Glad it helpful! That’s the exact reason I made the channel! As I couldn’t find anything myself so I thought I could help others by doing it for my build! If you ever have any particular questions feel free to message me on Instagram
I used Sterling Power 70amp split changer it works with smart alternators. Also comes with a temp sensor that goes not the battery terminal if it starts getting warm it lower the amp draw.
What style of battery are using? Lead acid or lithium? And when you say 70amp, is that the split charger max as a component before damage starts to occur, or does the split charger limit a maximum of 70amp being drawn through it?
@@MispronouncedAdventures Alternators on vans are rated high 120-180amps. Sterling Power covers all battery types and voltage. I created my own 7s 120p lithium battery 24v 8kw pack, I have a PC with a rt2080ti in the van lol. Take a look at SONOFF ZIGBEE products great for camper vans and really cool. I got the PR sensor and told it "when you detect movement" turn on "50 db siren" When I'm on the outside of the van I can say "Google activates the alarm" via my phone and the PR sensor turns on, it can also send me a push message.
Overlanding Sophia glad you have found it helpful. I find having the majority of the electrical system made by the same brand very helpful especially when when the app is so heavily customisable and intuitive
Ah its a dual batteries model, rear one is the starter battery in the front one is the auxiliary battery. It’s a smart system to help you prevent flattening the starter battery. The customer connection point should work for your positive connection, you still need to find somewhere to make a negative connection from as well.
@@oneeyedphotographer I’m about to use the Customer Connection Point to install my Orion on a Mk8- could you let me know how you are working out with the negative grounded to the chassis by the driver seat please. Cheers
Perfect-Installing mine this weekend here in Wisconsin, USA. The pairing info will also be helpful should I experience the same issues. Thanks for posting!
when you said start it up and see what happens, my first thought was "well, his mobile is going to fall off that blue case it's leaned up on" :) but didn't happen... which proves, you're a master of your tools ! :) good vid.
I’m currently based near Lanark. But when living in the van I’ll be basing myself between Fort William and Aviemore as that’s two busy mountains area where I can pick up freelance works taking peopl up the hills and so on ( which is my normal job )
@@MispronouncedAdventures Was up Nevis last year with my wee dog George. Also did Ben Lomond then Ben Vorlich (Arrochar). Sounds like the perfect lifestyle/job. You've certainly got some of Scotlands finest in those areas.
Trying to watch all your videos! Did you cover your multi cable gland box you have on the roof anywhere?, as I see most videos cover this with solar gland that only takes 2 cables, I like you want to be running more gear (lights) into the van - thanks
Originally I used 40amp or 50amp ( 60amp in now ) as that’s what I had. One of the reasons Victron say 60amp is the unit has an efficiency of 87% so output of 30amp, would probably be a input of 34amp, potentially more if there is substantial voltage drop. So using 60amp is a safe way to not have them blow needlessly whilst still protecting the cable. There would be no harm in using smaller fuse, you just might be susceptible to blowing it or the fuse running towards its max depending on your set up.
@@MispronouncedAdventures which crimpers did you use on the B2B cables. Do you recommend them? I have soldered all mine, but crimping is the preferred choice I think. Just picked up a 2014 Mk8 L4H3 Minibus to convert. 14k miles.
I have using a cheap Chinese lug terminal crimper off Amazon. It’s seems to work pretty well. I doublecheck all that they are secure and occasionally I jump down to the size below if I’m not happy the crimps. Also heat shrink them all as well
@@MispronouncedAdventures The Mk8 has 2 x 60a fused outputs from a fuse board next to the starter battery. Ford call it High current junction box. Our minibus has the two batteries for start stop. They each have a monitoring system built in and all consumer connections go through the High Current Junction Box. I got a 10 quid Mk8 manual of Ebay and the wiring diagrams are in there. I am going to use a 16mm cable to each of these fuses and feed them to 2 x Renogy 50amp MPPT DC-DC chargers. Each Renogy will feed 2 x 115amp wet lead acid batteries (4 in total) . Each MPPT will have at least 1 x 100w solar. This will give me 2 independent systems. A battery bank selector switch will then connect either of, or both to the 12v system. A Renogy battery monitor will monitor the amps and volts on the earth. your videos have been very useful. Simon.
Iv installed a Victron dc to dc isolated , now I’m installing a Victron mains charger for when I’m on a site or at home . The instructions say connect the live of the battery charger directly to the battery but the neutral to the chassis. So should I now ground my battery to the chassis? Does it make any difference bearing in mind my dc to dc is an isolated one like yours if you see what I mean . I have a transit , so every thing is grounded to the chassis anyway thank you great vlog 👍👍👍🏴🇨🇦🇬🇧🦢
Great video, we are having some trouble with our wire bridge in that it seems to be broken? A small copper wire dropped out of the bottom and we are unable to get the green bit out like you do in your video. Very confused about how to get a replacement wire bridge - they must sell them as their job is ultimately to be replaced. We have the same as you Orion TR Smart 12/12-18 ....
That’s a shame to hear. Is the green plastic bit itself broken? Or just the wire? Any wire will do in there to bridge it. I can’t remember the name of the plug type the green bit is. But I have seen people ask where they can get replacements on the Victron Facebook group before.
The green bit doesn't seem to come out. On our charger loosening the screws just seems to release the wire. But the wire is broken so we will need to replace it in that case. Thanks! Seems like a fairly simple fix... Hopefully!
Can this get in 12 volt to one 12volt bank and one 24 volt bank from altinator and solar panels like kickass dc dc charger ?? I want to have one like that in my house boat
Hello, thank you for your video! Would you or anyone happen to know how to check which battery is the starter battery in the dual system? I have mk8 ford transit with two batteries and I have no idea which one I should connect the dc-dc charger to 😢
Hello, normally the one towards the back of the seat base is the starter battery. However I would recommend making a slight alteration and not connecting directly to the battery but to use the CCP/customer connection point which is on the side of the seat base
Hi and thank you for sharing, I’ve checked the replies and can’t find the reply to my question. Could you help please ? I have the isolated version .It’s complicated for me to run my negative back to the starter battery , if I ground it to the chassis can I just send the other negative to my leisure battery ? Thanks 🙏
Whilst the unit is intended for cable to be directly run back to the van battery, the van battery and chassis are linked so you shouldn’t run into a each issue using a localised ground point to the chassis
Hi Alex, Having the same van and victron as you do. Always when I drive, it is ON/OFF from charging, getting “engine shutdown detected” or “locked out”,. Can you share the setting used? How many v I need to set? Thanks
.I pretty much use default setting for smart alternator and engine shutdown detected. I occasionally have issues when the van being a smart alternator goes into brake reg mode which drops the voltage
Thanks!@@MispronouncedAdventures I found a way to make it work for me. I disable the "engine shutdown detection" and keep the lights on at all times, this way it charging all the time.
I have a Mk8 minibus with two vehicle batteries. You chose the isolated version, which requires fitting the negative cable back to the negative terminal of your single vehicle battery. Do I need to fit the cable to the negative terminal of the OTHER vehicle battery (which would be - inconveniently - up at the front of the seat and hard to get to)? I'm guessing that if I had the non-isolated version I'd just connect to the common ground (I'd say the handbrake bracket nut)?
Both the isolated and non-isolated will work for you just need to be wired up differently depending on which model you pick. I’m not 100% familiar with the battery set up for the Mk8 transit minibus. If I remember correctly they’re wired up so one is the starter battery, whilst the other is the Aux battery for Electric step and other auxiliary minibus related add ons, I believe they are not strictly wired in parallel. from my understanding when the engine is turned off they are separated so The minibus related additions could be used and not drain the starter battery, when the engine is turned on they are running in parallel so they can both charge off the alternator. if you wanted to use the isolated version you would want to connect unit to the Pos and Neg on the start battery ( rear one I think ). If you want to do use the non-Isolated then as you said, the pos on the starter battery and a chassis/ground point for neg ( which in itself would eventually lead back to the negative on the starter battery anyway ), you would then need to wire the negative of your leisure battery to the chassis as well, so it had a common ground with the starter battery. Hope that helps and not too confusing.
Great video, thanks for posting. Can I check the sequence with you for understanding? Leisure battery circuit off via the main switch (i.e., no power Romo by through leisure system), run the positive and negative wires from the starter battery to the DC charger, set up the DC charger in the app, run the positive negative wires from the DC charger to the positive and negative bus bars, install remote connection (little green plug), turn on main power switch, start engine. Does that sounds correct?
