Reddit mentions: The best circuit breakers

That's not buy it for life, that's super clean power, and insane luck. :D

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Panasonic makes some cool gear and all, but they're rather infamous for cascade failure because all the components decide to die at around the same time. Even though that may be 10-15 years down the road. When it goes down, it goes down in a BIG cloud of smoke. Techs just shake their heads, say better luck next time.

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Word to the wise, if you're shopping for old tank microwaves, look at this spare parts source first. http://www.amiparts.com/ If they have a TON of surplus parts for a microwave, and they're relatively cheap, that design was a fucking tank if its over 30 year old, like many Magic Chef, Amana, and similar microwaves are. Sharps are pretty good, if a bit stone axe in terms of design. Panasonic though, being more technical excellence, makes a SWEET all stainless switch mode power supply nuker. She's sexx on a stick in terms of design elegance. http://www.vk3hz.net/amps/Microwave_Oven_Inverter_HV_Power_Supply.pdf

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But when it DOES go down, unless its just door switches or something stupid, an appliance tech has no chance in hell of fixing it. This version, is the most modern, probably not BIL, but I think it'll make 12-15 years if you have clean power, or MOVs/GaAS quenchers installed on your breaker panel. Like these. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Square-D-QO-22-5-kA-2-Pole-Surgebreaker-Surge-Protective-Device-QO2175SB/100202111 https://www.amazon.com/Eaton-BRSURGE-Whole-Panel-Arrest-Breaker-x/dp/B00PM927KK

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A BIL Panasonic is this ugly buzzard, 220v, it will nuke/thaw that pot roast before you know whats happened. :D https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DE01QCE/ref=sspa_dk_detail_6?psc=1 $1500 and worth three times as much. You can sit there and nuke stuff in it 3 shifts a day, 7 days a week, 365 a year, for DECADES. lol!

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For typical consumer goods, I would recommend, as a tech who worked on thousands of microwaves back in my larval enginerding days in college, a slightly higher end Sharp. They're kinda ho hum in terms of design engineering. I could sketch out the entire circuit diagram of one of these while absolutely hammered in less than 20 min on a napkin. https://www.amazon.com/Sharp-1200W-Countertop-Microwave-Stainless/dp/B01CAHP9YC/ Simple design, tough enough, easy to fix, easy to get parts, a complete moron appliance tech can handle these. They usually have MOVs and sacrificial traces on the controller PCB, so one of these can do 3-4 good lightning hits before they're truly toast. (or just need a new control panel PCB for $50-$75)

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The last one I actually bought, was this one. Because once I was done with it and got something serious, it was employee break room fodder, like that last 3. https://www.menards.com/main/appliances/microwaves/countertop-microwaves/appliances/microwaves/countertop-microwaves/criterion-reg-0-9-cu-ft-countertop-microwave/ccm09g1b/p-1520494273005-c-1500043654078.htm

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Super cheap, super simple, not a massive power hog so you can run it, the coffee pot, and the air compressor on the same circuit. Hopefully. :D Durable enough, probably make 5-6 years before the next big lighting hit fried it, and every surge suppressor in the place.

> You may think the cost difference between them is trivial, but it absolutely isn’t. The Tesla destination charger is only great for people using Teslas. I agree that Tesla offers quite the steal there, but it isn’t representative of the market.

Tesla to J1772, or charger with the J1772 end.

It costs as much to dig the ditch and rip out the wall for a 12 gauge 20A 240V. Your other points are correct if they have to drop more meters and put in more breaker boxes, though a $20 20A breaker doesn't cost much less than a $30, $50 not on sale, 100A breaker. The wire seems easy enough to calculate, 20amp 4.8kW would be around $0.49 a foot, 40amp 7.2kW is $1.05 a foot, and 100amp would be $4.95 a foot. Maybe aluminium 180amp for $1.35 a foot to a subpanel would make things cheaper for longer runs? Can you just turn aluminium into copper right before the charger, assuming the charger can't just use the aluminium?

