Help with converting A/C power to D/C , I think

[Roktman]

Hey Guys ,
I have a 7 x 12 cargo trailer I’m building out like my friends sprinter van but saving 175k lol, I have electrical questions , I’m a carpenter/ cabinet maker and have basic electrical knowledge in residential situations
1. I’m going to have “ shore power option at 30 amps
2. going with a “solar generator “ an ANKER 767 -2400 watts ,it has 4 x 15 amp receptacles,one 30 amp receptacle , a 2400 watt pure sine wave converter built in and of course input to receive up to 1000 watts of solar , I will have 400 watts with 2 panels
3. the solar generator is already purchased and will be used also in my future hiatus truck camper
4. ive heard it might have been better going with a “diy” multi battery - inverter system, but I have to be able to move the power module between the cargo trailer and the truck camper
1) these in the trailer are going to be 12 V, interior puck lights, iceco 75 Lcooler/ refer,water pump, max air, vents, exterior lighting, small marine fan, I will have few a/c receptacles one for future air con possibly and the odd appliance
2) so when at a CAMPSITE with power I’ll have a 30 amp shore receptacle so I’ll need a small electrical panel inside ?, so should power come out of the panel to an “ inverter or converter a/c to d/c then to my blue sea 12 v 12 circuit fuse block ? OR go straight into the anker solar generator then into a/c to d/c converter?
3) so when OFF GRID do I somehow go from the 30 amp receptacle in the solar generator to a a/c to d/c converter to blue sea 12 v fuse block ?

 

[rruff]

Why wouldn't you just plug your shore power into the powerstation and run everything as normal?

 

[Dave in AZ]

Hey Guys ,
I have a 7 x 12 cargo trailer I’m building out like my friends sprinter van but saving 175k lol, I have electrical questions , I’m a carpenter/ cabinet maker and have basic electrical knowledge in residential situations
1. I’m going to have “ shore power option at 30 amps
2. going with a “solar generator “ an ANKER 767 -2400 watts ,it has 4 x 15 amp receptacles,one 30 amp receptacle , a 2400 watt pure sine wave converter built in and of course input to receive up to 1000 watts of solar , I will have 400 watts with 2 panels
3. the solar generator is already purchased and will be used also in my future hiatus truck camper
4. ive heard it might have been better going with a “diy” multi battery - inverter system, but I have to be able to move the power module between the cargo trailer and the truck camper
1) these in the trailer are going to be 12 V, interior puck lights, water pump, max air, vents, exterior lighting, small marine fan, I will have few a/c receptacles one for future air con possibly and the odd appliance
2) so when at a CAMPSITE with power I’ll have a 30 amp shore receptacle so I’ll need a small electrical panel inside ?, so should power come out of the panel to an “ inverter or converter a/c to d/c then to my blue sea 12 v 12 circuit fuse block ? OR go straight into the anker solar generator then into a/c to d/c converter?
3) so when OFF GRID do I somehow go from the 30 amp receptacle in the solar generator to a a/c to d/c converter to blue sea 12 v fuse block ?

2 and 3. Your Anker actually has UPS, basically when it is plugged i to AC, and it has a load drawing on it, it will use the AC from shore power in a "pass thru" method, only switching to its battery within 10ms if ac power is lost.

Please watch this test video of your system, specifically at 12:20 timestamp.

Therefore, you should just leave everything set and running as normal, and just plug the Anker into shore power.

#3, off grid. Your loads listed are DC: puck lights, water pump, fan, maxair, vents, outside lights. The Anker isn't a great unit for running DC off of directly. It only has 3 usb c ports, 20v at 5A so 100w max each, and 2x 12v car charger, 120w max each.

So to power a dc trailer or Haitus setup, where you want to feed your power station directly into your dc fuseblock,you dont have a good dc source. You could plug the 2 12v cigarette lighter ports into dc block at 10a each, so 240w which isnt much loads at once, and You could run 3 usb c at 15v and 3a somehow and hope it's close enough to 12v for another 135w. I think usb c just auto sends voltage up to 20v, what the plugged in appliance requests, so I'm not sure about using them as 12-14v power supply... But now you have 5 wee cables jerry rigged to your dc fuseblock.


Or you could plug 5 separate items directly into the power station and not really have a fuse block, but thats not a great permanent design.

