I'm a newbie to 12V power systems - Can you look and critique my plan?

makemuchoftime

New member
Hello,

I am working on a build out of my Chevy Avalanche (full build thread here) and I am putting in a power panel mounted on the inside bed of the truck. The panel will include various power output sockets, a fuse box, solar charger, and an inverter will be connected as well. The goal is to be able to make the panel easily removable so I can keep it protected when I'm using my truck to haul stuff and also, so I can take it out and plug into a home built battery box and small solar home system.

I've done quite a lot of reading and researching and am at the point now where I'd like some feedback from those who have some experience and knowledge.
  • Is 1/0 wire with 160A fuse good enough for the inverter wiring?
  • If I throw the circuit breaker, and plug in another AGM battery into the Anderson connectors on the 30A fuse, will that power the system off that battery or is that too much for 10 AWG wire and a 30A fuse?
  • Do you see any other red flags or issues? I will be sleeping back here with the family so I want to be completely conservative where safety is concerned.

I've already wired in the aux battery.
AvyPower2ndBatt.JPG

I plan on running 1/0 wire under the vehicle and back up into the back of the panel inside 1/2" flexible non metallic conduit. There are a few things not on the diagram, like a cooling fan as the inverter will be in an enclosed space, a remote switch for the inverter, and a separate power switch for the USB and round 12v sockets.
AvyPowerPanel.JPG

Thanks for your help.
- Maker
 

makemuchoftime

New member
Verkstad - thanks for the input. If I were to plug in another battery, I'd disconnect the dead aux battery through the circuit breaker to avoid any of the issues I've read about re connecting a fully charged and a dead battery or hooking batteries up different types in parallel. By hitting the circuit breaker, I believe I would have a completely isolated circuit with only the good battery for power (even though their negatives are still connected). At that point I'd just be powering the fridge and maybe a cel phone. If I needed anything else heavier, I'd just fire up the truck to recharge the aux battery..... I don't see this as a common scenario, but I'd like to keep my options open.
 

rayra

Expedition Leader
If the panel is not intended to be air / water tight, I'd suggest some passive cooling slots or screened vent holes, positioned so the waste heat has a way to escape. Cool air in the bottom, warmed air out the top, let thermodynamics do the work, passively.

The inverter itself will have a fan and depending on its design, cost or warranty designs, you could either duct that fan to vent outside your enclosure.
You could also consider a switch in the power circuit feeding the inverter, both so you can cut power to the inverter alone but it could also serve as the power activation for a separate vent fan, something as small as 40mm-60mm. With bearings such a fan can be quite quiet.

If your panel face is more like a box lid, you could size it to protrude as much as your inverter is thick and mount things such that the inverter outlets are accessible out the bottom face of the box lid.

And if you really want to get fancy, it would be pretty easy / straightforward to vacuum-form your lid / panel into any reasonable shape you want. 'mod my rolling work table to serve as a vac table' has been on my 'To Do list for years. It would be fun project and an easy mod for my work table. And as long as your panel size fits inside of a residential oven, it would be real easy. Just have to make a pattern buck

/options, lots and lots of options...
 

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