Battery Inverter/charger upgrade

elbolillo

JeffroNC said:

RFraer said:

I finished the install, took a full three days. Could do it in half the time now that I have been through it.The air conditioner runs great off the Multiplus. The temperature was 79 here yesterday and I actually used the AC off grid to get the temperature down while I worked in the camper.  When I purchased the multiples I gave the supplier the incorrect amp charge settings, they set it up for 40 amps which is ok for one of my SOK batteries, but I have three the setting should have been 120 amps. Now I have to buy a VE.Bus to USB interface ($70) to change the charge setting.  

Great job. I wonder if the Smart Dongle would allow you the make the needed changes via Bluetooth? If going this route you would have remote monitoring on your smart phone. I use that instead of the built in display on my Victron devices.

The Victron Multiplus cannot be programmed via Bluetooth. You have to use the VE.Bus to USB interface. It is kind of a pain but once it is setup, it shouldn’t need to be changed.

RFraer

This is true but most supplier like Inverters-R-Us will program the unit before shipping. They will email you a form to fill out with the info they need.

My CoolCat will run for about 5.5 total hours with 600 amps of battery. Thats with a 15% resurve at the end.

BDA123

I finished my install finally. I'm running three charge controllers. One to my 300 watts on the roof, one to the trailer tongue, and one to the back right.
I still have a few victron setting to update via my laptop. 

It should also be noted that you can't see the breaker box (which is in the Alde compartment) which has a breaker for each of the charge controllers and for the 120v 30A single phase shore power. Nor can you see the Victron Orion 24/12 Converter which feeds the trailer's 12v fuse board. You also can't see the system ground that goes thru the Alde compartment and is bolted to the trailer body. If anyone wants pictures of the breaker box, tongue array connector box, rear array connector box, my 12v 50A fuse box/switch panel, or anything else, please let me know.

BDA123

Elbolillo said:

JeffroNC said:

RFraer said:

I finished the install, took a full three days. Could do it in half the time now that I have been through it.The air conditioner runs great off the Multiplus. The temperature was 79 here yesterday and I actually used the AC off grid to get the temperature down while I worked in the camper.  When I purchased the multiples I gave the supplier the incorrect amp charge settings, they set it up for 40 amps which is ok for one of my SOK batteries, but I have three the setting should have been 120 amps. Now I have to buy a VE.Bus to USB interface ($70) to change the charge setting.  

Great job. I wonder if the Smart Dongle would allow you the make the needed changes via Bluetooth? If going this route you would have remote monitoring on your smart phone. I use that instead of the built in display on my Victron devices.

The Victron Multiplus cannot be programmed via Bluetooth. You have to use the VE.Bus to USB interface. It is kind of a pain but once it is setup, it shouldn’t need to be changed.

It should also be noted that you can change the settings on your Victron hardware via Remote VE.Connect if you have wifi next to your trailer, a laptop, and have installed the Victron Cerbo GX. It is all done via the Victron VRM software (which I like anyway because I can make changes and review settings remotely) without the VE.Bus to USB interface. But its a little more complex. Having the supplier do it is definitely a great way to prepare your inverter.

Yoshi_TAB

Hi @BDA123,

Is that a small cooling fan for your compartment?  If so, is it 12V or 110?  What turns it on?

I just installed an inverter in my 320 and it was recommended to have a cooling fan for the inverter compartment.  I bought a small 110V fan that plugs into the inverter that will come on when I turn the inverter on.  Just wondering about your set up.  BTW, nice job.  

Thank you

BDA123

I should say that for other people contemplating this upgrade, the only issue I might debate again is my decision to go 24v over 12v. The 24v saves on cable size (but these are very short runs) and a few components are slightly cheaper. Pretty much all the charge controllers run 12v or 24v at the same cost. The big drawback is that the Victron Orion 70 amp 24/12 Converter is louder than I expected. I put it originally in the vented space in the hall where the old WFCO WF-8955-PEC 30 Amp converter was located. But that was too much noise since it is constantly converting from 24v to 12v (some things like the O2 sensor are always on). I ended up putting it under my clothes closet which works well. Granted, maybe I didn't need 70 amps and the 30 amp converter is quieter but I have an additional 50 amp 12v fuse box/switch panel that I am using to add LED lights under the trailer, an external 12v adapter, and heating pads with insulation under the trailer to make it a four season full boondocking trailer. I also went with 24v because it essentially doubles the output of the solar charge controllers from 15A, 30A, and 50A at 14.6v (the max charge voltage of my lithium batteries in parallel) to 15A, 30A, and 50A (I have three) at 29.2v (the max charge voltage of my lithium batteries in series). Essentially the same charge controllers can fully utilize 400W, 800W, and 1400W solar arrays instead of 200W, 400W, and 700W solar arrays at the same cost. Since my tow vehicle has 750W on my truck bed rack I needed the extra capacity. But I might have decided differently just to have the result be slightly quieter and less hassle. Hope that helps someone.

BDA123

Yoshi_TAB said:

Hi @BDA123,

Is that a small cooling fan for your compartment?  If so, is it 12V or 110?  What turns it on?

I just installed an inverter in my 320 and it was recommended to have a cooling fan for the inverter compartment.  I bought a small 110V fan that plugs into the inverter that will come on when I turn the inverter on.  Just wondering about your set up.  BTW, nice job.  

Thank you

There are two ways to wire the fan. I have it the simple way right now. The Multiplus has a temp controlled relay that will basically switch on the fan (or anything else at 12-24v) when the battery temp reaches some predetermined temperature. The multiplus comes with a temp probe. I cut two small vents (i think they are 2.5") into the front of the compartment and glued in vents. They look stock. You can see one to the left of the Multiplus in the picture.  For the fan I cut a hole into the floor below the compartment (which requires a lot of care since that compartment has wires and tubes in some parts of it) and allows for heated and cooled air to circulate thru the compartment. The second way to run the fan is with a $10 control board (which uses 12v) which will have its own temperature probe and will allow for variable speeds based on temperature. I will probably put the probe on the Multiplus. I have the control board but haven't installed it yet. The fan control board can run up to 4 different fans so I have considered multiple fans for the battery compartment as well as a fan to the insulated area under the water/waste tanks (from the area under the closet) to help improve heating in the snowy times. But for now my current setup works well.