Sounds mostly connect to me. I also have a isolator switch on that DC charger input ( pos starter batter to DC Charger ). Otherwise, with the main leisure battery isolatior switched off, power could be feed into the system via the Dc charger. You could do the wiring for the both the input and output of Dc charger at the same time. As the Dc charger can not activate / turn on when the little green plug is removed
@@MispronouncedAdventures Is the negative bus bar grounded through de DC/DC charger or are you running a separate black cable from the negative bus bar to the negative of the starter battery / chassis?
I use the isolated version of the unit so my negative of the “input” side goes direct to the start battery. I don’t have my negative bus bar going to chassis on my leisure side
@@MispronouncedAdventures thanks for such a quick response, then the bus bar does not need to be grounded anywhere else? I am not an electrician and just learning, thought I would still need to ground the bus bar for the DC loads and I have doubts understanding if the bus bar would still be grounded through the charger when the engine is off - and charger therefore off
The neg bus bar can being grounded to the chassis in the case of a vehicles is used as “ negative return” basically to cut down on wiring. So you could have localised chassis grounding points leading back to your main chassis grounding point and busbars decreasing the amount of wires needed. However in my case I choose to not use the chassis as a return and to run wires
Hi there, what is your input voltage from the battery/alternator when the van is running? I have 2014 transit(MK7) which should have a smart alternator as well. Up till recently I was always getting 14.4V from alternator when engine was running, now for some reason it keeps the voltage at 12.5 to 12.9V, when you lift off(brake with engine) it then increases to over 14V. As far as I know this is exactly how the smart alternator should work, except my never did...until now. So now my Victron DC-DC won't charge my leisure battery because the voltage from alternator is too low , the standard setting for it to come on is 13.3V and above I believe. Have you changed the settings on victron DC-DC to make it kick in at lower voltage from alternator ? or is your alternator never dropping the voltage below 13V, even when the battery is fully charged? Thanks
As I understand you're not using chassis for your negative, but do you have any of your appliances grounded to the chassis? i.e. Victron Mppt has a grounding screw which from my understanding can/should be grounded to chassis(I think it's not linked with its own negative). Are there any safety implications from not grounding your leisure system to chassis? Thanks
I don’t use a chassis ground for my leisure system, as there is no need. There original van own electrics uses the a chassis ground, but as a negative return to the starter battery to decrease the amount of wires needing to be run, for example the wiring harness for the van’s Electric is mostly positive cables using localised negative / chassis grounds to complete the circuit. No safety implications as I’m aware as in this case the chassis would only be used as a negative return. However the AC Earth is connected to the chassis ( Earth bonding ) as part of the RCD safe system. The ground screws on victorn devices are there because some countries rules would require the chassis grounding, whilst others don’t
Hi Alex, thanks for the video. I'm thinking of doing something similar in my Transit but don't have much electrical knowledge. Is there a circuit diagram I could access to check I'm doing things correctly? Cheers, Tom.
Hey, did your negative and positive come straight from the battery to the DC/DC Charger, did you use 8g wire, and also did you put a fuse on your vehicles battery as well? Thanks!
Hello. Yes in this video the wires come off the vehicle battery ( later on the positive was moved to the CCP / customer connection point in the Transit) I used 16mm2 wire due to the length of the cable run. I’m not sure 16mm2 equivalent in wire gauge sizes. Both sides are fused. Input on the start battery side and output side as well
I don’t have a connection between my Leisure system and a van system as I don’t use the van chassis as a negative return for the leisure system which means the system are isolated from each other, so in my case the isolated version was needed. ( and only one available at the time of ordered ) As long as you have a chassis connect in the leisure system then you can using the non-isolated version
Still an on going build. But definitely not cheap. Since I am going to be full time I decided to invest in high quality kit and does end up costing more.
Hello- does the remote pin not need to be connected to ignition/live wire etc for it to work? Note that it has it in the manual but not seen anyone do it on youtube!
Nope, the unit can sense if this the engine is on or not but the input voltage. With the engine detection feature in software. However you can also use a ignition live if you want too as well or a mix of both
B2B charger / Dc to Dc chargers are designed to charge from the Van’s starter battery when the engine is on, not the alternator itself. ( The van’s starter battery is then being charged by the alternator). Unlike VSR’s / split charge relays which would charge directly off the alternator
16mm2, millimetres squared is a common Una measurement in the UK I’m not sure how that equates to American wire gauge. I think it’s about 6 AWG. I’m sure there be plenty of online conversion charts
I know this is an old video mate but you fitted a 50 amp in line fuse at the battery but it looks like you have also fitted an inline fuse from the BtB charger to the liesure battery positive is this correct and what size is this fuse ,
I’d need to check but I’m pretty sure it’s 50amp inline fuse there as well as I had a one. A 40amp would of been fine as well. It’s using 16mm2 cable which is rated up to 110amp but since the output of the B2B is only 30amp as 40 or 50amp will be fine.
Hi Alex, Can you clarify why you have used the isolated version instead of the non-isolated. I know you touched on it in the video, but I didn't quite understand the conditions? New to 12v electrics so getting a bit confused with the grounding etc. !
Sure no problem at all. The non-isolated version has a common negative ( in this case would have to be the vehicle chassis ) , whilst the isolated version have independent negatives for the input ( vehicle battery ) and output ( leisure battery ) . This effectively isolates your input and output circuits from each other allowing them to be at different voltages. Additionally in my leisure system I’m not using the vehicle chassis as a negative whatsoever, additionally in my case vehicle battery is lead acid-based so around 12.8v and my leisure battery is lithium so around the 14v area.
In my case. My van system and leisure system are isolated from each other as I didn’t want to use the van chassis as a Neg return which which is would need to be for the non-isolated version to work as that would be the common GND. I can’t see why or what critical applications would be effected ( I’d be interested to learn if there is ) . As it’s normal to use a common neg / chassis ground in many systems which use a VSR for charging
@@MispronouncedAdventures Thanks for the reply. It's extremely common in the US to use the chassis as a ground so almost all of the van builds here are non-isolated, including mine (and I do also use the non-isolated Orion). I've heard that some ultra-sensitive electronics can be affected but I haven't heard of any specific examples yet. Curious to find out what they are.
Victorn sell a 12v to 24v battery to battery charger which would fit your needs, that’s 15amp ( equivalent of my 30amp at 12v ). The install would be the same
Great video! Thanks. Did you say that you are not using the vehicle chassis as an earth for the leisure battery? Do you need to earth it at all, or does having it connected through the b2b solve that?
Hey. So terminology i miss spoke in the video. I used the word “Earth” which is part of AC Systems, not DC. I meant to say “ground” / “negative”. But in my System using the isolated version, having my negative to the leisure battery going to the vehicle chassis would serve no functional purpose. However if you went for that non-isolated version of this B2B you would need a common ground/Negative between both batteries. Common in vehicles is to use the chassis for that
@@MispronouncedAdventures perfect! Thanks a lot, I have the isolated version of this charger ready to install and your answer tells me exactly what I was wondering. cheers
Have you connected the (-) source directly to the starter battery (-)? I'm reading that the BEMM advises against it, but it's not clear to me. I have a 2020 Transit
Yes I did. However as you have said there I looked at the version of the BEMM I have, 2016 version ( my van is a 2018 ). The information is somewhat confusing at points is in. I imagine it’s just Ford not wanting people to play with original parts of the electrics and using the CCP so they know whatever item is added is fused correctly Personally since any chassis ground point leads back to the battery negative anyway I’m personally don’t mind that I have use the direct terminals and not the CCP. However if you wanted to be by the book or worried warranty issues I’d recommend going via the CCP and a different chassis ground point. It would’ve been nice if the BEMM clearly stated this supposed to hiding it with a wall of text
What was your reason for not grounding your leisure electronics to the vehicle chassis? Also, are any of your electrical components grounded to the chassis or are they all completely isolated?
