This is my favorite part of any build. Any tech nerd has a braingasm looking at the finished product and knowing how it works. Very costly, but worth it for the application it is intended.
great explanation on how it all works together. total sidenote...on your builds you like using dual pane rv window. I noticed this bus has what look like residential windows (I realize it's not your work). What are the pros/cons of a resi window in a bus that's driven a lot?
Nice video. We live in Alaska, and live in a 40' B-Bird for the last year. We have two 3,000 watt inverters and can connect shore power at 15, 30, and or 50amps. Our issue is staying warm at -40 to -60f 7 months out of the year. We have two separate 120amps systems, working tandem redundantly. Your videos have been very helpful over the last two years.
@@dancarter482Yeah I am gonna put a diesel hydronic heating system in my future skoolie with a small diesel air heater as back up. But if I am connected to shore power and it is not that cold, I can use my mini split for heat. Redundancy is the name of the game!
@@BroadwayLTDProductions _ABSOLUTELY!_ I've got a Dutch boat stove with back boiler that runs 3 radiators and a Webasto on the same circuit. Then there's a cheap forced air unit with its own fuel tank at the other end of the bus. The boiler has a day tank and a circulation pump only, so it's the most efficient - the other two are quite power hungry. I buy diesel for the road, makes the most sense to use it for heating too.
If camping at an RV park with a 220V 14-50 socket you could have both inverters charging the battery. You would probably just need to make custom adapters down to a standard 15A plug since the RV ones combine both HOT connections where the inverters would pull to many amps.
This is the exact video I needed during electrical planning. You'll be getting my business when I'm ready for off-grid and cutting a $25-30k check. Appreciate all you do for our little community!
They make 120/240 volt split phase inverters from around 4000watts up to the biggest you can buy. Runs 120 or 240 out of one inverter, no need to purchase two of everything.
Looks like rocket science. All those blue boxes look like a gumble rat's nest. Chuck, you secretly studied with Tony Stark, didn't you? Hands you a box of scraps and ask you to build a smaller arc reactor / ironman suit. :)
This system is the only system I pitch to people in buses that are 35-40’ long …. And oh boy the push back I get. I’ve been running this system for 3 years in our rig and have installed a handful of them that work flawlessly! Thanks for showing the people Chuck! 👍🏼✌🏼
The cost is not that bad when you compare it to buying/replacing two residential A/C units. Not to mention with the residential A/C you still have to pay for the electricity to run them.
Best minisplit ive found for running 24-7 on solar and batteries is the inovair 9000 btu 220 38 seer model. It pulls just over 600 watts for 10 or 12 minutes then drops down to just over 200 watts for the rest the time its on. I like the unit you used here with 2 heads but i think id have just installed 2 inovair units. I run mine from a split phase inverter and my off grid camper uses 1850 watts solar and a 30 kw battery and a 14 kw battery that i built. I use victron charge controllers along with sungold low frequency 4000 watt inverter and a powmr all in one inverter also. It seems kinda overkill but we sure dont run out of power... ever. Or air-conditioning.... ever lol
Hey chuck! Is there any possible way I am able to contact you in any form to get some advice on my bus! I am willing to offer cash I just really need some help/advice, thank you!
That sure is a sweet solar system, but for $20k it should be. Our solar/battery system costs less than half of that yet will still provide 24/7 off-grid electrical power including air conditioning and supplemental heat from a mini-split heat pump. Five years ago, we took an early retirement, sold everything, bought a MH and hit the road FT. It was the best decision we ever made. We discovered that we enjoy boondocking most of the time and we can stretch our budget this way too. We quickly learned the advantages of solar and decided to build our solar/battery system in 2 phases, a 12v phase for our basic 12v needs and a 48v system for our 110v A/C needs. We started our build 4 years ago with a pair of lead acid golf cart batteries and custom built a 620-watt liftable solar array mounted on the side of our motorhome. We lift the array to the optimal angle to improve their output by 20-30% vs flat mounted panels, especially in the winter, when the sun is lower in the sky. It serves as a nice bedroom window awning too, practically lifting itself to the desired angle with a couple gas struts, and it's easy to clean with a windshield squeegee, standing safely on the ground. We picked up 2, 310w Canadian Solar panels from Northern Az Wind and Solar in Flagstaff. This set-up, while far from optimal, allowed us to boondock till we could afford to do better. We just finished the 12v part of our build last January, with the addition of a 560ah LiFePo-4 battery that we built with 8, 280ah "A" grade prismatic cells. We use a Heltec 350amp BMS, and a 5a active balancer to keep the cells synched up. We typically use less than 20% of their capacity daily giving us enough reserve capacity for about a week of bad weather before we have to run our generator for charging. It cost us less than $1,500 to build this 560ah 12v (7.1Kwh) battery, including the high amp BMS and balancer. We chose these cells rather than a pre-built battery because they fit perfectly under the steps of our MH where our old pair of GC-2 golf cart batteries used to reside, saving 35lbs while having over 5 times the capacity. We insulated the battery compartment, cut a 1" hole in our step risers and installed a tiny computer CPU fan to keep this space at close to room temperature, so we don't have to worry about the BMS shutting down charging if they get too cold - or their life reduced from getting too hot. We use a Progressive Dynamics 80a LFP converter/charger, a 1,000w Renogy PSW inverter (to run our TV, PC, ice maker, etc.), an Epever 50a MPPT charge controller and a Lnex battery monitor/shunt. This entire 12v system cost us under $3,500 to build and takes care of all of our basic off-grid needs except for air