Electrical Wiring Diagram - Opinions/Advice?

[Jarscott]

Hi all,

I'm currently in the planning stages of my T6 camper conversion and working through the electrical system. I’ve attached below the diagram I've created of the layout I’m going for. I’d really appreciate any feedback or advice from those who’ve been through a similar build or have experience with this kind of setup. Currently thinking EHU under bonnet and under the drivers seat for Leisure Battery, Battery Monitor, Consumer Unit for EHU and Battery Isolator switch. Everything else in the rear cupboard.

Components in my system:

• Orion DC-DC 18A Isolated Charger
• Battery Isolator Switch
• Battery Monitor
• Battery Protect 65A
• Victron Multiplus 500VA
• 2 x Consumer Units
• 12V Fuse Box
• 2 x Bus Bars
• 4 x MIDI Fuses
• 1 x MEGA Fuse
• 100Ah Lithium Battery (likely a Fogstar 105Ah but not 100% decided yet)

Planned loads:

• 12V Socket (for compressor coolbox – probably a Dometic CFX2)
• One set of internal lights
• USB Sockets for charging phones
• 230V socket via inverter for occasional charging of laptop
• 230V hook-up socket (non-inverted) for bigger stuff if required when hooked up

Future additions:

• Diesel Heater
• Another set of lights for a pop top (when we get it installed)
• USB socket in the pop top

A few things I’d love feedback on:

1. Does the general layout look right to you?
2. Have I missed anything crucial or overcomplicated anything?
3. 18A DC-DC Charger is shown in isolated set up but it doesnt need to be, I expect we will end up connecting it in a non-isolated way by joining the two negatives to a common ground as I've seen elsewhere on this forum. From looking into it I'm tempted to upgrade to the 30A DC-DC charger but is it worth the extra cost as we already have the 18A?
4. Any recommended tweaks for future-proofing? Is it worth just accepting the pain of 30A DC-DC Charger and 230aH Battery now even though we only do weekends away?
5. Suggestions on wire sizing, safety (fuse placement), or component positioning?

Thanks in advance for any advice or constructive criticism – trying to do this right the first time!

 

[jimc91]

If you’re having you ehu feed under the bonnet I’d have your consumer unit under there as well to keep the non protected run as short as possible

 

[roadtripper]

Welcome to the forum @Jarscott - it's tradition to ask new folks to post pictures of their new van (if they are happy to do so!)

A quick couple of thoughts from a quick scan read:

You don't need an isolated charger but given the likely loads with an inverter the Orion XS is likely the better choice, it's small and more efficient anyway and will refill the battery much more rapidly even if set to 30A for every day use.

I'm a fan of inverter/chargers (I have a big one on the narrowboat) and Victron kit but you current plan is using a lot of equipment (and space) for a relatively simple use. For your suggested uses I'd just have a normal basic EHU and have the feed a Victron IP22/IP65 mains charger as well and then add a basic 1000w inverter. You are right to not try and get fancy with having EHU and inverter feed the same socket.

If you do want to invest in the inverter/charger then that is perfectly capable of handling the switch over from EHU to battery safely and automatically. You likely then only need a dual isolator upstream of it and an RCDwith socket downstream of it rather than 2 full CUs

 

[Jarscott]

Thanks both! I’ll definitely look into that dual isolator and RCD/socket combo. It sounds like a much simpler setup and it would free up a lot of space by ditching the two bulky consumer units. I've done a quick search on here and online and it looks like double pole Wylex 100A switches are the most common - is this what you were thinking @roadtripper ?

I actually bought most of the components over a year ago when I (naively) thought I’d have the time to install everything myself. Then life and a newborn happened! So the parts I listed are already in hand. That said, I’m seriously tempted to swap out the 18A Orion for the XS version, especially as that seems to be the consensus around here - my concern is that I would then also need to change the cable to 25mm as well as up the fuses from 40A to 100A so I could perhaps look to install this at some point in the future...

Not many good photos of the van at the moment, so you’ll have to settle for one of the pooch posing proudly in front of it!

 

[roadtripper]

Not sure why you'd use 25mm2, Victron specify 16mm2 with a 60-70A fuse for runs under 5m - that covers even rear mounting in a T6 generally and underseat is around 3.5m

 

[roadtripper]

Looking at the Multiplus documentation again it doesn't have inherent protection built in but does have all the required transfer relays. The schematic shows that Victron advise dual pole isolation, breaker and RCD on input and output.

However you don't have to have a full consumer unit as in your schematic to achieve that.

For the incoming the simplest would be a 3 way(unit) enclosure IP rated enclosure with cable glands. That gives you room for a 2 unit main RCD switch and a 1 unit MCB, you don't need large devices here. A 16A or 10A MCB and any main switch above that. As @jimc91 suggests that can usually fit under the bonnet by the battery, if not it needs to be within 2m of the incoming socket.

Examples from TLC Direct:

3 Way Weathertight Enclosure LS0H IP65 c/w DIN Rail | Wiska (1303/W)

40A 30mA 2 Pole RCD (Type A) - Wylex | Wylex (WRDS40/2)

16A Wylex MCB - B Curve | Wylex (NHXLB16)

You could use the same arrangement for the output side as well. You could use one of the RCD fused spurs, that should provide dual pole isolation and the fuse provides over current protection, but that won't save you much space

13A RCD Fused Spur 30mA (Latching) - White | Timeguard (RCD10WPVN)