Electrical questions, alternator? amps? generator?

Ok guys thanks for all the information, I tried making sens of everything, I hope the corrections I did on the drawing covers everything, if not please don't hesitate to let me know.

I still have some questions about :
-overall wire gauge?
-fuse holders vs breakers?

I added three other AC and DC distribution drawings (after the AC/DC panel) they're also work in progress, please don't hesitate to comment on them as well.
you can click on the pictures to go directly in my photo bucket and zoom in if you want to.

I managed to get my hands on my battery monitor (Xantrex XBM) so that's another story but you can take a look on my photo bucket I have pictures of evrything.

I also would like to get your opinion on this issue, I had a hard time finding some genuine good 12V DC wiring, 100% stranded copper (not aluminum) + real AWG (not the smaller made in China kind) and all I could find was speaker wiring and I couldn't find the specs for wire temp...

So my brother got his hands on the real stuff where he works, and he got it all for free!! all the 18AWG and 14AWG I needed for the DC distribution circuits, I was really happy since I'm on a tight budget and all.

BUT!! the only issue is the wire colors, he could only get RED and WHITE... So I got the equal length in both colors...

Is this going to be a problem? I normally see black and white or black and red.

I still didn't get the bigger gauge wiring for all the components around the batteries, what color should I get?

Again thanks!

You're basically on the right track here.

I would suggest generally thinking about the 120V and the 12V systems separately. There's nothing inherently wrong with showing both on the same diagram, but it can make things a little bit confusing and they really should not interact with each other (aside from a few devices that have both 120V and 12V sides, like the converter).

For the 120V setup, you should have the ground wire switched with the transfer switch, as well as the hot and neutral. The reason is that (for RV use) the ground on the generator should be bonded to the neutral at the generator preferably, while the two must not be bonded together for the shore power inlet. Since you don't quite have a permanently installed generator the bonding at the generator may perhaps be left off but I'd still suggest it as it's easy enough to do with a bonding plug or even in the lead to the generator.

There is no need for the kill switch between the transfer switch and the electric panel. You have a main breaker on the panel that accomplishes exactly the same thing.

The ground from the transfer switch/main power inlet should go to the 120V electric panel, specifically the ground bus bar there, and a separate wire from the load center directly to the chassis to bond it. The instructions for the panel likely describe that pretty well. This is an NEC requirement. It should not go to the DC chassis ground bus bar even though both are chassis ground connections; the AC and DC systems should not be interconnected.

Westend's bus bar suggestion is excellent. For the battery positive, you'll at least have connections going to the power center (for the converter and DC distribution), to the battery isolator for charging, to the inverter, and possibly one or two much lower current connections such as to the battery monitor. Each should be fused as close to the source as practical, the fuse size being determined by the (minimum) wire size, which is determined by the worst-case expected current. If you add solar, that would be another connection to this bus bar. The disconnect switch going to the 12V distribution panel is a good idea.

There is no connection between the battery monitor shunt and the battery positive. The battery monitor itself will have a separate battery positive sense lead. I assume that (and showing only one wire to the generator) are just oddities of making the sketch.

Evy. If maximizing alternator charging is a desirable goal for you.....

On your diagram above you have 'Existing wire' going from 130 amp alternator to original battery.

This existing wire already has a fuse in it somewhere.

Then your diagram takes power from original battery (+) to feed 200 amp isolator/relaty/solenoid/isolation device and has another fuse, as it shoud.

But, this Existing wire was never designed to pass the additional current required when a depleted set of GC batteries is added onto the end of the circuit. it becomes an electrical bottle neck, and might blow the 'existing wire's' fuse. This alternator load dump might fry the diodes in the alternator.

IF you INSTEAD, take power for isolator not from engine battery, but from alternator(+) stud, you eliminate the too thin 'existing' wire from limiting house battery amperage, AND you also likely have a shorter circuit, AND one which does not require a Fuse as you ony need to fuse close to the battery, either battery.

So take power for isolator from engine battery = fuse required, longer distance, more copper length, and existing wire acts as bottle neck, limiting charging amps to depleted house batteries.

Take power instead from alternator (+) stud, and one bypasses the too thin existing wire. A shorter circuit with no fuse required at the alternator then goes to isolator, and then to a fuse, then to the house battery(+)

Much shorter circuit, much more effective when batteries are depleted. This orientation might also allow the vehicle's voltage regulator to hold a higher voltage for longer, since the fully charged engine battery is not 'in between' the alternator and the house battery.

Also if the fuse on the house battery circuit blows with the engine running, there is not as much of a load dump situation for the alternator's diodes to tackle, as there is the 'existing wire' to the engine battery that is still carrying the current to hold that battery at 13 to 14.x volts, and run the engine/ chassis electrics.

So UNless you are intentionally limiting alternator amps into house battery, or the back of the alternator is so incredibly difficult to reach to stack another ring terminal on the (+) output stud, it is much more effective to take power from alternator rather than engine battery.

Also if you ground house battery to nearby frame, then you should also add a ground from frame neary alternator to alternator mounting bolt or (-) stud, as the current for house battery will have to go through the original grounds, which would otherwise be another bottleneck when the house batteries are depleted.

When the alternator has a thick copper path to feed depleted house batteries, it can get very hot. Especically when Idling and not moving. Very platform specific, but once engine is upto full temperature idling, I would not Idle any longer with a depleted battery bank, but start moving, as the alternator might very well be flirting with 220F after 10 minutes at max output and that is their temperature tipping point that they prefer to remain under.