> If a lot of hotels aren’t currently providing 19.2kW chargers, it’s for good reason.

According to plugshare, which I can't filter by max power, clicking around looks like 90% of HPWC at hotels support 16kW, some 6kW or 8kW. So your statement is correct, though these hotels aren't only 7.2kW either.

> EDIT: On second thought, I don’t think you even read my comment. You just responded to only the last paragraph like it was some kind of tl;dr. There was so much more nuance to that comment.

I did read it all but your 1MWh example was (an Appeal-to-Extremes)[https://www.logicallyfallacious.com/tools/lp/Bo/LogicalFallacies/30/Appeal-to-Extremes] and didn't want to point it out. Still if you want to talk about it: 200kWh seems very likely for trucks and I would expect closer to 300kWh for a dually. Since 19.2kW is the limit of J1772 that is where I am getting the number from and to your point a 300kWh still wouldn't be able to charge from 10% to 100% but 50% charge is better than 19%. I think Semi will have 1-2MWh but I doubt we will see the J1772 plug on them except maybe to run living area stuff and bms. If Semi do support AC then they might use SAE J3068 3 phase 120A 277V so 57.5kW? but really even a 150kW supercharger might take 8hr+.

As for your comment about 3 decent 7.2kW vs 1 19kW I can't disagree there, why not have 4 19kW that can share 1 line that could very well cost less than 4 independent 7.2kW. I thought I showed that is possible at least for the price of the charger. You could still configure those same HPWC to 7.2kW and share to save a little money on wire and possibly the power provider needing the upgrade their lines. At that point though you might as well run a 20A 120v outlet to every spot to help keep batteries warm. Any hotel that doesn't have a charger I ask if I can use their light pole 120v, really helps prevent a cold soaked battery in the morning even if I only got ~20 miles of range on a 10F night.

Not sure how my comment has a lot of nuance to it, maybe since I had linked to that charger with J1772 like 3 times in other replies so far and thought it was common knowledge here that you can charge any car with an adapter I left those links out, sorry. I wan't trying to personally attack you, I am just giving my option with what I think will be best for all in the long term for overall cost and user experience. It is like I see a lot of USB-PD 5v 3A being installed because everyone is using cell phones but soon laptops are coming out and they will need to buy new 5A wires and adapters. I could be wrong and the statement about if it makes a difference where people stay one day is the speculation here. Interesting times ahead for sure, I can't wait.

Have you wired... anything before? You'll need to be able to terminate wire to do it, but that's not too big a deal. There's also a bunch of different ways to go about it, depending on who you talk to. My preferred method goes something like this:

Acquire parts:

• 4 gauge copper stranded, jacketed wire of appropriate length to reach from starter to house battery, plus a little wiggle room, plus another section to go from house battery to frame.
  
  
• an in-line fuse holder to go right off the starter battery positive
  
  
• another fuse holder for the house battery, I like to use a triple-fuse holder, but you can just use another in-line like the one above.
  
  
• 100 amp fuses for both
  
  
• 4 gauge ring connectors/lugs.
  
  
• some sort of isolator. Basic-tier manual, a dual-battery manual switch (intermediate), or something more automatic, like a voltage sensitive relay.
  
  If you can't work out another good way to crimp the ends on, just pick up a crimp tool along with it.
  
  Plan:
  
  You need to create a circuit from the alternator to the house battery. Circuits are loops; in a DC circuit (as most are on a vehicle), the magic power fairies have to come from the power source via the positive terminal, through the thing they're powering, then return back to the negative terminal of the thing they came from. Most vehicles use the body and frame as the return path for the fairies. The devices' negative sides all connect to the body or frame, and so does the battery or batteries, so once they get to a device, they can always get back to where they came from, whether they came from the alternator (grounded through the engine block/bracket), starter battery, or house battery.
  