No need too as I’m using an isolated B2B charger . The Chassis is used as a “Negative return” in vehicles. For the leisure system there is no need to “ground” it to there if you are not using it as negative return or don’t need to share a common negative with the starter battery. The reason everyone used to ground the leisure system to the vehicle chassis was the use of VSR / split charge relay for charging their leisure system battery off the alternator. For a VSR to work it required a common negative with the starter battery. As I’m using this model of B2B ( there is also a non-isolated version which requires a common negative ) there is no reason to make a common negative between the batteries. However when it comes to earthing AC power from electrical hook up to the vehicle chassis that’s completely different and does need to be done for a whole host of different reasons
In the sense of the AC it would be Earth and not Grounding which are different. The AC is earth to the chassis is for safety incase of a potential fault. Where the chassis could become live in the event of live wire problem or loose connection turning it live. If that happened with the chassis earthed and a RCD it would trip the RCD and prevent electrocution
Hi Alex, do you have a vid of you connecting to a d+ signal? Trying to work out where to attach on a Mk8. Also, any reason you didn’t connect to the terminals on the outside of the seat base?
I have a video coming out in a few weeks which covers this. As I now have 2 of there units running in parallel when I use the CCP on the seat base and the ignition live as a start Signal
Hi Alex, a couple of questions... 1) I have bought, but not fitted the isolated DC to DC 30A charger, and have just watched a video where the maker said that the fins on the back of the unit get very very hot, to the point where he has installed a fan. Have you found that the fins get really hot, and does it seem to be potentially dangerous? 2) I have an existing run of 10mm cable from my "starter" battery. I see that Victron specify 16mm cable, even though 10mm cable can handle 70A, (ideal conditions), and voltage drop on my 3m one way run would be acceptable with 30A flowing at 12V, (nominal). Any suggestions why it is specified at 16mm, and what would be the downside of trying it with the 10mm cable?
Hey, The original set up in this video is no longer used, I have since moved the whole electrical cupboard to a far larger and ventilated space. The Dc to Dc charger does definitely get warm/hot when pumping out 30A however the unit itself does protect itself from overheating throttling back its performance by 3% for every degree is over 40°. So better ventilation, better performance in the long run. I guess “really hot” is a relative term, Definitely the unit is really hot for person is to touch it, but the unit itself is within its operating temperature. However I wouldn’t mount the unit directly on plywood as I have in this video, subsequently moved onto a sealed wooden surface, which I will be putting an aluminium plate in between anyway, but not too much to worry about since the combustion temperature of plywood is 230c. Having now run the unit for months without issue. Regarding 10mm vs 16mm. As you stated it’s recommended 10mm for 2m & 16mm for 5m. I guess the big jump is just because there isn’t really any standardise intermediate sizes between 10mm & 16mm. You could probably get away with 10mm for 3m but over a longer period of time it might get warm, voltage drop is going to become more apparent. So potential downsides 10mm I’d see is. Against manufacturers recommendation ( only just ) Heating the wire and slight drop
Give or take these is not much ( it’s important in boats ) . But building a systems I prefer but not using localised ground points / chassis ground points. remove issue which can be made by local ground points and easier to track faults
What imput voltage does your transit seem to run with this unit. Mine is running at 13.2 when it is charging witch seems low. It runs at 14.4 when the orion is off
Input voltage can vary due to the smart alternator. But normal it’s around the 14v+ However occasionally I’ve had it where it’s only been outputting 13v
One question at the beginning you mentioned that the system was fitted with an other type of charging unit , did you take this one out before installing the BtB or have I picked you up wrong , sorry if I have ,
I do see what you mean looking at that shot. But it’s only the camera angle, but I agree it does look off in the angle. The thumbnail for the video it’s a clearer view. The layout in left to right is input POS / input NEG / output NEG / output POS
@@MispronouncedAdventures I watched the video to the end...and it appeared that you were having some difficulty CONNECTING to the device. Never saw that the device was working as I understand it should. Thus, my diagnostic search. Glad it works as advertised.
Aye all working now. The not connecting as was a Bluetooth error which turn out was more or less fixed with turning off the Bluetooth on the phone, so pretty a phone issue over the charger . Been using the charger for a few weeks now and it’s all working well.
Hi! Do you think this setup would work for a Ford Transit custom MHEV (Mild Hybrid) ( No Classic alternator but alterno/generator and a 48v battery powering the starter battery)?
Hmmm. I need to some research into the working of those systems before I can give a concrete answer. But if electricity is being generated I don't see why at some point with some bit of equipment it cannot be put into an additional battery such as a leisure battery
Hey there bud, got a transit with two batteries, think the rear one is the starter but not sure, should i be connecting this unit to the starter or the auxillary battery? Cheers
Great video, we bought a victron orion a couple of months ago and haven't dared install it yet because there was no videos on it! This was really helpful, did you not have to wire it through the alternator? I've noticed in the manual it looks like it does but your way looks much easier
The Dc to Dc charger is designed to take power from the main vehicle battery and not the alternator, ( the alternator than replaces the power in the main battery the dc to dc took ) unless you mean a wire to the alternator so the charger knows when to turn on? ( some models like the CTek dc to dc charger do need a wire ) The Victron Dc to Dc charger is smart and can realise when the engine is running and only charger the battery then.
I’d need to check the manual I think the Victron can be wire to the alternator as well if you want but it’s doesn’t seem necessary is smart enough to realise when the engine is on
@@MispronouncedAdventures that's great that's so much easier than we thought! thanks for the video and advice, we owe you one! Now we will work our way through your next videos for more helpful insights..
Hi Alex, I also have an isolated dc-dc charger and wanted to keep my system isolated like you have. However, I've just been reading the Victron manual for the solar mppt charger and it has a whole section on grounding: 4.4. Grounding Battery grounding The solar charger can be installed in a positive or in a negative grounded system. Apply a single ground connection, preferably close to the battery, to prevent system issues or ground loops. Chassis grounding A separate ground path for the chassis ground is permitted because the chassis is isolated from the positive and the negative terminals. PV array grounding The positive and negative of the PV array should not be grounded. Ground the frame of the PV panels to reduce the impact of lightning. Do not connect the solar charger to a grounded PV array. Only one ground connection is allowed, and this should be near the battery. I'm confused is this saying it requires a ground?
The Victron MPPT solar charger are also isolated units as well. Directly PV positive and negative and battery pos & negative go to their own respective terminals. However the body/chassic of the MPPT itself had a own ground screw on it. This is because some countries regulations would require it to be grounded ( to the vehicle chassis for example ) however in the vast majority of situations it is never used as it’s not necessary ( or at least with the UK rules )
@@MispronouncedAdventures Great, so it's more of a 'it's able to be grounded if needed' sort of thing. Great videos Alex! Really appreciate it, hope your van is back on the road soon. 👍
Hey buddy, really enjoying your series. been super helpful as we begin to kit out out Transit. have a quick question on your victron charger. Is there a reason you went with a 50 instead of a 60 amp fuse at the starter battery? I know they recommend the 60 but you've got me thinking I should maybe go qith the 50. Any thoughts welcome
Thanks very much. Mainly as I had 50amp fuse and I didn’t see any need for a 60amp. As it’s only a 30 amp charger, it’s never going to pull 50 or 60amp. Had it in for most of a year now and no issues with the fuse being 50
Hello, Both curious and trying to be of some help. Do the UK/EU transit vans have customer connection points (CCP) post on the side of the drivers seat? In the US we do. The 2020 vans have two fused post- I think one has 60 amps and the other something like 270 amps. Also, it states in the BEM do not connect stuff directly to the vehicle battery. The CCP post have a plastic cover over them, and are on the door side of the drivers seat. I did see one other post that appeared to be UK based with a double battery, but had an older van with three connection points. Wouldn’t want to give Ford any reason not to honor the warranty.
Yeah the UK Mk8 transits I have seen have the CCP point on the driver side, Although not all of them have had studs/ bolts to make a connection. but I haven’t used it personally as I still needed to go under the the seat for the negative terminal connection. The UK version of the transit can be a mix of this single battery and double battery versions. interesting to see Ford‘s logic on why no winding people to connect directly to the batteries. My guess is so that they know any customer connected item is correctly fused
You do know the victrons heat up quite significantly... i noticed you have it attached to a wooden board, has you tested it to if it withstand the heat ?