conditioning and microwave use. We have been running our 5,500-watt generator for this till we get our second 48v phase completed. By mounting our solar array on the side of our MH, we left the roof free to rack 8, 550W Sungold Power solar panels (4,400 watts) down the length of our 35ft Class A about 15" off our roof, above our AC, fan shrouds, etc. They will cover the entire roof, providing some nice shade with plenty of cooling air underneath, further increasing solar output and reducing the heat load on the air conditioners too. We bought them for $2,226. That's only 51 cents/watt shipped to our door! We're assembling the components of this build now. We picked up our aluminum racking material from Remington Industrial Supply in Somerton, AZ, just S. of Yuma, near where we're wintering over this year, for under $400, which is the best price we've found. Our solar panels, wiring breakers, etc. arrived last week, but we're taking our time to get everything in and installed over the winter. At 67 yrs old, we're moving much slower these days. Our Sungold Power all-in-one 48V, 5,000W, 120V PSW Inverter/100A charge controller/battery charger just arrived yesterday. Our 48v battery bank will use 16, 320ah grade A prismatic cells which only cost us $1,726 from EEL batteries. So together with our 560ah (7.1 Kwh)12v bank, we will have a total of 23.5 Kwh of batteries onboard - the equivalent of over 19, 100ah Battleborn batteries and over 5,000 watts of solar. We will be replacing our old rear 13.5k btu rooftop Dometic AC with an EG4 28.5 seer2 plug and play 12k btu mini-split heat pump. This second phase will provide 24/7 off-grid air conditioning, supplemental heat from the heat pump and allow occasional usage of our rooftop mounted high-efficiency rotary compressor based Furrion AC in the front of our MH to cool things down quickly during peak afternoon hours, as well as give us whole house 120v ac power. We'll soon have total off-grid electrical independence on a budget we can afford (under $10k) without resorting to running our generator. Take care Chuck, we hope to see you down the road!
The US did have 220v power before World War II. Please say "240" now. Some cheap generators output 110/220, which would be brownout conditions in your home, and some pickup trucks have 115V ports (to save money) but those are the only cases where the early 20th century standards are found, to my knowledge.
Did the system installed here only accept split phase 240V (and hence this solution)? I have seen some mini splits accept 208/230V single phase - in which case a second inverter producing single phase 230VAC could be used, right?
Super awesome build. Damn do I have lots to learn. With that said... with so much electronics, especially in a very troubled world, what would you say regarding long term reliability? On the conspiracy train what is reliability for EMP or, back door kill switch being that I am pretty sure most of chip tech is chinese based? What can we do to harden a system like this?
Why not install a 220v shore power and wire it like normal. Then if you use a 220v to 120v adapter cable you would only be feeding 1 of the charge/inverters. That way you could have it use 120 or 220v shore power. Basically when you needed to use 120v shore power you would be simulating having 1 leg offline. Does victron not allow for that?
Are those house windows in that bus? If they are I didn't think they were a good idea bc they wouldn't hold up to vibrations due to them becoming cloudy?
10:13 I love this setup. I would, however, consider anchoring the battery stack to the bus more securely. There is a LOT is weight there that could break loose in a mishap or accident. Just my 2 cents that may be worth just that. 😀
Doesn't 120+120 = 240, not 220? Haha! Just messing around with you, Chuck. I appreciate that, at one point, you said "110, 115, 120 volts" because it's changed over time...and is not clear at all. I'm also a big Signature Solar EG4 battery fan. A clean setup and a great video, as are all of yours.
Hey Chuck, great video brother! The best way I found for a clean looking (equal length parallel conductor) install is to separate the positive and negative bus bars on either side of the battery rack depending on orientation. In this case (-bus) below & (+bus) above the rack batteries. For example: (+bus) 5” Pos | Batt 1 | 20” Neg = 25” 10” Pos | Batt 2 | 15” Neg = 25” 15” Pos | Batt 3 | 10” Neg = 25” 20” Pos | Batt 4 | 5” Neg = 25” (-bus)
If the orientation of what was also going into this close would have allowed it, i would have preferred a bus bar as well. The racks from signature solar include a bus bar for that purpose but alas it was not a good fit for this application
are you worried about having such large solar panels only mounted on the outer edges? Seems like the middle section would need some type of bracing. (what I am trying to figure out on my bus)
This is the video I’ve been waiting on for the past 8 months!! I’ve got a 36k btu system that I’m gonna run 2 heads on but the power has been a hold up so far. I can run it off my generator without a problem but I’ve been wanting a complete system like this instead of relying solely upon the generator. This will be the perfect solution……….. except for the cost. Chuck, since your familiar with what this system requires, can you work up a rough estimate of cost for buying the equipment through you please. And would I be able to travel to wherever you are at some point for guidance on installation? I can do most of the install but I need guidance on laying it out and setting everything up. I’ve emailed you before and you’ve replied back so I’m not sure if you still have my email but if you need it again I’ll send it to you. Thanks Chuck, I appreciate it buddy!! Oh, this is going in an 82 MCI MC9 bus conversion if it matters. We will have good basement space to install equipment and not take up expensive floor space upstairs. Thanks man!
cant find your emails based on this comment, BUT if you dont mind sending me one at info@chromeyellowcorp.com we can take it from there. Thanks! sounds like a cool project. I used to have a few older MCI's myself
I noticed they are using home windows in their build. Do they offer any benefit or drawbacks? I've got access to lots of free ones but have already purchased a lot of old RV windows.... so it's either way is best i guess?
