What we would do DIFFERENT… Victron, off grid solar and lithium batteries!

Victron Multiplus RV solar and lithium battery overview
Amazon links:
Dinkle connectors- amzn.to/4a1V05g
6 x 6 junction box- amzn.to/49BLwOo
Li Time 12v 100ah Mini- amzn.to/46mJrUK
Li Time 12v 100ah- amzn.to/46pvrJP
Li Time 12v 400ah- amzn.to/3Zz0hgL
Li Time 24v 200ah- amzn.to/453N1Sz
12v MultiPlus II- amzn.to/3UZ8WZI
24v MultiPlus II- amzn.to/3Pv9K4g
Victron Shunt- amzn.to/3EUjwI0
Victron Distributor- www.amazon.com/dp/B07FML8JHG/...
Cerbo GX- www.amazon.com/dp/B0851KGF57/...
GX 70 screen- amzn.to/463YH9f
Power switch- amzn.to/464ONnL
Mega fuse- amzn.to/3ESqkGd
Crimper- amzn.to/3rvhg79
Wire 2/0- amzn.to/3Ztyyhv
6/4 cable- amzn.to/3PRcABJ
Playlist: RV Victron power & solar - • RV Victron Power and S...

[@KELLYPARRISH]

There’s a glitch that causes your AC loads to read incorrectly. The fix we’ve been informed to use is to take an audio headphone plug and insert it into the current sensor port a few times and it resets this. It worked for us.

[@markwatson2403]

One suggestion. Having the equal length battery cables is important. However, with your current hook up, you will still get unequal draw on your batteries. The battery closest to the OO cables connection on your Victron Linx power in is going to work harder than the battery next in line. This will be true of each battery in the bank. The remedy would to be connect the positive and the negative cables to opposite ends of the Linx. One on the right and the other on the left. That makes the draw on each battery equal. If neither of your OO are long enough to reach the other side, you can reverse the order that your negative battery cables are connected to the negative busbar and accomplish the same thing. Under most conditions it probably won’t matter much but under heavy draw cycles it could make a difference.

[@evanmartin7809]

In theory I would agree that it would be best practice to alternate them. However the Lynx uses a 1.5/.25" copper bus bar. The resistance in that bar is only 21 Microohms per foot. The variation in crimps and the bolted connections is going to be pretty close to that much resistance.

[@SuperSushidog]

I think your batteries got warm while you were charging them is because you have a 24v system with pre-made batteries with BMSs inside. Our 48v system uses 1/2 the amperage for the same wattage, so our 320ah 48v (16.4kwh) battery never gets warm. We built our battery with prismatic cells and a 200a BMS that is on the side of our cells, not sealed up inside a battery box with the cells, which allows any heat generated by the BMS to dissipate, extending its life too - though the most current we ever see going through the BMS is around 75 amps.

[@saltytrips]

It never gets much above ambient temperature with this current setup, even running heavy loads or max charging.

[@SuperSushidog]

@@saltytrips Going to 4/0 wires probably fixed it. Good job.

[@2hotscottpro]

I now have 8 525 watt Bifacial panels and 230ah 48v.Still not enough to run 1 AC all night. Kinda though. It will recharge 200ah discharge and run 1 ac during day.By 6-7 I’m minus 9-10ah.Longest sunny day was just a few days ago.Solas? So days getting shorter now! A mini split will help me when I find the time. 24k btu usises 1500 watts plus inverter,100 watts ,240v. From 6k split phase inverter. Thinking about a 48v 314 ah bat bank to add to the 230ah 48v system.But there’s no way pv will charge both in a day,period ! My whole roof plus over hanging rear ramp is covered with panels. In a few weeks I’ll see how long it takes to recharge from 240v generator.😊

[@saltytrips]

With our four 24v 200ah batteries (20,400wh) we can easily run both AC through the night here during the florida summer. Mini splits are definitely a good option, if our AC ever dies we’ll look into getting one. Good luck with your build, let us know how it goes.