  Next, you need to consider where each component will live. You need to connect positive to positive from starter to house battery, with all the other doo-dads in between. The fuse holders should be very close to their respective batteries. Like, less than a foot. I lay my starter battery's fuse right on top of the battery, so anyone working on the van later can't miss it, and should know to consider the rest of that circuit when appropriate. My starter battery's fuse is mounted right next to the battery. The placement of the isolator depends on what kind it is. If it's a manual type, you'll need to access it from within the cabin; I like to put my house battery and a manual isolator pretty close behind the driver's seat, so I can operate the switch from there or from within the cabin. If you go with an automatic jobber like the VSR I linked, that doesn't need accessed again except for troubleshooting, so it's common for it to be mounted near the starter battery in the engine bay. Either way, the wire will go from starter battery positive, through a fuse, through the isolator or VSR, through the house battery's fuse, to the house battery positive.
  
  
  
  There's two types of connections to make with the linked items: "set screw" and "lug". The fuse holders I linked all use set screws, and everything else will use lugs. To make a lug connection, you strip back the wire jacket from the end of the wire just enough so the remaining copper strands fit into the sleeve (and only the sleeve) on the lug, then crimp it down. The lug then gets a bolt through it to make its connection. There is typically already a bolt on the starter battery terminal somewhere, and this is where it will go, though both batteries' terminals will vary in their format. You may need an extra doo-dad to make it right. For a set screw type connection, you strip back the wire jacket as before, back out the set screw, put the wire in its hole, then tighten it into place with the set screw.
  
  Installation:
  
  Snip off a foot of 4 Gauge wire, remove the fuse from the inline fuse holder, then set-screw the wire into one end. The other end of the wire gets a lug, and goes on the starter battery positive. From the other end of the fuse holder, route it to a VSR (if applicable; install its additional ground wire to one of its mounting screws, into the body), then on to the house battery location. Here, it will go through a manual isolator switch (if you don't choose the VSR), then through a fuse, and on to the house battery positive terminal. The negative terminal of the house battery gets connected to the van body or frame with a couple lugs on as short a wire as possible; a seat or seat belt hole is typically a good ground lug - just remove the bolt, add your lug with wire already crimped on, and reinstall the bolt.
  
  Once all connections are made, you can go back and insert your fuses. If you chose the dual-battery switch, it has 3 lugs on it: a "common" lug, battery A, and battery B. The wire coming from the starter battery goes to battery A, the wire going to your house battery goes to battery B lug, and the common lug is for your load (aka, your devices). The switch has 4 positions: "A","B","Both", and "off". You can set it up other ways, but in this configuration, the first two select which battery power is drawn from for the devices connected to the "common" lug, the "both" setting literally chooses both, which means it also is the setting for charging your house battery, and "off" ensures the devices get no power from either battery, and that the batteries aren't connected to one another.
  
  Manual isolator operation:
  
  With the engine running, turn the simple isolator "on", or the dual-battery switch to "both". This connects the batteries, which connects the alternator to the house battery. If the alternator can charge it, it will (see "Caveats" below). When you stop running the engine, and want to run devices without draining the starter battery, turn the simple isolator "off", or set the dual-battery switch to "B". If you go with a VSR, this happens automagically for you, and you can forget I typed this paragraph.
  
  Caveats:
  
  The house battery isn't as close to the alternator as the starter battery. This introduces resistance to it, which comes with voltage drop. The alternator has a voltage regulator in/on/near it that senses the voltage of the battery (or batteries) it's connected to, and if that voltage is lower than its setting, it will kick on, and start charging, typically at or above 13.8V, maybe 14.1. An idle, full battery will read closer to 13V. A 12V battery is actually dead if it gets down to 12V; anything running on 12V accepts all these voltages, and so these systems are considered to run on "12V nominal", which is a range including all these. Anyways, from the perspective of the alternator or house battery, there is less voltage present on the far end than from the near end, due to the voltage drop over distance in the wire. So, the house battery never sees full charging voltage from the alternator, and therefor may never fill all the way up. Measure voltage at the starter battery while the engine's on and alternator's charging, then measure it again at the house battery. The difference between these two is your voltage drop, which should be in the 1-3% range. More or less, this is how short of full you can get your house battery only charging from the alternator.
  