That is an awesome set up. I didn't catch the name of the manufacturer of the solar panel, could you share that? Also, is that the rack that signature solar sells with their batteries, or is that something that you and Wes fabricated?
It would! Though the electric on demand still pull an exceptionally high current that would be too large for even this system, you’d need larger inverters. I like electric tanked water heaters though, they’re awesome
I’ve been doing electric lithium propulsion conversions for over 15 years. Well done!!! Like it when people, like yourself, have a great understanding! Bravo 🙌
Hey Chuck, thanks for the super informative videos! I don't know if you would do another react video, but I just came across this video, with almost 8 million(!) views, and I just had to laugh 😂 after watching and learning from all of your videos and then seeing this 'build' getting so many views.. I'm just dying to hear you comment to it😂
And I’m using a 600W haier sticking out my window. Now I’m more interested in your bus since I’m in the middle of doing mine and I like to copy the guy who really knows how to build buses, You!
I still do not get how 120 shore power gets 220 to the Minisplit... and is it charging both batteries systems at the same time? thanks for the video.. it is amazing that you put it up when you did because Brenda and I were planning that very setup for the Bus we haven't bought yet...If you see a dog nose 35ft or 37 ft from down south some where -without rust, without emission technology.. give us a shout..@@ChuckCassadyYT
Electricity/electrons in general definitely subscribe to the "work smarter not harder" school of thought. Makes sense why you would need equidistant paths for it to follow to and from your batteries when you think about it like that!
Once you get into multiple evaporator units on one condenser, you can actually go to three zones fairly easily. One for the driver area, one for the living area, and one for the sleeping area. Three 9k evaporators on a 24k condenser is doable with an LG system.
@@ChuckCassadyYT Because this is your business, you will have to determine where these solutions can benefit you. Can you make do on only 400 AH of battery? Sailboats are small living structures that may not have access to shore power for long periods of time. Their solutions are applicable to Skoolies. Most Efficient Battery Powered AC for RV's and Trucks ua-cam.com/video/_M0OiAi5rEM/v-deo.html Battery Powered Air Conditioning on a Sail Boat ua-cam.com/video/xF113aUlZgo/v-deo.html "It's producing 4000 BTU's and can be turned up to over 5000..." It's best used for small spaces, bedding area with a curtain, forward driving area with a curtain. Making Infrared Cooling Paint from Grocery Store items ua-cam.com/video/KDRnEm-B3AI/v-deo.html Painting the roof of the Skoolies will prevent solar gain from infrared, making cooling with AC a more efficient process. Also, see Tech Ingredient's replication video to see how involved the process is.
Yeah yeah yeah sorry my language was imprecise but they are ran one after another which is mechanically in series even though it’s electrically in parallel
Im always amazed and jealous of some of the systems that people have... Unfortunately im too broke to have it on my own bus. I only have 1360 watts of solar and 7.5 kWh of battery... I definitely dont have 220v capacity.
Once, years ago, I owned a Mercedes. It had the most comfortable bucket seats. I often thought that that would be a good upgrade for a bus conversion. Have you encountered this?.
So I'm not good at all this. But what I have gathered is everything got doubled so they could run one compressor instead of 2?? I will happily tuck away the second to keep from having to go 220. But totally digging the battery design. Keep up the great work.
That is correct! It was actually about the same price to run this system with dual 3000 inverters making split phase for a 2 head unit as it would have been to buy two independent single head systems and bump up to a Quattro 5000 inverter, but it was less work since we only mounted one exterior unit (less labor) and dual 3000s gets you more power than a single 5000 inverter with the option for 220. It’s a good bet if you want the extra cooling which is why we did this option. Always a case by case thing tho
You also get the benefit of 2 solar zones. If one of the panels on a single inverter gets shaded or even damaged it will effect the solar output of all the panels on that inverter. I have been thinking about doing my panels long ways and mount them angled with the roof of the bus. But to make that work it would really make the most sense to have 2 systems since one side would be getting more sun depending on the time of the day. I did not realize my system I am planning would cost over $20k 😮 it will be worth it but geez. Lol
With 3 of the MPP Solar inverters I have 240V (mostly for dryer and welder) as I can run them split phase, and I have 5,000 watts of solar with another 2,000 I'm thinking about side mounting. I opted for 24v DC units for the air conditioning. I will let you know how that goes, I got 4 of them, $350 each, I prefer the 134a to the 410 and the connectors are MUCH MUCH better for mobile applications. I may hate them, I guess I'll see when I get them installed but I'll do a test unit on my trailer first to see what power consumption is like. I feel like with so many amazing DC options hinting about we're going to be able to date skoolie builds by cooling method but I think 2023 will mark the end of people using stationary 120 and 240 residential units. As always, great video! Oh and I have the same power inlet, one for each side, painfully expensive!
I wish I knew what you were saying but I don’t speak Solar fluently yet… I was just looking at a residential unit that came up for sale and wondering if I could use it for my application. Why will 2023 mark the end of using residential units for mobile applications? What am I looking for in order to be able to run a fairly beefy system on my bus?
@@Tonisuperfly Chuck is great and he knows his stuff, I have learned A TON from him. What I'm saying is speculation but residential units are less than ideal for many reasons from size and refrigerant type to fittings and voltages. Currently, they may do a better job than DC units which is why I'm getting the 24v units and testing them. Residential units are also 3x the price so that's something to factor in although only about 2x the price per BTU so you have to decide what you value more as redundancy and zone cooling is big for me. I'm just starting with the 24v units though so I don't have all the facts. I would assume any auto AC shop can service though though which is a HUGE plus!
