
      Tom and Kathy
      2017 2600RB
      2011 Ford F150 ecoboost

      Comment


      • #18
        Originally posted by tmrgn99 View Post
        I'd appreciate any suggestions/advice:
        Tommy,

        The basic purpose of a fuse is to protect the wire from getting too hot and shorting out. A 4 awg wire should have up to a 150 amp fuse. You may be able to get by with a 60 amp fuse, but it wouldn't hurt to put in a bigger fuse. The wire can handle it. I'd make sure to have a spare fuse around just in case. You might also check the specs on your battery to see the ranges of charges they would take or give off.

        The ANL fuse from Renogy would be a good one to use.

        Norm

        Norm & Karla
        2019 Imagine 2150rb
        2018 Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD
        2016 - 2018 Hobie Kayaks

        Comment


        • #19
          Originally posted by Oregon Fun-Guy View Post

          Tommy,

          The basic purpose of a fuse is to protect the wire from getting too hot and shorting out. A 4 awg wire should have up to a 150 amp fuse. You may be able to get by with a 60 amp fuse, but it wouldn't hurt to put in a bigger fuse. The wire can handle it. I'd make sure to have a spare fuse around just in case. You might also check the specs on your battery to see the ranges of charges they would take or give off.

          The ANL fuse from Renogy would be a good one to use.

          Norm
          Regarding tmrgn99 's question, shouldn't length of the wire run should be factored in when determining fuse size:

          https://www.bluesea.com/resources/1437

          https://www.bluesea.com/support/arti...t_Installation


          -Steve
          2018 Solitude 310GK, disc brakes
          Morryde SRE4000/XFactor with heavy duty shackles, V-Brackets in spring hangers
          2012 Ram 3500 SRW 6.7 Diesel, air bags
          18k B&W Companion, non-slider
          640 watts solar, 400 amp-hour Lion Safari UT 1300 battery bank
          Aims 1500 watt inverter/charger with ATS
          Somerset, WI

          Comment


          • #20
            Regarding the length Steve, I believe your right.
            I haven't installed it yet, but the 4 awg charge wire by my estimate will be about 22 feet long. That Blue Sea chart shows a '50' round trip of 4awg to be good to up to 80amps.(for 10% non critical). So I am good on that account.

            The fuse chart shows a single wire with an ANL fuse good for up to150a and my minimum applying their formula would be 55a x 125% = 68.75amps. Looks like the 100amp ANL is a good choice for me.

            Thanks for the links!
            I did have the wire length and size chart but not he fuse chart. That whole "articles" section of the Blue Sea website should be a big help me.
            Thanks Steve

            And thanks again to both of you.
            Tommy

            Tom and Kathy
            2017 2600RB
            2011 Ford F150 ecoboost

            Comment


            • #21
              Originally posted by Oregon Fun-Guy View Post

              Tommy,

              The basic purpose of a fuse is to protect the wire from getting too hot and shorting out. A 4 awg wire should have up to a 150 amp fuse. You may be able to get by with a 60 amp fuse, but it wouldn't hurt to put in a bigger fuse. The wire can handle it. I'd make sure to have a spare fuse around just in case. You might also check the specs on your battery to see the ranges of charges they would take or give off.

              The ANL fuse from Renogy would be a good one to use.

              Norm
              Yes my concern is that the battery bank would have the potential of of releasing 300 amps into the charge wire. (don't really know this, I'm just thinking out loud)
              And yes I wouldn't want to be without a couple of spare fuses out in the middle of nowhere...lol
              Thanks Norm ( I thought I had you both of you quoted when I replied previously)

              Tommy
              Tom and Kathy
              2017 2600RB
              2011 Ford F150 ecoboost

              Comment


              • #22
                I've been converting my 2600RB to lithium and need to take a few pics. I've made a vertical panel to replace the rear panel in the docking station. A Progressive Dynamics charger and a Renogy 20 amp charger are mounted to this panel. Then a new rear panel will be installed with a larger side panel to hide it all. I had called Progressive Dynamics on the breaker question for the 60 amp charger and they mentioned a 80 amp breaker within 6 inches of the battery would be best. So I'm planning on using industrial Velcro to install the breaker to the top of the battery. Since the chargers will be built into the docking station, the 4awg charge wire will be about 5 ft in length since the battery will be mounted behind the docking station.

                Utilizing the original battery location and converter/charger location results in around 30ft of 8AWG which was not ideal, so to avoid re-wiring the entire rig, I've left the original converter/charger in place and will switch off the breaker to deactivate it. The original 8AWG battery feed/charger wire will only be used to run 12v appliances and will no longer be used for charging.

