8. Lithium Upgrade - Connecting it all up - wiring schematic - Campervan tech Vlog

[@DABroke]

Wow. A very impressive, clear and well constructed presentation. Thank you. Though not formally electrically trained myself it did actually make sense to me! Thank you.

[@LeisureBit]

Thanks David, really appreciate the comment and pleased it was helpful and came across ok. All the best, David

[@BourkeBlogs]

Hi David. Thanks for producing this series of videos. I’ve found them really useful and extremely good content about the Lithium set up.

[@LeisureBit]

Thank you - really appreciate the comment and pleased they are useful - all the best, David 👍

[@Wizardinthewild]

Nicely done and explained David. Very similar to mine although I never used Buss bars. Wish I had now. Nice to work with a single Lithium. As you know I used x2. Great job. 👏. Thanks for the overview. All makes sense to me 🙏👍

[@LeisureBit]

Thanks for your help Graham with the inverter recommendation as it seems spot on and the 1 or 2 battery conversation at Hoddom it was really helpful too - all the best, David 👍

[@colinwade7005]

Very good video David. We would like that system ourselves.

[@LeisureBit]

I’m really pleased with the majority of it so far - and it takes the worries away on running down the standard batteries (I think I’m still scarred from damaging the Motorhome we had some years backs battery) - plenty of spare capacity - I go through coats on next weeks video for ref of each of the components and work out £/ah comparison over the life of the battery - all the best, David 👍

[@tylerstravels0610]

Excellent series of videos David, will be looking at doing some changes to our van when we get used to it and know what we are doing :-)

[@LeisureBit]

I find it all part of the fun and it’s making it yours and adding things or changing things to get the most from it - not long for you now bet you can’t wait - thank you for your support and encouragement- all the best David 👍

[@pivotalpimp]

Great explanations!

[@LeisureBit]

Thank you 🙏

[@huongtoituonglai24]

Hello my friend amazing video and good sharing stay connected 💖

[@LeisureBit]

Thank you - really appreciate the comment - all the best, David 👍

[@SimonHersom]

Should there not be a pair of cables running from the Schaudt dc:dc charger to the new battery?

[@LeisureBit]

The dc to dc was already installed and the connections back feed into the Elddis BCA unit so I left these as they were. If you were installing a DC to DC then absolutely you would have a connection but in this case it feeds through the CV electrics connection via the Elddis distribution unit.

[@SimonHersom]

I’d not come across American Wire Gauges before. Round here everyone stocks metric sizes

[@LeisureBit]

Sorry about that I should have included both and metric as standard. 70mm2 for inverter related wiring and 25mm2 for the rest is a good option, you can go to 16mm2 (and lower on some circuits)

[@Richard-r9i]

Very informative David thanks for your videos fantastic

[@LeisureBit]

You are welcome - hope it helps David & Rachel

[@lucianbuzatu4602]

Hello, thanks for the video, verry informative! Can you please give more details regarding Victron IP22 Charger power consumption and time of charging for a full battery charge. Thank you, Lucian

[@LeisureBit]

Hello, thanks for the message - the output of the one I’ve used is 30A (it can be reduced in the settings) so if you had a 300ah lithium battery would take 10 hours (or so to allow for inefficiency) to charge that size battery. I believe it’s about 90% efficient. Hope that helps, David 👍

[@lucianbuzatu4602]

Hello@@LeisureBit, I was referring at charger 230V power consumption, so at 30A/12V will be around 360w-400w/230v for 10hours from the grid. Is that correct?

