Victron Orion DC to DC Charger Install (30A Charge From Driving!) | Transit Van Conversion E35

[@SelfBuiltStories]

All the different bits of kit and products we used in the video should be linked in the description, thanks for watching! 🙂

[@sigma6725]

ALWAYS IN SUPPORT WITH YOU. ...👍❤

[@SelfBuiltStories]

@@sigma6725 thank you 🙂👍

[@klatlap]

Using a solar charger and a separate dc to dc charger would be similar to using a Enerdrive 12V 40A+ DC2DC ePower Charger/MPPT (DC-DC) except your system can charge from both sources at the same time.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

​@@klatlap Some of the combined units do look quite nice but they wouldn't work for our setup as the maximum PV input voltage of them is lower, so that Enerdrive for example can only take up to 45V which would mean we'd have to switch to parallel wired panels over series which we wouldn't want. But like you said we also benefit from a higher charging rate and having redundancy so we can still charge if one fails and we're in the middle of nowhere. Great to have all the different options these days though! 👍

[@Murray_23]

I started to watch this video and after about 30 seconds I’m sorry I had to stop! I stopped because I went to the start of your playlist and have watch the whole van build! And now I’m back where I started. Great build!

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Haha, you got us in the first half 😅 thank you very much and hope you enjoyed them all 😀

[@rvvanlife]

You have a gift of explaining all of this in easy to understand ways

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Cheers, glad you think so 🙂👍

[@SmithyScotland]

Thank you for taking the time to show us what you were doing, how you were doing it, and why you are doing it in a certain way. Very useful.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

You're welcome, glad it was useful 🙂

[@scopex2749]

Ive just bought a Renogy DC-DC as I couldnt charge my lithiums as im early in my camper build and dont have EV panels yet. I have bought a split charger only to find out DO NOT charge LiPos from a split charger without very strict voltage control that the DC-DC gives you! WOW your alternator is SO EASY to get to! On the VW transporter it is s DIRECT DRIVE from the engine on the front right down the bottom! Direct drive is great as no belts braking but to change one it the WHOLE FRONT off SO Ive changed mine already to be safe it was on the way out!

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Yeah lithium is a bit more needy but works out great when it's all setup. And haha ouch, will remember that if we ever have to replace ours then 😀

[@Justablokeonaboat]

Your attention to detail is fantastic

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Thank you 🙂👍

[@outthere9370]

Well done! I do like yr relaxed demeanor combined with yr technical abilities.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Thank you! 🙂

[@rvtechman3619]

Tremendous video! A wealth of knowledge. Here in Texas, I’m researching how to convert my Class C motorhome built on a 2020 Ford Transit 350HD to lithium, I will need to add a DC to DC charger to limit the current so that Ford fuses are not blown or alternator damaged. I have done extensive studying and your video does the best job that I have seen appropriate to my application. On a separate note, my motorhome was originally wired incorrectly, and the 60amp Ford fuse under the driver’s seat blew several times before leaving the dealer. It was eventually fixed by the manufacturer, Tiffin.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Thanks a lot! And that sounds like a bit of a pain, not the best design from Ford to put the fuses inaccessible under the seat...! Good luck with your build 🙂

[@132435465768798030]

I really enjoy the patient; methodical approach you take to the work you do. I'm working on a 12v system for my own (Much smaller) campervan conversion and feel inspired watching how tidy the electrical work is here. Great job done by the both of you, Cheers

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Thank you, and good luck with your build too! 😊

[@milanmicka2580]

You have the most beautiful remodeling videos, you do it precisely, you are very kind and beautiful people, good luck!

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Thank you very much! 😊 And glad you like the videos!

[@andreasfunke6156]

Thank You guy for showing Your van built. You certainly do a better job than most dedicated craftsmen. Yet I have two remarks to make: 10:06 Your Orion offers the possibility to achieve a fully isolated setup when requierd. You use it in a non isolated configuration by connecting both negatives with the chassis of the vehicle. The more straight forward way to do this, would be a short bridge between the two negatives of the Orion in addition to the connection with the Lynx negative bar, which is very generously connectetd with the chassis of Your car. The black cable to the frontseat with it's extra resistance then becomes redundant. 25:15 Deviding the two currents (30A/34A) to obtain the efficiancy of the Orion is only valid as long as input and output voltages are equal, which might not necessarily be the case.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Cheers :) Yeah that is true we could have also joined both the negatives together and then just made the one connection to the lynx. We actually tested it that way briefly but surprisingly found it was less efficient than using the wires direct to the battery and as we already had the wires there we figured we might as well use them. But we also like having the dedicated wires too so we can test each one easily with the clamp meter as we find it easier to reason about what the system is doing. In the future if we ever wanted to add a second dc-dc charger we could rewire it pretty easily to free up that extra cable too. And yeah good point about the calculation, the voltages were pretty close to give a decent ball park figure but you're right that might not always be the case. Thanks for the comment 🙂

[@MrAdam100576]

Great (and helpful) video! Thanks for sharing all of the details...from crimping to amp measuring to fuses and all!!! Keep it up.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

No problem! We like to share all the details as we often couldn't find them when we were researching everything, so glad they're helpful 🙂

[@fredricnor8513]

As a professional I just need to say am proud of your work. Love the detail on the crimping and cable management. Just a tip, the crimping tool should have an adjustment so it’s more correct pressure at the crimp. Save a lot on your hands and the tool itself. Only hassle if you need to adjust a lot if you use different cable sizes. Another tip is for cable fasteners, instead of nail all the cable it could be an idea to use like a “cable management» like we use in industrial cabinets. If a cable needs to be replaced or others it’s easy. Am thinking about the type that have like ribs on the side. So you can basically pull out a cable for every inch or cm. And please use a fire alarm also near the heavy electric place and battery place. Very nice with the fire alarm with connection between. Also if it’s lead acid batteries remember to have ventilation to outside so no gases from charging build up. Keep safe.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Cheers, glad you think so! And all good tips, thanks. The only place the wire is pinned is on the board and along the garage wall, everywhere else it's routed through conduit. They're lithium batteries so we don't have the issue with off-gassing, but we do have a smoke/co alarm and fire extinguisher nearby as well 👍

[@fredricnor8513]

@@SelfBuiltStories remember all electronic that get little heat can produce some gases or fumes. Also the lithium is nasty when/if burning🤣. Keep up the good work.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

@@fredricnor8513 Thank you 🙂🙏

[@Sonofsun001]

Thanks, I am about to install the same device to a smart alternator and thought I needed to connect the extra wire you talk about to let the charger know the engine isn't running. Very informative series.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Thanks! And yeah our orion is working great without the dedicated wire and the built in engine shutdown detection. It sounds like for some others with different vans they've had more difficulty having that consistently work, so probably worth just testing it in your own setup and seeing how it performs 👍

[@ou4290]

Great video! I'm actually using your experience to help build my daughters camper van using the DC-DC charger and lifepo4 battery, this helps a lot thanks!

