Electrical Flow - Missing Anything?

[iamjamesmartin]

Originally Posted by CaptSquid

Water heater (demand) should be propane, not electrical.
Ceiling lights should be replaced by LED lights.
You can also charge your cell phones on DC power.
Air conditioning? Try opening the windows/roof vents unless you live on the outskirts of Hades.

thanks for the notes... in terms of AC, i live in the South... that will be a necessity.

[roach711]

1) What cables to attach inverter to breaker panel?

For your 3000 watt inverter (25 AC amps) use #10 wire or larger (lower numerically).

2) What transfer switch?

You can avoid the transfer switch entirely if you plug the generator into the same AC inlet that you plug shore power into.

3) Do I need a second alternator?

That will depend on the size of the alternator you have and the size of the battery banks.

4) Are 4 6v batteries enough?

That depends on how much you'll be drawing out of the bank between chargings. High inverter use will draw down batteries pretty quickly. Running 12v lights and maybe a furnace fan will draw comparatively little. You'll need to figure out how much power you'll use on a typical day and go from there.

5) What size breaker on battery cables?

Way cheaper to use fuses on battery cables. Like AC breakers, you size the fuse a bit lower than the current carrying capacity (amp rating) of the cable.

The Trimetric battery monitors are very nice.

[Plantresilience]

Originally Posted by iamjamesmartin

something like this, then? if i had the power panel, would i have to account for "The DC to AC inverter will attach directly to the battery bank and to the AC breaker panel"

Hi, I'm very new to this and have what may seem like a silly question. . . the intellipower panel includes a battery charger. . . would a standby inverter still be necessary or worthwhile?

[Jolly Roger]

ROACH you are more knowledgeable with the sparky equipment than I am.
I know this doesn't fit into the original discussion but might/could/maybe help?
I would like to ask your advice.
I have a chance to get 2 XANTREX SW 3000W 12v inverters for a good bit less than they cost brand new and I will have 1 in my hands tommorow to look at and play with to make sure they are good.
The young man doesn't have a clue about what he has?
There not stolen or anything like that?
He works under me everyday so I can geta good deal and if they are good?
I would like to sell one to pay for mine or both to pay for the batteries I want and am already set up for.
These thing's model wise match Schneider electric. That alone makes them worth a little.
I will have 1 in my hands tommorow!
More new than abused marine grade.
Any thoughts?

[roach711]

A stand alone inverter would be a better fit with the Intellipower panel but you need to either isolate the inverter circuits from the shore power circuits or install a switch or a relays to switch between the two power sources.

If you use an inverter/charger you'd send the 120v output to a small breaker box and the 12v output to a small fuse box.