Buying My SKOOLIE Soon - Need Help On Wiring!

[chev49]

you should read about bus conversions on other bus conversion sites as electrical is covered. also you can buy bus conversion bible, etc which will help as well.

if ya use an inverter, my guess is that ya need a battery bank as an inverter maketh 110v from 12v. in fact, you need a converter for 110 to 12v, to run the 12v things when on shore power, and to also charge up the battery bank. ya use inverter like for while traveling, camping, etc. you should also get something like a 4k gen set, and maybe solar panels...

30 amp shore power will run one a/c just fine, or 2 small house type ones.
you should have a12v 110v automatic switch over which swiches gen set and shore power back and forth.
have fun.

[roach711]

If you're not using a battery bank you just wire the bus like a house. A small branch breaker box would be fine, just keep your neutral and ground bars separate. Not using DC power will certainly make your wiring simpler.

[chev49]

if your just runing a plug in to shore power, just make it like a house circuit. i thought u wanted to use an inverter, but me readread orig post...

[crazycal]

Don't take this the wrong way, but I think you should consult a licensed electrician. If you wouldn't wire your own house, you don't want to wire your bus if you are going to hook up to shore power. I seem to remember some guy getting electrocuted in his bus by a faulty wiring job. That's a lot of juice to play with.

[GreyEagle]

Basic electric ..... 3 wire......
Hot (black) in to breaker box hot lug, where the breakers plug in.
neutral (white) to the neutral lug normally on the left side as you look at the box.
and ground (green) to the ground lug on the other side of the breaker box.
Hot wire (black) to the plug, light or appl. Neutral (white) is the return back to the box neutral side.
Ground (green) is always ground. normally hooks to the metal box at the plug or light or appl. and is a contentious circuit throughout the bus back to ground.
This prevents you from getting shocked or worse. DO NOT use the bus chassis as ground for your AC circuits....... not good!!!! 120 volts AC need an earth ground. Chassis is ground for the 12 volt DC systems.
Size of wire very important as a too small size of wire will over heat, melt or burn. Number 12 wire is ok but a size 10 is much better.
For the bus stranded wire is much better than solid wire.
Size required will be determined by the load at the other end ie plug normally 15 amps, light fixture 15 amp. do not put all lights or all plugs on the same circuit.
Maybe one circuit for the living area, one circuit for the bedroom etc,
Stand along circuits for all appliances. ie fridge, microwave , electric heaters etc.
Too many combinations to try to do it yourself if you do not understand it.
Be smart, be safe and find someone who KNOWS what the requirements are...
Best of luck ....

[lornaschinske]

Originally Posted by mlowry7

I'm a true novice at electrical systems.. .

You might want to buy a book on basic electrical wiring. You can pick them up at big box lumber/DIY stores, some Wal-marts, K-Marts or a bookstore. They aren't very thick not terribly complicated.

I wouldn't trust too many house electricians to wire up a mobile unit. They don't understand that the chassis IS the ground.

[crazycal]

Originally Posted by lornaschinske

You might want to buy a book on basic electrical wiring. You can pick them up at big box lumber/DIY stores, some Wal-marts, K-Marts or a bookstore. They aren't very thick not terribly complicated.

I wouldn't trust too many house electricians to wire up a mobile unit. They don't understand that the chassis IS the ground.

The chassis is the ground for a 12 volt system, NOT if you are hooking up to shore power. Anyone that does not understand the ins and outs of of electricity (that INCLUDES me) should not be playing around with wiring a 120 volt system. This is child's play for experienced electricians but can cause some serious hurt if you don't know what you are doing. The OP has already stated that he is a novice. There is nothing wrong with getting help. In many jurisdictions, someone can be an owner builder and build their own house from top to bottom EXCEPT for electric and plumbing. That is done for very good reason, they don't want people to die.

I wouldn't trust too many house electricians to wire up a mobile unit. They don't understand that the chassis IS the ground.

I am deleting what I wrote since it wasn't contributing to the original question and I dont want Lorna angry with me.

[chev49]

here in oregon, we are required to have 2 ground wires for hooking up mobile homes.. one is isolated and goes back to the panel, and the other goes to the skin of the box on the outside of the mobile, its inside panel, and the skin of the meter box. That requirement is only around 6 yrs old, but is the same way i have been wiring each of the 5 busses that i have done for myself since the mid 80's.

when/or after.. wiring 110v, its a good idea to use your test meter to test for current from your bus skin to a known good ground rod (you can test that also)
NEC book has good stuff in it fwiw

[lornaschinske]

Originally Posted by crazycal

... I'm sorry to say this and mean no disrespect but that is a ridiculous statement.

Dear Cal, I apparently am unable to express myself very well. So I will simply keep my "ridiculous" statements to myself.

BTW, Our first house that burned to the ground (electrical fire) was wired up by a licensed electrician.... one with a drinking problem. We learned that as we were standing looking at the ashes of our former home.

I think I will carefully choose what I post from now on, I'm getting a little tired of being attacked.