Lastly, you could use the 120v plugs, each 15A or the rv30 plug which is 20a, to power an ac to dc charger which goes to your dc fuseblock. This works nice on shore power as you have 1440 watt pass thru. Off grid you would have a lot of efficiency loss... anker battery to AC at 85% tested, back to dc via charger at say 87% since they use gallium nitride transistors. So, to use 1000watthours of your dc battery, you would only get 750wh actually to the dc fuseblock. That 75% efficiency instead of the native 100% it should be, is a bummer.

However, running off the rv30 plug, which is 20A supply on your unit, and using 87% efficiency onverting to dc, gives you 2088w to your dc fuseblock, plenty to run everything.

I went with Pecron e1500LFP because it has a 12v 30A output port, which I can plug directly into my dc fuse block.

 

[Dave in AZ]

I'm bored, so to summarize
Get a 20A minimum ac to dc convertor of good efficiency. Just plug it into a 15A socket for 1800w dc (or 1700 really due to losses). If you want 2200w, cut the plug off the convertor and wire on an rv30 plug... I wouldnt though. I would just get a 15A convertor and plug into 15A socket until proven I need more than 1700w continuous.

When on shore power, plug the ac dc convertor directly into shore to run without power station. Or, probably better, leave it plugged into power station and plug power station into shore. That will give you 1440w pass thru power, will allow use of all pluga on power stTion, and will recharge station.

 

[Roktman]

I'm bored, so to summarize
Get a 20A minimum ac to dc convertor of good efficiency. Just plug it into a 15A socket for 1800w dc (or 1700 really due to losses). If you want 2200w, cut the plug off the convertor and wire on an rv30 plug... I wouldnt though. I would just get a 15A convertor and plug into 15A socket until proven I need more than 1700w continuous.

When on shore power, plug the ac dc convertor directly into shore to run without power station. Or, probably better, leave it plugged into power station and plug power station into shore. That will give you 1440w pass thru power, will allow use of all pluga on power stTion, and will recharge station.

Dave in AZ, thanks much for the reply and info , I’d hadn’t seen that utube ,the best one I’ve seen it helped a lot , good info,you might of got bored,I didn’t get bored reading your stuff at the risk of boring you AGAIN( I will say that cracked me up) one more question,the shore power receptacle is male, so the backside of the 30AMP shore power receptacle should I wire a MALE Rv 30 amp and then use a 30 rv to a 15 amp adaptor to plug into the ANKER ? I feel like I’m missing something obvious here, but I can’t put my finger on it,lol

 

[Dave in AZ]

Dave in AZ, thanks much for the reply and info , I’d hadn’t seen that utube ,the best one I’ve seen it helped a lot , good info,you might of got bored,I didn’t get bored reading your stuff at the risk of boring you AGAIN( I will say that cracked me up) one more question,the shore power receptacle is male, so the backside of the 30AMP shore power receptacle should I wire a MALE Rv 30 amp and then use a 30 rv to a 15 amp adaptor to plug into the ANKER ? I feel like I’m missing something obvious here, but I can’t put my finger on it,lol

Now I'm confused
We should use the same terminology:

Receptacle= socket= female
Plug= male= pronger-thing

Inputs are male OR female? connections on power station that accept electricity at various voltages and amperages. They lead to a charge controller in there, that limits the input in 2 ways: amperage and watts. So an PV input may accept 12 to 28v dc, up to 10a, and 150w. A 12v input will flow up to 10a, then get regulated for 120w total. A 24v input will get regulated at the 150w limit, at 6.25A. A 48v input might jack it up.

Outputs are female connections on power station that output electricity at various voltages.

Anyways,... doh, gotta run, will be back to finish in an hour!
Edit... ok.
So, your trailer system.
1. If you are actually dragging an rv30 plug, male, supply cable over to your trailer, then you'll need to have an rv30 socket on its exterior wall. Then I would run 10awg wire from there on off chance you ever pull 30A. But you probably much less.
2. If you go directly to an ac to dc converter hooked to your dc fuseblock, that device should limit the current. But it will likely have a normal 15a 120v male plug on it, so you'll need to go from rv30 female, to normal 120v female.
3. If you go directly into your power station, then terminate the cord in whatever you need to plug in station?
4. If you go thru your Anker, your thru power is 1440 w, or 120v at 12A. So 15A plugs and wire is fine. If you wire directly to ac to dc convertor, I can't see using more than 13v at 100A, which is just 11A of 120v input, so again normal wires.


Maybe that answered you?

