Final Panel Layout, BMK and Camping World

Today I'm almost wrapped up with the electrical mods on the Tiffin.

My day started off in a mild panic - I needed a disconnect switch, and some Dicor, so I went up to my dealer to buy these items in his parts store.  They were closed!   So in my desperation, I decided to go over to Camping World - surely those money grubbers would be open!   Of course they were.   I got my stuff, and at checkout discovered my membership had lapsed.  Like two years ago.  ;)    Of course they pressured me to re-up.  Not only did they have a two years for $50 deal, but I could get the club prices on the stuff I was buying (saved $5), they give you a $25 gift coupon with your new card, you get 3 cents off gas at Pilot/Flying J, you can use their dump station for free at CW, and they have discounted propane (by the gallon, and another 25% off Tuesdays and Thursdays).  To top it off, when I got home and looked at my receipt, they charged me for the membership, and the Dicor, but not the $40 switch!  Thanks CW!  

It will be interesting how they react when I take my Tiffin up there to dump my poop tank. They'll know I didn't buy it there, as they don't carry that brand.  Same with the Travato.  I look forward to giving them lots of my poop.

Anyways, back at the shop, I finalized my solar panel array.   After much consternation and research, I decided to downsize it a bit.   The information out there is very mixed on whether it is safe to oversize the array to account for the real world output based on weather conditions, shading and obstructions, plus the wiring losses.   One post I read confirmed that the Outback FM-80 clips to output power to 80 no matter what the inputs are (according to his call with their tech support).  Then I read other posts that that was all horseshit.   So what I decided to do was play it safe for now and see how she does.  If I consistantly get charging in the 40-50 amp range, then I may add the two panels back in.   If I get close to 80 amps as this is, then I'll leave it alone.

So I moved the remaining 6 panels closer together.  They are wired in two strings of 3 in series, and then paralleled at the roof penetration.   It should be 55.5 volts @ 17.3 amps to the controller.  At 14.6 volts, I should be seeing 65.8 amps of charging.  We'll see.  If you run the numbers at 12 volts, you get right at 80 amps - so that combo would be full sun coupled with a dearly empty battery.  Another benefit to this layout is that less wiring run is required.

Down in the electrical bay, I cleaned up loose ends.  I connected the main positive and negative cables to the batteries.   I also installed a disconnect switch and a fuse for the positive cable from the solar controller.   Initially, I didn't think I'd install a switch here, but seeing that the solar controller could bleed power if you were in inside storage, I wanted a way to turn it completely off.

I also installed the Magnum BMK.  This allows you to see the state of charge (SOC) and you can see it on the Magnum display, and you can control generator start based on this instead of voltage, as well as control charging based on SOC.  

Not as pretty as I'd hoped, but everything fits.  When my Lithionics battery comes in, I'll make it a lot more tidy - there are only two poles on this big battery - one pos, one neg.  I'll get some custom cables cut and install a couple bus bars on the poles for the numerous attachments.

I did get to set up the Magnum to charge on the CC/CV profile.  It was able to push 100 amps into the battery bank.  I believe that is the maximum for the Magnum 2012.   What I need to figure out is if I can set things up to "stack" charging - solar, charger, or alternator.