[roach711]

Originally Posted by chev49

here in oregon, we are required to have 2 ground wires for hooking up mobile homes.. one is isolated and goes back to the panel, and the other goes to the skin of the box on the outside of the mobile, its inside panel, and the skin of the meter box. That requirement is only around 6 yrs old, but is the same way i have been wiring each of the 5 busses that i have done for myself since the mid 80's.

To be clear, are you saying that the bus body is being grounded by the second (AC) ground wire? I was told (by a licensed electrician) not to ground the chassis/body back to the AC panel when running my AC circuits. The DC, of course is grounded to the chassis.

My bus body is fiberglass so the AC wiring never comes near anything conductive, so maybe that's why he said that.

[chev49]

when a 110v elect panel is attached to something like a wall, the panel skin itself is thus grounded to the chassis. most people don't realize that when installing the panel.
a fiberglass bus, panel would be isolated of course.

i have just wired every one of mine like the new mobile home code for the last 25 or so years. and always properly test it to make sure there is no current flow at any time to actual ground... like if its raining outside.
think my newest nec book is something like 2006...

always put gfi curcuit or recepticles near water of course.

[roach711]

Originally Posted by chev49

when a 110v elect panel is attached to something like a wall, the panel skin itself is thus grounded to the chassis.

That's true, but I'm wondering if that's required or even wise? I've seen many RV AC breaker boxes attached to plywood which would give no chassis grounding at all. Do the Oregon rules specifically require a ground connection between the RV AC panel ground bar and the chassis or does it simply require that the RV panel is grounded to the shore power panel by a dedicated ground wire?

The second method would be just like adding a sub panel (also called a main lug panel) to a house. You wire it the same as the main panel except that the neutral bar (where the white wires attach) and the ground bar (where the green or bare wires attach) are separated on the sub panel. On the main panel both the neutral and ground wires attach to the same bar.

[crazycal]

Originally Posted by lornaschinske

Dear Cal, I apparently am unable to express myself very well. So I will simply keep my "ridiculous" statements to myself.

BTW, Our first house that burned to the ground (electrical fire) was wired up by a licensed electrician.... one with a drinking problem. We learned that as we were standing looking at the ashes of our former home.

I think I will carefully choose what I post from now on, I'm getting a little tired of being attacked.

First, I am sorry about your house.

Second, I was not attacking you. You made a statement that I felt a need to respond to. This is a forum where discussions take place. Anything said can be challenged. It even happens to me but not very often because I know everything. Haha. You make it sound like most electricians are inept. I don't think that is the case. I also don't think a chassis is grounded on 120AC. If I am wrong, so be it and I will admit it.

THE ONE THING FOR CERTAIN IS A BEGINNER HAS NO BUSINESS WIRING THEIR BUS FOR AC. There are no take backs when you fry yourself.

[bansil]

I believe that there is a lot of "mis" worded things out there.
If you have a small generator and plug an extension cord into it and then plug say 3 things into it,the circuit is completed thru the wiring correct?the appliances are not seperatly grounded,so an inverter works the same way on the ac side.
So if the "shore" outlet is properly grounded(easily checked w/a ...well checker thingie that lights up when its right
Then plugging in to shore would be like having a big extension cord powering the bus with seperate breakers of course)
So this makes it seem like no part of the ac wiring should be touching or connected to the bus

So what am I "missing"?

As long as no short between power/nuetral or ground happens then all is good,which is why gfi's are needed near sources where water can "complete" a circiut thus,...well frying you

Please explain this if I am thinking wrong

[crazycal]

Originally Posted by bansil

I believe that there is a lot of "mis" worded things out there.
If you have a small generator and plug an extension cord into it and then plug say 3 things into it,the circuit is completed thru the wiring correct?the appliances are not seperatly grounded,so an inverter works the same way on the ac side.
So if the "shore" outlet is properly grounded(easily checked w/a ...well checker thingie that lights up when its right
Then plugging in to shore would be like having a big extension cord powering the bus with seperate breakers of course)
So this makes it seem like no part of the ac wiring should be touching or connected to the bus

So what am I "missing"?

As long as no short between power/nuetral or ground happens then all is good,which is why gfi's are needed near sources where water can "complete" a circiut thus,...well frying you

Please explain this if I am thinking wrong

This is what I am thinking. If an appliance has faulty wiring or malfunctions and the only way for it to reach ground is through you because you are leaning on the wall of the bus, then what?

If there are any electricians in the audience, please help us. Lord knows we need it.

[crazycal]

I think we scared the OP off.

[roach711]

I just looked at some RV sites and the word there is that the RV frame should always be connected to the AC panel's ground bar.

On the other hand, the frame should NEVER be conneccted to the panel's neutral bar.

[roach711]

Originally Posted by crazycal

I think we scared the OP off.

This thread has been oficially HIJACKED!!

[ol trunt]

Woe that I am to get intio this ----Yup, that's right. Just keep the 12v s---- SEPARATE from the 120v stuff always! It ain't rocket science!

[ol trunt]

Roach, we either scared him off or electrocuted him