[@SelfBuiltStories]

You're welcome, hope the build is going well she has some great adventures with it 😊

[@sigma6725]

DEAR TIM AND ABI 💑. ... YOU BOTH ARE MADE FOR EACH OTHER. ..KEEP IT UP. ...👍❤

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Thank you 😊♥️

[@sigma6725]

@@SelfBuiltStories 👤 KEEP IT UP ON REGULAR BASIS. ...👍❤

[@SelfBuiltStories]

👍👍

[@sigma6725]

@@SelfBuiltStories DEAR TIM AND ABI ..💑... ARE YOU MARRIED OR LIVE IN RELATIONSHIP. ...? PLEASE REPLY

[@SelfBuiltStories]

@@sigma6725 We have been together a long time and had our wedding last year 😊

[@gonefilming2020]

Uh oh. Nailing cable clamps in your otherwise so meticulously built van - that hurt. I will now need to seek psychological support. 🙈🥴🤣 On the brighter side, I do love the vice / hammer crimper - got one of those way back and would not want to miss it. I still need to get one of those Amp-Clamps - very handy to have. The DC/DC Charger looks right @ home and will give you some added autarchy. 👍 Nice job & video, you two. Stay safe! 🚐☁🍀

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Haha, we thought they looked quite neat with the little charging arrows! Don't you think? Thought it was nicer with the multicolours than a piece of black tube! Yeah the amp clamp is so handy, it was on our nice to have list for a while but actually after getting it, realised it's going to be so useful to have around. Have been using it to check that the figures from the shunt and the batteries (via the bluetooth app) look normal, checking the solar cables and stuff. Very cool gadget! Thanks for watching 🙂

[@JackFalltrades]

Nice to see you again! 😊

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Thanks! 😊

[@danfraser107]

Great video! Thanks for taking the time to share it.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

You're welcome, thanks for watching it 🙂 Cheers! 👍

[@wrxs1781]

This is a great video, van camper series and hope to see more in the future. Also after your first excursion an update on what you would change or add to the build. We are still suffering a Canadian winter and it is snowing outside.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Cheers! Glad you think so, and yeah that would make a good topic for a video down the road 🙂 we've taken it out a bit already but it's waiting for the real test 😀

[@tonycooper6528]

Great video explanation in everything you do is brilliant 😊 keep the videos coming

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Thank you! Will do! 🙂

[@phillipduncan-l5p]

Great work perfect for my 12v system very helpful

[@SelfBuiltStories]

No problem, glad it was helpful 🙂

[@RoaminRob]

I might get round to fitting my dc now after watching this 😂 I decided to drive my van to Albania for the summer first 😊

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Nice! Looking forward to also having some adventures on the road, have fun in Albania 😃

[@RoaminRob]

@@SelfBuiltStories thanks 👍 can't wait to see u guys actually driving 😊

[@SelfBuiltStories]

@@RoaminRob Yep us too! See you out on the road 😀

[@ched999uk]

Great video, thanks. I am sure you have this in hand but can you put a nice insulated cover over the battery terminals as I worry that something metal could fall on them and short causing a big fire! Also it might be worth adding some extra cable clips on the interconnecting cables around your various components as it's quite surprising how much cables can vibrate when travelling and either come loose or suffer stress fractures. Great videos, well done to both of you, so great to see you working as a team.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Cheers :) And yeah we're going to put battery covers over the terminals, but also we're going to build a frame/box that goes over the batteries anyway because our inverter will be sitting over them when we add the AC side. Our batteries have built in short-circuit protection too which although we'd never try it, is designed to disconnect within a few microseconds. The company tests it in their video here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gGXadmOErLOcis0. And yeah for sure we're lacking some clips at the moment, the whole board needs a bit of a tidy up but we decided we'd wait till the AC wiring is done so we can get the neatest routing for everything. Lots of the 12V wires are too long at the moment too and we'll probably cut and recrimp them so they're all more snug 🙂

[@hamzaaktag4468]

very good education video.. thank you

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Cheers, and you're welcome 🙂

[@timhaywood2282]

Fantastic video it’s looking brilliant soon be able to enjoy it. After all of your hard work

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Thanks! Yeah we're looking forward to it 🙂

[@herkko61]

Exceptionally good tutorial with all voltage and current measurements! Now, after one year are you happy with the system? I would do it just like you did.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Cheers! And yes we've been really happy with it so far and it's worked great to give us charge when we've had no solar The one modification we've done since the video is to add a cooling fan behind the orion with a temperature controlled relay that turns on if it starts to get hot, which these units are known to do. It throttles the output 3 % per °C above 40 °C which can add up to a fair amount on a long drive. There's now a new version, the Orion XS, which is a lot more efficient and doesn't get hot like this model but it's a bit pricier so we went with a cooling solution for now. And the only other thing we might do at some point but haven't yet is run the ignition signal wire. We recently changed our starter batteries in the van as they were pretty shot, and now the SRC kicks in whereas it didn't really for us before. So because the van is happier with the state of charge of it's own batteries it lowers the alternator voltage which means our orion sees a lot lower voltage too. For now we've just adjusted the charging parameters to quite a tight margin and it still works with the engine-on detection pretty well, but means we're not generating quite as much power as we were before. HTH! 👍

[@chriscrook7511]

Another great video. Although I have now completed my build I’m still finding enjoyment watching van build vids, yours in particular. One thing to note which you may or may not be aware of but don’t overlook the bus bar connections to the main input battery cables on the Victron Lynx. Additional insulation is required on the terminals. Something I overlooked initially until I looked over the instructions again 5.1.2. I just used insulation tape over the studs. Keep up the good work ,it’s coming on a treat

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Cheers! And thanks for the heads up, we hadn't seen that sub point either actually. We were planning on covering the terminals on the batteries already so we might get some of the rubber battery post covers for that and get an extra couple to put on those leftmost lynx posts too, can't hurt!

[@rosetta6285]

Great info guys, thanks for your detailed build!

[@SelfBuiltStories]

You're welcome, thanks for watching! 🙂

[@jameslarkin8353]

Thanks for the video and the series. Can you explain how you have "used the isolated in a non isolated way" @10:50. Do you have two negative cables both running to the bus bars?

[@jameslarkin8353]

Or do you just cable it with a negative wire going to the battery as per the isolated B2B diagram?

[@SelfBuiltStories]

You're welcome 👍 And sure, we wired it exactly as you would in the manual for the isolated charger, so with a positive and negative wires going from it to each battery. This orion has galvanic isolation between input and output so both sides are kept completely separate, but because our batteries are grounded to the chassis the same way as the van starter batteries, there is essentially a direct connection between them anyway via the chassis. So they are no longer isolated from each other as they actually share the same common ground again, which is what I meant by "used in a non isolated way". We'll probably upgrade to the newer Orion XS at some point which is a much more efficient bit of kit (and currently only available non-isolated). HTH

[@PtangPtangBiscuitBarrelSmith]

I'm shocked and mildly outraged. You could have used nice 25mm white trunking to run the cables under the bed. You put your membership of the Perfectionists/OCD club in jeopardy. Plus you forgot to heat shrink the earth lead at the van battery. ( I cant breath ) 😂 Nice job as always. 😊

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Pftt, I think you'll find there is indeed heat shrink on that cable: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hmSUq5iBqat2fdU 😉😀 You made us check though... Would have had to go back and redo it otherwise 😅 thanks!

[@PtangPtangBiscuitBarrelSmith]

@@SelfBuiltStories Made ya look...😂

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Dang! 😂

[@Macktheknife11]

Another great video guys. Very neat job, as always. The van is coming along nicely. The light at the end of the tunnel must be just about in view now 👍

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Thank you, and yeah just about! Still quite a few projects to do yet though... Getting there one step at a time 😛

[@steevs33]

Another brilliant informative video, can i ask what the second (smaller) ground is for going into the lynx?