Myself to keep costs down when I build my 26-30ft box truck I've have been planning it out with 2 separate 120v 12k btu units just to avoid the 240v side of things... would that have been cheaper like I suspect or am I possibly missing something? Thanks for another GREAT video
@@BirchFarmsHythe Just my opinion but if you're running 2 residential splits I would imagine you have the ability to run 240v, in my case, I have 3 MPP Solar inverters, under $1,500 shipped and this allows me to run 120v, 240v, and have one side with the ability to have double the load. I dislike the idea of a residential unit on my bus so I would do A LOT to avoid it. When I factor in the 24v units being over $1,000 less, giving me three units and so on I have money to spare to address an area they fall short. It's a personal choice, in my case, more redundancy is what I'm going for. I also end up with 27,000BTU with the three units versus 24,000BTU with the splits.
It's unneeded. I single minisplit will cool the entire structure with no problem. Even through rooms, it's still enough. This isn't just overkill, it's overkilling an overkill. This thing does not need 220v, the components are expensive, and all of it is used to justify an efficient AC?? It makes no sense.
Ronnie, I can personally attest that a single 12kbtu split is not enough to keep this bus cool in midwestern heat. Thanks for the extremely helpful comment!
@@ChuckCassadyYT . I have built one tiny house on wheels and lived in it in Palmetto Ga for 3 years. I built a 40' container cottage in Alabama. And, I live in a 450 sq ft cottage. Not one needed anything more than a 12000 btu mini. But, okay. All of my experience must not hold up to yours.
It’s almost like we have different opinions based on different life experiences. Imagine that. I’ve built dozens of conversions, and most of them use a minisplit. I tell my customers all the info I have and let them make the decision. They wanted the capacity. Start a UA-cam channel and go be the voice of reason you say you are my friend. Peace
@@ChuckCassadyYT . If that's how you justify this, so be it. But, YOU are 100% wrong. My wife is laughing her butt off right now. Because even she can see the holes in your logic. We are sitting in a cottage right now, that is bigger than your bus, in 90+ heat with a 12000btu AC. Our tiny house was cooled with a 5000btu window unit. Every single experience that I have had proves yours wrong............ I am a retired electrical engineer. All of those transistor and SCR based inverters is what I specialized in. I've forgotten more about this stuff than you will ever know.
Then get off your lazy ass and start a UA-cam channel so you can save the world! You’ll never do it just trolling in the comments section-take that bragadocious personality of yours and go public! You’ll be a hero! The parades! Go get em!
I had considered a similar setup with a pair of 3k hybrid invertors, but was concerned there was not enough capacity left on the system to run another appliance, for example a microwave or a washerdryer. From your experience, is this possible without having to turn off the aircon? Also why not go for a hybrid invertor, seems to be a vastly cheaper setup?
Those hybrids are less configurable, have significantly higher idle consumption, and don’t offer the same connectivity the victron does. I’m a victron installer because it’s my preferred brand with an outstanding reputation. This system should have around 3000 watts of headroom when the ac is on
Nerd
You’re welcome
Lmao please keep pinning the trolls!!
Nerds are cool
Life would be boring without trolls
Always
NASA approved.. the people want to know if its Chuck approved 😉
Dang Right!
This is my favorite part of any build. Any tech nerd has a braingasm looking at the finished product and knowing how it works. Very costly, but worth it for the application it is intended.
great explanation on how it all works together.
total sidenote...on your builds you like using dual pane rv window. I noticed this bus has what look like residential windows (I realize it's not your work). What are the pros/cons of a resi window in a bus that's driven a lot?
Wow, great question, I too would like a video on this topic.
Yes, I noticed that and I want to know too!
Nice video. We live in Alaska, and live in a 40' B-Bird for the last year. We have two 3,000 watt inverters and can connect shore power at 15, 30, and or 50amps. Our issue is staying warm at -40 to -60f 7 months out of the year. We have two separate 120amps systems, working tandem redundantly. Your videos have been very helpful over the last two years.
Diesel central heating for the _WIN_ !
@@dancarter482Yeah I am gonna put a diesel hydronic heating system in my future skoolie with a small diesel air heater as back up. But if I am connected to shore power and it is not that cold, I can use my mini split for heat. Redundancy is the name of the game!
@@BroadwayLTDProductions _ABSOLUTELY!_ I've got a Dutch boat stove with back boiler that runs 3 radiators and a Webasto on the same circuit. Then there's a cheap forced air unit with its own fuel tank at the other end of the bus. The boiler has a day tank and a circulation pump only, so it's the most efficient - the other two are quite power hungry. I buy diesel for the road, makes the most sense to use it for heating too.
If camping at an RV park with a 220V 14-50 socket you could have both inverters charging the battery. You would probably just need to make custom adapters down to a standard 15A plug since the RV ones combine both HOT connections where the inverters would pull to many amps.
This is the exact video I needed during electrical planning. You'll be getting my business when I'm ready for off-grid and cutting a $25-30k check. Appreciate all you do for our little community!
They make 120/240 volt split phase inverters from around 4000watts up to the biggest you can buy. Runs 120 or 240 out of one inverter, no need to purchase two of everything.