This is an old video and set up. the unit are now mounted completely different and is a different location. With regarding the current set up. But Indeed I do. Although the units are mounted to the correct with spacing and clearances. They are currently not mounted up to the correctly in regards to being on a noncombustible material, they are now mount differently even though on a painted surface which does have a flame rating. Having had them in the new location about 5 months now. No adverse effects to the painted wood, that being said the combustion temperature of plywood is around 230c, whilst Victron units, particular the B2B to get warm when dishing out 30amp, however they begin to throttle themselves back after reaching 40° C. The new cupboards has large slit vents both at the top and bottom on the unit panel to encourage passive airflow. I do so also have plans to install a 12v fan to encourage activate air flow. I do have some 2mm aluminium plate leftover which is on a list of jobs to do, to cut and mount the between the B2B & Mppt to the wood. I do like it when people spot things like this, I was discussing things like this with another RUclips the other day. I get particularly annoyed when I see these units sidemounted...
Honestly I appreciate constructive feedback! Especially when it’s presented in a nice manner like you did! And not just abuse which RUclips comments can be known for! I guess it’s always the way with a van build and definitely a learning process as you can look back at your previous things and would’ve done it differently. I definitely try my best for every aspect of the van build to make things not permanent or adaptable, changeable if ever needed or I learnt as a better way of doing it
Hi Alex, thank you for all your really helpful videos. We are just starting the Transit MK8 journey and I am taking on the electrics. I have a couple of questions. You placed the smart charger and your solar controller near the battery end of the van I think your leisure battery is there too? and not in a garage. Why have you done this? It looks like 16mm cable but would you have need that in under a 5m run? Thanks in advance Linda
Glad you found it useful. This is a older video now and layout changes were made. The batteries are now further back in the cabinet which isn’t built in this video. I didn’t build a garage in my van so needed somewhere else to put them. A shorter length if you could go potentially 10mm. But 16 mm is my go to for most charge related things. After all there is no penalties for oversizing wire except a slight amount of extra cost per metre
@@MispronouncedAdventures Thank you for getting back so quickly Alex. I have another quick question. I see you went for the Isolated Orion DC-DC Charger. Did you at any point consider earthing the leisure battery to the chassis and go for the non-isolated one?
No problem. “Earth” is for AC electrics, “ground” is for DC electric ( I do miss speak in this video at one point and say the wrong terminology ). But I understand your question, No I have no plan to ground the DC system to the van chassis as there is no need for it here. The chassis is normally used as a DC negative return so less wires needed to be run normally on a vehicle. Personally I prefer to keep the vehicles electrics and my leisure system separate. But there is no harm in using the non-isolated version if you wish.
@@MispronouncedAdventures Thank you for your take on it Alex it will help me make a decision. Having read some comments on another channel. Some people with the isolated version were having a problem with the charger not functioning properly when driving. It would charge for a short period then stop. Maybe it was to do with their setting on the app though.
Hi just watching your video and wondered we have two batteries under the seat of our mk8 transit as it's a mini bus does yours have two batteries? If yes which one do we attach the 16mm cables to?
Hey. So your Mk8 minibus, Will have a slightly different battery set up to my panel van version which only has one. I just quickly explain how that works. The rear battery is the starter battery, The front battery is the auxiliary minibus battery. In your minibus, When the engine is turned off, The two batteries are separated and all minibus related auxiliary items like Rear lights, Electric step and so on are take power from that auxiliary battery so it wouldn’t be possible to drain the starter battery. When the engine is turned on those batteries are then linked ( in parallel, I think ) and the auxiliary battery is recharged off The alternator alongside the starter battery. So the answer to your question is you would put the positive and negative of the DC to DC Charger from the starter battery ( rear battery ) hope that helps!
@@MispronouncedAdventures thanks very much we have had an issue with batteries as we thought the auxiliary battery was dead because our step wouldn't work but the bus would still however when checked at the garage it was the starter battery which was dead and needed replacing so I assume it was pulling charge from the auxillary just enough to start the bus. We have just found your channel and been watching your video and would like to say how informative and easy to understand it is unlike some channels who leave out when things don't go right first time, once again thanks for the advice.
I’ve heard similar stories about interesting effects when one of the batteries dies. Hopefully you can get it sorted No problem it’s why one of the reasons I wanted to make the series is there aren’t many RUclips series on this model of transit. Feel free to message me on Instagram if you have any particular questions and after help. I don’t have the minibus version but lots of other areas are similar
Hi Alex, great vid - thanks very helpful! Silly Silly question... but if you don't opt for a bluetooth DC to DC charger, what do you need to see how charged your battery is? Is it always worth going with the bluetooth model? I don't plan on having solar so I wont have an MPPT to use. Thanks!!!! Em
All the Victron Dc to dc models have build in Bluetooth. It’s the mppt where you can buy “bluesolar” version which has no Bluetooth or “Smartsolar” which had built in.
@@MispronouncedAdventures sorry, my bad, I didn't explain myself well. Does this device monitor your battery charge? I am worried about overcharging / running too low as I am a complete amateur with electrics. Thanks for getting back to me so quickly, I am working my way through your series for ideas!
The device doesn’t monitor the battery as such, a Victron BMV or smartshunt would be a battery monitor. But after you set up the B2B device which the correct charge profiles for your battery it will take care of it and prevent overcharging
My DCDC Charger is only running when the engine running running. If they starter battery dies, The engine can’t turn on and if the engine can’t turn on the DCDC charger won’t turn on. I also have 500watts of solar panels Charging the leisure batteries. If my starter battery dies, I could then charge it up with the leisure batteries. To start the engine, when the engine started the DC to DC Charger turns out it would recharge their leisure batteries.
@@MispronouncedAdventures Nice vid. Looking at using the same on my van and wondering how to charge the starter battery if it dies. You say you can charge the starter battery from your leisure batteries - How do you do this with your setup?
I don’t think you can do it with this unit particularly. However I have built a system so I can charge the starter battery off the leisure batteries in van which will be coming in an upcoming video. I have a victron 240V to 12v 30amp charger. That’s mounted in the vans electrical cupboard which I normally you so I can plug the van into a wall socket and charge the leisure batteries. However I’ve added some heavy duty quick connectors so I can connect charger into the starter battery and then plug the wall socket of the charger into the leisure systems inverter. Not the most energy-efficient way, but I only need to spend £10 on some connectors as I was already installing the wall charger for the van. I find it takes 8 to 10 minutes are charging to give the starter battery enough energy to turn the engine over if it’s flattened. Then once the engine is on the DCDC Charger turns on recharges the energy used to the leisure batteries.
@@MispronouncedAdventures Haha - I was hoping this was going to be the answer - but it sounds like I need another option to charge the starter if it dies. Thanks for the quick response. HNY.
@@MispronouncedAdventures yes Alex would u do large battery cable lugs? I see a lot use the hydraulic ones off ebay but these are cheaper just wondering do they work OK? paul
Why? it’s an isolated system. There is no common ground between the vehicles electrical system and leisure system Also, this video came out before the non-isolated version was available on the market
@@MispronouncedAdventures Maybe i'm confused then but doesn't connecting a negative to the starter battery then back to the victron or bus bar mean you are sharing the same ground between starter and leisure ?
I wouldn’t completely agree with all wiring needs to be done before wood work. Just planning conduit and probably running larger cables makes life easier. Conduit is run throughout the entirety of the van so for the rest of the build and normal 1-2mm2 gauge wires were easy to run with conduit and a cable puller. Only wires which I had difficult with were running the two 16mm2 for B2B ( as I found out and you can see two didn’t fit very well in conduit ). Lots of Self builds change and develop so much over the course a build so trying to do all runs isn’t for every appliance isn’t really realistic, or limits scope for change. Running smaller wire later on isn’t a issue which have planned for it with conduit runs
The non-isolated version has a common negative, whilst the isolated version have independent negatives for the input and output. This effectively isolates your input and output circuits from each other allowing them to be at different voltages.
Apologies if I used the wrong terminology, you are correct that are different. Since this is 12v and not 240v there is no reason to mention Earth. I am also not using the chassis at all as ground in my leisure Circuit as it isn’t necessary too. Obviously The vans own electrics used the chassis as ground.