 

[Roktman]

Now I'm confused
We should use the same terminology:

Receptacle= socket= female
Plug= male= pronger-thing

Inputs are male OR female? connections on power station that accept electricity at various voltages and amperages. They lead to a charge controller in there, that limits the input in 2 ways: amperage and watts. So an PV input may accept 12 to 28v dc, up to 10a, and 150w. A 12v input will flow up to 10a, then get regulated for 120w total. A 24v input will get regulated at the 150w limit, at 6.25A. A 48v input might jack it up.

Outputs are female connections on power station that output electricity at various voltages.

Anyways,... doh, gotta run, will be back to finish in an hour!
Edit... ok.
So, your trailer system.
1. If you are actually dragging an rv30 plug, male, supply cable over to your trailer, then you'll need to have an rv30 socket on its exterior wall. Then I would run 10awg wire from there on off chance you ever pull 30A. But you probably much less.
2. If you go directly to an ac to dc converter hooked to your dc fuseblock, that device should limit the current. But it will likely have a normal 15a 120v male plug on it, so you'll need to go from rv30 female, to normal 120v female.
3. If you go directly into your power station, then terminate the cord in whatever you need to plug in station?
4. If you go thru your Anker, your thru power is 1440 w, or 120v at 12A. So 15A plugs and wire is fine. If you wire directly to ac to dc convertor, I can't see using more than 13v at 100A, which is just 11A of 120v input, so again normal wires.


Maybe that answered you?

 

[Roktman]

Thanks again Dave in AZ, it did, oh receptacle is girl , plug is boy seems like I should have knew that … since I have kids

 

[Roktman]

Now I'm confused
We should use the same terminology:

Receptacle= socket= female
Plug= male= pronger-thing

Inputs are male OR female? connections on power station that accept electricity at various voltages and amperages. They lead to a charge controller in there, that limits the input in 2 ways: amperage and watts. So an PV input may accept 12 to 28v dc, up to 10a, and 150w. A 12v input will flow up to 10a, then get regulated for 120w total. A 24v input will get regulated at the 150w limit, at 6.25A. A 48v input might jack it up.

Outputs are female connections on power station that output electricity at various voltages.

Anyways,... doh, gotta run, will be back to finish in an hour!
Edit... ok.
So, your trailer system.
1. If you are actually dragging an rv30 plug, male, supply cable over to your trailer, then you'll need to have an rv30 socket on its exterior wall. Then I would run 10awg wire from there on off chance you ever pull 30A. But you probably much less.
2. If you go directly to an ac to dc converter hooked to your dc fuseblock, that device should limit the current. But it will likely have a normal 15a 120v male plug on it, so you'll need to go from rv30 female, to normal 120v female.
3. If you go directly into your power station, then terminate the cord in whatever you need to plug in station?
4. If you go thru your Anker, your thru power is 1440 w, or 120v at 12A. So 15A plugs and wire is fine. If you wire directly to ac to dc convertor, I can't see using more than 13v at 100A, which is just 11A of 120v input, so again normal wires.


Maybe that answered you?

 

[Roktman]

Hey DAVE IN AZ, WHAT DO THINK ABOUT THIS LAYOUT ?

 

[Dave in AZ]

Hey DAVE IN AZ, WHAT DO THINK ABOUT THIS LAYOUT ?

Nice drawing
Ok let's assume you are committed to the Anker, which I personally think is a good decision. It is a top power station today, with good 12v dc supply, and is mobile for use elsewhere. All the pickup camper shell popups are now coming wired for these. That thing does like 80% of all the boxes and lines on your drawing. It already has power converters, it has circuit protection and 15A limiting on its 120v ports, etc. First thing to understand: everything goes through the Anker, that is the heart, not a peripheral!

Here is what I would change:
1. Your 12v bluesea fuseblock, good choice, wire that directly to the anker tt30 port. Delete the "power converter", your Anker does that for AC shore power, and anker battery or future battery are already 12v. You might place a fuse at the bluesea on incoming wire, sized to the wire and specs on the bluesea, to protect wiring from future power stations or battery sources. Right now, anker will limit output to 20A, but if you later replace anker with say a 230Ah lithium battery, it could flow more amps than your wire to bluesea, or bluesea, can take. Maybe bluesea has an input fuse already, depends on model. But throw a fuse there, and run 10ga min for 30A, I would go with 8 or even 6ga for that one run. Highest amperage in system will be between battery/power station, and the dc fuseblock, plan ahead for growth!!