Got the concept, but not yet comfortable with putting it together. Appreciate your presentation. Good start for me.
get a super long extension cord and plug it into walmart's outlet, bleed them dry. lol
Looks like rocket science. All those blue boxes look like a gumble rat's nest. Chuck, you secretly studied with Tony Stark, didn't you? Hands you a box of scraps and ask you to build a smaller arc reactor / ironman suit. :)
Hahaha
good knowledge!
How do u hold all that knowledge in your head. GOSH!!!
Mind expanding protocols
Looks at all those blue boxes and wires / rat's nest of wires then thinks back to the old days of the "physics lectures" then dozes off. lol
Hahahaha
This system is the only system I pitch to people in buses that are 35-40’ long …. And oh boy the push back I get.
I’ve been running this system for 3 years in our rig and have installed a handful of them that work flawlessly!
Thanks for showing the people Chuck! 👍🏼✌🏼
The cost is not that bad when you compare it to buying/replacing two residential A/C units. Not to mention with the residential A/C you still have to pay for the electricity to run them.
Best minisplit ive found for running 24-7 on solar and batteries is the inovair 9000 btu 220 38 seer model. It pulls just over 600 watts for 10 or 12 minutes then drops down to just over 200 watts for the rest the time its on. I like the unit you used here with 2 heads but i think id have just installed 2 inovair units. I run mine from a split phase inverter and my off grid camper uses 1850 watts solar and a 30 kw battery and a 14 kw battery that i built. I use victron charge controllers along with sungold low frequency 4000 watt inverter and a powmr all in one inverter also. It seems kinda overkill but we sure dont run out of power... ever. Or air-conditioning.... ever lol
Hey chuck! Is there any possible way I am able to contact you in any form to get some advice on my bus! I am willing to offer cash I just really need some help/advice, thank you!
He has a patron membership that you can pay and sign up for advice and help!
You can also book consults through the link in the description
That sure is a sweet solar system, but for $20k it should be. Our solar/battery system costs less than half of that yet will still provide 24/7 off-grid electrical power including air conditioning and supplemental heat from a mini-split heat pump. Five years ago, we took an early retirement, sold everything, bought a MH and hit the road FT. It was the best decision we ever made. We discovered that we enjoy boondocking most of the time and we can stretch our budget this way too. We quickly learned the advantages of solar and decided to build our solar/battery system in 2 phases, a 12v phase for our basic 12v needs and a 48v system for our 110v A/C needs. We started our build 4 years ago with a pair of lead acid golf cart batteries and custom built a 620-watt liftable solar array mounted on the side of our motorhome. We lift the array to the optimal angle to improve their output by 20-30% vs flat mounted panels, especially in the winter, when the sun is lower in the sky. It serves as a nice bedroom window awning too, practically lifting itself to the desired angle with a couple gas struts, and it's easy to clean with a windshield squeegee, standing safely on the ground. We picked up 2, 310w Canadian Solar panels from Northern Az Wind and Solar in Flagstaff. This set-up, while far from optimal, allowed us to boondock till we could afford to do better.
We just finished the 12v part of our build last January, with the addition of a 560ah LiFePo-4 battery that we built with 8, 280ah "A" grade prismatic cells. We use a Heltec 350amp BMS, and a 5a active balancer to keep the cells synched up. We typically use less than 20% of their capacity daily giving us enough reserve capacity for about a week of bad weather before we have to run our generator for charging. It cost us less than $1,500 to build this 560ah 12v (7.1Kwh) battery, including the high amp BMS and balancer. We chose these cells rather than a pre-built battery because they fit perfectly under the steps of our MH where our old pair of GC-2 golf cart batteries used to reside, saving 35lbs while having over 5 times the capacity. We insulated the battery compartment, cut a 1" hole in our step risers and installed a tiny computer CPU fan to keep this space at close to room temperature, so we don't have to worry about the BMS shutting down charging if they get too cold - or their life reduced from getting too hot. We use a Progressive Dynamics 80a LFP converter/charger, a 1,000w Renogy PSW inverter (to run our TV, PC, ice maker, etc.), an Epever 50a MPPT charge controller and a Lnex battery monitor/shunt. This entire 12v system cost us under $3,500 to build and takes care of all of our basic off-grid needs except for air conditioning and microwave use. We have been running our 5,500-watt generator for this till we get our second 48v phase completed.
By mounting our solar array on the side of our MH, we left the roof free to rack 8, 550W Sungold Power solar panels (4,400 watts) down the length of our 35ft Class A about 15" off our roof, above our AC, fan shrouds, etc. They will cover the entire roof, providing some nice shade with plenty of cooling air underneath, further increasing solar output and reducing the heat load on the air conditioners too. We bought them for $2,226. That's only 51 cents/watt shipped to our door! We're assembling the components of this build now. We picked up our aluminum racking material from Remington Industrial Supply in Somerton, AZ, just S. of Yuma, near where we're wintering over this year, for under $400, which is the best price we've found. Our solar panels, wiring breakers, etc. arrived last week, but we're taking our time to get everything in and installed over the winter. At 67 yrs old, we're moving much slower these days. Our Sungold Power all-in-one 48V, 5,000W, 120V PSW Inverter/100A charge controller/battery charger just arrived yesterday. Our 48v battery bank will use 16, 320ah grade A prismatic cells which only cost us $1,726 from EEL batteries. So together with our 560ah (7.1 Kwh)12v bank, we will have a total of 23.5 Kwh of batteries onboard - the equivalent of over 19, 100ah Battleborn batteries and over 5,000 watts of solar. We will be replacing our old rear 13.5k btu rooftop Dometic AC with an EG4 28.5 seer2 plug and play 12k btu mini-split heat pump. This second phase will provide 24/7 off-grid air conditioning, supplemental heat from the heat pump and allow occasional usage of our rooftop mounted high-efficiency rotary compressor based Furrion AC in the front of our MH to cool things down quickly during peak afternoon hours, as well as give us whole house 120v ac power. We'll soon have total off-grid electrical independence on a budget we can afford (under $10k) without resorting to running our generator. Take care Chuck, we hope to see you down the road!