@@MispronouncedAdventures Yes i agree with not needing to use the chassis. Can I ask where you got those large Busbars from that you can see next to and above your Orion? Really tidy and would like them for my build. thanks for any help
It seems common / necessary when people are install VSR’s / voltage sensitive relays for there van to charge there leisure batteries on non-EURO6 vans. They need to use the chassis as a neg then but I suspect many people are just watching how others have done it and see everyone else doing negatives to the chassis ( because of there VSR ) but not understanding the reasoning behind why and just copy
Ram Z - The Human SoundSystem the busbar used for the main Pos and Negs in the System are from 12voltplanet.co.uk there 150A busbar 4 stud terminals ( using M6 )
I wouldn’t really think so. running two wires from a battery to the unit seems little easier and cheaper than shipping an alternator from the other side of the planet, as I have replaced Alternators myself I do know it’s not that difficult to replace. The bigger issue would of been now since I use lithium batteries they can do a good job at cooking alternators if the van is left idling. Dc to dc are pretty common place for most users with lithium batteries as a way for them to prevent lithium battieres drawing too many amps from alternator when at low rpms and over heating them
The Dc to Dc charger can’t really do anything with the Victron smart network at the moment ( Victron has said this might be added features at somepoint via a software update ). But Is current set up for the MPPT and alternator to be running and charging the batteries at the same time.
Oh definitely it can do everything independently I can change it all of the setting and changing profiles in the app. My Victron MPPT gets the information like the battery temperature by talking my Victron BMV via the smart network to get information from it,. For some reason the dc to dc can’t at the moment . But it doesn’t matter too much as I can just set the dc to dc charger how I want in its one setting in the app
Hi Alex - great vid, and the Victron kit looks really good; i have a tech question. The Orion (Instead of using a split charge relay) does it automatically restrict the current being pulled off the Euro6 Alternator as i saw this vid on the Victron you tube that at low revs, the alternator is cooked? ruclips.net/video/jgoIocPgOug/видео.html Cheers. P.
Good tech a question. Technically my alternator is not charging my leisure battery ( AGM not lithium ) at all. The alternator is only ever charging the starter battery. The Victron DC to DC Charger is charging the leisure battery from power in the starter battery. The alternator itself is only ever working as Ford intended it to and replacing lost energy from the starter battery.
It’s also not the largest of DC to DC charger at only 30A, I think sterling make a 60 amp model, euro6 alternator the van is fitted with is around 150amps.
I believe in that video it appears Victron are charging a lithium battery which has a lot to less resistance than a lead acid is therefore can take a higher amp charge rate directly from an alternator. Which is obviously putting the alternator under a lot of stress.
Thanks, I believe that the alternator reduces the charging load of the van battery when it reaches the specified voltage. So effectively am I right, the Orion and the van batt are wired in parallel? Bit of a rhetorical question. Hmmm 🤔
Yes and no, but wouldnt of said they were wired in parallel. Both batteries can independently have different voltages but it’s an isolated system. Yes the pos and neg from the van battery is wired to the Dc to Dc charger and the dc to dc charger is wired to the pos and neg of leisure battery. But this Orion dc to dc charger is isolate. So there is no Direct connection between those two batteries . The DC to DC Charger is merely just acting as an appliance off the van battery. If the batteries are in parallel then they would balance each other. Which isn’t the case here
You are wrong, Ferrules are recommended for screw terminals, were the screw makes physical contact with the wires core. These are not screw terminals, the screw compression a plate which clamps the wire core. This type of terminal is not designed for a ferruled termination. You will find much literature and online support available saying it is not recommended using ferrules for Victron style clamp terminals.
However, ferrule terminals for compressing and bringing under control find multistrand cores of larger wire gauge such as 35mm2, 50mm2 and so on I have seen used, But again if the multistrand core fits within a plate compression terminal without the organisation for my feral why use the feral and increase potential resistance
Thanks! There aren't many MK8 conversions on there so your channel is very useful!
Glad it helpful! That’s the exact reason I made the channel! As I couldn’t find anything myself so I thought I could help others by doing it for my build! If you ever have any particular questions feel free to message me on Instagram
@@MispronouncedAdventures you're a gent, thanks!
New sub. Greetings from South Africa. Busy binge watching your camper build. Great content. Keep up the good work. Hugs
Thank you very much! Enjoy the build! And the arctic travel in the van after
Great video and your responses to other peoples questions have helped me loads 😂 cheers mate
Happy to help, glad to hear your found the replies and the video helpful
I used Sterling Power 70amp split changer it works with smart alternators. Also comes with a temp sensor that goes not the battery terminal if it starts getting warm it lower the amp draw.
What style of battery are using? Lead acid or lithium? And when you say 70amp, is that the split charger max as a component before damage starts to occur, or does the split charger limit a maximum of 70amp being drawn through it?
@@MispronouncedAdventures Alternators on vans are rated high 120-180amps. Sterling Power covers all battery types and voltage. I created my own 7s 120p lithium battery 24v 8kw pack, I have a PC with a rt2080ti in the van lol. Take a look at SONOFF ZIGBEE products great for camper vans and really cool. I got the PR sensor and told it "when you detect movement" turn on "50 db siren" When I'm on the outside of the van I can say "Google activates the alarm" via my phone and the PR sensor turns on, it can also send me a push message.
just found this. Thanks, RUclips. Great Cable management brother.
Thank you! it all about great cable management!
Great vid. Looking to change out our Sterling B2B this year for the Orion. You answered all the questions I had. Thanks so much.
Overlanding Sophia glad you have found it helpful. I find having the majority of the electrical system made by the same brand very helpful especially when when the app is so heavily customisable and intuitive
About to do the same. So frustrated with the Sterling
My MK7 has dual batteries, and 3x "customer connection points," fused at 60A. When I get there, I plan on using one of those.
Ah its a dual batteries model, rear one is the starter battery in the front one is the auxiliary battery. It’s a smart system to help you prevent flattening the starter battery. The customer connection point should work for your positive connection, you still need to find somewhere to make a negative connection from as well.
@@MispronouncedAdventures That's true. There's a point nearby others have used for earth, I will check before committing myself.
@@oneeyedphotographer I’m about to use the Customer Connection Point to install my Orion on a Mk8- could you let me know how you are working out with the negative grounded to the chassis by the driver seat please. Cheers
Thanks mate.....just needed a general idea how this thing is installed. Cheers👍
No problem at all, hope it helps. Generally rather easy once you are happy making cables and crimping lugs
Perfect-Installing mine this weekend here in Wisconsin, USA.
The pairing info will also be helpful should I experience the same issues. Thanks for posting!
Best of luck, I’ve had it installed for month now, it’s been brilliant
when you said start it up and see what happens, my first thought was "well, his mobile is going to fall off that blue case it's leaned up on" :) but didn't happen... which proves, you're a master of your tools ! :) good vid.
Haha much appreciated. But there is a reason why I have such a chunky case! It’s definitely been dropped once or twice!
Great to watch another Transit conversion. Looking forward to seeing the finished design.
Thank you very much. Plenty more to come. Lots of jobs and stuff being done and filmed at the moment
@@MispronouncedAdventures What's your plans when the build is complete are you heading anywhere in particular? What part of Scotland are you based in?
I’m currently based near Lanark. But when living in the van I’ll be basing myself between Fort William and Aviemore as that’s two busy mountains area where I can pick up freelance works taking peopl up the hills and so on ( which is my normal job )
@@MispronouncedAdventures Was up Nevis last year with my wee dog George. Also did Ben Lomond then Ben Vorlich (Arrochar). Sounds like the perfect lifestyle/job. You've certainly got some of Scotlands finest in those areas.
All nice mountains to go up. The Arrochar Alps are lovely
Neat install that. Running that conduit was also a great shout
Brill video mate and you are so good at explaining and showing how to do this , thanks
Great video thanks mate great job !!!
No problem at all, having now use the unit for months I love it
Good video Alex, currently camping wild near Balmaha with Alfred and co en route to Fort William :)
Brilliant, glad guys are doing the WHW. Seems like you have had some good weather to start
Good video.
Thanks!
All that high tech and still charging agm ;-) Better make sure you plan to hang an extra big stocking that fit's a lithium battery ;-)
Old video now. I have 390ah of lithium now.
And more tech!
Trying to watch all your videos! Did you cover your multi cable gland box you have on the roof anywhere?, as I see most videos cover this with solar gland that only takes 2 cables, I like you want to be running more gear (lights) into the van - thanks
Hope you enjoy them. Yes multi gland cable box is covered in one of the auxbeam lighting videos.
It’s the video called “auxbeam light bar | thermal imaging testing” which has the multi gland box
@@MispronouncedAdventures awesome many thanks !!
