My first Q & A on Van & RV Power Systems

➜ Get the Ultimate Van Power Cheat Sheet: www.rosslukeman.com/vanpower
Chapters:
0:00 Introduction
0:39 Trickle charge van engine battery while parked [Q1 Carol]
4:28 12V air conditioners vs 120V air conditioners [Q2 Deon]
7:54 Using other batteries with Victron equipment [Q3 Mike]
11:24 Differences between van and trailer power systems [Q4 Dakota]
13:26 12-volt system versus Solar Generator for off-grid [Q5 Richard]
16:56 Would winch cable's fuse blow before starting fire [Q6 Damien]
19:11 Where to have fuses and disconnects in power system [Q7 Mark]
21:15 Why not make RV electrical as simple as possible [Q8 Knut]
22:55 How to program Victron 100A Buck Boost [Q9 Dave V]
24:13 Why tank sensors all suddenly show 100% full [Q10 Jeff]
25:41 Why don't you add motorhomes to your DIY videos [Q11 Larry]
27:46 Do you plan to have videos on 50-amp systems [Q12 Ed]
29:45 Best way to advertise and sell my ProMaster [Q13 Jerry]
30:19 System not grounded while on battery power [Q14 David]
31:33 Victron monitoring needed with Bluetti + propane generator? [Q15 Rick]
34:20 Replace batts with lithium or wait for price/dependability to improve [Q16 Jan]
37:03 What are unique, spectacular views you've seen from your van [Q17 Bruce]
39:40 Battery state of charge drops to zero after connected to shore power [Q18 David]
40:22 Where to plug in the remote start button [Q19 Kenny]
41:03 How to find 3-amp drain, favorite connectors and tools [Q20 Alex]
43:18 Simple conversion from lead-acid to lithium? Perks beyond weight [Q21 David]
45:02 Pick up engine batt voltage on SmartShunt via Orion IN cable [Q22 Dan]
46:37 Preferred wire connectors? Value in soldering large connectors? [Q23 Mick]
48:21 Inverter AC Output Earth - mix with 12VDC negative or separate? [Q24 Robert]
49:24 Why did you get into van living and are you still living in your van? [Q25 Keith]
51:14 Connect batteries and solar panels in series or parallel? [Q26 Fabio]
54:49 At what point to change from 12V to 24V and 48V systems [Q27 Duane]
57:47 Type of wiring needed for DC to DC charging [Q28 Nikolay]
58:21 Wiring two 12V batteries with Watts247 balancer and SmartShunt [Q29 Dan S]
59:38 Can solar controller handle 24v panels with 12v batteries? [Q30 Michael]
1:00:44 If and how to ground batteries to chassis when using shunt [Q31 Anonymous]
1:01:26 How and where to wire in 12V fridge [Q32 Anonymous]
1:01:51 Why run DC negatives to fuse block instead of chassis [Q33 Tom]
1:04:10 Simple system without solar but always shore power [Q34 Eric]
1:06:04 How to get advanced Victron training [Q35 Jay]
1:07:24 SmartShunt not showing on app, batt % not on Cerbo GX [Q36 Russell]
1:08:58 Cost effective and safe setup for Sprinter alternator charging [Q37 Colten]
1:11:36 How to charge engine batt from rear system & check voltage [Q38-1 Edwin]
1:13:14 Controlling water, heat, ventilation, etc. from Victron system [Q38-2 Edwin]
1:14:47 Tips for safe and fun travel with cats [Q39 Susan]
1:16:16 MultiPlus II keeps having state of charge reset to 100% [Q40 Bob]
1:18:21 What components needed to charge from shore power? [Q41 Laura]
1:20:41 Setting up the Victron SmartShunt for lithium batteries [Q42 Russ]
1:21:50 Using lithium batteries in below zero weather [Q43 Ted]
1:23:52 Fuses vs breakers for different applications [Q44 James]
1:27:42 Smart alternators drop voltage, stopping DC to DC charging? [Q45 Jeff]
1:29:14 Do I need an MPPT charger if I don't have permanent solar panels [Q46 Rob]
1:31:50 Top things to do with van system always connected to internet? [Q47 Rob]
1:34:14 Any concerns with non-permanent solar panels? [Q48 Rob]
1:35:24 Future charging of power systems from EV charging stations [Q49 John]
1:38:54 Ross, what got you interested in van conversions? [Q50 Rick]
1:40:08 Solar array wiring for 6 panels on bus/RV [Q51 Ole Johnny]
1:43:28 Fuse block vs breaker panel for 12V power, keep solar off breaker panel? [Q52 Greg]
1:47:12 Best way to purify water on the road [Q53 Carole]

[@rosslukeman]

Get the Ultimate Van Power Cheat Sheet: www.rosslukeman.com/vanpower

[@Dave_Simmons]

When you're plugged into shore power, ensure there is a good earth ground. I have experienced a trailer that didn't have a good ground. It's not a pleasant experience.

