Hank the Tanks Dodgy battery and solar system

Hi Barry we've got two 110amp lead acid which are 6-7years old with Votronic 350 MPPT and 150 watt solar which is still going strong. If we go on "extended" trips with no hookup I've invested in Ecoflow Delta2 with 220watt bifacial solar, the battery pack lives in the garage and the 240volt output plugs into the garage socket and feeds all the 13amp sockets on board and the solar can be manually adjusted to "follow the sun"!!!
I've noticed in all the diagrams and photo's no fuses are shown/mentioned. If you are installing another battery make sure you fit fuse next to battery terminal/s (to protect the wiring) and also take the positive from one battery to feed your hab side and the negative of the "other" battery to feed your shunt.
Best wishes
 
yeoblade said:
Save your pennies (The Mrs will like that!) add another battery the same as fitted, but I would also consider adding more solar and a decent mppt charger, that'll trickle charge the starter batt when hab batts full. Nearer £300 not 3k. I've been running that for a few years without ever running out of power.
It's too easy to get caught up in the buy this lithium, and that.... bla bla when you don't actually need it.
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Well yes. Mrs D is the one that kept suggesting that we maybe don't need it. :D (Accountant!).

I was all for it but now Im thinking it would be great if I could wire in a cheap solution myself that is boggy basic but does what we want. If it doesnt work out then so be it but if it does, thats pretty much the cost of a new Honda Scooter saved which ill likely need next year anyway.
 
Wightman said:
Hi Barry we've got two 110amp lead acid which are 6-7years old with Votronic 350 MPPT and 150 watt solar which is still going strong. If we go on "extended" trips with no hookup I've invested in Ecoflow Delta2 with 220watt bifacial solar, the battery pack lives in the garage and the 240volt output plugs into the garage socket and feeds all the 13amp sockets on board and the solar can be manually adjusted to "follow the sun"!!!
I've noticed in all the diagrams and photo's no fuses are shown/mentioned. If you are installing another battery make sure you fit fuse next to battery terminal/s (to protect the wiring) and also take the positive from one battery to feed your hab side and the negative of the "other" battery to feed your shunt.
Best wishes
Click to expand...

I thought it was just a case of wiring positive to positive and negative to negative and leave the existing hab wiring and solar wiring which is fused to the first battery. Are you saying there needs to be a fuse between the two batteries?
 
barryd said:
Well yes. Mrs D is the one that kept suggesting that we maybe don't need it. :D (Accountant!).

I was all for it but now Im thinking it would be great if I could wire in a cheap solution myself that is boggy basic but does what we want. If it doesnt work out then so be it but if it does, thats pretty much the cost of a new Honda Scooter saved which ill likely need next year anyway.
Click to expand...
I bought a kit from ecoworthy. 2x 195 w panels total 390w plus pwm controller plus wires plus panel brackets plus cable entry gland for £210. I had a 110 battery got hold of another for free. No inverter but 12v tv etc. By 11 am everyday everything fully charged again. Banging
 
barryd said:
I thought it was just a case of wiring positive to positive and negative to negative and leave the existing hab wiring and solar wiring which is fused to the first battery. Are you saying there needs to be a fuse between the two batteries?
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Yes I would(and have) fitted suitable fuse/s close to the batteries to protect the wiring. You are correct positive battery 1 to positive battery 2 (with suitable fusing) and neg to neg but when you take the feed from say battery 1 pos then take the negative feed from battery 2
Best wishes
 
From what you used to do in the old van Barry I never thought you needed to jump to lithium, I just don't believe folks saying it don't work unless it isn't done right lol

I would be looking at more solar than 100W though but that could be as simple as suitcase/folding panel for the day(s) you don't move.

I certainly wouldn't be spending £3k, I never spent that much on all mine and I bought my lifepo4 5 years ago when prices were higher
 
Horses for courses really so personal choice.

My 2 Trojan Lead/Acid batteries have served me well for years and just 100w solar on top. Now though I want to rely less on gas and so want to use more domestic appliances for cooking, heating Etc. Etc. Yes it's costing a couple of grand+ and no I don't need it, but it's the way I want to go - I could say I don't need the camper but I'd rather have it.

I'm hoping that the new setup will last for several years and that I won't need EHU again.
 
Robmac said:
Horses for courses really so personal choice.

My 2 Trojan Lead/Acid batteries have served me well for years and just 100w solar on top. Now though I want to rely less on gas and so want to use more domestic appliances for cooking, heating Etc. Etc. Yes it's costing a couple of grand+ and no I don't need it, but it's the way I want to go - I could say I don't need the camper but I'd rather have it.

I'm hoping that the new setup will last for several years and that I won't need EHU again.
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Lithium is the way to go I agree. I got very excited about getting it but now I'm just not sure I need it. All we power is two laptops, two smart phones, a very low power 16" TV (1.2 amps) and occasionally a satellite dish. The rest is normal van stuff and the fridge is Gas. LED lights etc. I might live to regret it after it drove me mad last summer but my gut feeling is adding just another battery to the existing system looking at what we will be doing next year at least will be enough. If not, ill think again. Its not like it will cost much to try I guess.
 