What size fuse did you use from battery to victron?....says in book 60amp?
Originally I used 40amp or 50amp ( 60amp in now ) as that’s what I had. One of the reasons Victron say 60amp is the unit has an efficiency of 87% so output of 30amp, would probably be a input of 34amp, potentially more if there is substantial voltage drop. So using 60amp is a safe way to not have them blow needlessly whilst still protecting the cable. There would be no harm in using smaller fuse, you just might be susceptible to blowing it or the fuse running towards its max depending on your set up.
Very helpful thanks.
Glad it was helpful!
@@MispronouncedAdventures which crimpers did you use on the B2B cables. Do you recommend them? I have soldered all mine, but crimping is the preferred choice I think. Just picked up a 2014 Mk8 L4H3 Minibus to convert. 14k miles.
I have using a cheap Chinese lug terminal crimper off Amazon. It’s seems to work pretty well. I doublecheck all that they are secure and occasionally I jump down to the size below if I’m not happy the crimps. Also heat shrink them all as well
Great van to convert. Enjoy the Mk8!
@@MispronouncedAdventures The Mk8 has 2 x 60a fused outputs from a fuse board next to the starter battery. Ford call it High current junction box. Our minibus has the two batteries for start stop. They each have a monitoring system built in and all consumer connections go through the High Current Junction Box. I got a 10 quid Mk8 manual of Ebay and the wiring diagrams are in there. I am going to use a 16mm cable to each of these fuses and feed them to 2 x Renogy 50amp MPPT DC-DC chargers. Each Renogy will feed 2 x 115amp wet lead acid batteries (4 in total) . Each MPPT will have at least 1 x 100w solar. This will give me 2 independent systems. A battery bank selector switch will then connect either of, or both to the 12v system. A Renogy battery monitor will monitor the amps and volts on the earth. your videos have been very useful. Simon.
Iv installed a Victron dc to dc isolated , now I’m installing a Victron mains charger for when I’m on a site or at home . The instructions say connect the live of the battery charger directly to the battery but the neutral to the chassis. So should I now ground my battery to the chassis? Does it make any difference bearing in mind my dc to dc is an isolated one like yours if you see what I mean . I have a transit , so every thing is grounded to the chassis anyway thank you great vlog 👍👍👍🏴🇨🇦🇬🇧🦢
Great video, we are having some trouble with our wire bridge in that it seems to be broken? A small copper wire dropped out of the bottom and we are unable to get the green bit out like you do in your video. Very confused about how to get a replacement wire bridge - they must sell them as their job is ultimately to be replaced. We have the same as you Orion TR Smart 12/12-18 ....
That’s a shame to hear. Is the green plastic bit itself broken? Or just the wire? Any wire will do in there to bridge it. I can’t remember the name of the plug type the green bit is. But I have seen people ask where they can get replacements on the Victron Facebook group before.
The green bit doesn't seem to come out. On our charger loosening the screws just seems to release the wire. But the wire is broken so we will need to replace it in that case. Thanks! Seems like a fairly simple fix... Hopefully!
Can this get in 12 volt to one 12volt bank and one 24 volt bank from altinator and solar panels like kickass dc dc charger ?? I want to have one like that in my house boat
Hello, thank you for your video! Would you or anyone happen to know how to check which battery is the starter battery in the dual system? I have mk8 ford transit with two batteries and I have no idea which one I should connect the dc-dc charger to 😢
Hello, normally the one towards the back of the seat base is the starter battery. However I would recommend making a slight alteration and not connecting directly to the battery but to use the CCP/customer connection point which is on the side of the seat base
Hi and thank you for sharing, I’ve checked the replies and can’t find the reply to my question. Could you help please ? I have the isolated version .It’s complicated for me to run my negative back to the starter battery , if I ground it to the chassis can I just send the other negative to my leisure battery ? Thanks 🙏
Whilst the unit is intended for cable to be directly run back to the van battery, the van battery and chassis are linked so you shouldn’t run into a each issue using a localised ground point to the chassis
Hi Alex,
Having the same van and victron as you do. Always when I drive, it is ON/OFF from charging, getting “engine shutdown detected” or “locked out”,. Can you share the setting used? How many v I need to set? Thanks
.I pretty much use default setting for smart alternator and engine shutdown detected.
I occasionally have issues when the van being a smart alternator goes into brake reg mode which drops the voltage
Thanks!@@MispronouncedAdventures I found a way to make it work for me. I disable the "engine shutdown detection" and keep the lights on at all times, this way it charging all the time.
I love that music! what is it?
I have a Mk8 minibus with two vehicle batteries. You chose the isolated version, which requires fitting the negative cable back to the negative terminal of your single vehicle battery. Do I need to fit the cable to the negative terminal of the OTHER vehicle battery (which would be - inconveniently - up at the front of the seat and hard to get to)? I'm guessing that if I had the non-isolated version I'd just connect to the common ground (I'd say the handbrake bracket nut)?
Both the isolated and non-isolated will work for you just need to be wired up differently depending on which model you pick. I’m not 100% familiar with the battery set up for the Mk8 transit minibus. If I remember correctly they’re wired up so one is the starter battery, whilst the other is the Aux battery for Electric step and other auxiliary minibus related add ons, I believe they are not strictly wired in parallel. from my understanding when the engine is turned off they are separated so The minibus related additions could be used and not drain the starter battery, when the engine is turned on they are running in parallel so they can both charge off the alternator. if you wanted to use the isolated version you would want to connect unit to the Pos and Neg on the start battery ( rear one I think ). If you want to do use the non-Isolated then as you said, the pos on the starter battery and a chassis/ground point for neg ( which in itself would eventually lead back to the negative on the starter battery anyway ), you would then need to wire the negative of your leisure battery to the chassis as well, so it had a common ground with the starter battery. Hope that helps and not too confusing.
Great video. Very helpful. Thanks. Also, Where did you get your back windows from buddy.
A company near Glasgow called “Northview customs & Auto glass” there is a video on them being fitting by them on my channel for more information
Great video, thanks for posting. Can I check the sequence with you for understanding? Leisure battery circuit off via the main switch (i.e., no power Romo by through leisure system), run the positive and negative wires from the starter battery to the DC charger, set up the DC charger in the app, run the positive negative wires from the DC charger to the positive and negative bus bars, install remote connection (little green plug), turn on main power switch, start engine. Does that sounds correct?
Sounds mostly connect to me. I also have a isolator switch on that DC charger input ( pos starter batter to DC Charger ). Otherwise, with the main leisure battery isolatior switched off, power could be feed into the system via the Dc charger.
You could do the wiring for the both the input and output of Dc charger at the same time. As the Dc charger can not activate / turn on when the little green plug is removed
@@MispronouncedAdventures Is the negative bus bar grounded through de DC/DC charger or are you running a separate black cable from the negative bus bar to the negative of the starter battery / chassis?
I use the isolated version of the unit so my negative of the “input” side goes direct to the start battery. I don’t have my negative bus bar going to chassis on my leisure side
@@MispronouncedAdventures thanks for such a quick response, then the bus bar does not need to be grounded anywhere else? I am not an electrician and just learning, thought I would still need to ground the bus bar for the DC loads and I have doubts understanding if the bus bar would still be grounded through the charger when the engine is off - and charger therefore off
The neg bus bar can being grounded to the chassis in the case of a vehicles is used as “ negative return” basically to cut down on wiring. So you could have localised chassis grounding points leading back to your main chassis grounding point and busbars decreasing the amount of wires needed.
However in my case I choose to not use the chassis as a return and to run wires
Hi there, what is your input voltage from the battery/alternator when the van is running? I have 2014 transit(MK7) which should have a smart alternator as well. Up till recently I was always getting 14.4V from alternator when engine was running, now for some reason it keeps the voltage at 12.5 to 12.9V, when you lift off(brake with engine) it then increases to over 14V. As far as I know this is exactly how the smart alternator should work, except my never did...until now. So now my Victron DC-DC won't charge my leisure battery because the voltage from alternator is too low , the standard setting for it to come on is 13.3V and above I believe. Have you changed the settings on victron DC-DC to make it kick in at lower voltage from alternator ? or is your alternator never dropping the voltage below 13V, even when the battery is fully charged? Thanks
As I understand you're not using chassis for your negative, but do you have any of your appliances grounded to the chassis? i.e. Victron Mppt has a grounding screw which from my understanding can/should be grounded to chassis(I think it's not linked with its own negative). Are there any safety implications from not grounding your leisure system to chassis? Thanks
I don’t use a chassis ground for my leisure system, as there is no need. There original van own electrics uses the a chassis ground, but as a negative return to the starter battery to decrease the amount of wires needing to be run, for example the wiring harness for the van’s Electric is mostly positive cables using localised negative / chassis grounds to complete the circuit.