You did a great Job explaining the electrical system. and how everything works together!! Great Video!! Subbed !!
The US did have 220v power before World War II. Please say "240" now. Some cheap generators output 110/220, which would be brownout conditions in your home, and some pickup trucks have 115V ports (to save money) but those are the only cases where the early 20th century standards are found, to my knowledge.
thats how I run my off grid workshop. It works, but is incredibly inefficient to do. I think it's like 70-80% efficient. Still, it works.
Did the system installed here only accept split phase 240V (and hence this solution)? I have seen some mini splits accept 208/230V single phase - in which case a second inverter producing single phase 230VAC could be used, right?
Super awesome build. Damn do I have lots to learn.
With that said... with so much electronics, especially in a very troubled world, what would you say regarding long term reliability? On the conspiracy train what is reliability for EMP or, back door kill switch being that I am pretty sure most of chip tech is chinese based?
What can we do to harden a system like this?
I'm looking for a single phase or (single leg) 220v solar system. Because I'm wanting to go off grid in the Philippines and they don't do 110v.
Why not install a 220v shore power and wire it like normal. Then if you use a 220v to 120v adapter cable you would only be feeding 1 of the charge/inverters. That way you could have it use 120 or 220v shore power. Basically when you needed to use 120v shore power you would be simulating having 1 leg offline. Does victron not allow for that?
Are those house windows in that bus? If they are I didn't think they were a good idea bc they wouldn't hold up to vibrations due to them becoming cloudy?
10:13 I love this setup. I would, however, consider anchoring the battery stack to the bus more securely. There is a LOT is weight there that could break loose in a mishap or accident. Just my 2 cents that may be worth just that. 😀
Could this system take 6-8 of the sun gold 550w panels?
Would I need to use 2 250/60 mppt?
Doesn't 120+120 = 240, not 220? Haha! Just messing around with you, Chuck. I appreciate that, at one point, you said "110, 115, 120 volts" because it's changed over time...and is not clear at all. I'm also a big Signature Solar EG4 battery fan. A clean setup and a great video, as are all of yours.
It’s such a bizarre nomenclature! Thanks, appreciate you
Hey Chuck, great video brother! The best way I found for a clean looking (equal length parallel conductor) install is to separate the positive and negative bus bars on either side of the battery rack depending on orientation. In this case (-bus) below & (+bus) above the rack batteries.
For example:
(+bus)
5” Pos | Batt 1 | 20” Neg = 25”
10” Pos | Batt 2 | 15” Neg = 25”
15” Pos | Batt 3 | 10” Neg = 25”
20” Pos | Batt 4 | 5” Neg = 25”
(-bus)
If the orientation of what was also going into this close would have allowed it, i would have preferred a bus bar as well. The racks from signature solar include a bus bar for that purpose but alas it was not a good fit for this application
Please do a video on those house windows! There's so little information out there about putting house windows in a skoolie.
What's the benefit of 24v instead of 48v in this application?
Brilliant Chuck!
Great video. Why did you go with 24v and not 48v batteries?
"vary cool"...chuck thks for teaching us...
are you worried about having such large solar panels only mounted on the outer edges? Seems like the middle section would need some type of bracing. (what I am trying to figure out on my bus)
Not worried about it but these panels are also not as long as normal residential panels either. They’re 73” instead of 82
love it. thank you NASA. thank you, Chuck, for explaining it. Those batteries will live longer than I will.
I love nasa for going out of their way to approve this ;)
@@ChuckCassadyYT HA
This is the video I’ve been waiting on for the past 8 months!! I’ve got a 36k btu system that I’m gonna run 2 heads on but the power has been a hold up so far. I can run it off my generator without a problem but I’ve been wanting a complete system like this instead of relying solely upon the generator. This will be the perfect solution……….. except for the cost. Chuck, since your familiar with what this system requires, can you work up a rough estimate of cost for buying the equipment through you please. And would I be able to travel to wherever you are at some point for guidance on installation? I can do most of the install but I need guidance on laying it out and setting everything up. I’ve emailed you before and you’ve replied back so I’m not sure if you still have my email but if you need it again I’ll send it to you. Thanks Chuck, I appreciate it buddy!!
Oh, this is going in an 82 MCI MC9 bus conversion if it matters. We will have good basement space to install equipment and not take up expensive floor space upstairs. Thanks man!
cant find your emails based on this comment, BUT if you dont mind sending me one at info@chromeyellowcorp.com we can take it from there. Thanks! sounds like a cool project. I used to have a few older MCI's myself
I noticed they are using home windows in their build. Do they offer any benefit or drawbacks? I've got access to lots of free ones but have already purchased a lot of old RV windows.... so it's either way is best i guess?
You need tempered glass. That’s the key
EG4 all in one system would be great as well! preferred
That is an awesome set up. I didn't catch the name of the manufacturer of the solar panel, could you share that? Also, is that the rack that signature solar sells with their batteries, or is that something that you and Wes fabricated?