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Cheers! And not sure which wire you mean exactly? But if it's the one from the Orion to the Lynx then that is just the negative for the leisure battery side of our setup. As we used the isolated charger we're not using a common ground so both the positive and negative from the starter battery and leisure battery are wired into it 👍

[@kevwhitbread9341]

Great Videos. Any chance you could tell me what size cables you have used please

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Cheers 🙂 And yep, replied to your other comment 👍

[@patriciafrance6101]

I like seeing your animals .I find them funny.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Thank you! We like having them around, and they definitely like to get their screen time! 🙂

[@ChippyVanLife]

Thank you for these brilliant videos, going to help massively setting up my electric system. Could I ask what AWG cable sizes are used from each device? (Dc/dc , mppt , 12v fuse bus bar and from battery to lynx)

[@SelfBuiltStories]

No problem, glad they're helpful! And sure we used 70mm2 for the battery connections and to the lynx, 25mm2 for the inverter, 16mm2 for solar, DC chargers and fuse hubs, 6mm2 for the fridge and heater. And 3mm2 for most of the rest. Those were good sizes for us working out wiring lengths, expected current draw and voltage drop, but obviously what works for us will vary depending on your own setup and what kit you're putting in 👍

[@matthewalkman386]

Where do you get the metal things that cover those wires like that? And what tool is used to put the metal things on the wires? Never saw that used before

[@SelfBuiltStories]

They're called ferrules or bootlace ferrules/terminals and they need a special crimp tool. They're really useful when you're using fine stranded wire particularly if you're inserting it into screw terminals, as without a ferrule the screw can crush the individual strands and cause a poor connection that weakens over time. They also make for a really nice tidy install and make it quicker and easier to do any maintenance so we use them quite a lot. There should be links to both the ferrules and crimper in the description 👍

[@gnarlybadger690]

Comprehensive as always guys, informative and clear thanks for sharing 🤘🏻

[@SelfBuiltStories]

You're welcome, thanks for watching 😊

[@gearstil]

Hello, nice video! Can you set the maximum output current from the Orion DC to DC charger? How did it knows to limit the output current?

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Hiya, cheers :) And unfortunately not on this model, though they have just brought an an updated version (Orion XS) which lets you do that. With ours you can't limit the current, it will try to output up to 30A whenever it's on, though in practice it's usually somewhat lower than that as it throttles the output down if the unit gets too hot. The newer version is also much more efficient so runs a lot cooler as a result and doesn't have that quirk. For our one we're going to install a PC fan behind it to keep it cool so we can get the max performance out of it. HTH! 👍

[@gearstil]

@@SelfBuiltStories Thanks so much for the info!!

[@SelfBuiltStories]

@@gearstil You're welcome 🙂

[@johnhuggins3700]

Love watching your video. the only downside is they are to far apart 🙂 you both done a really job 👍

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Thank you 🙂 and yeah sorry about that, we would like to have them more frequent but they take a while to build and then edit so at the moment they just come out whenever they're ready 😛 for a while we were aiming to have them every fortnight but life got in the way 🙃

[@lifeadventureprojects]

Great video, as always! Loving what you have done with your van. Exciting, adventures soon!!

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Thanks! Yeah, we can't wait 😀

[@jacobcarton3961]

You explain everything so clear and faultless. Keep up the work. Do you have a link to the crimping tool that you used to crimp the 16mm2 cable?

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Cheers :) And yep, there should be a link for it in the video description. It's the heavy duty tool from 12V Planet 👍🙂

[@davidpatrick1813]

I use the isolated model as I hope to wire in my ham radio .. it makes the signal "cleaner" than relying on the ground being forced to flow through the frame etc. Sometimes (most of the time) my solar keeps the batteries 100% all the time anyway... so I found the DC 2 DC will keep chrging somewhat before settling down.. point is .. in the software we can simply turn it off so I will only use it if I think I want to give extra charge driving just before camping ... making 100% at the start of each night camping.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Yeah we like having the isolated model too instead of using the chassis. We actually tested it wired the other way and found we were getting 88% efficiency using a dedicated wire and 83% using the chassis which was interesting. We also like that we can measure the current in every wire and reason about what it should be for debugging issues, and knowing that the ground wire shouldn't be carrying any real current. It's nice to have the option of solar and dc-dc, we also use solar mostly at the moment, especially as the van spends most of its life parked right now 😛

[@redwood1957]

Nice job is there a drawing of you total solar and battery system i could down load? Thank you

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Hiya, all our diagrams are here: www.buymeacoffee.com/selfbuiltstories

[@nickpmoody]

Great work guys! I would recommend if you are still able to, run a 12v ignition live to the Orion in case you find later on it’s needed. On my VW T6 Caravelle, the Orion’s engine shutdown detection ramps up / down the charge current depending on the voltage of the starter battery. The ignition live wired to the ‘H’ pin on the remote input overrides the engine shutdown software and enforces the charger to be on regardless of the starter battery voltage. You still have the voltage lock out feature to rely on which will disable charging if the voltage is too low. You might find you don’t need it, but if you have an opportunity to run the wire now I’d do it just in case. When you start travelling regularly you might find the Smart Alternator behaves differently. Cheers.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Thanks! Yeah we haven't had any problems with it auto-detecting so far but if we do need to switch it with one of the pins in the future then we have a wire already going to the front that we could repurpose, or use to pull through another wire hopefully. Shame there's no ignition triggered feeds in the rear clusters as that'd be a really easy place to hook up to. Thanks for the comment 👍

[@herfstmys4125]

I'm also doubting to connect the ignition wire. What's the downside to not doing it? Is there so much current loss without? Thanks

[@nickpmoody]

@@herfstmys4125 On my VW T6 the ignition wire is a must in my opinion, without it the Orion lowers the output depending on the voltage of the starter battery. I don’t want it to do that, I want full output of the charger whenever the engine is running. I did need to lower the voltage lockout on the Orion to 11.5 volts, eventually the smart alternator decides to start putting out amps.

[@herfstmys4125]

@@nickpmoody I see... well I have a Renault Master from 2009 with what I'm guessing is a dumb alternator, haha. So in my case it wouldn't be that big of an upgrade?

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Without the ignition wire the orion is essentially using an algorithm to figure out when the engine is running, but depending on your van that might not get it right all the time. So having the wire you can just disable that feature so there's no guess work and it knows categorically when the engine is running. So no downside to having the extra wire, aside from having to physically run it and finding an ignition triggered feed for it. For us as the orion is at the back of the van it would have been a bit of pain to run a trigger wire as we'd have to take it back to the cab, but thankfully the smart detection has been rock solid for us. We've just set it up and it works, checked it quite a bit at different times when we've been on the road and has worked every time. We do have an isolation switch in the cab now as well, so we can completely isolate it and switch off the whole unit if we want, but in normal daily life we just leave it on with the software detection. HTH 👍

[@jonbeddall5838]

Thanks for a great video- helps a lot. Have you got a link to the wire sizing chart you used please?