  If you choose a manual isolator, you will get the most charging output possible from your alternator, and you can throw the switch to "jump start" yourself if your starter battery should die, but you might forget to turn the switch one day, and accidentally drain your starter battery. I simply make checking the state of the switch part of my van start-up and shut-down routine, and have only had a problem once. If you instead go with an automatic isolator or VSR, you won't have to worry about this, but your charging rate will be limited by the rating of the device chosen, if its rating is below the alternator's rating.
  
  Your power distribution to your loads still needs additional fusing. If you use the dual-battery switch, most loads should come off the common lug, through a fuse, and on to the devices. If not, then connect them from the starter battery, through a fuse, and on to the devices. Many people install a fuse block with multiple fused circuits to go to various devices; it needs a fuse in its feed that is as large as all the other fuses combined.
  
  Wondering why I linked a triple-fuse holder? It's a neat sort of junction for the house battery's positive terminal, where everything connecting needs fused anyway, and these particular fuses can need to be quite large, though different sizes. 100A alternator charge, 50A+ load distribution, 30A+ solar charge, or the big ol' honkin inverter I tend to install on my builds.
  
  

I know the solar charge controllers support it, but I wouldn't run the load through the charge controller. I would run the battery load directly to your positive and negative bus bars (through a master on/off switch and a fuse). Personally I don't think that the features that it provides is worth the extra dependency of having the load go through an unrelated sensitive electronics piece. Don't take my opinion on this as gospel. Make your own choice.

Your charge controller should be as close as possible to the batteries. Hopefully in the same box/cabinet, and close enough that you shouldn't need a fuse between them.

Are you going to be able to charge off the alternator or off shore power?

Consider a battery monitor separate from the charge controller. That way you can track all power going into/out of the battery, regardless of source.

Like TimelessNY said, you likely don't need the fuse to the panels. I have a MC4 fuse on my roof, to break the circuit if one of the wires cuts through and shorts out on the chassis. But you shouldn't need a fuse to prevent overloading the wires with load.

Personally I went with Victron for the MPPT and battery monitor. the bluetooth integration is super awesome convenient. Don't feel like if you are getting renogy panels you need renogy controllers too.

I don't think that your 100A fuse will be able to handle a 3000W surge power to the inverter. Unless you get a long delay breaker like this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007P5UNNW . Also, put the fuse between your battery and the inverter as close to the battery as possible. On the battery side of the switch. ideally in the battery box.

For AC distribution, it depends on which inverter you have. Does it have a hardwire capability? Mine does, so I set up 3 busses, one for live, one for neutral and one for ground. I hardwired my outlets (and my TV) into these buses.

Which isolator do you have? Depending on what you have, wiring strategies could differ.

You'll want their 150 volt model, not the 300 volt. :)
While the 300 volt one would be fine, it's excessive. :P

Keep in mind, your breaker has to be rated for the VoC, not the VmP.
So, 'the absolute max your panels could put out' in voltage, at least. :)

A breaker is an important safety device, and you want it to do it's job, day in and day out, no matter what slight variances occur. That's why I advise the use of a Midnite Solar or similar breaker, rated for DC and rated for a voltage of ~100 - 150 volts.

Trust me when I say, those cheap breakers could really burn your RV down given the right conditions. D:

EDIT:
Here's the breaker I'd recommend:
https://www.amazon.com/MidNite-Solar-Photovoltaic-Circuit-Breaker/dp/B004EQJS1S/

Tip: Get a cheap section of DIN mounting rail from your local hardware store or Amazon. That way you could mount your breaker inside a plastic box with the rest of your splices, and end up with a neat and tidy DIY combiner. :)

Ok. Here is what looks like your small breaker. https://www.amazon.com/Square-Schneider-Electric-HOM115CP-Single-Pole/dp/B000LNLZ78/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1487464692&sr=8-2&keywords=square+d+breaker+15+amp

