Wiring my camper canopy

[Ranga]

My slide-on camper canopy currently contains the following:

2 x 90W solar panels
1 x 120AH Ritar AGM deep-cycle battery
1 x Ctek D250S (not the D250S Dual)
1 x Bushman fridge
1 x BAINTECH Universal DC Socket Power Board BAINTECH Universal DC Socket Power Board - Left Drop (http://www.baintech.com.au/sockets/baintech-universal-dc-socket-power-board-left-drop)
4 x LED light strips (~0.75A each)
1 x 1500W inverter


Current connections are:

The solar panels are connected to the D250S.
The Ctek connects to the battery.
The battery connects to the Baintech and to the inverter.
The Defender's auxiliary battery connects to the Ritar battery.
The LED lights are connected to the Baintech.
The fridge is connected to the Baintech.


Questions:

Is it correct to believe a crucial element missing are fuses/circuit breakers?
Should I get a fuse block or individual circuit breakers?
Which fuse block would you recommend?
Should I connect each light to a separate fuse, or just all into the 1 fuse?
Should I connect the fuse block to the output of the Baintech, to make use of the isolator and volt/amp meter?
Should I swap the D250S to the D250S Dual and connect the vehicle power to it? (again opening the debate about the need for a DC-DC charger)
Should I have a circuit breaker on each end of the connection from the vehicle, and if so, which ones?
Shoud I swap the D250S for a better solar regulator?
Should I keep the inverter connected directly to the battery, albeit with a circuit breaker?
Anything else that needs to be mentioned?

[mike_ie]

- Is it correct to believe a crucial element missing are fuses/circuit breakers?

In a nutshell, yes. It's necessary for the protection of any equipment you plan to plug in to that battery. And it's cheap insurance against something going wrong.


- Should I get a fuse block or individual circuit breakers?

Entirely up to you. Breakers are more expensive but resettable, fuse boxes are cheaper and standard fare for all vehicles. My own personal choice is for fuses - they're idiot proof, and they come in a larger range of values than breakers. Choice is yours.


- Which fuse block would you recommend?

If it's going to be out in the canopy, I recommend a marine fuse box to seal against dust and water. Something like this one (https://www.whitworths.com.au/main_itemdetail.asp?cat=123&item=33589&intAbsolutePage=1) is compact, and easily wired to.


- Should I connect each light to a separate fuse, or just all into the 1 fuse?

It's not necessary to wire each light to a fuse, but perhaps cluster the lights into groups and connect each group to it's own fuse. That way, when you lose one fuse, you don't lose all lights. Don't know how many lights you are running, but two banks of lights would be fine, I think. Use a multimeter to measure the current draw across the fuse terminals, and rate your fuse higher.


- Should I connect the fuse block to the output of the Baintech, to make use of the isolator and volt/amp meter?

No, because you'll want the sockets on the Baintech to be fuse protected too. Voltmeter will still work fine, ammeter will tell you what current the sockets on the Baintech are pulling.


- Should I swap the D250S to the D250S Dual and connect the vehicle power to it? (again opening the debate about the need for a DC-DC charger)

You mention earlier that your Defender aux battery is already connected to the Ritar battery? Is it just a direct connection? If I were to replace anything, it would be to update your existing dual battery setup to charge a third battery, a-la Traxide unit, and run power up to the battery through an anderson plug for ease of disconnecting the canopy. Leave the D250S where it is, connected to the solar panel.


- Should I have a circuit breaker on each end of the connection from the vehicle, and if so, which ones?

A 50 breaker near the batter at each end of the cable certainly wouldn't hurt. Both ends, considering that your camper is a slide on, and cable damage is a possibility.


- Should I swap the D250S for a better solar regulator?

Not familiar with the D250S, but if it's doing the job, why bother changing it???


- Should I keep the inverter connected directly to the battery, albeit with a circuit breaker?

I'd recommed connecting it through an anderson plug - you never know when you might need to disconnect it.


- Anything else that needs to be mentioned?

Use good quality cable, and terminals... and probably a hundred other things. If in doubt, ask someone....

[Judo]

Ditto to "Use good quality cable, and terminals". Just went through the effort of putting a better quality cable from my aux battery to the fridge and it made a world of difference to the voltage drop at the fridge. Have a play with some numbers on here:

American Wire Gauge table and AWG Electrical Current Load Limits with skin depth frequencies and wire strength (http://www.powerstream.com/Wire_Size.htm)

Forget the Maximum amps column. That's how much current will melt the wire along with a huge voltage drop. Use the calc to figure out some realistic wire size that will give you circa 0.1V drop at your load.

Can't recommend a fuse box specifically, although the one mike has suggested looks good as my only suggestion was going to be, get one with blade fuses as per the rest of the vehicle fuses. You only have to carry 1 type, all service stations stock them and other people are likely to also carry these types as spares if your stuck. No point using disposable fuses if you can't easily get hold of a new one!

[Ranga]

Breakers are more expensive but resettable

Would it be possible to use a breaker for the light switch, thus killing 2 birds with 1 stone?

Like this http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Legrand-10A-230-400v-1-Pole-Circuit-Breaker-Trip-Switch-MCB-06158-L95-/370624041049?pt=UK_DIY_Material_Electrical_Fitting s_MJ&hash=item564aea1059&_uhb=1#ht_500wt_969 (is it good for 12V, or only 240V?)

[mike_ie]

Would it be possible to use a breaker for the light switch, thus killing 2 birds with 1 stone?

Like this 10A 250V Switch Circuit Breaker | PHOTONAGE (http://www.photonage.com.au/10a-250v-switch-circuit-breaker-p-7286.html)

Yep, I guess you could. But for all the cost that's involved in having a separate fuse box and switch, I'd recommend keeping them separate, as it's a tidier solution. Fuses are all in the same place should one pop, and you can select a switch that's most suited to the environment in which you want to place it, e.g. waterproof switches outside, etc.

[mike_ie]

If you are going to go the breaker route, and you're happy to have all of your switches in one location, then pick up a combo marine switch and breaker panel like the one listed here:

Marine Boat Splashproof Switch Panel 4 Gang with LED Rocker Circuit Breaker | eBay (http://www.ebay.com/itm/MARINE-BOAT-SPLASHPROOF-SWITCH-PANEL-4-GANG-WITH-LED-ROCKER-CIRCUIT-BREAKER-/280959540886?pt=Boat_Parts_Accessories_Gear&hash=item416a7e5e96&vxp=mtr)

The above panel come with carling switches, which are pretty robust, but there are different variations available. I'd advise on getting good quality switches though.

The switches come with a selection of breaker values already built in, and you can pick them up in 2,4, or 6 switch panels. Just pick up a sealed electrical box, bolt that to your canopy, and mount the switch panel on the sealed lid of the electrical box. You can keep all of the wiring tidy and out of the way in the back of the box, and will be splashproof and dustproof.

[Ranga]

I'll stick with the current switches, as they're handy where they are, and just go with a fuse block.