Solar panel and IBS battery monitor query

[wuntenn]

Glad it's passed muster!

Run to fridge is about 1.5m from the solar controller, and 2.5m from the battery. The cable I used from the load connections is 17amo I think. The cable supplied with the fridge is pretty long, and from my tests with the solar controller's LCD meter the fridge is drawing 2.7amps from cold and then dropping to anything from 0.5 to 1.5 amps depending on the ambient temp and fridge settings.

I guess at some point it's possibly worth getting a spare cable to cut to the exact length and minimize voltage drop.

Inverter is a 300W (pure sine), and it has reasonably beefy wire, but I got some more to connect to the battery (because my original choice of location was further than the supplied cable) and it is 10mm(2) which is about AWG 7 so plenty thick enough I'd guess. Distance from the battery is just under 1.5m.

 

[unseenone]

It looks great, you should be ok on wire sizes, and the 10mm(2) should be more than sufficient. A good test for your wire is to measure voltage at the source, and the final outlet, and if you do not have any or very little voltage drop, you should be in good shape. Keep in mind, voltage drop, is not just drop, it is turned into heat, due to resistance in the wire, and the energy is wasted (lost). That's why it's important to double check things.

It's an awesome setup, and the pictures help put it into perspective. A fine installation, it is coming along nicely.

 

[wuntenn]

It looks great, you should be ok on wire sizes, and the 10mm(2) should be more than sufficient. A good test for your wire is to measure voltage at the source, and the final outlet, and if you do not have any or very little voltage drop, you should be in good shape. Keep in mind, voltage drop, is not just drop, it is turned into heat, due to resistance in the wire, and the energy is wasted (lost). That's why it's important to double check things.

It's an awesome setup, and the pictures help put it into perspective. A fine installation, it is coming along nicely.

Thanks. I appreciate your continuing interest and oversight. It's not been easy figuring stuff out ( as a novice) and your help (and other posters in this forum) have kept it on track, and it's satisfying to see it shaping up and starting to actually work! You start with a pile of cardboard boxes and an idea and end up with a system that seems to work!

Got more to do yet. I'm upgrading the Eberspacher diesel heater's control unit to a higher specced one. Current unit is only On/Off and running for 60 minutes with a 24 Hr preset so it will fire up at a predetermined time the following day. The new controller is 7 day/24 hour and can have multiple start & stop set times that exceed 60 minutes, and on separate days so much more flexible. I could have lived without all that - these functions are really the icing on the cake - the point of getting it is because it has a full diagnostic readout of error codes and a 'reset' function.

The Eberspacher has been in the van for about 15 years and works fine, when it works. It occasionally goes offline as it has various internal safety features such as low fuel shut off, low oxygen shut off, overheat shutoff, too much air in the coolant system etc etc that will close it down when there is a perceived problem. If it does more than a predetermined number of shutdowns (I think it's about 7) it will not operate until the problem is solved and the error codes are cleared and the unit reset.

The problem when it goes awol is knowing what's actually wrong. Up till now I've had to go to a yacht marina and get the electricians to plug in their diagnostic unit and divine the problem which I can then remedy. This can cost depending on the mood of the guy who does it - it only take a few minutes but they sometimes charge a minimum of 30 mins or 1hr. With luck this new controller will help immensely with my own diagnosis of problems. I just have to delve into the dash innards to track the wiring loom for the controller and swap the plugs/units - which is easier said than done! And whilst I'm in there I need to find out why my stereo has stopped functioning - it's either earth or power as it was going on/off/on/off for a while every time I hit a bump.

Land Rovers eh? Endless fun!