question

beau avatar image
beau asked

Connecting 12v fuse panel into Easy Solar 12/1600/70

Hello helpful people,


I am on the final stages of the electrical installation on my canal boat. There are two systems, 12v and 240v. Most of the electrics is 12v but I decided to go for 240v sockets and immersion heater. I'm in communication with the company who sold me the Easy Solar trying to work out the best way to wire the 12v fuse panel and the Easy solar to the battery bank.


I was thinking of running one 35mm cable from the battery to an isolation switch, then have both the Easy Solar and the 12v panel feeding from that. The suppliers of the Easy Solar suggested that I could wire the 12v panel directly into the Easy Solar, I assume connecting onto the positive and negative terminals inside the unit.


Just wanted to check with some Victron experts if this was standard practice and if it would work.


Also slightly confused about grounding of the negative cables for both the 12v system and the 240v. Does the Easy Solar take care of this internally or do I need to fasten onto the boat hull?


Cheers,

Beau

EasySolar All-in-One
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3 Answers
Paul B avatar image
Paul B answered ·

I cant give you a cut and dried answer to these questions.

however the place you pickup your 12 volt connection to the inverter MUST be able to handle at least 200 /300 amps (so you can cover overload spikes) usually a direct connection to the main battery bus bar is the correct location. (and it should be fused)

the inverters cabinet housing should be connected to the earth/ground connection on the boat.


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JohnC avatar image
JohnC answered ·

Hi Beau. Teeing off the 'big' inverter cables to a 12V load, either method you're suggesting would be fine. My own personal preference would be to to it externally to the Easy, but your choice.

Earthing on a canal boat would normally be done for -ve dc in a single place, perhaps even the same place as the ac, but that's possibly subject to other issues, so best left for your sparky to confirm.

Essentially it's just a wiring issue, and this from Margreet should help, even to marine earthing: https://community.victronenergy.com/questions/10063/wiring-unlimited-a-new-book.html

Download the copy..




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beau avatar image
beau answered ·

Hello John and Paul, thanks both for your replies. I hard wired the 12v panel into the EasySolar and it works great.

I don't think this is related but the 240 sockets, coming from the EasySolar, don't seem to work. Am I missing something. If I plug my phone into the USB port on a socket it will acknowledge that there is power there but won't charge. The inverter light is on and the bulk light is flashing blue.

I'm fairly sure all the wiring is correct, no fuses are tripping, there are six 110A batteries on board and shoreline.

Do I need to have a Victron specialist come over to program the unit?

Thanks guys,

Beau

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