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Sure, here you go! assets.bluesea.com/files/resources/newsletter/images/DC_wire_selection_chartlg.jpg

[@YouriDeKlusser]

Have you already tested the dc/dc while driving for a longer period? We ended up installating a D+ simulator inour Sprinter because the voltage while cruising drops to around 12.4 volts. This causes the dc/dc to stop charging (even with the smart alternator setting enabled). We tweaked a lot with the voltages and settings but in the end the dc/dc couldn't detected a running engine from a stopped engine reliably because the voltage was basically the same. Only on engine start and deceleration the voltage came up.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Hiya, yeah we've had it in for a few months now and monitored it a lot while driving, for us in our transit it's worked perfectly every time, but a few people have said they've had similar experiences to you in other vans. So guess it depends on the alternator 👍

[@YouriDeKlusser]

@@SelfBuiltStories So I guess your voltage is always a constant 13+ while driving? Or at least reliably higher than when the engine is switched off?

[@SelfBuiltStories]

It does fluctuate but mostly in the higher range so it's been okay for us. We do have a manual switch now behind the drivers seat too, so if it ever starts misbehaving we can just set it to always be on and use the switch

[@cartes5996]

Hi great job on your electrics very neat,question why have you not earthed to the vans chassis but earthed to the vans internal structure .

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Hiya, cheers :) And the electrics is grounded to the van chassis via the 70mm^2 cable that runs from the ground stud on the lynx to a bolt into the van behind the board. There are designated grounding points from Ford that are in the lower left corner of that wall, but we decided not to use those in the end as the bolts they use were way too small to securely fix the hefty 70mm^2 cable we wanted to use, and also being so low would mean the wires would be more in the way at ground level. So instead we made a new ground point by sanding back the paint and using a rivnut onto the van chassis to bolt to.

[@superstrings4768]

I cant help but feel a 'box trunking' wiring method would work wonders here. run a length of box trunking horizontally through the middle of the board and have everything run cables through the trunking. would look so neat and tidy and something to be proud to show to people in the future. watch any house solar install from people such as Oval or Artisan electrics for a flavour of what I mean. well done though, van is looking good.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Cheers! And yeah it needs a bit of a tidy up, we decided we'd wait till we've done the AC wiring and the inverter first so all the wires are there but it's on the todo list 😛

[@baggiecamper]

I'm just about to fit the same DC TO DC so many thanks for posting this. I'm beginning to wonder if I should have a Lynx unit too.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

You're welcome! Yeah we really like having the lynx, it's not necessary exactly but makes everything nice and compact all in one unit. We figured it would be a lot neater and easier than having two separate bus bars. We still need to do the mod to activate the lights... 😛

[@baggiecamper]

@@SelfBuiltStories Thanks for the reply. I've purchased bus bars but I'm still going to look at the Lynx sizes, price etc. I wish it had an isolater and a few small fuse holders on board too. I guess that's too much to ask.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

You're welcome :) It does have the space for the mega fuses but yeah not for the 12V blade fuses. There's also the Lynx Power In which is a bit cheaper that can be modified to have the fuses and act like the Lynx. Some videos on the explorist.life channel about that 👍

[@baggiecamper]

@@SelfBuiltStories oh thanks I'll check that out 👍

[@SelfBuiltStories]

No problem 👍

[@richresroc]

Hi guys, great video! The victron manual for the Orion 50 A charger mentions not doing synchronised charging. Have you managed to charge with both solar and the alternator at the same time? Have there been any issues?

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Hey, cheers 👍 And yep, no issues at all with that, as long as both units are configured with the correct settings for the batteries. They will both operate independently of each other and when they each detect the battery is charged will stop charging. There might just be some delay between when each switches into float, but it's not a problem and lots of systems are setup with both running together. The newer 50A Orion XS does support VE.Smart networking so it can get a few paramaters from the network to optimise charging as well.

[@petewarby7158]

Did I miss something about screen time for pets and adverts? I thought it was a great video and the mog looked very sweet :)

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Thanks Pete! That's Jackson, he likes to get involved, especially near the end of each project and skip out all the building time 😀🐱

[@byrne8525]

hi, brill vids guys, all of them. I am just starting my first build also on a transit jumbo, would you mind just confirming what size the unistrut was that you used for the roof rack, thank you so much for your vids they are helping me no end👍👍👍

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Cheers, glad they're helpful 🙂 And we used the 21mm light slotted channel: directchannel.uk.com/21mm-light-slotted-channel-x-3-metres 👍

[@byrne8525]

@@SelfBuiltStories thats great many thanks for quick reply👍

[@SelfBuiltStories]

@@byrne8525 You're welcome!

[@olivierbourgeois3230]

Hi, some people suggested me to use the ignition as a safety. Apparently the auto shut off could lead to some issues since the alternator can run at various voltage which could cause the device to go on and off. In the last year, dis you experience any issue using the jumper with the auto detection? Cheers!

[@SelfBuiltStories]

A lot of it depends on what van you have and how the alternator behaves/whether it's a smart alternator or not. The Orion uses an algorithm to make an educated guess of when the engine is running based on the voltage the starter batteries rise to. If you have a standard alternator it will likely just work with no issues, as the battery voltage will always be >14.4V. If you have a smart alternator though with smart regenerative charging then the voltage might be as low as a little over 12V or as high as 15V depending on driving conditions and temperature. In that case the algorithm might not work perfectly, and some people have commented that on their van it doesn't work very well and switches on and off as the alternator voltage rises and falls. Funnily enough we had no problems with it for over a year since we installed it, worked 100% of the time on every drive we did. But just recently we changed our starter batteries as the old ones were pretty shot, and now it's a lot more unreliable. We realised it's because the old batteries were so tired that they would never reach a decent SOC as far as the van was concerned, so the smart alternator capability was affectively disabled and it was always requested to deliver a high charge. So we got great new batteries, but lost some charging efficiency! 😛 There's no downside to running the ignition trigger wire other than the faff to do it, but if you can wire one easily it's definitely the gold standard as it takes out all the guesswork. We've got ours working again now by adjusting the settings to be quite tight around the voltages (i.e. assuming the van to be on when it's ~13V not 14.4+V), but we're not able to generate as much power when driving as we used to. So we'll probably get round to running the ignition wire at some point as well. HTH!

[@olivierbourgeois3230]

Thanks alot that makes alot of sense. I have a Ford Transit 2023 so I would probably have those problems as well with a new rig. An upfitter in my region strongly suggested me to run a ignition wire exactly for that reason but I dont see anyone on youtube showing it unfortunalty. Everyone seems to use the jumper since its easier. Even Explorist didnt do that and he has a Ford Transit as well.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

No problem! I would imagine with the 2023 Transit it's a very similar setup, in which case there is likely an interface connector under the driver seat around the starter batteries that can be used to get the engine run signal. There's a few posts on the ford transit forums and elsewhere of people that have done it, e.g. moreysintransit.com/engine-on-signal-via-ford-transit-vehicle-interface-connector/ and www.fordtransitusaforum.com/threads/transit-2021-ignition-signal-line-installation-walkthrough-for-renogy-dcdc50-with-c-33-2-connector.89038/ . If you check the BEMM for your model year I'd imagine there would be a section in there for it. 👍 We're going to do it at some point but haven't got round to it yet as it requires running another wire all the way from the driver seat to our orion at the back which is a bit of a pain! While we're at it we might also add a switch that we can mount on the dash to temporarily disable the smart alternator, which it tells you how to do in the BEMM as well. Then if we're very low on battery power we can switch to use standard alternator mode and get more juice quickly at the expense of slightly worse fuel consumption for that drive.