[@LeisureBit]

@@lucianbuzatu4602 Let me measure it to check and report back

[@reejasp]

I have decided to go to lithium after seeing all your videos a few times, I hope they sponsor you in the future ;) At the moment I will buy the charger and the lithium battery to be added to the MPPT I already own. I was thinking to go to 320 Ah battery as I don't plan to go offgrid for more than 3 days. I think that should be more than enough to power heating and laptops, phones, etc

[@LeisureBit]

Great stuff - I’m sure 320ah will be more than adequate for a few days off grid - good luck with the install - hope all goes well - I’m sure you will be delighted with it when it’s done - all the best, David 👍

[@reejasp]

@@LeisureBit One question, in the diagram, where you put the connection of the positive to the SmartShunt, after the 1Amp fuse you indicate it as negative to the bar bus, but as I understand, after the 1 Amp fuse it should go directly connected to the positive of the SmartShunt, correct?

[@LeisureBit]

The positive from the smart shunt is connected via a fuse to the positive bus bar, the negative for the shut comes from the main negative feed if that makes sense (which gives it the + and - to power it up) In the diagram to avoid having a red wire right across it’s implied from the fuse box if that makes sense and it just shows negative in and negative out on the smart shunt but the + red wire connects to it via the fuse 👍

[@LeisureBit]

@@reejasp worth also noting I did away with the high power breakers as they weren’t up to the job (there’s an update video if you are planning on installing an inverter for ref where I replaced them with fuses for additional safety)

[@reejasp]

@@LeisureBit I have that in mind, at the moment I will work in the battery and connectors and install the inverter in the next months. Do you know how can I identify the connectors in the camper? I see blue/white coming from the solar panel, another connector red and black covered and one connector red and grey that in my case is not connected to any place.

[@smedheads6676]

Hi David I was hoping you could help I have everything wired up with the same equipment that you have and I am getting power to everything but the grey elddis distribution box. I have put the multimeter on it has power going down the cable to it but nothing is working on the distribution box so nothing is getting to the rest of the van. Do you have any ideas I am really stuck. Many thanks Andy

[@LeisureBit]

Hi Andy, there’s a cable which is reasonably thick which I connected via the 30a breaker, that was the feed back to the main box and was originally connected to the battery - be worth checking the breaker and making sure when off the feed stops, and goes back on when switched on where you’re testing it but sounds like you’re getting power down? If you measure at the fuse box part of the Elddis box, are you getting any voltage there or is there no power at that point? Worth checking that the negatives connected well also especially on that lead which feeds to the PDU. let me know what you find with that..

[@smedheads6676]

Thanks for the reply David, I know this sounds like a daft question how do I check a voltage on the fuse on the PDU? Do I remove 1 of the fuses set my multimeter to 20v and put the red positive where the fuse was but where do I put the common probe of the multimeter? Many thanks for the help, Andy

[@LeisureBit]

Hi Andy, if you can connect a wire to the negative of the battery or your bus bar or even an earth point to the common or - terminal on your multi meter on the 20v DC range and then if you use the probe in the + or voltage input of your multimeter, you can probably test without removing the fuse as on mine the contact on the fuse had some exposed part of the fuse terminal on the back and the probe of the multimeter worked to check it, if that doesn’t work, then removing a fuse to make connection would work too - let me know the reading you get

[@LeisureBit]

Hi Andy, I’m out in the morning but if you are still haven’t sussed it by tomorrow afternoon, drop me an email (feedback @ LeisureBit . Co . Uk ) removing the spaces so it’s a valid email address, with a couple of picture of how it’s connected and we can try and figure it out. All the best, David 👍

[@smedheads6676]

Many many thanks David I really appreciate it!!! I will give a few things a go in the morning and see if I can track it. Once again thank you so much as it is a bit of a worry after putting a lot of time and money into it.

[@cartes5996]

Hi David just wondering where did you connect the power lead for the smart shunt to.. was it to the battery itself or the isolation switch.