                Jim

                Comment


                • #23
                  Originally posted by tmrgn99 View Post
                  up to 80amps.(for 10% non critical).
                  Hi Tommy,

                  You might want to consider using the Blue Seas (ABYC Marine) guideline for 3% voltage drop rather than 10%. Many inverters have a low voltage cut out and with a 10% drop through the wires, your inverter may cut out while there is still battery power available with a 3% voltage drop. If you can "oversize" the wiring this would be even better.

                  Rob

                  Cate & Rob
                  (with Border Collies Molly & Angel + Kitties Hazel & Elsie)
                  2015 Reflection 303RLS
                  2022 F350 Diesel CC SB SRW Lariat
                  Bayham, Ontario, Canada

                  Comment


                  • #24
                    Originally posted by MidwestCamper View Post
                    I've been converting my 2600RB to lithium and need to take a few pics. I've made a vertical panel to replace the rear panel in the docking station. A Progressive Dynamics charger and a Renogy 20 amp charger are mounted to this panel. Then a new rear panel will be installed with a larger side panel to hide it all. I had called Progressive Dynamics on the breaker question for the 60 amp charger and they mentioned a 80 amp breaker within 6 inches of the battery would be best. So I'm planning on using industrial Velcro to install the breaker to the top of the battery. Since the chargers will be built into the docking station, the 4awg charge wire will be about 5 ft in length since the battery will be mounted behind the docking station.

                    Utilizing the original battery location and converter/charger location results in around 30ft of 8AWG which was not ideal, so to avoid re-wiring the entire rig, I've left the original converter/charger in place and will switch off the breaker to deactivate it. The original 8AWG battery feed/charger wire will only be used to run 12v appliances and will no longer be used for charging.

                    Jim
                    Is the rear panel of the docking station you speak of the panel facing the curb/passenger side? I had originally planned for the charger to be mounted on the wall of the pass thru along with the inverter but chose the original charger location instead. I have the three lithium batteries mounted under the bed and a backaboard panel on the adjacent wall of the pass thru. I have run the new 4 awg charge wire and the BM 712 utp-cable to the new panel area to be tied in. I'm now at the point of mounting the inverter, two Blue Sea battery switches,bus bars , fuses ,etc. to the backa board panel.
                    Jim I'm using two battery switches similar to howson where I will have one battery switch that completely isolates the battery bank and between that switch and the next one will be a 300amp fuse and positive bus bar. After the second switch will be the inverter positve input. While I am reluctant to attach the fused charge wire directly to the battery bank(and defeat the purpose of the 1st battery switch), I will stop to reconsider and I very much do appreciate you passing on to me the Progressive Dynamics advice and welcome any more. Hope to see your pics. Sounds like you have a great plan!
                    Thanks
                    Tommy
                    Tom and Kathy
                    2017 2600RB
                    2011 Ford F150 ecoboost

                    Comment


                    • #25
                      Originally posted by Cate&Rob View Post

                      Hi Tommy,

                      You might want to consider using the Blue Seas (ABYC Marine) guideline for 3% voltage drop rather than 10%. Many inverters have a low voltage cut out and with a 10% drop through the wires, your inverter may cut out while there is still battery power available with a 3% voltage drop. If you can "oversize" the wiring this would be even better.

                      Rob
                      Ok, thanks. I was not aware of nor even thought about it.
                      I should be good with the wire going to the inverter because I'm using 4/0 cable from the battery bank behind the adjacent wall and routed all the way to the 3000w inverter. All told, positive and negative about 11 feet.
                      Thanks Rob, I really appreciate all feedback as I am just a shade-tree DIYer,.
                      Tommy
                      Tom and Kathy
                      2017 2600RB
                      2011 Ford F150 ecoboost

                      Comment


                      • #26
                        tmrgn99 Tommy,

                        Here are the pics in how I'm wiring up my Imagine with a Lithium based AC DC converter charger and a DC DC charger for charging from the truck during travel. The charger panel replaces the rear panel in the docking station where for the most part all negative leads are on one side and positive leads will be on the other for good isolation. The chargers will be on the opposite side of the plumbing to be protected from water intrusion. The original rear panel will then be placed to hide the charger and a larger side panel will be made up to finish off the enclosure. In the last pick, my battery will be placed in a battery box where currently the pic shows it in the shipping box. My original lead acid charger will remain in place as a backup where the breaker will be turned off as long as I have a lithium battery on board.
                        This is a single battery system where there is no inverter at this time so I'm using a 80amp re-settable breaker that will be mounted to the top of my battery with industrial velcro. The 4AWG wires are capable of much higher current to allow for future upgrades. The 80amp protection I'm using is all I need for the 60 amp max load that the system will see. The positive feeds from the battery switch will be protected with a lower current breaker to match what was originally mounted the trailer frame.