And these are 220v breakers that look like your large. They have two screws and put out 220v on one circuit for water heater, dryer or a/c. https://www.amazon.com/Square-QOU2151042-Circuit-Breaker-Number/dp/B000L9U2NA/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1487464692&sr=8-11&keywords=square+d+breaker+15+amp

And these are what I'm calling the double. They call them tandem. Two screws, but not 2x110v. Not 220v. Get one of these and replace one of the small breakers and you will have one extra circuit. Do it again and you will have two new. https://www.amazon.com/Square-Schneider-Electric-HOMT1520CP-Single-Pole/dp/B00DW46Y38/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1487464692&sr=8-14&keywords=square+d+breaker+15+amp

Or replace one of the double wide 220v with this and have your two new 110v. Just make sure the amperage on the two pole, common trip matches the existing breaker exactly. https://www.amazon.com/Square-Schneider-Electric-HOMT1515230CP-Single-Pole/dp/B00DW46WMQ/ref=sr_1_20?ie=UTF8&qid=1487465040&sr=8-20&keywords=square+d+breaker+15+amp

Be careful if you do this yourself. Turn of the main before you start and stay away from the wires going to it.

Or better yet, get a friend or a licensed electrician to help.

>I need a 'my grandpa was an electrician and his janky house never caught on fire' fix

OK:

ALCI cord from an unwanted/broken/thrift-store hair dryer, with the hair-dryer cut from the cord and replaced with a NEMA 5-15R extension cord female end, as an adapter for the conditioner.

The air conditioner may already have an overcurrent protective device as its plug, but this does not fill the same role as the Appliance Leakage Current Interrupter. An ALCI is essentially the same thing as a GFCI

Don't exceed the current rating of the cord, or of the house circuit. I find it is useful to map what few circuits there are, and even label them visibly, to help people remember "Oh, I can't plug in the hair dryer to outlets with a green dot when the big-screen TV is on". In such a house it is often easy in daylight to unscrew all but one fuse and then walk around with a lamp, putting a (1) sticker on each outlet that works on circuit 1, etc.

Most importantly, if it is still on fuses, make sure they have a good supply of the 15A variety and disappear the 30A spares.

Yes you can get QO twins for that panel.
The real question is if it was designed for twins or if you need to use a twin that will fit but is not UL listed for the panel.
Only way to find out is take the cover off and find the catalog number of the panel / schematic inside.

Or

Look for a slot / hole on the panel rail / side of the interior that will accept a hook (look below where the wire attaches to the breaker) you will likely need to remove breakers to see it.
If it does accept twins usually the bottom breakers slots are more likely to have the slot.

QO2020 guaranteed to fit but expensive - Designed for use in older non ctl listed panel: https://www.amazon.com/Square-Schneider-Electric-QO2020CP-Single-Pole/dp/B0002YSOMA/ref=sr_1_1?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1510191088&sr=1-1&keywords=qo2020

QOT2020 Cheaper and used in panels designed to accept twins: https://www.amazon.com/Square-QOT2020-SinglePole-Circuit-Breaker/dp/B002FYQDP0


See this also: https://www.schneider-electric.us/en/faqs/FA110798/

Here’s my write up on JeepForum

This is the fuse block I used

I used 6-position covered terminal blocks similar to these, although I got them for $3/ea at a local store

This was my ground bus bar. it was cheaper when I bought it, and 10-position is nice but I probably could’ve gotten away with less

These are the waterproof sealed relays I would recommend

This is the circuit breaker I wish I used, but I had the 150A on hand. I’ll probably swap it out at some point

Edit: to add on, I used heatshrink on noninsulated female disconnects so that I could have everything properly color coordinated for easier work if I needed to make repairs/modifications in the future. I only used 1/4” Red/Yellow/Black HS on the board :)

EDIT 2: I used the wrong link for my writeup. It's fixed now!