[@LeisureBit]

Do you mean the 12v input for it? If so, it's connected to the fuse box via a fuse which feeds from the isolator. Hope that makes sense. All the best, David 👍

[@MotorhomeDIY]

Did you ever make a video on the Victron settings you chose for the Roamer ? I too have this battery but I have many issues with it and the bms built in not following current at the moment they have fixed it again but it’s happened twice now. if you dive into the bms app and go to details you will see the cells if balanced Check the bms against the smart shunt I also am trying to get the shunt to synchronise but the roamer which is 300ah in the parameters keeps changing on its own so instead of showing 300 ah shows 298.5ah that’s another to check for so on the soc it gets stuck at 297ah which puts the smart shunt out 🤷‍♂️

[@LeisureBit]

Will have a look at mine tomorrow - I used the Lithium setting which seems to have been ok and planned to have a closer look (just haven’t got round to it as all was working to the best of my knowledge) I did have a wierdness where the Roamer BMS reported 80odd percent full when it was fully charged and just waiting for a response on that (as it sorted its self out and was full)

[@Anthonya54]

Hi David, great summary of your setup. What did you use to create the wiring diagram and where did you get the device images from. I want to document my design for planning and future reference.

[@LeisureBit]

Hi, for those I used PowerPoint for the diagrams but have been using draw.io more recently. The images were from the manufacturers where available or from Google Images or where I purchased ‘snipped’ in. Hope that helps, David 👍

[@JAllan-o7i]

Hi. Did you also use 2x 0awg gauge wires for the negative side of the battery and negative side of the inverter? Back to the shunt

[@LeisureBit]

I used 70mm2 in the latest update for all wires to the inverter with the exception of the battery - to the shunt which is 50mm2 (as already had that it’s a short length and when I updated the cabling and did heat checks at load it was fine). The campervan distribution feed is 16mm2 fused at 50A. Hope that helps, David 👍

[@JAllan-o7i]

@@LeisureBit thanks for that. Isn't 70mm cable = 0 A awg which will handle about 150amps from the inverter, is this correct?

[@LeisureBit]

Should be 485A at 70mm2 - think it’s 2/0 or 3/0 in AWG

[@garybennett900]

where in the diagram does the Finder Plug In Power Relay fit, great videos, tnx

[@LeisureBit]

Will cover that one off on the mains bit - I was concerned incase folks who didn’t know what they were doing messed about with mains and did something daft but will cover it off to explain how it all works etc. would that help? All the best, David 👍

[@garybennett900]

@@LeisureBit yes pls, I use the diagrams like a flow chart, and getting the plugs to work off both mains and inverter is what SWMBO wants

[@pjgwiltshire]

Congratulations in producing a great series of videos around the complete installation. From your clear instructions you have got me ready to bite the bullet and upgrade to lithium. In the past I have paid for various upgrades on the power set up, B2B and Solar. I have been quoted loads of money in labour but with this guidance I have full confidence to swop out my two 90amp Gels to a 150 amp Lithium. I note you installed a Victron 30Amp charger for your 460 Amp Battery. Now my research states one should fit a charger at 30% of the battery, so 150amp battery a 45 amp rated charger, so 50amp Victon. Do you have any thoughts on this rating

[@LeisureBit]

Thank you - appreciated. With regard to the charger, at the time the 30A one was in my price range and size wise it fitted really well - you’re right, ideally around 150-175A would be ideal but the cost and size were prohibitive - I’ve found the 30A great for my needs all be it would take nearly a day to fully charge the battery. Hope that makes sense. Thanks again, and good luck with your install - all the best, David 👍

[@pjgwiltshire]

@@LeisureBit Yes if you think about it. Even if you just spent one night on EHU 10 hours would put 300 amp back in the battery. The chances of the battery being below 50% would be remote especially if you have B2B as well. I have a B2B so thinking along the same lines 12 hours on EHU with a 150Amp battery charged by 30Amp will be more than enough. Thanks for the info

[@rorymax8233]

Why is the Victron IP22 connected to the Sterling Power Module?

