Good Morning all. I am seeking some advice about my batteries.
Earlier this year we had a Sheppards hut built and the Solar was installed by a third party. We never recieved a wiring diagram so i drew my own (attached) when i decided to add a shunt.
While under the hut i realised that the battery connections were at the same end of the bank. Shouldnt one of them be at the other end? I havent found a definitive answer. Any guidance appreciated.
Yes, it would be better if you connected the shunt to the right-most battery
Battery fusing is also a mess.
Have a read of wiring unlimited for ideas that are useful.
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Thank you for the feedback and the link. Usefull stuff. When you say its a mess, are you meaning the lack of a fuse prior to the 12v fuse board?
Does anyone have advice on how i can improve the Fusing/add additional if need and where?
For some background on how to make a better battery connection, take a look at this thread on the DIYSolarForum site.
The battery fuse is better placed before the battery switch and as close to the battery as possible. A busbar for the positive side (like you have on the negative side) would help simplify the system. All load/charge devices would then be connected to the busbar.
The switch going to the 12 volt circuits could be eliminated because the battery switch is already available to turn off power. There should be a fuse at the busbar for the wire going to the 12 volt fuse panel.
The 50 amp fuse on the solar charge controller is too small. It should be sized as 50 amp (output of MPPT device) x 1.25 = 62.5 amps or the closest fuse available. Usually you round up not down for fusing. The counter argument to changing the fuse is that if your solar panels are sized such that the solar charge controller would never hit the 50 amp output then the 50 amp fuse may be close. I tend to fuse to what a device is capable of at the extreme of its ratings.
Fuses (and breakers) protect the wire, not the device. So every wire needs to be protected.
Overall, you have a pretty good system. You have switches on both sides of the solar charge controller, which many installs don’t.
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Thanks Jim, That is so much more helpfull. I appreciate your time and will take all that on board.
Stu
Still need overcurrent protection on the cable between the battery and the switch, as well as between the solar charge controller and the switch.
Your battery configuration is suboptimal. Read the Wiring Unlimited document that klim8skeptic provided a link to.
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