[@2hotscottpro]

@@saltytrips 11776wh here 48v will kick it down to 68* in Florida from about 7pm to 11pm then shut off and will rise to 78* in morning and have used 200ah of 230ah.Operating one 15k btu roof top ac in 36 footer toy hauler. I have a 6k watt 120/240 inverter that puts out 3k watts at 120v ac only using one leg.That’s why I can only run one ac. 3675 watts of panels on roof for that 48v and 525 watt for 12v battery that runs lights and refrigeration. My plan was to put a 240v mini split in this year.Maybe 18-24k btu 240v. And an other battery bank of 314ah 48v bank next month. One of the 8 525 panels charges from the house 30 amp converter.The other seven 525 watt panels charges the 48v bat bank. 1 charger controller for 525 watt pv for 12v 100ah bat for fridge. 1 charge controller for 2s2p pv = 2100 watts for 48v bank 1 charge controller for 3s pv = 1575 watts for 48v bank. I might turn 3s into 2s2p and just charge the 12v from 48v because the 12v is fully charged by 10am. Dang that was a lot to write lol have a good day n see yah sometime and I’ll show yah how to eat a fish lol

[@SuperSushidog]

What you need is a high-efficiency mini split. It makes all the difference. I only use about 32ah (at 48v) to run my 12k btu EG-4 28.5 SEER-2 heat pump all night when we're asleep (from midnight to 8am). We keep the thermostat set at 72. When the sun goes down, my 16.4 kwh battery is almost always at 100%. So, from about 6pm to midnight (about 6 hrs), my 320ah battery usually drops about 10-12% running my heat pump, big screen TV, computer, etc., This means I use a total of 65-70ah from sundown to sun-up. If it's real hot and I need to run both my roof mounted 14.5k Furrion a/c and my heat pump during this time, my battery can drop down to 70%. The lowest I've ever had it was 66% one time when it wasn't topped off when the sun went down, due to overcast skies and high heat in Yuma. I have 8, 550w panels mounted 15" off the roof of our 35' MH, which give us a nice shade. We use an all-in-one Sungold power 5,000w inverter/100a charge controller/battery charger, for reference. Btw, my MH is well insulated and has dual pane windows, which helps a lot. If you have a big fiver or toy hauler with only moderate insulation, and a kid or two, you'll use a lot more power than we do. BTW, my 28.5 SEER EG-4 mini split is on sale now at Signature Solar for $1,350. I paid $1,500 for mine last November.

[@saltytrips]

@@SuperSushidog if our rear AC dies definitely thinking about replacing with MiniSplit, but its working great right now so can’t justify throwing it away but Mini split is definitely on our radar

[@2hotscottpro]

@@SuperSushidog Looking at a 38 seer 9k. Or 30 seer 12k btu units.For night time use.Use roof tops during the day while the sun runs it. Thanks for info I took a screen shot for future reference. I also have 8 525 watt Bifacial panels over roof top AC’s.

[@ticopowell]

I recommend not using the in line watchdog ems, I just installed that on my friend's parallel system and the watchdog doesn't play well with the victron inverters. The error code was the RV didn't have a neutral. We double checked the connections, and had others double check the connections, and nothing we did removed the error code. We were able to use 30 amp power, but with 50 amp it was not working at all. My friend did eventually buy a different EMS Surge protector and it worked great. It's something with the hughes power watchdog in line EMS Surge protectors that is having issues.

[@saltytrips]

Good to know, probably wasn’t going to do that anyway, already have one for the plug. Appreciate the input.

[@georgeshotrodbarn2113]

When a person gets a serous solar addiction, his tendency is to take it as far as it will go.

[@bobmonztr]

I cut my shore cord and wired into the inverter (90lbs); with electric heat I only draw 2300w through the rv electrical when the microwave is on. Good thing you did not buy lead carbons, 4 batteries 12kw and 800lbs w cable. A 12v460A for the rv battery is an easy swap 5.5kw.With 2 inverters should be enough pv input to vastly expand. Maybe glue down flexible panels on top of the slides, make sure the wire is inside the seal when extended. I am buying 600-watt panels for $200 CAD 93"x44" maybe more power per sq/ft?.

[@2hotscottpro]

Show me a pic of flex panels going under a slide seal? I taped into shore power with cut off switch for inverter to run rv.Switch for shore or inverter option.

[@bobmonztr]

@@2hotscottpro was just a thought , unknown to me when I put my slide out first time there was a disposable camera on top of the slide, it ended up outside ripping a small hole in the rubber, was over and 1" thick so I figured a slim panel would fit.

[@2hotscottpro]

@@bobmonztr wow but no it won’t work for long .Seals are flat for a reason unfortunately my friend.

[@2hotscottpro]

@@bobmonztrI tapped into shore line where it came in.Very close where I put inverter.Just T’D off.Simple for me but not in all rv’s.Thanks for commenting.I like this Chanel.

[@robertnasser9937]

I would have put mega fuses in the lynx

[@saltytrips]

This is a Lynx power not a Lynx distributor, there’s no mount for mega fused in this one.