[@olivierbourgeois3230]

@@SelfBuiltStories Thank you so much for all this valuable information.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

@@olivierbourgeois3230 No problem 👍🙂

[@garypollock1949]

I would suggest you check the torque specs for the screws in the charging equipment. I put mine in using the (that's tight enough method), and when I went back and checked them with torque screw driver, they were all to loose. I believe Victron uses 35 or 41 foot/Inch (?) pounds, and I only had 20. With the power going through them, you could get expansion in the connection, causing problems.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Cheers, yeah the recommended torque for the terminals is 1.6Nm. We've tightened down all the bolt connections we have for the lynx, batteries and shunt etc to the exact specs using a torque wrench, but we don't yet have a torque screwdriver, would be a useful tool to have and will check the terminals when we get hold of one 👍

[@cccmmm1234]

You can use a screwdriver bit in a torque wrench.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Don't think we didn't have the right attachments for that but good to know 👍

[@deancarlyle7431]

Great video 👍

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@kevwhitbread9341]

To add to my earlier message I was wondering what size cables you have used on all sections

[@SelfBuiltStories]

For our setup we used 70mm2 for the battery connections and to the lynx, 25mm2 for the inverter, 16mm2 for solar and DC charges, 6mm2 for the fridge and heater. And 3mm2 for most of the rest. Those were good for us based on the length we had to run the wires and the voltage drop we calculated with the charts etc, so your setup might vary but hopefully that gives an idea 👍

[@welshieonwheels]

Excellent 👍👍👍you answered a lot of my questions I never needed to ask thank you good luck 👍👍👍🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🇬🇧🇨🇦🦢

[@SelfBuiltStories]

No problem, glad it was helpful! 😎👍

[@glennclark762]

Have you got a link to the wiring chart you showed as that looked really good.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Hiya, it's this one: assets.bluesea.com/files/resources/newsletter/images/DC_wire_selection_chartlg.jpg 👍

[@BruceYang-t4x]

nice drawing

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Thanks 😛

[@milankrstevski6651]

I appreciate your efforts, I hope you have started to enjoy camping. I have a question regarding dc to dc battery charging. I read a lot, first the differences in the chemical composition of the battery, the smart alternator, the heating of the alternator, the differences in the charging voltage of the battery, the supplementary relay and what else. What is your personal experience? Greetings from Macedonia.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Hiya, thanks yeah we really enjoy being on the road in the van 🙂 The Victron Orion we're using can work with different battery chemistries (lead acid, agm, lithium) so there's no issues with that. The alternator working harder and heating up too much is dependent on how much load you're putting on it, the general rule of thumb is that you're usually o.k. to install one rated for up to about half the capacity of the alternator. We have a 150A alternator so an additional 30-40A load from the dc-dc charger is not a problem. Battery voltage isn't a problem either, you just have to make sure you get the right model. Both our van starter and leisure batteries are a 12V system so we have the 12/12 model, but you can also get variants for 24 and 48V if needed. The smart alternator is the one thing that does cause a bit of a headache, as it makes it harder for the charger to 'know' when the engine is actually running. The orion tries to figure that out with an algorithm and it's generally pretty good, but if you want to make it fool proof then you can also run a signal wire to an engine run source and have it activate or not based on that. It's worth noting that there is a newer orion recently released, the Orion XS, which is better in every way from the one we installed. We'll definitely be upgrading to that one at some point 👍

[@milankrstevski6651]

@@SelfBuiltStories Thanks for the detailed answer. My vehicle is Opel Movano 2012, alternator is 150 amps minimum, not smart. I also planned to install a newer version Victron charger with a 50 amp current flow. I also have a Honda 600 engine, a camper that is not noisy, so I will choose one of these I will install one 25mm cable to the starter battery for future plans. The road will lead us most often to Greece, it is sunny and warm there, and thus the role of solar panels would be in full expression. I will also install a stronger inverter, Victron 1600 watts. Good luck on your travels.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

@@milankrstevski6651 No problem, hope it all goes well 🚐🙂

[@billyk7831]

Great video! Question. You used a 40Amp fuse at the lynx distributor, what size amp fuse did you use in line at the CCP?

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Cheers! And we used a 50A midi fuse for that one, which is lower than the 60A midi fuse already in the CCP so ours should blow first if there is any problem 👍

[@PresidentBust]

Yaaayyyy great to see this

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Thanks! How's your build coming along? 🙂

[@Midlife_mike]

Super informative video

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Cheers 👍🙂

[@kevinbeckwith7740]

Nice job guys

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Thanks! 🙂

[@daniospeak6604]

Very good video guys 🙏

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Thank you 🙂

[@dudeleboski2692]

Question, we all know that when the engine is running it charges the House batteries, BUT how about when you are just parked up? Does the charger also charge the STARTER Battery via the solar panels?

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Hiya, the Orion can't do that as it is only one way, so you would need to reconnect the input and output wires the other way around (or add in some more complex switching) and then change the settings as well. So not very practical for day-to-day use. One option is to add a second small solar panel just for the starter battery, and another which we're probably going to do at some point is fit a battery maintainer which just trickle charges the starter battery from the leisure battery and keeps it topped up. There's a few out there, like the Vanbitz Battery Master, Ablemail AMT12-2, and Votronic 3065 👍

[@Truckinman2000]

You should have put a disconnect switch from between the dc-dc charger and the van batteries. You have one on the board but didn't use it. Maybe its for the inverter later. Don't get me wrong, you have a fantastic build going on.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Cheers :) and yeah we're putting in a disconnect switch for it in the cab, it doesn't necessarily need one as you can use the remote port for a switch to avoid a high current one. But we like the idea of being able to completely isolate the system when we're working on it. The second switch on the panel we've used for a another 12v hub 😛

[@andrewwilliams864]

Hey guys, absolutely love your attention to detail! I was wondering how you are finding the lithium batteries? Is it not an issue that they can’t be charged when it’s extremely cold? I’m not sure if this is the case with AGM batteries, I’d love to know if it causes any problems! Cheers Drew P.S. I’m in the process of putting a split charge system together in my pick up truck for my overland trips in a few weeks!

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Hey! 👋 Good question, lithium batteries can't be charged below freezing, and usually have a safety feature built into the BMS that will disconnect the charging circuit automatically if it's too cold to prevent damage. Ours cut out around 3°C and won't charge below that, although they can be discharged lower down to around -20°C. We have experienced them getting below zero. During the build when we weren't using the van there were a couple of times we had to get a heatgun out to warm the air around them to bring them back! And a couple of times in Scotland we had temperatures down to -7°C or so where they started to get a bit unhappy too. We learnt to keep the garage door open when we went to bed so the nice warm air from the heater kept them warm enough. We've just been to Norway though and figured it might be colder there, so as an upgrade we built a DIY battery warming plate with a temperature relay that turns on if it gets too cold (using its own power to warm itself up 😛). We also raised them up off the floor and left a bit of an air gap which makes a big difference too. The lowest we've gone so far is -15°C and it's been fine. You can buy heated, 'arctic', lithium batteries which basically just have the warming built into them but it's the same principle. AGM is a bit more forgiving and can charge at below freezing temperatures, but still best to be kept above zero. Enjoy your trips! 👍

[@goingmouch3753]

Great job once again..thanks for sharing…Q, does your DCDC stop bulk charging when it gets up to 80% batteries? Mine does and I don’t know how to change it on the settings from 80 up to 100%..