It's not that big of a deal.. BUT, I don't know how much wiring experience you have..

Going on the assumption that it's a 300 watt LED bar... That's 25 amps or less of draw.

You need big enough wire to handle the current draw (25 amp+) and a fuse or circuit breaker and a relay. The 300 watt light will pull 25 amps at 12v so using 30 amp relay/fuse/breaker should be enough...

You will also need a switch BUT the switch is only going to be used to power on the relay and the relay will then "switch" the high current from the battery to the lights.

In simplest terms, you can wire it this way....

• Get a 40 amp Relay (30 amp should work too, but I like the 40 amp relay better). You can get them with a wire harness so you don't have to run the wires right "to" the relay. 40 amp relay / Relay harness
  
• 30 amp fuse/breaker near the battery. That wire runs through the fuse to pin 30 on the relay and this will be the source power line for the lights. Here is a 30 amp breaker you can find at your local auto parts store.. It is self resetting. [self resetting circuit breaker] (http://www.amazon.com/Camco-65224-Straight-Circuit-Automatic/dp/B002N59LCS)
  
• Pin 87 on the relay is the output of that power line above and you run it to the red wire on the LED bar (Don't forget to run the black wire on the LED to vehicle ground)
  
• pin 85 on the relay is run to ground on the vehicle.
  
• Pin 86 on the relay is the "trigger" wire for the relay. This wire is what will turn on the light when it gets power.
  
  The Easiest way to do this is tap into the fuse box (under the dash) and pull 12v from something that is "switched power". That means it has power when the key is on. Now, run that tapped wire to a switch and from the switch to the Pin 86.
  
  
  With that simple wiring above, when the key is in the on position, you have power going to the switch, when you flip the light switch the energizes the relay which takes the power from the battery and send it on the the light...
  
  Now, you need to use big enough wire. I'm going to assume you are going to need to run less than 10 feet of wire for the high power (the one on the big fuse). If so, 12 gauge will be fine. You can use 14 or even 16 gauge for the "switch" wire and the ground to the relay to save some money..
  
  hopefully all that made sense.. If you want, we can make the "switch" wiring fancier so you can have lights with the switch and/or with the high beams..

Charging the battery while driving is pretty simple but took me a year to figure out how simple it was. Hopefully you are planning on using a trailer wire junction box. If so, run a 14ga wire from the junction box (that connects to your truck) to the positive side of the battery. Add something like this inline between the junction and the battery for safety. https://www.amazon.com/Fastronix-Automatic-Reset-Circuit-Breaker/dp/B07NSD3KYH

For shore power, I used one of these on the side of the camper which then runs to a 2 amp charger that charges the battery. In hindsight, I should of done a 4 or 5 amp charger.

https://www.amazon.com/NOCO-GCP1-16-Inch-Integrated-Extension/dp/B009ANV81S

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Solar, do as other have said and get a controller.

You could go with a single-pid version of this for pretty cheap: http://www.instructables.com/id/Electric-Brewery-Control-Panel-on-the-Cheap/

As others have said, you'll want to be sure you're venting all that moisture out of your basement. And a GFCI breaker on that 240v circuit is pretty sensible (you can use a spa box if you've already got the circuit pulled to where you will brew, something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Square-Schneider-Electric-HOME250SPA-Homeline/dp/B000BQT1AS)

Last thing worth considering is a pump (I'm partial to the Chugger) to recirculate your water while coming up to temp. The less expensive option is just to stir the water frequently while heating - moving that fluid around makes a big difference in keeping it all at the same temp.

Good luck, keep us posted on your choices and how it comes out!

