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rhenrie
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# Posted: 6 Jun 2013 21:24
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Does anyone do 12V exclusive wiring in their cabin (similar to an RV)? I'm thinking of distributing my ground wire using metal structure in the walls and various anchors to earth ground and the negative battery leads. Then I would just distribute power as a few 10 gauge +12V wires connected to vehicle type power outlets in the wall. I've been able to find 12V or Propane versions of most items (RV versions). I'm wondering how well it works practically.
I guess I'm wondering if you lose more power distributing the low 12V or DC to AC back to DC. In the end I'll probably distribute both 110VAC and 12VDC but right now I am just considering.
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rayyy
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# Posted: 7 Jun 2013 06:29
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I souley relly on my generator running a separate car battery charger to keep my battery bank charged up.I have all my lighting on that 12 volt setup and Iv'e got 3 of those cigarette lighter style(12 volt)outlets wired into my cabin.I really don't have much that I plug into the 12 volt system.My water pump and my cell phone charger.That gives me lights,running water and cell phone charging 24 hours a day without the generator running,I run the generator about 6 hours a day to power up all my 120 a/c stuff computer,tv,fan,sterio and the battery charger.I wouldn't mess with trying to wire up your 12 volt ground through your building.I would just use wire for both the + and -.I used 12 guage red for the hot and 12 guage black for the ground.Most importantlly is to put in a fuse box right off your battery positive side.The reason I say that is because I once burnt up a tractor years ago because I didn't have the positive side of the battery running through a fuse.Lesson well learned!This whole set up work's great for me.
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razmichael
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# Posted: 7 Jun 2013 09:17
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I think a lot depends on how "normal" you want the system to feel, distances (dealing with voltage drop) and how much money/time you want to spend on it. I took the more complex route with my (in progress) system so take from this what applies in your case. Agree with Rayyy that you should not fool with trying to use the building components for a ground - run wire for each!. In my system I ran distribution legs using two sets of 10/3 standard 120 wiring (each set has 4 conductors including the ground). This actually provides for an effective gauge of about 3 in each set for + and -. From here I distributed to the lights through standard 20 amp toggle wall switches by using a single 12/3 cable and using two of the wires for + and the other two for negative (for an effective gauge of about 6). By using 12 LED bulbs with standard bases I can install these in cheap fixtures (I have 10 of them). I also have installed a number of standard 12V outlets and power the pump, heater etc. Because the wattage on each leg is really very low, this provides for minimal voltage drop, although for safety you can fuse anytime you change wire size. At no time does the amperage come anywhere near being too high for the wire gauge, even if a bad connection resulted in a single conductor being used. I fully admit that, in reality, my wiring is overkill. I also have an inverter and will run a separate 120AC circuit but this is only turned on once in a while.
I would suggest you take a closer look at the power needs, play with a voltage drop calculator and then determine the best approach. There are advantages and disadvantages to building the system as 12VDC, 120VAC or mixture. You will find a number of discussion on this topic throughout this site and others. There are some potential issues with using standard switches with DC but many do it. In my case, each switch only controls a maximum of about 12 watts, by using 20 amp switches I do not anticipate any switch failures (not to mention they look standard and are cheap to replace). Did I mention the low power relays I used to provide 3-way switches for the two lofts?
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Just
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# Posted: 7 Jun 2013 10:32
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i have both 110 and 12 volt in my old trailer . i think we use the 12 volt 90 % of the time .water pump , led lights ,radio .tv ,cooler, fans , all 12 volts. we rairly use 110 for the vaccum and microwave and you can get them in 12 volt.
I think we use less power on 12 volt and if I could only have one it would be 12 volt. WE only have a small 55 watt solar system with 2 deep cell batteries but can make a weekend if we are carfull..
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GomerPile
Member
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# Posted: 7 Jun 2013 10:43
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My place (full time living) is being built with 12VDC as primary and a couple generator outlets for the AC and washing machine. I use 10AWG wire everywhere and use the Square D QO series panels and breakers. The wiring from the batteries to the panel is made with 2AWG welding cable thru a fused disconnect. My wall outlets are NEMA 6-20P style. I will be adding this type of plug to my 12v appliances where appropriate.
My 12V stuff:
+ led lights
+ bluetooth speaker system
+ iPad
+ phone
+ LED wall projector
+ laptop via small 100W inverter
+ well pump
+ hot water heater via small 100W inverter
+ DSL modem
+ Sundanzer fridge
+ Vacuum cleaner
+ Heat recovery ventilator (via 12-24VDC booster)
My 120V stuff (generator):
+ 5000 BTU AC unit, 2-3 months of the year
+ Washing machine once per week
+ Power tools as needed
+ Laser printer as needed
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