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Cheers :) And we haven't had any issues with our setup so far. In the settings we have a user defined battery preset and we put everything in to match the specs from our batteries. It will move from bulk to absorption when the voltage reaches whatever you have set for Absorption voltage. Or after the bulk time limit has been reached. If all that is good and firmware up-to-date then it should work if all the connections are nicely torqued, so measuring voltage with a multimeter at the orion output terminals and the leisure battery should be very close to each other. HTH 👍

[@duncanwilson5170]

Hi Guys, are you planning to box in your electrical panel, and if so are you going to use a solid panel or perspex with ventilation?

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Hey, no plans to box in the panel but we might around the batteries, or get some rubber protectors for all the exposed terminals 👍

[@errolmagill1611]

I'm not totally sure, but I have heard that the LifePo4 batteries charge much faster than you have suggested - something to do with less resistance. Thanks for another helpful vid. 😊

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Hey Errol! Yeah you're right they do have very low internal resistance so they will try to draw a large amount of current to charge, basically whatever they can get, but they can only charge as fast as the current available. The orion is regulated output and will only provide 30A to them (although actually it does go a bit higher than that at times, but only marginally to around 35A from what we've seen). Then the charging time is just a calculation, we have 200Ah so charging at 30A would take 200/30 = 6.6 hours. If we connected them to something that would provide more than 30A charging current, they would take it up to their specced rating which is max 100A per battery. But the max that we can supply to them would be 80A and that's only theoretical if we had perfect solar conditions. If we linked them directly to another battery they would likely try to charge with a very high current which we mentioned in the video, but not something you'd want to do. If we wanted to charge faster we could add a second DC-DC though, which our alternator should probably still handle, so we could have 60A DC-DC and 50A solar for a combined theoretical max of 110A. But we don't think we need that... yet 😛

[@MrAdam100576]

Question: Have you ever wired your L&H to the ignition? Did you consider a switch? Do you ever turn the 12 12 30 off or do you trust it to be on even when your leisure bank is 100% full?

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Hey, nope we didn't use the L&H pins as there wasn't a convenient ignition trigger at the back where we have the Orion. The engine detection works great for us and we trust it to be on when the batteries are charged as it moves into float mode so we have it on pretty much permenantly. But we have also since added a manual switch behind the drivers seat so that we can choose to isolate it completely if necessary, like when we're working on the electrics. As otherwise it felt a bit strange that you can turn off the master switch to the electrics panel but the orion is still powered on from the starter battery 👍

[@markmcsharr8777]

Great tips 👍

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Cheers 🙂👍

[@alexpott1893]

Great Videos, been bin watching and dont even have a van (yet). I'm curious though, what backgrounds do you guyse have from your work? You guys say you watch a lot of KZbin, but when explaining things off the cuff it often sounds like you already have some idea of electrics, voltmeters etc. Be interesting to hear what you guys do as a day-job.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Cheers! And I'm a software engineer and Abi is a nurse. We didn't have any specific experience with any of it and hadn't really done any DIY since school (save putting up the odd shelf etc) but we both like to get stuck in and figure out how to fix things in the house when they break, stuff like that. I'd repaired laptops, phones and built a PC back in the day but no real experience of 12V electronics. So we just did a lot of research and slowly built up our knowledge and comfort using all the tools along the way 🙂

[@xanaharmsen4014]

hi! Question: Do you use wall sockets to protect your sockets behind the walls?

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Hey, we used berker sockets everywhere which have a plastic back box to them 👍

[@joshquin6151]

Hey guys, doing great! Just wondering if you’re going to add a 230v hook up (shore power) to your system? 👍

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Cheers! And no we decided not to add shore power in the end, we went to be off grid most of the time where we wouldn't be able to plug it in. If we've done our numbers right we reckon we should have enough charge with the combination of solar and DC-DC 👍

[@joshquin6151]

@@SelfBuiltStories nice, fair enough. Your numbers look good and I don’t doubt it’ll workout, I’m going to run a very similar system in my new sprinter but just know when travelling round in our old transit every now and then it was good stopping in a campsite so want to take full advantage of power. Even up in Scotland in the winter gets quite grey and driving daily didn’t quite give us enough. Maybe catch you on the road as we’re just down the road from you guys. Have a good one 👌

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Yeah it's something we could add later on if we wanted, but we travelled around in the van for a month or so last summer and didn't find we needed it, although the van wasn't finished of course so there will be a bit more load now. And cheers! Yeah see you on the road 😛

[@TDLatimer]

Hi :) Can you tell me why you decided to go for the isolated dc to dc charger over the non-isolate option? thanks!

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Hey, sure. We mentioned it briefly in the video here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hmSUq5iBqat2fdUsi=F8N3sTj1D5jX3YkC&t=633 , but essentially you can always use the isolated one in a non-isolated way but not vice-versa. So we thought given the cost was pretty similar when we bought it we might as well get that one. But the other reason is that we find it much easy to reason about our system when we have dedicated wires for everything, as we can use an amp clamp meter around a wire and measure what's going through it, and under normal use we don't expect any current to be flowing through our ground wire and through the chassis, which can help avoid ground loops etc. One other benefit that we didn't think about much at the time is that we now have two wires going between our starter and house batteries, so if we ever wanted to get more power in the future we could install two orions non-isolated and just repurpose the now redundant negative to be a second positive. Since we made this video they've also brought out the Orion XS which is a way better unit and one we'll almost certainly upgrade to at some point, so it's worth considering that one but it's currently only available in a non-isolated version 👍

[@franciscoburgos787]

I installed the same unit and now I find I have to jump start the battery every morning. I have a switch instead of ignition power but the switch has a light so I know I shut it off and still idle the engine to top off my lead acid battery. I replaced it once thinking it was a weak battery and the new one does the same even though it’s a better brand. I even replaced my 95 amp alternator with 130 amp alternator.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Hmm strange yeah that doesn't sound right, we've not had any issues like that with ours. As soon as the engine is off the orion shuts down. We have a manual switch for it too but we only turn it off if we're working on the electrics

[@ziminyan]

Your video is great! I am completely a layman, but I hope to know what you have done. I have two questions: 1) How to get information about the power of the generator? 2) The maximum current output of your generator is 150 amp, lighting and other electricity consumption is 30 amp. Why do you have only 20 buffer of the motor, isn't it 150-30 = 120 amp?

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Cheers! And do you mean the alternator? If so we knew it was a 150A alternator as that's what our model comes specc'd with. But there's also a sticker on the back of it which lists that, so to confirm we took a picture on our phone of the back of it. It's a little awkward to get to but just about managed it. And the 20 was 20%, so from what we've read it's a good idea to have a 20% buffer and not run your alternator at max capacity as it shortens its life and can lead to it overheating etc. So for our 150A alternator, keeping that rule of thumb we'd leave a 20% buffer meaning we have about 120A to play with. The DC-DC charger uses up to 40A, and 30 ish for what the van was using when we tested it. That still gives us around 50A or so capacity we could use in the future if we wanted, possibly to add a second DC charger if we ever wanted to charge faster 👍

[@ziminyan]

very thankful 👍👍

[@SelfBuiltStories]

@@ziminyan You're welcome :)

[@jcardosa02]

do i have to connect it to my alternator? can i just use my battery instead

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Hiya, it doesn't need to connect to the alternator directly, we have it between our house batteries and the van batteries which is how victron show it in the diagram. We've also got the positive connected to the CCP (not directly on the battery terminal) which is specific to the transit but designed for this kind of accessory. HTH 👍

[@jonnytacooutdoors]

Using same charger. Gets so hot I can’t touch it for more than a few seconds! Is that normal? I’m using 6awg wire and 60amp fuse at the battery. Is the burning hot normal?!