Here is the list of all the stuff i got:

1. 1/0 welding wire - 50 ft (used ~44ft) from https://weldingsupply.com/cgi-bin/einstein.pl?Next::1:UNDEF:OR:terms::PA2
   
2. Swedge on tool for crimping the lugs on the wire from https://weldingsupply.com/cgi-bin/einstein.pl?PNUM::1:UNDEF6657706:OR:04040
   
3. 1 OT coppers lugs - 10 pc from http://www.connectorsupply.com/catalog/copper-lug-ot-38-stud-tin-plated-p-197.html
   
4. Clamps - 6pc from http://www.connectorsupply.com/catalog/rubber-coated-clamp-34-inch-p-643.html
   
5. Wire loom - 20 ft from http://www.connectorsupply.com/catalog/wire-loom-black-nylon-12-inch-p-240.html
   
6. Heatshrink - 1 black from http://www.connectorsupply.com/catalog/3m-shrink-tube-black-34-inch-p-216.html
   
7. Heatshrink - 2 red from http://www.connectorsupply.com/catalog/3m-shrink-tube-red-34-inch-p-223.html
   
8. Cord grips - 3/4" trade size mcmaster.com part number 69915K56
   
9. Longer j-hooks for the house (2nd battery), the ones that came with slee were a bit short for my batter - mcmaster.com part number 98760A111
   
10. Mil spec battery terminal - 2 pc Positive - mcmaster.com part number 7738K1
    
11. Mil spec battery terminal - 1 pc Negative - mcmaster.com part number 7738K2
    
12. Blue seas ML ACR 7622
    
13. Blue seas circuit breaker - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007P5UNNW/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
    
    I think thats pretty much it, i will edit anything else if remember it.
    
    This all could be done in one day and you dont need a garage to do it.
    Good luck!
    

So this https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BPF0I6 would actually be good for 400 amps if properly balanced?

 


Edit: And this would be good for 400 amps as well? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000X39O2O

You can find tools like this Circuit tracer at most home/hardware stores. Using something like that will probably be the easiest way for you.

Ok that is understandable.

By its listing you cannot use the one mentioned as it was not indented for the flexible cord you have (used for 16/3, 14/3, or 12/3 SJTW cable).

Tower used to sell this 2 prong version which seems to be discontinued but you might be able to find if you call a local electrical store. Otherwise, you should be better off using this or this made for two wire equipment.

• Renology 100W solar panel on the roof.
  
• Minn Kota marine battery container
  
• 79ah AGM deep cycle battery wired in parallel with 20ah sealed lawnmower battery that I had laying around
  
• not currently connected to the truck's electrical system
  
  Currently in the process of making a new storage system which will contain the same batteries, along with a fuse box and 100amp circuit breaker for a little more peace of mind.

Get something like this for the subpanel
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PM927KK/

They make a larger one for the main load center as well. For $500 I expect you can do your main service box and all subs

Huh? A GFCI is literally designed to protect against short circuits. GFCIs automatically disconnect a circuit when they detect an imbalance in current between the hot and neutral: a short.

Surge suppression (as you mentioned in #2) is a separate issue from grounding, that u/HouseMonster did not ask about in their post. They asked about short protection. That part is a problem that anyone with electronic equipment (myself included) faces, regardless of the age of the home. That's typically addressed by protecting sensitive devices by purchasing power strips that include integral surge suppressors. Whole-house surge protection is something that's generally only addressed when replacing the main breaker box by installing one of these. Whether or not that's a feasible addition right now depends on the age of OP's breaker box, whether or not they're comfortable opening it up/paying a sparky to do it, whether or not there are enough in slots in the breaker box to accommodate it, etc. And even then, those devices only address the 20% of power surges that originate in the grid, not the other 80% that originate in the home. Those surges need to be arrested at the point of use. A combination approach is best practice, but expensive. The most feasible solution is UPS (uninterruptable power supply) units for the modem/router, home theater, and desktop computer (if one is present). They're about $60 each and available at any Walmart or office supply store.

Nice van!

Don't be too intimidated with adding a house battery. You can do it.

Very in-depth guide for adding a house battery with solenoid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zrwHyy4qyY

This is the battery I used, it ROCKS. (smaller and cheaper options from same company available)

Other items I used...