2. AC power to your anker: the cord you label "factory cord...to charge unit?", should go to your shore power. So all shore power just goes straight to anker, nowhere else. Delete the " 30a to 15a?" Line, the circuit breaker box, and the 120v receptacles. All your ac loads, devices, plug directly into the anker.

3. So the anker can do 1440w pass thru, that is it just flows from shore power right to the plugs and doesn't affect the battery once charged. That is 12A of ac. It can do more than that, like 2400w, but will use some battery charge. That would be plenty for me, but if you want to run more stuff when on shore power, like an airco or cooking equipment, then just run shore power to a small cb panel, to some plugs or directly to your loads. Then just plug the anker directly into one of your 15A 120v outlets.

4. The ac cb panel is there to protect the wire from shore power to panel, so size the incoming cb to whatever wire you run. Then individual cb protect each other circuit. Probably just 15a normal sockets, but an airco might get wired direct on a 20a circuit. And if you ran crap on all at once, you could exceed your shorepower wire, so the master cb on panel protects that.

5. I really don't know what a cargo trailer is used for, to me that means you arent living in there just hauling cargo, so a few dc lights. So #3 and #4 above wouldn't really apply. If you're living in there, then I call that a travel or camper trailer, and I can see higher ac loads if you use campsites and plug in. If I was doing a trailer I camped and lived in, then I wouldn't do it ANY of these ways, I would build my own battery system instead of solar generator, I would charge it with an ac dc charge controller, I would have an inverter to provide off grid 120v. And I'd have a solar mppt charge controller.

 

[Roktman]

Nice drawing
Ok let's assume you are committed to the Anker, which I personally think is a good decision. It is a top power station today, with good 12v dc supply, and is mobile for use elsewhere. All the pickup camper shell popups are now coming wired for these. That thing does like 80% of all the boxes and lines on your drawing. It already has power converters, it has circuit protection and 15A limiting on its 120v ports, etc. First thing to understand: everything goes through the Anker, that is the heart, not a peripheral!

Here is what I would change:
1. Your 12v bluesea fuseblock, good choice, wire that directly to the anker tt30 port. Delete the "power converter", your Anker does that for AC shore power, and anker battery or future battery are already 12v. You might place a fuse at the bluesea on incoming wire, sized to the wire and specs on the bluesea, to protect wiring from future power stations or battery sources. Right now, anker will limit output to 20A, but if you later replace anker with say a 230Ah lithium battery, it could flow more amps than your wire to bluesea, or bluesea, can take. Maybe bluesea has an input fuse already, depends on model. But throw a fuse there, and run 10ga min for 30A, I would go with 8 or even 6ga for that one run. Highest amperage in system will be between battery/power station, and the dc fuseblock, plan ahead for growth!!

2. AC power to your anker: the cord you label "factory cord...to charge unit?", should go to your shore power. So all shore power just goes straight to anker, nowhere else. Delete the " 30a to 15a?" Line, the circuit breaker box, and the 120v receptacles. All your ac loads, devices, plug directly into the anker.

3. So the anker can do 1440w pass thru, that is it just flows from shore power right to the plugs and doesn't affect the battery once charged. That is 12A of ac. It can do more than that, like 2400w, but will use some battery charge. That would be plenty for me, but if you want to run more stuff when on shore power, like an airco or cooking equipment, then just run shore power to a small cb panel, to some plugs or directly to your loads. Then just plug the anker directly into one of your 15A 120v outlets.

4. The ac cb panel is there to protect the wire from shore power to panel, so size the incoming cb to whatever wire you run. Then individual cb protect each other circuit. Probably just 15a normal sockets, but an airco might get wired direct on a 20a circuit. And if you ran crap on all at once, you could exceed your shorepower wire, so the master cb on panel protects that.

5. I really don't know what a cargo trailer is used for, to me that means you arent living in there just hauling cargo, so a few dc lights. So #3 and #4 above wouldn't really apply. If you're living in there, then I call that a travel or camper trailer, and I can see higher ac loads if you use campsites and plug in. If I was doing a trailer I camped and lived in, then I wouldn't do it ANY of these ways, I would build my own battery system instead of solar generator, I would charge it with an ac dc charge controller, I would have an inverter to provide off grid 120v. And I'd have a solar mppt charge controller.

Thanks DAVE in AZ, good info, lots to consider ! thanks for takin the time, yea this is going to be an Rv travel trailer , check out cargo trailer builds or conversions on utube all the rage now,there good platforms simple and sturdy since they have to be tough enough to carry a small auto ,then when camping you use the ramp door as a deck !