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Yeah, of all the kit the orion is noticeably the hottest running and hot to the touch. There's a few threads about it on the victron forums, like: community.victronenergy.com/questions/46901/orion-dc-dc-overheating.html. In that thread they also list some production dates as the early units can be recalled due to the heat. But generally they do run hot and will start to throttle the output current down after a while if necessary. Having good ventilation around it is important, and then to make them run cooler and more efficiently the general approach people take is to add some kind of fan. Here's an example that shows two orions side by side, one with a fan and one without, and the difference it makes with a thermal imaging camera: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rqe7nJedodNkhKM. We haven't added any fan to ours but it does run fairly hot, so it's something we might consider at some point. HTH! 👍

[@mange2]

Is there a reason why you attached the cables to the starter battery and not the front battery? Or can it be attached to either?

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Hiya, we actually attached the positive to the CCP on the Transit, which is the fused connection by the seat designed for accessories like this. The negative just needs to be run to a good ground, and we decided to take that one to the batteries as it was a convenient place to get to (much more accessible than the nearest ford grounding point in that area). Our dual batteries are wired together in parallel too so they operate as one large bank. HTH 👍

[@nipuldon9348]

Awesome video as usual, was waiting for this one! Just a general question about the bolts and nuts you used in your system(for spots where it's not provided), what's the best material to use for it? Can't find much information on it anywhere, zinc plated and stainless steel being the main available options.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Cheers! Hope it was worth the wait 😛 And do you mean for the electronics? If so for pretty much everything the nuts and bolts were provided with the kit, but believe that Victron and BlueSea use stainless steel. We did need a nut for the connection to the CCP as there wasn't one already on there, and for that we used a spare from one of the midi fuse holder kits we had.

[@nipuldon9348]

​@@SelfBuiltStories definitely was! Yeah places like the ground connection to the van, for some reason my lynx didn't come with any for the battery connection point either, inside ones are all there, so was searching for what to use, maybe I'll grab some stainless steel ones in that case thanks!

[@SelfBuiltStories]

@@nipuldon9348 Ah now that you mention it, those ones on the left of the lynx outside the cover might not have comes with bolts actually, as they came with the protective rubber sleeves on them. Think we just sourced our own for those but was a while ago so can't remember exactly 😄

[@terencebarnett9891]

Can I ask why you didn't decide to join the L shape worktop with two 45degree angle cuts ?

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Just replied to your other question but for anyone else that stumbles here it's because for solid wood worktops it's best to do a simple butt join as a mitre is likely to lead to cracks along the join because of the way the wood expands and contracts. I's nice and simple too and has no wood wastage, and we also like the look of it 🙂

[@terencebarnett9891]

@@SelfBuiltStories thanks for the reply. I have done abit of research and it does appear that it's common to fit it the way you have. I'm going to use 2 x 45degree angle on mine as I think the opposite ends will compensate for any expansion and contraption. I could be wrong but I'll have to swap it later on. A mitre joint looks neater to me. To me, It's like, it looks odd on a picture frame, so why wouldn't it on a work surface!? I'm using simple pine, stained oak, so won't be too costly if I have to replace further down the line.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

@@terencebarnett9891 yeah it's the standard way for solid wood worktops. Wood expands along its width so the two mitre cut ends will expand into each other and might crack. A butt joint stops that as the two width expanding ends aren't next to each other. Hope it works out for you, good luck 🙂

[@B4x4]

Any reason you did not follow the recommended installation in rhe manual and put the dcdc on a flame resistant backboard?

[@SelfBuiltStories]

We did consider it but in the end we're happy with having it mounted on birch ply as although it's combustible the ignition temperature is around 270C. We've monitored the temperature when it's in use and although it does get hot it's nowhere near a level that we're concerned about. We did make sure it has a lot of space around for decent airflow and it has been fine, but possibly at some point we'll also add some thin sheet metal between it and the board as we have some leftover from installing the oven. The orions are known to get hot and they throttle down their output if necessary to lower the temperature, so down the road we might possibly add a small fan too to increase the efficiency 👍

[@fatwax3d]

Hey guys. Have you got a link to the NM torque wrench you used? And what was the NM value? 14?

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Hiya, if you mean for the batteries then yeah ours have a recommended torque of 14nm. For the victron kit there's a useful table here: www.vanlifeoutfitters.com/torque-guidelines-for-victron-energy-equipment/. No link to the wrench though I'm afraid, it's an old one we've had lying around for ages!

[@SuperLitherland]

Orion charges work so much better with a ignition live feed on smart alternators The manual is wrong also. You wire to the R pin and remove the remote bridge wire. You will get 14 volts for the first 15-20 mins then the alternator will turn off and then the engine detection will kick in and no charge. It was like this on my new crafter anyway

[@SelfBuiltStories]

That's interesting, better in what way would you say? We've had it in for a while now and have found the engine detection has worked flawlessly so far. The one thing we thought would be better is if it showed more in the app like the charge current, and if it supported the ve smart networking like the mppt. Maybe it gets added in a software update one day

[@SuperLitherland]

@@SelfBuiltStories the engine detection didn’t work at all on my van. The van gave 14v for the first 15 mins to replace the starting power used. The van with no engine running had 12.2 volts. Driving down the motorway the van also had 12.2 volts. It would only start charging and giving 14v if i applied the brakes or coasted down hills etc. if I set the engine detection to come on lower than 12.2 it would keep charging when the van was off. I guess my smart alternator was too smart for the Orion 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Ah yeah annoying, maybe it has a larger voltage range and with regenerative braking too? We haven't had that problem so far, it switches on and activates shortly after the engine is running and while idling too. We've had it running a few times for several hours to charge up our batteries when the weather was too rubbish for any solar and it stayed on the whole time

[@SuperLitherland]

@@SelfBuiltStories what is the difference between your engine off voltage and motorway driving voltage ? My problem was they were the same so the software couldn’t tell the engine was still on.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Hmm not sure would have to check, next time we take it for a drive if we remember we'll have a look 😛

[@JackFalltrades]

I forget. Why did you decide not to use shore power?

[@SelfBuiltStories]

We figured we wouldn't really use it very much as we plan to be off grid most of the time so couldn't plug in. It's something we could add on in the future though but if we've done our numbers right we think we'll have enough power from the solar and DC-DC on their own 🙂

[@JackFalltrades]

@@SelfBuiltStories Ah! You probably explained before. 😊 In my case, I have a multitude of state park and private campgrounds available, and many have power hookups. 😊 Thanks!