We fabbed it! Wess did that. The panels are q.cells, the racking is from iron ridge
details on the Mini-Split? What is the SEER?
Hot damn buddy this was quite the video!!! Glad to see server rack batteries, and glad to see the conductor length taken into account!
Thanks! It’s probably overkill but I can’t help it
You are fascinating to listen to as you convey your information with ease and knowledge. I learn so much from you every time!
Thanks!
14:40
Wow, thank you!
Chuck needs to get into voice over work. his voice is so soothing
Since you now have 220 wouldn't a nice 220 on-demand water heater and 220 induction stove be nice?
It would! Though the electric on demand still pull an exceptionally high current that would be too large for even this system, you’d need larger inverters. I like electric tanked water heaters though, they’re awesome
I’ve been doing electric lithium propulsion conversions for over 15 years. Well done!!! Like it when people, like yourself, have a great understanding! Bravo 🙌
Tell us about those windows!!
Absolute tank of a setup! I might need a similar setup to be able to run a welder on 220v but I'm sure you'll have the answer oh magical chuck!
You built the holy grail 🎉
Hey Chuck, thanks for the super informative videos! I don't know if you would do another react video, but I just came across this video, with almost 8 million(!) views, and I just had to laugh 😂 after watching and learning from all of your videos and then seeing this 'build' getting so many views.. I'm just dying to hear you comment to it😂
Can you link it here?!
Sure! Thanks for the response, I'm from Belgium by the way so you're going international😁
ua-cam.com/video/UnXMs8k5R4U/v-deo.html
diggen the drivers seat tooo..
And I’m using a 600W haier sticking out my window. Now I’m more interested in your bus since I’m in the middle of doing mine and I like to copy the guy who really knows how to build buses, You!
You are a genius wizard
Im afraid those batteries will become projectiles in a crash.
There is about to be a whole bus worth of objects that would also be projectiles. They are going to be in a closet
Damn. Lots to learn.
What does NASAS have to do with this? and you mentioned 20,000 dollars.. does that include the dual zone air conditioners?
Solar only. I put nasa in the title to make it interesting hopefully so people will click
I still do not get how 120 shore power gets 220 to the Minisplit... and is it charging both batteries systems at the same time? thanks for the video.. it is amazing that you put it up when you did because Brenda and I were planning that very setup for the Bus we haven't bought yet...If you see a dog nose 35ft or 37 ft from down south some where -without rust, without emission technology.. give us a shout..@@ChuckCassadyYT
You should mention that this same system will work in a house or cabin.
You’re absolutely correct!
I love victron equipment by the way great video qnd thanks for doing what you do abput teaching us off grid people
interesting thanks
Electricity/electrons in general definitely subscribe to the "work smarter not harder" school of thought. Makes sense why you would need equidistant paths for it to follow to and from your batteries when you think about it like that!
Once you get into multiple evaporator units on one condenser, you can actually go to three zones fairly easily. One for the driver area, one for the living area, and one for the sleeping area. Three 9k evaporators on a 24k condenser is doable with an LG system.
Why not use a 300 watt AC?
Emily and Clarke sell a kit for a 300 watt AC mini split.
Does it produce 21k btu?
@@ChuckCassadyYT Because this is your business, you will have to determine where these solutions can benefit you.
Can you make do on only 400 AH of battery? Sailboats are small living structures that may not have access to shore power for long periods of time. Their solutions are applicable to Skoolies.
Most Efficient Battery Powered AC for RV's and Trucks
ua-cam.com/video/_M0OiAi5rEM/v-deo.html
Battery Powered Air Conditioning on a Sail Boat
ua-cam.com/video/xF113aUlZgo/v-deo.html
"It's producing 4000 BTU's and can be turned up to over 5000..."
It's best used for small spaces, bedding area with a curtain, forward driving area with a curtain.
Making Infrared Cooling Paint from Grocery Store items
ua-cam.com/video/KDRnEm-B3AI/v-deo.html
Painting the roof of the Skoolies will prevent solar gain from infrared, making cooling with AC a more efficient process. Also, see Tech Ingredient's replication video to see how involved the process is.
These new airbrushed green eyes lit up Chuck thumbnails are killing me 👽😂
Awesome!
Lynx distributors are not in series but parallel
Yeah yeah yeah sorry my language was imprecise but they are ran one after another which is mechanically in series even though it’s electrically in parallel
Have you ever considered using an all in one system?
Yes but they are apples to oranges with these. They can be a good fit for smaller systems or ones that dont need such customization
Well that’s a cheap little system… NOT! 😝
No doubt!
Im always amazed and jealous of some of the systems that people have... Unfortunately im too broke to have it on my own bus. I only have 1360 watts of solar and 7.5 kWh of battery... I definitely dont have 220v capacity.
That’s still a great setup! I would have killed for that on my first bus
Hey Chuck, wow just wow, not ashamed to say WHAT.!! Thanks for sharing.🚌
You bet :)
I can only imagine how hard it was to say the name of this mini split 😂
Hahaha you’re totally right
@@ChuckCassadyYT I didn't catch the name of this unit? Or could you recommend a good dual zone mini-split?
Once, years ago, I owned a Mercedes. It had the most comfortable bucket seats. I often thought that that would be a good upgrade for a bus conversion. Have you encountered this?.
If you can fit them!
He low key dropped that he isnt taking applications for "personal partners"! It cracks me up!
Hahahaha
So I'm not good at all this. But what I have gathered is everything got doubled so they could run one compressor instead of 2?? I will happily tuck away the second to keep from having to go 220. But totally digging the battery design. Keep up the great work.
