High Current Short On Battery Junction Point

[RiaRia]

Hi all - this is Mike. In the process of adding an inverter to my Basecamp 16, I came across evidence of a high current short on the battery positive junction point and I wondered if anyone else here has noticed something similar? I found it because I wanted to up-gauge the wire from the battery box to the bus bar which is part of the 12 volt DC panel.

This issue can be found on back side of the positive junction point located on the side of the battery box. Unfortunately, it is not visible, even if the batteries are removed. The only way to see this issue is to remove the junction point from the battery box, or the battery box itself.

It seems like the wire was shorting out on the bolt for the insulator until the metal melted on the bolt and terminal, breaking the connection. This likely occurred right after the original AGM batteries were first installed.

The worst thing here is that this is an un-fused portion of the wiring system, allowing extremely high current through the short.

[Tao]

That is disturbing to see! Thanks for sharing.

As I am pondering upgrading my factory solar package to be better matched to my needs, I am curious what brand of inverter you decided to go with?

I'm figuring I need a 2000 watt unit with excellent efficiency inversion numbers.

[RiaRia]

I went with the Sunthysis 2000W Pure Sine Wave Inverter from Amazon. I’m not familiar with this brand but it had good specs and good reviews and most importantly it had the smallest footprint of any 2000 watt pure sine inverter that I could find. My wife wanted me to mount the inverter on the narrow part of the top shelf above the battery compartment so that she could keep as much storage space as possible. This was the only one that I could find that fit the bill.

As for longevity, I have no idea. I can say that it handles the loads of our coffee maker and microwave well and seems to have good heat management capabilities.