No safety implications as I’m aware as in this case the chassis would only be used as a negative return. However the AC Earth is connected to the chassis ( Earth bonding ) as part of the RCD safe system. The ground screws on victorn devices are there because some countries rules would require the chassis grounding, whilst others don’t
Hi Alex, thanks for the video. I'm thinking of doing something similar in my Transit but don't have much electrical knowledge. Is there a circuit diagram I could access to check I'm doing things correctly? Cheers, Tom.
Hey, there is an older electrical diagram. I can’t share pictures in the comments, so if you email or Instagram I can see what I can do
@@MispronouncedAdventures thanks I’ll email you. Cheers.
Hey, did your negative and positive come straight from the battery to the DC/DC Charger, did you use 8g wire, and also did you put a fuse on your vehicles battery as well? Thanks!
Hello. Yes in this video the wires come off the vehicle battery ( later on the positive was moved to the CCP / customer connection point in the Transit)
I used 16mm2 wire due to the length of the cable run. I’m not sure 16mm2 equivalent in wire gauge sizes.
Both sides are fused. Input on the start battery side and output side as well
I plan on putting one of these into my Mk7 transit. Question, I am wondering about the isolating vs non isolating charger. Does it matter?
I don’t have a connection between my Leisure system and a van system as I don’t use the van chassis as a negative return for the leisure system which means the system are isolated from each other, so in my case the isolated version was needed. ( and only one available at the time of ordered )
As long as you have a chassis connect in the leisure system then you can using the non-isolated version
Excluding the cost of the van, what did the build cost in total? Thanks
Still an on going build. But definitely not cheap. Since I am going to be full time I decided to invest in high quality kit and does end up costing more.
Hello- does the remote pin not need to be connected to ignition/live wire etc for it to work? Note that it has it in the manual but not seen anyone do it on youtube!
Nope, the unit can sense if this the engine is on or not but the input voltage. With the engine detection feature in software.
However you can also use a ignition live if you want too as well or a mix of both
That makes my life so much easier hahaha thanks so much
Great video! do you need to connect anything to the alternator or just the van battery?
B2B charger / Dc to Dc chargers are designed to charge from the Van’s starter battery when the engine is on, not the alternator itself. ( The van’s starter battery is then being charged by the alternator).
Unlike VSR’s / split charge relays which would charge directly off the alternator
Do you know what is the wire gauge size you are using to connect the DC to DC charger? You mention “16 mil” but what is the gauge? Thanks
16mm2, millimetres squared is a common Una measurement in the UK I’m not sure how that equates to American wire gauge. I think it’s about 6 AWG. I’m sure there be plenty of online conversion charts
I know this is an old video mate but you fitted a 50 amp in line fuse at the battery but it looks like you have also fitted an inline fuse from the BtB charger to the liesure battery positive is this correct and what size is this fuse ,
I’d need to check but I’m pretty sure it’s 50amp inline fuse there as well as I had a one. A 40amp would of been fine as well. It’s using 16mm2 cable which is rated up to 110amp but since the output of the B2B is only 30amp as 40 or 50amp will be fine.
Alex, have you made a wiring diagram?
Hi Alex, Can you clarify why you have used the isolated version instead of the non-isolated. I know you touched on it in the video, but I didn't quite understand the conditions? New to 12v electrics so getting a bit confused with the grounding etc. !
Sure no problem at all. The non-isolated version has a common negative ( in this case would have to be the vehicle chassis ) , whilst the isolated version have independent negatives for the input ( vehicle battery ) and output ( leisure battery ) . This effectively isolates your input and output circuits from each other allowing them to be at different voltages. Additionally in my leisure system I’m not using the vehicle chassis as a negative whatsoever, additionally in my case vehicle battery is lead acid-based so around 12.8v and my leisure battery is lithium so around the 14v area.
@@grahaml334 Why is the isolated better? What types of critical appliances are affected by using a common chassis ground?
In my case. My van system and leisure system are isolated from each other as I didn’t want to use the van chassis as a Neg return which which is would need to be for the non-isolated version to work as that would be the common GND.
I can’t see why or what critical applications would be effected ( I’d be interested to learn if there is ) . As it’s normal to use a common neg / chassis ground in many systems which use a VSR for charging
The isolated versions were also far easier to acquire at the time or purchasing
@@MispronouncedAdventures Thanks for the reply. It's extremely common in the US to use the chassis as a ground so almost all of the van builds here are non-isolated, including mine (and I do also use the non-isolated Orion). I've heard that some ultra-sensitive electronics can be affected but I haven't heard of any specific examples yet. Curious to find out what they are.
If I install this to feed my 24V batteries, will it work, but at half the capacity. Say 20amps instead of 40?
Victorn sell a 12v to 24v battery to battery charger which would fit your needs, that’s 15amp ( equivalent of my 30amp at 12v ). The install would be the same
Great video! Thanks. Did you say that you are not using the vehicle chassis as an earth for the leisure battery? Do you need to earth it at all, or does having it connected through the b2b solve that?
Hey. So terminology i miss spoke in the video. I used the word “Earth” which is part of AC Systems, not DC. I meant to say “ground” / “negative”. But in my System using the isolated version, having my negative to the leisure battery going to the vehicle chassis would serve no functional purpose. However if you went for that non-isolated version of this B2B you would need a common ground/Negative between both batteries. Common in vehicles is to use the chassis for that
@@MispronouncedAdventures perfect! Thanks a lot, I have the isolated version of this charger ready to install and your answer tells me exactly what I was wondering. cheers
Have you connected the (-) source directly to the starter battery (-)? I'm reading that the BEMM advises against it, but it's not clear to me. I have a 2020 Transit
Yes I did. However as you have said there I looked at the version of the BEMM I have, 2016 version ( my van is a 2018 ).
The information is somewhat confusing at points is in. I imagine it’s just Ford not wanting people to play with original parts of the electrics and using the CCP so they know whatever item is added is fused correctly
Personally since any chassis ground point leads back to the battery negative anyway I’m personally don’t mind that I have use the direct terminals and not the CCP. However if you wanted to be by the book or worried warranty issues I’d recommend going via the CCP and a different chassis ground point.
It would’ve been nice if the BEMM clearly stated this supposed to hiding it with a wall of text
Yay
What was your reason for not grounding your leisure electronics to the vehicle chassis? Also, are any of your electrical components grounded to the chassis or are they all completely isolated?
No need too as I’m using an isolated B2B charger . The Chassis is used as a “Negative return” in vehicles. For the leisure system there is no need to “ground” it to there if you are not using it as negative return or don’t need to share a common negative with the starter battery. The reason everyone used to ground the leisure system to the vehicle chassis was the use of VSR / split charge relay for charging their leisure system battery off the alternator. For a VSR to work it required a common negative with the starter battery. As I’m using this model of B2B ( there is also a non-isolated version which requires a common negative ) there is no reason to make a common negative between the batteries.
However when it comes to earthing AC power from electrical hook up to the vehicle chassis that’s completely different and does need to be done for a whole host of different reasons
Got it. So you do still plan to ground your electrical system to the chassis because of the AC part of your electrical?
In the sense of the AC it would be Earth and not Grounding which are different. The AC is earth to the chassis is for safety incase of a potential fault. Where the chassis could become live in the event of live wire problem or loose connection turning it live. If that happened with the chassis earthed and a RCD it would trip the RCD and prevent electrocution
Hi Alex, do you have a vid of you connecting to a d+ signal? Trying to work out where to attach on a Mk8. Also, any reason you didn’t connect to the terminals on the outside of the seat base?
I have a video coming out in a few weeks which covers this. As I now have 2 of there units running in parallel when I use the CCP on the seat base and the ignition live as a start Signal
@@MispronouncedAdventures Awesome, I look forward to it. Your vids are some of the clearest on here and helps we've both got Transits. Cheers.