[@Russell_Squires]

Thankyou Ross Excellent information on all subjects 👏 Every days a school day my friend and your a pleasure to receive the education from Russ UK 🇬🇧

[@rosslukeman]

Thank you for the kind words Russ, and thanks for the question as well! I agree, we can never stop learning.

[@thepdc6220]

I’m in agreement on the older rv comment. There’s a ton of us with roadtreks who are spending a load to upgrade them to modernize the systems. It’d be nice to find a way to “professionally” tie into existing systems without doing bandaid hacks. I think the victron lynx might be the ideal patch for this. My issue currently is adding the battery to battery charger and figuring out what to do about the isolator that’s there when doing my battleborns.

[@rosslukeman]

Thanks for tuning in, and I am definitely seeing a lot of people upgrade these older RV's. It's a bit of forensics to see what to leave and what to remove from these old systems. Perhaps a Lynx Distributor would help in some of them as you said. On the DC-DC charger, sometimes I have run it through the continuous duty solenoid, but some of those are just for emergency starting the engine, which the DC-DC charger won't allow (it won't flow backwards to the engine battery), so in that case sometimes you just bypass the isolator, as its no longer going to do the job it was installed for. Hope that sheds some light on it!

[@billcoleman7316]

Thank you so much for this Q & A video, it was great and I learned a few things along the way.

[@rosslukeman]

Thanks for checking out the Q&A Bill, great to hear you found it useful!

[@user-mk4yk3rz2v]

wonderful long video Ross. thanks a lot.

[@rosslukeman]

Thank you Ton! I'm glad you got something out of that. It was a marathon for sure!

[@krackour]

just sat down and watched whole video. I appreciate that you made the time do such a video.

[@rosslukeman]

Thanks Gary, I appreciate you tuning in!

[@5VABrowns]

Well done Ross. Thanks for sharing.

[@rosslukeman]

Thanks Tom.

[@y4buckingbulls485]

You talk about Victron so much because they are really good. Victron and Mastervolt are probably the best on the market. Most everything is from the Marine world

[@skinnysim]

seems like an advert for them

[@kmgates]

Amazing Q&A…thanks!

[@rosslukeman]

Thanks Kevin!

[@jdawes4403]

Thanks Luke, I appreciate the input !

[@rosslukeman]

Thanks for watching/sending your question. I'm glad that was helpful! Which question were you?

[@jdawes4403]

The advanced victron training - I have an account setup with victron online learning and have watched all their videos and often visit the forum - I’d like to get victron certified

[@rosslukeman]

@@jdawes4403 Sounds good, I figured later on that those were the videos you were referring to. That is some excellent training. Victron certified sounds good. Perhaps just unboxing and installing more and more items and playing around with them would be good. That is sort of what I do. Maybe start with your most popular selling products.

[@jdawes4403]

@@rosslukeman what do you know about Ford Transit’s with dual battery and dual alternator ? My victron B2b seems to not work well with the “smart charging” of the transit.

[@CruiseNComfortUSA]

Great information!!❄❄❄❄❄

[@rosslukeman]

Thanks!

[@OutTheWindow6]

Stumbled across your channel while researching DIY battery system upgrades and have been consuming your videos non-stop, so thank you for all the great content. Quick question; does the Victron SmartShunt become obsolete if using the Smart DC-DC Converter since it now has Bluetooth capability and allows you to monitor the LiFePO4 battery with what I believe is all the same functionality that that shunt would get you. I'm planning to add one LiFePO4 battery to my boat which just has the stock 20A starter battery. Will use the DC-DC Smart converter to allow the boat's stator to charge the LiFePO4 when underway. Thanks agian!

[@danieljanssen5592]

Thanks!

[@rosslukeman]

Thanks Daniel!

