Hi all, I'm not an extremely technical person but I surfed the web and decided to put my battery and inverter in myself.
I got a large ammo can and drilled holes in it to facilitate the incoming lines from the inverter and the starter battery, as well as for the ground line and the vent (I didnt want to use AGM batteries) then took two small slats of wood and drilled those into the frame, then put the ammo can on top of those wood blocks and mounted the ammo can to it. (I didnt want the ammo can to ground from sheet metal screws)
I got a can of flexall and coated the inside of the ammo can with it to create a non conductive surface. Spray did float out of the box and mark up my chairs, window and dash... man that sucked.
I was able to push the positive house battery line through a hole that already existed in the firewall, but unfortunately the 4 gage wire I chose was not long enough for me to attach the solinoid isolator inside the ammo can, instead I opted to attach it to the frame near the parking break under the steering wheel, and run an additional line from the isolator to the positive terminal of the house battery. The Isolator is not in the way really and will work if it does look a little rednecky. I also got a simple switch to attach to the isolator rather than attaching it to the ignition switch, I wanted to be able to run the house battery from the starter if I felt it necessary.
I got an old Jack Daniels wooden box and used that as my inverter box, I also got some dual 12 volt outlets and mounted those to the box interior as well. After having it all ready to go and mount I noticed I had miscalculated how much space would exist between the hospital bed I have in the back of the van, and where the ammo can is mounted, so I had to flip the inverter box on its side in a weird position to get it to fit. again, it looks a bit botched but it will function. I figure I can fix this later when I put in a second battery and maybe a second inverter.
Also, when I went to test my ground line with the marine battery I bought, it wouldent detect the ground... it also wouldent detect the ground when I attached the tester to the starter battery ground (which I know is good) not understanding what was going on I took it back to the store I got it from, they brought out a new battery and it did the exact same thing. Finally I went across the street and talked to a mechanic at an auto dealership service bay, he told me that the tester wouldent work until after the battery was already grounded (wtf that made no sense) but I was willing to take his word for it since I had already spent too much time messing around with it.
so bottom line of what I learned... 1), measure and mark everything before you start building anything. 2) make diagrams of what you plan on doing, be specific. 3) know exactly what you need before you begin building (dont just buy a long cable, when your not sure how much line you will need, figure it out before you buy) 4) electicals are confusing, dont trust anybodies word go out and research it yourself. 5) If you need to spay paint anything, do it outside and BEFORE you have it mounted in your car.
anyhoo... tomorrow I put the battery in and attach the lines to the inverter, starter battery, and isolator. wish me luck.
I got a large ammo can and drilled holes in it to facilitate the incoming lines from the inverter and the starter battery, as well as for the ground line and the vent (I didnt want to use AGM batteries) then took two small slats of wood and drilled those into the frame, then put the ammo can on top of those wood blocks and mounted the ammo can to it. (I didnt want the ammo can to ground from sheet metal screws)
I got a can of flexall and coated the inside of the ammo can with it to create a non conductive surface. Spray did float out of the box and mark up my chairs, window and dash... man that sucked.
I was able to push the positive house battery line through a hole that already existed in the firewall, but unfortunately the 4 gage wire I chose was not long enough for me to attach the solinoid isolator inside the ammo can, instead I opted to attach it to the frame near the parking break under the steering wheel, and run an additional line from the isolator to the positive terminal of the house battery. The Isolator is not in the way really and will work if it does look a little rednecky. I also got a simple switch to attach to the isolator rather than attaching it to the ignition switch, I wanted to be able to run the house battery from the starter if I felt it necessary.
I got an old Jack Daniels wooden box and used that as my inverter box, I also got some dual 12 volt outlets and mounted those to the box interior as well. After having it all ready to go and mount I noticed I had miscalculated how much space would exist between the hospital bed I have in the back of the van, and where the ammo can is mounted, so I had to flip the inverter box on its side in a weird position to get it to fit. again, it looks a bit botched but it will function. I figure I can fix this later when I put in a second battery and maybe a second inverter.
Also, when I went to test my ground line with the marine battery I bought, it wouldent detect the ground... it also wouldent detect the ground when I attached the tester to the starter battery ground (which I know is good) not understanding what was going on I took it back to the store I got it from, they brought out a new battery and it did the exact same thing. Finally I went across the street and talked to a mechanic at an auto dealership service bay, he told me that the tester wouldent work until after the battery was already grounded (wtf that made no sense) but I was willing to take his word for it since I had already spent too much time messing around with it.
so bottom line of what I learned... 1), measure and mark everything before you start building anything. 2) make diagrams of what you plan on doing, be specific. 3) know exactly what you need before you begin building (dont just buy a long cable, when your not sure how much line you will need, figure it out before you buy) 4) electicals are confusing, dont trust anybodies word go out and research it yourself. 5) If you need to spay paint anything, do it outside and BEFORE you have it mounted in your car.
anyhoo... tomorrow I put the battery in and attach the lines to the inverter, starter battery, and isolator. wish me luck.
