Electrical System Without Battery Bank?

[ant-man]

I'm sure these questions have been asked a million times, so I apologize in advance. I am currently working on my first conversion, and must say, it has been challenging but rewarding. I have ran all of the wiring (both dc and ac) and am now ordering the remaining components to finish the electrical system. My question is this: Is it necessary to have a battery bank if I have an AC-DC converter and will never be boon docking? I'll always camp in places with shore power. The only thing that really concerns me is if the battery bank is a necessity to power dc components while in transit, or if the bus system is enough. Any insight is much appreciated, this forum has been a life-saver!

 

[nikitis]

Not entirely sure, but if you are using the bus systems you need a DC-DC device which connects alternator power to your alternative power system for DC items to run from your motor.

If you aren't using your bus motor, you wouldn't need batteries for an all AC system. If you only plan to use power inside the bus (outside of the original bus engine/battery setup) you could just go full AC and shore plug up like any house would do.

In that case all you would need is a breaker box, connect a 50 amp breaker to the box, and backfeed to everything else. Just don't have enough appliances there to go over 50 amps because most shore power connectors won't provide you more than that, some more than 30 amps in some places.

The main reason people go DC for electrical in buses in the first place is because of Solar technology and wanting to store power from the sun using batteries. So if you are ONLY ever going to use the electrical grid, no need to wire the bus up with any DC, and just buy normal home electrical appliances, and don't exceed or use them all at the same time.

 

[Rucker]

Generally agreed with Nikitis.

I've noticed that many premium RV parks fill up early, leaving only dry camping spots. If you can live with those limitations, skip the battery.

You could put a small battery in, say, 100 AH capacity, and have it for emergencies, and charge it with a standard car charger in between trips (no solar or other on-the-road charging capability). That would be a simple system. Heck, you wouldn't even need to get the battery initially-just make a provision for its connection to the system.

That would also make the bus more appealing in the event you were to try and sell it.

 

[Carrier6]

You could just wire the AC side and if you run into a situation that you don't have shore power bring a little inverter generator. That way it's just like shore power and you don't need to do anything else. As for the stuff with traveling as long as it's not a big draw you could just use the engine battery.