I'm Wired! (and so is Ansel)

Except for the final connection to end devices (e.g., light fixtures, outlets, etc.), Ansel is fully wired up, and the electrical portion of the project is virtually complete!  This was a HUGE milestone.

Since the last time I talked about the electrical system (see August 2 post), I completed the following:

• Fired up the DC-to-DC charger, which included connecting the van battery to the charger.  It tested successfully, which means I can now charge the "house" battery from the van battery/alternator while driving.
• Fired up the 1000W inverter...it works great!  I was actually able to use it to power another fan during the hot weather.
• Ran wires to all end-device locations.  This wasn't hard, but it required a little strategy to run the wires in an efficient manner.  (Could I have done it more efficiently...and cleanly?  Yes, of course, but it would have taken longer and probably cost more.  Bottom line: it works, and nobody will see it!)  Because there were so many wires and so many connection points, one thing I had to do was label the wire ends lest I forget what they were for...it would have been extremely easy to get confused!  FUN FACT: In just 14 gauge wire alone, which was the most common wire size I used, I ran over 300 feet of wire...that's the length of a football field!
• Built and wired up the "control panel", which included installation of the stereo system.  Originally I wasn't going to do this until later, but as I was preparing for the ceiling installation, I realized that I needed to know exactly where this would be and how big.  Plus, I should ideally test the light fixtures as I put the ceiling up, which meant that at least part of the control panel needed to be functional.  Of course, one thing led to another: since the stereo was installed, I decided to mount the rear speakers, which meant I needed to put up the sub-wall between the living space and the garage (see picture below).

Also, while not directly electrical related, I needed to design and build the slide-out dining table to be sure it didn't interfere with the main electrical panel in the garage.  In the end, I did have to modify the top support for the electrical panel slightly, so this was good timing.

OK, you may be wondering (and if you're not, I don't care), what's left to do before my photo trip in October.  Here's a list:

1. Put up sub-walls (you can actually see these in some of the pictures that follow).
2. Install the ceiling and connect the light fixtures (half of the ceiling is up as of today).
3. Build the upper and lower cabinets.  Since I have experience building cabinets and the fact that these are simple frame-less cabinets with flat panel doors/drawer fronts, I'm hoping this goes relatively quickly.
4. Build the benches.  Again, should be straightforward, but if I am crunched for time, I only need to build one (i.e., the one I will sit on).
   
5. Finish building the countertops (I'll talk more about this in a later post), and put up the backsplash/trim around the window.
   
6. Install the sink & stove, and run the water/propane hoses (the latter is actually in progress as we speak)
7. Finish ship-lap.  This should be a quick job.
   
8. Finish remaining electrical
9. Time permitting, various trim work & embellishments.

Will I get all this done in time?  Some days I think I won't. but other days (like today) I am more optimistic. Bottom line is that I have some flexibility in my departure date, so if I need a few extra days or even a week, no big deal.  Plus, I know there will be things that I won't get done and things that I want to add after being on the road (hopefully there won't be anything I need to change).  As long as I have all my basic functionality, I will be good to go!

Wiring for some of the ceiling lights.  The duct tape is just there to help hold the wiring up until the ceiling is installed (unfortunately, the hot weather caused some of the duct tape to soften, partially negating this measure)

A few wire bundles going up one of the walls.  In some cases I needed to drill holes in the metal supports using a step bit so I could feed the wires (and wire loom) through.  The upper right-hand corner is the future location of the control panel.

Wire bundles underneath the bed frame.  I knew there would be a lot of wires, but I was actually a little surprised how big the bundles were!

More wire bundles.  One of the benches will be to the right.

Back side of the electrical panel with all the cables run.  It was a little challenging to achieve at least some sense or order, but even then, it definitely looks chaotic.

The fuse box.  I certainly could have shortened up the wires a bit, but who cares?  As I was running wires, I ended up combining circuits and not using all the terminals.  Consequently, I will need to redo the labels.

Wiring of the control panel in progress.  This was just the beginning...it got much worse!

The finished product!  Clockwise starting from upper left: battery monitor, remote on/off switch for the inverter (the inverter consumes power even where there are no 110V devices being used), the stereo (AM/FM/CD/DVD/Bluetooth...the green aux cord is connected to my iPod), Bluetooth transmitter for solar power controller, and lighting gang switch panel (I like to multi-zone lighting).  Note the door on the side.  This is in case I need to access anything in the back, versus taking off the front panel.

The sub-wall for the garage with speakers mounted (there will be two more in the ceiling near the front seats).  The rectangular object below the right speaker is a power panel with two USB ports and a 12V socket, and the object next to left speaker is a 110V outlet.

This is a repurposed monitor that I previously used for photo editing, so it will work great for preliminary editing on the road.  It's connected to the stereo via an HDMI cable running overhead.  There's a front HDMI input on the stereo, to which I will be able to connect my laptop when editing photos.  Plus, I can watch a DVD if I'm really bored!

The pull-out dining table in the stored position (it'll have a front panel and a latch) .  The black object below is a pull-out waste basket, which I found a thrift/consignment shop for $10!  It will be hidden behind a door.

The pull-out dining table in place.  I wasn't exactly sure how I was going the build the table then quite by accident I found this 1" thick teak (yes, teak!) panel at Lowe's.  It was absolutely the perfect size, and all I had to do was polyurethane it.  To avoid the electrical panel to the right, I had to locate the drawer slides (which I found at the Habitat for Humanity store for $5!) closer to the center of the table, which worked just fine.