Solar Project Moving Along...

Today was another long day of mods.  Wanted to make some more progress on the solar project on the Tiffin.

First up was installing the rubber flooring I bought at Lowes for the floor of the new battery compartment.   Actually, this stuff is going to go into all the compartments eventually.  It's a nice 3/8" thick rubber matting that is in interlocking tiles 12' x 12'.  Cuts easily with a carpet knife.   Nice, non-slip surface.

I had a heck of a time deciding how and where to mount the solar controller.  It's pretty big, but I decided I wanted it in the battery compartment, but I also wanted it oriented so I could read the LCD display.  I did have to relocate the existing AC/DC outlet box in this compartement a couple inches up and over.  That was fairly easy, but required drilling 2 holes in the steel wall.  The controlller needed another 4 holes in the wall.

The wiring was a project in and of itself.  Starting with the overhead cabinet inside (that I showed you a few days ago), I cut out about 10 feet of that cabling and joined it all together with crimp connectors, and then taped it up.  Then replaced the wood cover.  While I was in there, I replaced the Magnum remote with the advanced remote (ARC-50).  This one will allow me to control charging based on SOC, as well as other nice features.

I pulled the solar cables out of the battery tray (under the steps) and rerouted them to this new battery compartment.  Had to drill a 1/2" hole in the steel wall for those cables.  Thankfully there was enough length to reach the controller.   I wired in a breaker box and breaker so I can shut off the PV power.  I selected a 30 amp breaker for this.  Then I ran to the controller and terminated.   Additionally, I ran a ground cable and terminated the 0 guage charging cables that will go to the battery.    Here is a picture of the termination end of the controller.

Here is how I left things for today.   I put in the Stark Batteries I had that eventually are going in my boat.  These are LiFEPO4, 125 AH batteries like I installed in the Travato.  I'll use these to get everything configured until my Lithionics 600 AH battery comes in.  In the picture below, you can see how I mounted the controller, my breaker box and installed combing over the wires.

Next, I had to install the remote display inside.  I was really nervous about this, as I had to take a jigsaw to my new cabinets.   In their wisdom, instead of a square cut, they require you to make an oval cut!   At least they give you a paper template.  To make this easier, I drilled two starter holes on each side of the oval.  Taped the shoe of the jigsaw so the wood doesn't get scratched.  I think it turned out pretty good.

I also had to drill a hole in the floor inside the cabinet to run the network cable between the controller and the remote/display.  That was actually easier than I thought, as it was all clear back there and the floor is just plywood.

That's it for now.  More in the days ahead.