Nabsim said:
From what you used to do in the old van Barry I never thought you needed to jump to lithium, I just don't believe folks saying it don't work unless it isn't done right lol

I would be looking at more solar than 100W though but that could be as simple as suitcase/folding panel for the day(s) you don't move.

I certainly wouldn't be spending £3k, I never spent that much on all mine and I bought my lifepo4 5 years ago when prices were higher
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I think I just overdosed on Lithium threads. It all seemed so complicated and it kind of put me off. Various threads saying do it this way do it that way, thats not working because your flux capacitor is the wrong one and shite like that. Im not 100% decided yet and ultimately we will probably go that way but I think ill try my idea first.
 
Unless you want to start using lots of power you shouldn't NEED to. Its so easy to get caught up on the power train though. I don't know anyone with an all electric van who is in the UK who hasn't needed external power source in winter Barry. Not saying they don't exist but none of my mates can do it and I know a couple with 1000W plus solar.
I am talking of 230V power users who full time here though, 1000W would see my junking the genie :)
 
Nabsim said:
Unless you want to start using lots of power you shouldn't NEED to. Its so easy to get caught up on the power train though. I don't know anyone with an all electric van who is in the UK who hasn't needed external power source in winter Barry. Not saying they don't exist but none of my mates can do it and I know a couple with 1000W plus solar.
I am talking of 230V power users who full time here though, 1000W would see my junking the genie :)
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Thats the thing. The six weeks we had in Woolacombe were on Hookup in the back end. Fully serviced pitch with a sea view. I cant remember what the average cost a night was but it was between £11-£16 each week. No brainer. I would have probably still gone for it if we had Lithium. Our new van is fabulous hooked up. Swift certainly know how to make a campsite hopper thats for sure. The main times we will be off grid will be April to September. On our last van we did that indefinitely with 1 x 120ah agm, 1 x 100w panel and a good MPPT controller. This one is just a little more power hungry but not much.
 
barryd said:
I thought it was just a case of wiring positive to positive and negative to negative and leave the existing hab wiring and solar wiring which is fused to the first battery. Are you saying there needs to be a fuse between the two batteries?
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no fuses needed unless the connecting cables are going to rub against or go through a metal bulkhead, however for the cost of them it won't do any harm.
 
I nnever stay away more than one night, i have 2 90ah lead acids votronic regulator 200w solar, all running a 230v fridge with a smart 600w inverter, led lights and a tv which we never watch much, ph charging and some times a 400w plug in heater, again seldom used, but no way would this work in deep winter if staying off grid for more that 2 days max, each van owner must work out his use and sort to there requirements.
If this is way beyond you then book in somewhere LOL.
faulty towers.jpg
 
Pudsey Bear said:
no fuses needed unless the connecting cables are going to rub against or go through a metal bulkhead, however for the cost of them it won't do any harm.
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I agree Kev, to fully achieve the objective of 'protecting the cable' you'd also need a fuse at BOTH ends of the interconnect too😵‍💫!! Not really needed on a foot of cable.
 
I had 100amp fuses on the self build as the two LBs under the driver seat were interconnected with the VB under the floor, massive cable too.

Actually, they may have been 400amp fuse, it's a while ago, cable was 25mm2
 
Here's my thoughts Barry.
As campers go your use of 12v is pretty low and as you've come to realise you can manage without going for a huge lithium based setup. Having said that you've realised that you need more than 100Ah of storage to get you through those days with low/no sun, so 200Ah would probably be sufficient so adding another battery and then adding more solar IF needed makes sense on the face of it. Your problem is going to be when your batteries are a couple of years old and the capacity has faded to say 65% because at that point your 2 batteries are now only capable of storing little more than a single battery when it was new (like the one you're using at the moment) so you'll be struggling for capacity once again and therefore you'll be looking at replacing them quite regularly.
For a little more initial outlay you could buy 2 lithium off Amazon for just £170 each and just drop them in. Check the alternator charging current with a £20 DC clamp meter and if it's stupid high or stupid low (I doubt if it will be) then add a cheap B2B for £120 Inc cables.
You've now got a system that will effectively pay for it's self in just a few by years because you won't be swapping the batteries out every few years and will be upgradable with MPPT/ extra panels etc just like your LA system would have been.
Personally I'd upgrade to an MPPT anyway, it'll give you around 20-25% more solar and is a simple swap. There's loads of peeps swapping out their old MPPTs for larger ones as they install their mega lithium setups so you could pick up a cheap second hand MPPT with enough spare capacity for you to increase your solar in the future.
Lithium is now so cheap I really can't see the sense in buying and replacing Lead acid every few years.
 
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