[@SelfBuiltStories]

No worries! That's the nice thing about a self build, can tailor it exactly as you like 😀

[@pureperoni]

Abi is so lovely 🥰

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Yep she is 🙏

[@HenkBronkhorst-c8c]

thanks not knowing thatvictron is now also there with no manual like chinese. or do you make a translation from the only chinese manual?

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Hiya, not sure what you mean exactly but all the victron kit has english manuals: www.victronenergy.com/dc-dc-converters/orion-tr-smart#manuals . They're available in some other languages too, you just have to change the language dropdown at the top of the page 👍

[@fernandox189]

Is posible put the battery in serie ?for 24 and put one prion for charger 2 batteries ?

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Yeah you can connect the batteries in series to have a 24V bank if that's what you want, you'd just have to use a 24V version of the orion. Assuming the vehicle alternator is still 12V, they have something like the 12/24-15. The one other thing to check is how many batteries the manufacturer allows wiring in series, most are happy with 2-4 👍

[@Espiritiv]

What primary side fuse did you use inline on the van side battery? I missed that part

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Hiya, we used a 50A inline midi fuse, which is less than the Ford 60A midi in the seat base so should blow first 👍

[@Nakolesnikov78]

Hi from Russia )) My data on current consumption on a 2020 Ford Transit car (the car is equipped with two batteries and a 150A generator) The temperature outside is -2 degrees Celsius, alternator is broken, not charging, power only battery. The engine is running, the heating plugs are partially working 27.7A 12.23 V + the additional Eberspacher heater is broken, does not turn on ( when starting about 20-25 A, when working about 5-6A ) + marker lights 29.9A 12.14 V + Low beam 36.4A 12.12V + High beam 45.4A 12.10V + interior heater at 4 speeds 61.9A 12.04 V + heated exterior mirrors + wiper 72.9A 12.00 V Total total current consumption, if the additional heater will work, the car can be about 95A With batteries discharged by less than 80%, the charging current of the batteries can reach 70 amperes or more. I advise you to increase the delay time of charging the battery of the residential module for a time of 10 minutes or, if it is impossible to set such a time, then for the maximum possible time. 120 seconds is a very small delay to replenish the charge of the starting battery. Generators of Transit cars are very sensitive to overload with large currents, the diode bridge fails on them and the car will not be charged. At the same time, the charging system malfunction lamp on the instrument panel does not light up, you will continue driving until the starter battery is completely depleted. I would advise installing a voltmeter to monitor the voltage on the main starter battery, or by all means monitor the voltage of the starter battery from time to time.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Hey, thanks for the info. Interesting, yeah we've never been able to measure the vans draw as high as 95A. And yeah we have already setup monitoring of the starter battery voltage via our BMV. We ran a cable back to the van battery and use it for the auxiliary input, so we can see the starter voltage in the app at any time, and it also triggers an alarm both on the app and audibly in the van if it drops too low 👍

[@PeakyBlinder]

Very professional

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Cheers 🙂

[@timquain5341]

How did you determine how many amps the wires need to carry?

[@SelfBuiltStories]

Generally it's listed in the specs of whatever you want to power and then you size the wiring and fuses based on that. So for our model DC charger the maximum output current is 40A (www.victronenergy.com/upload/documents/Datasheet-Orion-Tr-Smart-DC-DC-chargers-isolated-250-400W-EN.pdf ) so the wiring needs to be able to safely handle that. There are various calculators and charts you can use to determine a good wire size once you know the length of the run you need and the current. We did most of that in our pre-wiring video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eoXdknSebNShasUsi=xGxFv44Le9KyobH_&t=1050

[@alexluciano9462]

How did you choose between the isolated and not isolated version for the Orion?

[@SelfBuiltStories]

The isolated is more expensive but can be used in any install (as you can always just use it in a non-isolated way), but the non-isolated will only work if both your starter and leisure batteries share a common ground. That's the case for most vans, so most people can get away with using the non-isolated one, but when we bought it the difference in cost wasn't that great so we thought we'd go for the isolated. It also means we have no normal current going through the van chassis which we prefer as we find it easier to reason about the system, as we have dedicated wires for both the positives and negatives. Which also means that we can use the amp clamp over them to diagnose any problems more easily. The last consideration is probably that depending on what unit you want, it might only be available in one version or the other. The new XS is only sold as a non-isolated version at the moment, and the 12/12-18 for example is only available isolated. HTH 👍

[@alexluciano9462]

@@SelfBuiltStories thank for the clear answer! Both my battery has the negative in common so I can buy both, if I buy the isolated version like you can I just concept with a bridge the two negative ports in the Orion and from une of them going to the common negative? Thank you very much

[@SelfBuiltStories]

@@alexluciano9462 No problem! And yep that shouldn't be a problem, people have done similar here: community.victronenergy.com/questions/75538/orion-tr-smart-12-12-18-isolated-wiring-question.html 👍

[@jzimmer223]

What video is your AC connection with the inverter?

[@SelfBuiltStories]

It's not released yet actually, but as it happens will be the next one 😎

[@hodkin124]

Can i use the Dc/Dc charger in the opposite way you’re using it? I have a my battery bank from my solar panels and i would like it to charge my battery for my Electric start generator.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

It's not bidirectional so can only work one way round as you wire it, but it could go the other way, you just have to change the settings to match the input and output battery chemistry and make sure the variant you have matches the input/output voltages. One thing though that would be different is how it is triggered, as if using the engine detection algorithm it is designed to start the charging process when it detects that the alternator is running. You would need to play around with the settings a bit so that it starts correctly when the solar power is coming in. Or you would turn off the engine detection and use a different trigger on the remote L/H pins to turn activate the charging. If it's just to keep a starter battery topped up though you can also get trickle charges/battery maintainers like the Ablemail AMT12-2, which is something that we're looking at adding at some point 👍

[@benshke]

Quick question, in the dc dc charging from starter battery to living battery if the engine is running and the starter battery gets disconnected does the dcdc charger still works? Could you test this? Been searching for days on info on this on the inter webs and couldn't find any info.

[@SelfBuiltStories]

How do you mean exactly, as I can't see a scenario where the starter battery would be disconnected from the vehicle while the engine is running? Do you mean if you had a switch between the starter battery and leisure battery and you turned that off? The connection is made between the starter battery and leisure battery so if that link is broken then you won't have any charging, but it won't harm the DC charger. We have a switch behind the drivers seat and we sometimes turn it on or off while we're driving.

[@benshke]

@ let us say that the cable connection on the starter battery breaks. Will the dcdc converter keep charging?

[@SelfBuiltStories]

​@@benshke The orion is directly connected between the van starter battery and the leisure battery, so if that connection is broken then there is no link between them anymore for current to flow so no charging will take place at all. The orion would switch off and disappear from the victron bluetooth app as it would no longer be powered. In normal use the unit is always powered up (and visible in the app via bluetooth), but it will only start charging if it detects the engine is running to avoid draining the starter battery. Detecting whether the engine is on ca be done by connecting a trigger wire to the ignition so that the key has to physically be turned, or for a simpler install it can use an algorithm to make an educated guess based on the voltage of the battery. If the engine is on and running then the alternator will kick the voltage up which the dcdc charger will sense and assume that means the engine is on, and start charging. It's possible to 'trick' it to turn on and start charging even if the engine is off by lowering the start voltage to something really low, like 12V, but it wouldn't charge as efficiently and would risk depleting the starter battery if you weren't careful. HTH 👍