That is correct! It was actually about the same price to run this system with dual 3000 inverters making split phase for a 2 head unit as it would have been to buy two independent single head systems and bump up to a Quattro 5000 inverter, but it was less work since we only mounted one exterior unit (less labor) and dual 3000s gets you more power than a single 5000 inverter with the option for 220. It’s a good bet if you want the extra cooling which is why we did this option. Always a case by case thing tho
You also get the benefit of 2 solar zones. If one of the panels on a single inverter gets shaded or even damaged it will effect the solar output of all the panels on that inverter. I have been thinking about doing my panels long ways and mount them angled with the roof of the bus. But to make that work it would really make the most sense to have 2 systems since one side would be getting more sun depending on the time of the day. I did not realize my system I am planning would cost over $20k 😮 it will be worth it but geez. Lol
Very cool setup
With 3 of the MPP Solar inverters I have 240V (mostly for dryer and welder) as I can run them split phase, and I have 5,000 watts of solar with another 2,000 I'm thinking about side mounting. I opted for 24v DC units for the air conditioning. I will let you know how that goes, I got 4 of them, $350 each, I prefer the 134a to the 410 and the connectors are MUCH MUCH better for mobile applications. I may hate them, I guess I'll see when I get them installed but I'll do a test unit on my trailer first to see what power consumption is like. I feel like with so many amazing DC options hinting about we're going to be able to date skoolie builds by cooling method but I think 2023 will mark the end of people using stationary 120 and 240 residential units. As always, great video! Oh and I have the same power inlet, one for each side, painfully expensive!
I wish I knew what you were saying but I don’t speak Solar fluently yet… I was just looking at a residential unit that came up for sale and wondering if I could use it for my application. Why will 2023 mark the end of using residential units for mobile applications? What am I looking for in order to be able to run a fairly beefy system on my bus?
Oh and 24 volt is better for running ac?
@@Tonisuperfly Chuck is great and he knows his stuff, I have learned A TON from him. What I'm saying is speculation but residential units are less than ideal for many reasons from size and refrigerant type to fittings and voltages. Currently, they may do a better job than DC units which is why I'm getting the 24v units and testing them. Residential units are also 3x the price so that's something to factor in although only about 2x the price per BTU so you have to decide what you value more as redundancy and zone cooling is big for me. I'm just starting with the 24v units though so I don't have all the facts. I would assume any auto AC shop can service though though which is a HUGE plus!
Myself to keep costs down when I build my 26-30ft box truck I've have been planning it out with 2 separate 120v 12k btu units just to avoid the 240v side of things... would that have been cheaper like I suspect or am I possibly missing something? Thanks for another GREAT video
@@BirchFarmsHythe Just my opinion but if you're running 2 residential splits I would imagine you have the ability to run 240v, in my case, I have 3 MPP Solar inverters, under $1,500 shipped and this allows me to run 120v, 240v, and have one side with the ability to have double the load. I dislike the idea of a residential unit on my bus so I would do A LOT to avoid it. When I factor in the 24v units being over $1,000 less, giving me three units and so on I have money to spare to address an area they fall short. It's a personal choice, in my case, more redundancy is what I'm going for. I also end up with 27,000BTU with the three units versus 24,000BTU with the splits.
It's unneeded. I single minisplit will cool the entire structure with no problem. Even through rooms, it's still enough. This isn't just overkill, it's overkilling an overkill. This thing does not need 220v, the components are expensive, and all of it is used to justify an efficient AC?? It makes no sense.
Ronnie, I can personally attest that a single 12kbtu split is not enough to keep this bus cool in midwestern heat. Thanks for the extremely helpful comment!
@@ChuckCassadyYT . I have built one tiny house on wheels and lived in it in Palmetto Ga for 3 years. I built a 40' container cottage in Alabama. And, I live in a 450 sq ft cottage. Not one needed anything more than a 12000 btu mini. But, okay. All of my experience must not hold up to yours.
It’s almost like we have different opinions based on different life experiences. Imagine that. I’ve built dozens of conversions, and most of them use a minisplit. I tell my customers all the info I have and let them make the decision. They wanted the capacity. Start a UA-cam channel and go be the voice of reason you say you are my friend. Peace
@@ChuckCassadyYT . If that's how you justify this, so be it. But, YOU are 100% wrong. My wife is laughing her butt off right now. Because even she can see the holes in your logic. We are sitting in a cottage right now, that is bigger than your bus, in 90+ heat with a 12000btu AC. Our tiny house was cooled with a 5000btu window unit. Every single experience that I have had proves yours wrong............ I am a retired electrical engineer. All of those transistor and SCR based inverters is what I specialized in. I've forgotten more about this stuff than you will ever know.
Then get off your lazy ass and start a UA-cam channel so you can save the world! You’ll never do it just trolling in the comments section-take that bragadocious personality of yours and go public! You’ll be a hero! The parades! Go get em!
I had considered a similar setup with a pair of 3k hybrid invertors, but was concerned there was not enough capacity left on the system to run another appliance, for example a microwave or a washerdryer. From your experience, is this possible without having to turn off the aircon? Also why not go for a hybrid invertor, seems to be a vastly cheaper setup?
Those hybrids are less configurable, have significantly higher idle consumption, and don’t offer the same connectivity the victron does. I’m a victron installer because it’s my preferred brand with an outstanding reputation. This system should have around 3000 watts of headroom when the ac is on