[@LeisureBit]

Simply to save money on cable runs as was a foot away between the charger and the battery maintainer so saved running a couple more metres of cable as the IP22 connects back to the leisure battery so same destination. Hope that makes sense, all the best, David 👍

[@sccobyste]

Hi David I will email you my design and see what you think as it’s on my bench ready to do similar but I’ve made my own bus bar system and integrated fuses might work might not :)

[@LeisureBit]

Cool no worries 👍

[@edwardvickers5506]

Doing the same upgrades at the moment. Sorry if i missed this but how did your van charge your L Battery originally,was it a split charge relay or a B2B charger?

[@LeisureBit]

Hi Edward, The van came with a b2b charger as it’s an automatic with start- stop so I used that one, I think a lot are fitted with split charge relay so would need changing to b2b if one of fitted. All the best, David 👍

[@edwardvickers5506]

@@LeisureBit Thanks,its good it come with a B2B fitted. Your installation looks neat and professional. Is there a reason why there is no chassis negative connection at the negative busbar on the drawing Ed

[@LeisureBit]

@@edwardvickers5506 Thank you, appreciate the comment - no reason, it’s missing from the diagram, sorry about that. All the best, David 👍

[@Ric_Crawford]

Once we get our CV40 I will be pretty much following these videos and wiring diagrams to fit the exact products. I’m just curious - as the Roamer batteries have built in Bluetooth what benefit does the smart shunt give you?

[@LeisureBit]

Thanks for the comment, really great question. If you just want in the moment measurement the Roamer BMS will suffice and no need for the SmartShunt. This history of consumption is handy from it and it forms part of the Victron network and gives the charger and solar controller an at the battery voltage measure. I had already purchased it, if I had nothing and was going to buy set up again, if I wanted to save £100 it’s a good one to skip. I love the setup, one point to note, make sure you get sufficiently rated cables for the battery to inverter, I found the original ones I used weren’t as good as advertised at top end so ran warm, also I’m adding a fuse and rotary isolator to the inverter rather than the two breakers following feedback on them from other channels sometimes being a bit iffy at tripping. All the best, David

[@CristopherOganga]

21:11

[@peterwebb1026]

Morning David, me again! Can I ask what app you use to make your cct diagrams?

[@LeisureBit]

Hi Peter either Draw.IO or PowerPoint normally (if it’s complex I use DrawIO, for simpler just in PowerPoint 😀

[@Anthonya54]

Hi David, Another question. Did you crimp the terminals yourself on the battery cables or did you get them made up for you. If so what crimping tool did you use.

[@LeisureBit]

Most of them I crimped myself with a handheld hydraulic crimp which I got from Amazon for about £35. The 70mm2 inverter cables came pre terminated. Hope that helps 👍

[@Anthonya54]

@@LeisureBit I've been looking at this type and considering investing in one. Wasn't sure whether they were up to the job. How did you find the one you had and do you know the make.

[@LeisureBit]

@@Anthonya54 I’ve found it works well, takes a bit of practice on holding it right when crimping as it feels ‘wrong handed’ to me but does a good job and plenty of power. The one I got, if you search Amazon for ‘hydraulic crimping tool’ it’s the HSeamall one (the yellow one £37.99 but the one £1 cheaper looks the same.

[@martinsydenham5835]

I've found that hydraulic crimpers are imperfectly sized for terminal/cable combinations and have had a couple of 70mm2 crimps which came apart when stressed, so now I just use a cheap hammer crimper which makes a perfect joint every time - rather crude but very effective.

[@amacmedia3221]

Any reason you went for the 3 outputs rather than the 1 with the Victron IP22 power charger?

[@LeisureBit]

I got the one with the single output- I considered the multiple but decided with having a single battery to go with the single. All the best, David 👍

[@amacmedia3221]

@@LeisureBit many thanks. Is the Orion-Tr Smart 12 12-30 recommended as I was thinking about the 12 12-18 for our fiat auto trail motorhome?

[@LeisureBit]

It’s the 12-30A one I went for as thought it would help if off grid for some time then stopping at a campsite to give that extra energy to top up the battery when hooked up - thought it was with the little bit extra. All the best, David 👍

[@amacmedia3221]

@@LeisureBit many thanks David