The other reason for the 230 volt power system was to select the most efficient washer and dryer combo I could stand to afford. They are made by Blomberg, which is actually a sub-brand of Arçelik A.Ş., a Turkish appliance company. The dryer is clever – it’s basically a fancy dehumidifier. The heat pump vents […]
Author: Aaron Bockelie
Air Conditioner Install
This was another “big moment” for the bus. The primary reason for the enormous battery is to be able to power everything without care, but also operate the air conditioner for many hours after solar harvest has stopped for the night. The location shown here was just a big open hole in the engine bay, […]
Solar Panel Farings
I was planning on installing panel farings to keep the wind away. I’m pretty sure that strong side wind loads could behave as if entering a venturi and damage the panels with overpressure. Also it won’t look as much like a space ship.
Electrical Cabinet Commissioning
So as it sits at this point, the electrical system is fully functional. In this photo all the major components are hooked up and programmed. I had gotten a good day’s worth of solar, shore power is functional, and all the circuits in the bus are energized. I’m pleased with the arrangement of equipment. If […]
Victron Programming
This was a pretty great moment. After figuring out Victron’s nomenclature for configuring inverter virtual groups, I got this display from the Venus GX. Not shown is the programming software screens, but you get the idea. This was the first time that the batteries had taken on electrical charge since I had disassembled them from […]
Victron Inverter Connection
Wiring the inverter pair up was pretty satisfying. It’s interesting to see how Victron specified 2x 2/0 lugs for the power connection. I tried to make all the DC cabling exactly the same length. For the AC cabling, crimp ferells were used to keep the terminals clean and neat. The terminals with the orange tape […]
Solar Interconnect Panel
The solar interconnect panel was built next, which provided the critical connection from the panels installed a little while ago. The panel provides electrical safety isolation for the 150VDC potential coming from the roof. The roof panels are wired in a 4S2P arrangement. Each panel with an open circuit voltage of about 42 volts. Inside […]
Cable Crimping
The cable crimpers I picked up were critical to making all the connections secure and reliable. I used a 10 ton hydraulic hand press crimper. None of these lugs should be soldered. Then, heat shrink with adhesive is applied, sealing the lug. During installation they are painted with an anti-oxidant dielectric grease.
Raspberries
Brixbee picked a ton of raspberries from the bushes on the side of the garage. They just kept growing!
DC Electrical Distribution
I built a new DC distribution panel to replace the old temporary stuff I removed. Shown here are various photos during the wiring and installation inside the panel. The primary purpose of this panel is to distribute the power from the buck converters that take the 48 volt DC power and output 12 volts. They […]