                        The panel was made and wired outside the passthrough on a workbench then installed with 5 screws inside the rig.

                        Always more than one way to skin a cat where your method looks like a great solution. And adding an inverter would also work well for us for the TV. Post some pics of your system so we can see your install.

                        Jim
                        Attached Files
                        Last edited by Guest; 05-23-2020, 08:29 AM.

                        Comment


                        • #27
                          Originally posted by MidwestCamper View Post
                          tmrgn99 Tommy,

                          Here are the pics in how I'm wiring up my Imagine with a Lithium based AC DC converter charger and a DC DC charger for charging from the truck during travel. The charger panel replaces the rear panel in the docking station where for the most part all negative leads are on one side and positive leads will be on the other for good isolation. The chargers will be on the opposite side of the plumbing to be protected from water intrusion. The original rear panel will then be placed to hide the charger and a larger side panel will be made up to finish off the enclosure. In the last pick, my battery will be placed in a battery box where currently the pic shows it in the shipping box. My original lead acid charger will remain in place as a backup where the breaker will be turned off as long as I have a lithium battery on board.
                          This is a single battery system where there is no inverter at this time so I'm using a 80amp re-settable breaker that will be mounted to the top of my battery with industrial velcro. The 4AWG wires are capable of much higher current to allow for future upgrades. The 80amp protection I'm using is all I need for the 60 amp max load that the system will see. The positive feeds from the battery switch will be protected with a lower current breaker to match what was originally mounted the trailer frame.

                          The panel was made and wired outside the passthrough on a workbench then installed with 5 screws inside the rig.

                          Always more than one way to skin a cat where your method looks like a great solution. And adding an inverter would also work well for us for the TV. Post some pics of your system so we can see your install.

                          Jim
                          Jim,
                          Your pics confirm my understanding of your description. I like the idea of protecting that corner with the chargers from things shifting in the storage. Also I've been eyeballing that docking station and thinking about some solution to keep a leak from flooding the storage area and perhaps worse things. I'll look in to that later along with upgrading the plumbing in general. Like you, I would like for this install to accommodate future upgrades (like solar). Looking forward to seeing how yours turns out.

                          Here are 3 pics of where I'm at now and 1 pic of a mockup of what I plan to have on the wall of the storage
                          . Click image for larger version

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                          Tommy

                          Tom and Kathy
                          2017 2600RB
                          2011 Ford F150 ecoboost

                          Comment


                          • #28
                            Sorry, This is my first time to post pics. I thought I needed to attach them upside down in order for them to post in the correct orientation.
                            Let me try this again.
                            Attached Files
                            Tom and Kathy
                            2017 2600RB
                            2011 Ford F150 ecoboost

                            Comment


                            • #29
                              Originally posted by tmrgn99 View Post
                              Sorry, This is my first time to post pics. I thought I needed to attach them upside down in order for them to post in the correct orientation.
                              Let me try this again.
                              tmrgn99 Tom,

                              Your system is looking great and it looks like you have plenty of power. There is a large opening in the docking station that leads to the coroplast where all the wiring enters, but the water would need to be about three inches deep to clear a cross member so that would not efficiently drain off a leak. Nice thing about the imagine, there are no hoses in the docking station. Its all Pex. But there are hoses under the kitchen cabinets where the pump is located. For leaks, many folks use water alarms to sound off when there is a leak where they would just shut off the water or the pump and investigate. Rob from Cate&Rob uses a solenoid tied to his hot water tank switch to turn off the city water feed when he leaves the rig. Its always best to turn off the water anytime you leave and to use the water alarm(s). The Honeywell example uses a sensor that can be cover fairly large areas which is my favorite. I use a version of this unit with WiFi for my sump pump at home to alert me when I'm out and encounter a pump failure.

                              It's going to be so nice to have power when dry camping and quick charging as well. At some point, I'll most likely install an Inverter that's capable of operating the TV.

                              Jim

                              https://honeywellstore.com/store/pro...able-rwd42.htm
                              Last edited by Guest; 05-23-2020, 06:45 PM.

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