[@Donna-hs7qm]

Why can't you disconnect the main battery using copper blade switches. Years ago that worked fine for me. My aux batteries were starting/deep cycle and easily started the 5.9 Dodge V8, from under the floor below right side cargo doors.

[@danieljanssen5592]

Thanks for answering my question, I looked to buy you a coffee but no links, maybe something you should add.

[@rosslukeman]

Hi Daniel, I try to keep the links minimal, but I did just add a "Super Thanks" option next to the "Like" button based on your suggestion. Thanks for the question and for tuning in!

[@davidpatrick1813]

Comment: Regarding soldering wire ends or not. In some of my technical background I learned that electrons do not travel on the inside of the wire but on the outside surfaces. So the multi strand will carry more current etc. ... Soldering it converters the surface to the just outside of the whole soldered unit. That being said, I don't know if AC or DC makes a difference and or if the connector will choke down the flow if it is coming in on all the wires and suddenly hits solid solder. The crimp very tightly made would still have all surfaces to travel but less air pockets and rid of "looseness" . On automotive batteries, I use acid grease neutralizer between the cable and post. The metal to metal contact is good and airgaps leaves no air for acid. Torqueing the lithium connections is really an important tool.

[@rosslukeman]

Hi David, interesting insights, thanks for adding to the conversation on this...

[@JohnBCN]

I think the electrons flowing on the surface of a conductor is a property of (high frequency) AC and not an issue with DC, where the whole bulk of the conductor is used.

[@danielmcquarter9376]

Hello Ross great channel learning alot from it, question i have two LifeP04 battery's they have BMS, i mistakenly ordered one with 100amp BMS and one with 200amp BMS can i install and use this in my rv or would this be a problem? Dan

[@rosslukeman]

Hi Dan, thanks for checking out my channel. The batteries should work up to 200 amps, or 2560 watts if they're 12.8 volt batteries (2560W = 200A x 12.8V). They will share the amperage output up to 200, at which point the first battery will shut down (when it hits 100A), all 200 amps will be pulled from the remaining battery alone, until it shuts down itself. If you don't need more than 200 amps at one time then it should work fine.

[@billcoleman7316]

Hi there and don't laugh, I just put a solar system in my motor home which is 44 years old now. LOL

[@rosslukeman]

Hey Bill, that works, I guess if you need it you need it!

[@PwningGerZ]

I don’t agree with the 110v ac. You can install an inverter type mini split pioneer ac 110v. Inverter type ac cool faster and efficiently than any 12v ac in the market. They don’t consume 1500w of power all the time, they settle to 400w once the area is cool. The only downside is you have to install it outside a van with support so have to make or hire somebody to do that.

[@rosslukeman]

Thank you for weighing in on this. I would just say be careful putting odd appliances on the outside of your van mainly in regards to resale value. If it looks like a science project then it will be hard to sell. Other than that thanks for making the electrical comparison with the mini split a/c's.

[@Jack-oi8pc]

Ross In reference to the Muiltiplus 3000VA/12v trickle charge. Victon offers very little information. I have mine connected via a manual switch. Should I be concerned about a backfeed from the chassis' battery damaging the inverter? Should I consider using a diode to prevent the backed. Thank you

[@rosslukeman]

Hi Jack, no there is probably a diode in there so the MultiPlus does not drain the engine battery (as it would be a bridge point to feed the rear batteries from the engine battery). In any case, the MultiPlus is electrified with 12VDC power at all times, getting power from the engine battery (if that was possible) would not hurt it.

[@stevennijweide5326]

So, how do I wire the trickle charger and the Orion up. Should the trickle start stop when the Orion is running to prevent some kind of loop, or can I leave the trickle charge feed on at all times?

[@andrewburns7839]

Muiltiplus 3000VA/12v has a 12v trickle charger built in. Why not use this?

[@rosslukeman]

Hi Andrew, great point. I've used that in one van installation. It was great but did appear to create a small constant drain on the rear batteries, even if shore power was not plugged in. I will look to double-check on that. Thanks for weighing in.

[@andrewburns7839]

@@rosslukeman Done in few Caravans and Boats a few times often they have built-in Genset that is run a bit more often. No problems yet to speak of. Also seen Smart DCDC charging the Crank battery, Large Alternator wired directly to Lithium bank to charge it first. Only on sailboats but! Seem to work well.