• Continuous Duty Solenoid
  
• Heavy Gauge Wire 2 AWG
  
• Ring Terminals for Heavy Gauge Wire
  
• ANL Fuse Holder
  
• ANL Fuses 100 Amp
  
• Lighter Gauge Wire
  
• Terminals and Connectors for Lighter Gauge Wire
  
• Heat Shrink Assortment
  
• Circuit breaker (alternative to ANL fuses, works as master disconnect too)
  
• Fuse Block (for all devices connected to house battery)

This can help you make your own labels.

Here are two tools that help:

Tells you if an outlit or wire is hot before you touch it:
http://www.amazon.com/Fluke-1AC-A1-II-Volt-Alert-Non-Contact-Voltage/dp/B000EJ332O

Allows you to find the circuit for an unlabeled outlet:
http://www.amazon.com/Sperry-CS550A-Circuit-Breaker-Finder/dp/B000ET403A

In lieu of replacing your breaker, you can buy and wire a spa panel for a GFCI.

https://www.amazon.com/Square-Schneider-Electric-HOME250SPA-Homeline/dp/B000BQT1AS

Put this as a part of your extension cord build to make things easier for you.

I wouldn't necessarily recommend building your own cord, just don't spring for the cheap cords.

This is a tandem breaker.

I don't know all the correct terminology, so I apologize if that's causing some confusion.

From what I understand everyone to be saying, I can do it as long as the two hots are on breakers that are on opposite hot legs.

ie. the mains coming into the panel are black and red and one is on each bank of breaker slots, so when I put the new circuits in I need to make sure that the hots from the 12/3 are on breakers that are on different banks. In other words, one has to be on the black mains rail, and one on the red.

Edit: Looking and thinking some more, I see that I could use this to achieve what I was trying to describe.

A really old version of this. Mine is red and I think Commerical Electric made it back then. It was sub $20 I know that. It does the job...

That is a current QO 200A main breaker.

https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&channel=tus&q=qo+200A+replacement+main+breaker

https://www.amazon.com/Square-Schneider-Electric-QOM2200VH-Homeline/dp/B000X39O2O

Should be possible if you can DIY the electrics or know someone who can...

• Kettle, $125
  
• BrewBag, $30
  
• HotRod, $60
  
• Element, $30
  
• 30A Cable disconnects, $20
  
• SSVR + Heat Sink, $40
  
• Spa Panel/GFCI, $80
  
• Breaker, $15
  
  ... that's $400 not incl shipping. Still need a bunch of 30A cable at $3/ft, a project box of some sort to mount the SSVR in (I use a $6 toolbox), maybe a chiller.
  

Run 50 amps to preferably a spa pack. Tubs that run on 120v are usually garbage and 27/32 hot tubs I've done required a 240v 50 amp breaker

I think this type of circuit tracer will work on the wire:

https://www.amazon.com/Amprobe-BT-120-Circuit-Breaker-Tracer/dp/B005G7SC0M

has anyone tried using it that way?

OAONAN GFCI Replacement Plug Assembly 2-Prongs with Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter Safety RCD Protection for Pool Pump,Power Pressure Washer,Air Conditioner,Hair Dryer and so on (15Amp 2-wires) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073PRH8H3/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_R3FYCbGRQ5Y8V

There was a post not too long ago by someone who killed his lithiums because even though his inverter was on a switch, his raspberry pi or something was not and that drained it during a cloudy week. So don't forget undervoltage protection on that DC fuse block!

Edit: Also, I would take some of those savings and get better-quality fire-prevention devices. I don't trust safety devices with 26% one-star reviews.

Better options:
https://www.amazon.com/Blue-Sea-Systems-Circuit-Breakers/dp/B007P5UNNW/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=200+amp+circuit+breaker+dc&qid=1573679773&sr=8-2
https://www.amazon.com/Tocas-Circuit-Switchable-Waterproof-Flush-Mount/dp/B06Y4172LP/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=200+amp+circuit+breaker+dc&qid=1573679773&sr=8-3