[@robertnasser9937]

@@saltytrips I did not realize they were different?

[@saltytrips]

@@robertnasser9937 one is a Lynx Distributor 1000 with mega fuse holder and the other is a Victron Energy Lynx Power In Battery Connector which is basically a bus bar with no fuse holders.

[@2hotscottpro]

Sleep well knowing I watched hahah 😊 Nice splicing vid.

[@davesauerzopf6980]

Love your channel. Great breakdown on what you have done and what you are looking at in the future. At some point, I think you are stepping on a dollar to pick up a dime? I know you are concerned about the pups, I am as well. I am also concerned about the pin weight with everything you added. Not sure how much you have spent but?, how long will it take to recoup your investment? Trailers are not like houses and at some point they really start to degrade. Once again, I love your channel and watch everything you post.

[@saltytrips]

This is not a financial investment, this is an investment in adventure and life experiences without having to sacrifice how we live inside the RV no matter where we go. If they trailer begins to degrade, we can easily get a new one and move this whole system over to it.

[@2hotscottpro]

Huh? I’ve seen 20 year old rv’s still rocking with maintenance. Heck most places cut off 10 year old Prevost ($MILLION BUCKS) let alone a tow or 5’er! Grasshopper you will learn lol Wax on wax off hahahha

[@davesauerzopf6980]

@@2hotscottpro I would take a 20 year old diesel pusher in a heart beat. Built to last back then, not like the newer stuff.

[@davesauerzopf6980]

@@saltytrips Great point on just moving your setup from one trailer to the other. And buying a trailer as a financial investment (not), 100% agree.

[@2hotscottpro]

@@davesauerzopf6980 yes I agree ! That’s why there still expensive I guess.

[@my1little2pony]

victron charge controllers only need 4v above battery voltage to charge currently running 2 arrays on my rv one runs at 90v the other at 110v no problem at all. *I am running a 48v system that small wire is nice and easy to work with.

[@saltytrips]

One of the other main reasons I went 24v over 48v is because they don’t make a 2 x 120 48v and the lack of higher amp 48/12v converters.

[@Foxfried]

So hilarious such nice victron systems with the cheapest batteries...

[@saltytrips]

… and performing flawlessly, have seen so many tear downs with of over priced batteries with same exact cells and similar if not same BMS. Battle Born would have cost over $14,000 for the same amount of power and these cost me $4,000. Thats just stupid waste of money, with the money I saved on Batteries it paid for the rest of the entire system. Have had a generic lithium for my 36v trolling motor for year and that thing takes a beating in the chop offshore. To each his own 👍, thanks for watching.

[@TsaWind]

@@saltytrips We have been running 4x 12v 300ah Ampere Time in series to make a 48v300ah bank. Bought the batteries in August 2021 and still running strong! Just have to make sure not to charge them below freezing. Our last capacity test came in at like 90%-95% of advertised when brand new! We can run all 3 rooftop A/C, a portable A/C, plus microwave and more (BMS finally shut down at like 250amps). I've been very impressed so far, though I cringe a bit seeing the price now being almost half of what we paid.

[@saltytrips]

@@TsaWind prices have come down a lot even in the last year from my first LiTime to my last battery almost $400 difference in less than 1 year.

[@markwatson2403]

One suggestion. Having the equal length battery cables is important. However, with your current hook up, you will still get unequal draw on your batteries. The battery closest to the OO cables connection on your Victron Linx power in is going to work harder than the battery next in line. This will be true of each battery in the bank. The remedy would to be connect the positive and the negative cables to opposite ends of the Linx. One on the right and the other on the left. That makes the draw on each battery equal. If neither of your OO are long enough to reach the other side, you can reverse the order that your negative battery cables are connected to the negative busbar and accomplish the same thing. Under most conditions it probably won’t matter much but under heavy draw cycles it could make a difference.

[@saltytrips]

I thought of that but I checked all the cables under load with my clamp meter and they were all pretty close in amperage reading, wasn’t enough deviation to worry about it. It stays in absorption mode plenty long enough for them to even out quite well so far. I’ll keep check and if I notice any deviations I’ll probably rearrange the wires.

[@2hotscottpro]

Made my 48v all same length as suggested and are cold but I’m over sized wire.Ran 8 gauge in to controller from pv. 6 from controller to bats All cold

[@saltytrips]

@@2hotscottpro nice, thats one of the big benefits pf 48v 👍