So if one intends to idle for long periods to recharge, then intentionally limiting alternator amperage into house bank by thinner longer copper is acceptable for the life of the alternator, but at the expense of the batteries which will recharge significantly slower due to increased resistance in the circuit.

Taking power for isolation device from engine battery is not wrong. Just bypassing the Existing wiring is Usually a much shorter circuit, that can yield significantly more alternator amperage into house bank, and eliminates one of the fuses otherwise reqired, and might be able to prevent an alternator load dump situation from frying the diodes in the alternator

Tips: make bus bars to carry your 12V power to the batteries and to devices. You can have a fuse at each device connection within the bus box. This makes things better lined out and eliminates a lot of wiring confusion. Your monitor shunt should be between the battery's negative phase terminal and frame ground. You have the ground bus bar depicted but not the actual frame to ground. Also lacking, negative 12 V phase to battery and negative phase of different devices. Think about installing a disconnect switch between positive phase battery and distribution. You may install things like alarms, radios, and circuit boards of devices that like to sip power,even when "off". The disconnect switch eliminates battery drain from those parasitic loads.

Here is a picture of a DIY bus box that I made using a conventional plastic 4" exterior grade junction box and copper bar stock:

Thanks for all the information guys.

Here's where I'm at right now.
I bought most of the big equipment in my project, as for electrical components, all the equipment with Brand names and models (on my diagram) are in my possession waiting to be installed, I have most of the wiring and lighting fixtures, I am missing fuses/breakers/switches/connectors etc...

I won't start installing anything until I get general approval and also I will try to get someone who has experience with this kind of system to take a look at everything before I turn the power on.

Here's the diagram I'm working on, yes it's a work in progress, there's probably a lot of errors on it but I'm getting there, If you see errors or if you can answer some of the questions on there please don't hesitate, thanks!

I found the above diagram on a google search. Can someone send me in the right direction for a good reliable diagram if this one is incorrect? I have pretty much everything I need for the electrical system. I recently purchased and RV that come with pretty much no electrical components and I have gutted the entire rig.

Another strategy used by many boondockers is the 50-80% SOC method. They do 50-80% charges over a long weekend, or even a week of off grid camping, and then charge the bank to full once back home. The problem with this is the bank experiences 'progressive capacity loss', whereby, by the end of a week, the bank may have lost too much capacity to last thru a night of running the furnace, cpap machine, or electric blanket, or whatever. AND it is very important to get the bank back to full, asap, otherwise permanent damage can occur. And this entails proper top charging, and perhaps an Equalizing session. But keeping the bank full, daily, via solar, eliminates all this. Bottom line is, flooded batteries prefer to be kept full as much as possible.

Another very important thing to consider is the way batteries charge up to full. When heavily discharged, they'll accept pretty much anything you can throw at them, amp wise. But as they become more full, their ability to accept amps diminishes greatly. This is where solar makes all the difference...

Imagine running a generator capable of powering a 60a charger, but the battery bank will only accept say 15a. That's a huge waste of fuel, not to mention unnecessary wear and tear on the generator. But solar is, by comparison, much lower in amps-to-the-bank, so it's a great fit for doing that last ~ 10-15% of charging. Using a generator powered charger, a 50-85% charge can be accomplished in as little as say 2 hrs, whereas the final 10% can take 4-6 hrs. The last two seasons, I was charging about 4 hrs, every other day, but that was all in the upper SOC (state of charge) range, and thus I was accomplishing very little, other than keeping the bank healthy. It was taking 4 hours to replace say 60Ah's. At a much lower SOC, when the bank can accept more amps, 60Ah's can be replaced in just over 1 hr, using a 60a charger, and in less than an hour using a 75a charger. So what many do is hit the bank with big amps in the morning, and get the SOC up to say 80-90%, and then let the solar quietly and efficiently bring the bank to full.

Yes, solar can be added later... but I wish I had moved on it earlier. Listening to a generator for 4 hours at a time can get annoying. And you can even run solar and another charger in "parallel", and they will add their amps. The secret is setting their voltage outputs the same.

A properly sized system will essentially allow you to boondock forever. But as others can tell you, power is not what limits one's stay... it's water and food and fuel that are in limited capacity when boondocking. Gen charging is, of course, limited by how much fuel you can carry, while solar is limited only by the availability of sunlight. Therefore, one should either size their battery bank accordingly, or have a generator as a back-up charging source, but not as the primary source.

If you think you'll make good use of a 30a system, go for it. But if it will only be used on the rarest of occasions, it may not be worth the trouble and/or cost? I have become quite the power miser, but going solar in the near future has already got me thinking I may need to become a little more "wasteful". :)

27 true LED watts is a lot of light. Premium high wattage rope lighting is rather nice inside, wending its way around fixtures and cabinets. A dimmer provides slick control. 3,000 Kelvin color temperature seems to be a favorite.

You chose 270 watts worth of fixtures. I have purchased a total of seven 300-watt light bars for locals. To give you a rough idea of what that means, one 54" 300 watt light bar (like used in the Baja 1000 off-road race) allows me to read a newspaper (uncomfortably) at 200' distance for a cross-span of more than a hundred feet.

For fog light purposes, utility lights are worse than useless.

I learned long ago about not placing outdoor lighting near a door. My patio lighting is divorced with cross beam lighting at edges of patio. A nighttime bug-o-rama takes the bloom off the rose.

Good luck in your venture. I sure had fun doing it!