Hi Alex, a couple of questions...
1) I have bought, but not fitted the isolated DC to DC 30A charger, and have just watched a video where the maker said that the fins on the back of the unit get very very hot, to the point where he has installed a fan. Have you found that the fins get really hot, and does it seem to be potentially dangerous?
2) I have an existing run of 10mm cable from my "starter" battery. I see that Victron specify 16mm cable, even though 10mm cable can handle 70A, (ideal conditions), and voltage drop on my 3m one way run would be acceptable with 30A flowing at 12V, (nominal). Any suggestions why it is specified at 16mm, and what would be the downside of trying it with the 10mm cable?
Hey,
The original set up in this video is no longer used, I have since moved the whole electrical cupboard to a far larger and ventilated space.
The Dc to Dc charger does definitely get warm/hot when pumping out 30A however the unit itself does protect itself from overheating throttling back its performance by 3% for every degree is over 40°. So better ventilation, better performance in the long run. I guess “really hot” is a relative term, Definitely the unit is really hot for person is to touch it, but the unit itself is within its operating temperature. However I wouldn’t mount the unit directly on plywood as I have in this video, subsequently moved onto a sealed wooden surface, which I will be putting an aluminium plate in between anyway, but not too much to worry about since the combustion temperature of plywood is 230c. Having now run the unit for months without issue.
Regarding 10mm vs 16mm. As you stated it’s recommended 10mm for 2m & 16mm for 5m. I guess the big jump is just because there isn’t really any standardise intermediate sizes between 10mm & 16mm. You could probably get away with 10mm for 3m but over a longer period of time it might get warm, voltage drop is going to become more apparent. So potential downsides 10mm I’d see is. Against manufacturers recommendation ( only just ) Heating the wire and slight drop
Whats the advantage of not using the chassis as an earth?
Give or take these is not much ( it’s important in boats ) . But building a systems I prefer but not using localised ground points / chassis ground points. remove issue which can be made by local ground points and easier to track faults
What imput voltage does your transit seem to run with this unit. Mine is running at 13.2 when it is charging witch seems low. It runs at 14.4 when the orion is off
Input voltage can vary due to the smart alternator. But normal it’s around the 14v+
However occasionally I’ve had it where it’s only been outputting 13v
One question at the beginning you mentioned that the system was fitted with an other type of charging unit , did you take this one out before installing the BtB or have I picked you up wrong , sorry if I have ,
Maybe it's the CAMERA Angle...
at 9:25 it APPEARS that you've installed the POS and NEG wiring ONE lug to the RIGHT?
Am I correct?
I do see what you mean looking at that shot. But it’s only the camera angle, but I agree it does look off in the angle. The thumbnail for the video it’s a clearer view. The layout in left to right is input POS / input NEG / output NEG / output POS
@@MispronouncedAdventures I watched the video to the end...and it appeared that you were having some difficulty CONNECTING to the device. Never saw that the device was working as I understand it should.
Thus, my diagnostic search. Glad it works as advertised.
Aye all working now. The not connecting as was a Bluetooth error which turn out was more or less fixed with turning off the Bluetooth on the phone, so pretty a phone issue over the charger . Been using the charger for a few weeks now and it’s all working well.
Hi! Do you think this setup would work for a Ford Transit custom MHEV (Mild Hybrid) ( No Classic alternator but alterno/generator and a 48v battery powering the starter battery)?
Sorry I meant a BiSG (starter/generator)
Hmmm. I need to some research into the working of those systems before I can give a concrete answer. But if electricity is being generated I don't see why at some point with some bit of equipment it cannot be put into an additional battery such as a leisure battery
Hey there bud, got a transit with two batteries, think the rear one is the starter but not sure, should i be connecting this unit to the starter or the auxillary battery? Cheers
Hey, yes. the rear battery is the starter and is what I would connect too
@@MispronouncedAdventures Legend thanks
Great video, we bought a victron orion a couple of months ago and haven't dared install it yet because there was no videos on it! This was really helpful, did you not have to wire it through the alternator? I've noticed in the manual it looks like it does but your way looks much easier
The Dc to Dc charger is designed to take power from the main vehicle battery and not the alternator, ( the alternator than replaces the power in the main battery the dc to dc took ) unless you mean a wire to the alternator so the charger knows when to turn on? ( some models like the CTek dc to dc charger do need a wire ) The Victron Dc to Dc charger is smart and can realise when the engine is running and only charger the battery then.
I’d need to check the manual I think the Victron can be wire to the alternator as well if you want but it’s doesn’t seem necessary is smart enough to realise when the engine is on
@@MispronouncedAdventures that's great that's so much easier than we thought! thanks for the video and advice, we owe you one! Now we will work our way through your next videos for more helpful insights..
No problem at all. Lots more to film and edit! All the best. Any more questions just ask!
Hi Alex, I also have an isolated dc-dc charger and wanted to keep my system isolated like you have. However, I've just been reading the Victron manual for the solar mppt charger and it has a whole section on grounding:
4.4. Grounding
Battery grounding
The solar charger can be installed in a positive or in a negative grounded system.
Apply a single ground connection, preferably close to the battery, to prevent system issues or ground loops.
Chassis grounding
A separate ground path for the chassis ground is permitted because the chassis is isolated from the positive and the negative
terminals.
PV array grounding
The positive and negative of the PV array should not be grounded.
Ground the frame of the PV panels to reduce the impact of lightning.
Do not connect the solar charger to a grounded PV array. Only one ground connection is allowed, and this should be near the
battery.
I'm confused is this saying it requires a ground?
The Victron MPPT solar charger are also isolated units as well. Directly PV positive and negative and battery pos & negative go to their own respective terminals. However the body/chassic of the MPPT itself had a own ground screw on it. This is because some countries regulations would require it to be grounded ( to the vehicle chassis for example ) however in the vast majority of situations it is never used as it’s not necessary ( or at least with the UK rules )
@@MispronouncedAdventures Great, so it's more of a 'it's able to be grounded if needed' sort of thing. Great videos Alex! Really appreciate it, hope your van is back on the road soon. 👍
Hey buddy, really enjoying your series. been super helpful as we begin to kit out out Transit. have a quick question on your victron charger. Is there a reason you went with a 50 instead of a 60 amp fuse at the starter battery? I know they recommend the 60 but you've got me thinking I should maybe go qith the 50. Any thoughts welcome
Thanks very much. Mainly as I had 50amp fuse and I didn’t see any need for a 60amp. As it’s only a 30 amp charger, it’s never going to pull 50 or 60amp. Had it in for most of a year now and no issues with the fuse being 50
@@MispronouncedAdventures Dang that was a rapid response! Thanks a bunch. Hope we all get to get some time up North sometime soon! cheers
No problem. I’m hoping I can move into to the van full time soon and get back to scotland . Been down south for a few month now
@@MispronouncedAdventures Sure it'll be waiting for ya.
Hello,
Both curious and trying to be of some help. Do the UK/EU transit vans have customer connection points (CCP) post on the side of the drivers seat? In the US we do. The 2020 vans have two fused post- I think one has 60 amps and the other something like 270 amps. Also, it states in the BEM do not connect stuff directly to the vehicle battery. The CCP post have a plastic cover over them, and are on the door side of the drivers seat. I did see one other post that appeared to be UK based with a double battery, but had an older van with three connection points. Wouldn’t want to give Ford any reason not to honor the warranty.
Yeah the UK Mk8 transits I have seen have the CCP point on the driver side, Although not all of them have had studs/ bolts to make a connection. but I haven’t used it personally as I still needed to go under the the seat for the negative terminal connection. The UK version of the transit can be a mix of this single battery and double battery versions. interesting to see Ford‘s logic on why no winding people to connect directly to the batteries. My guess is so that they know any customer connected item is correctly fused
looks like the input wires are crossed
Not at all, that wasn’t case
You do know the victrons heat up quite significantly... i noticed you have it attached to a wooden board, has you tested it to if it withstand the heat ?
This is an old video and set up. the unit are now mounted completely different and is a different location. With regarding the current set up.
But Indeed I do. Although the units are mounted to the correct with spacing and clearances. They are currently not mounted up to the correctly in regards to being on a noncombustible material, they are now mount differently even though on a painted surface which does have a flame rating. Having had them in the new location about 5 months now. No adverse effects to the painted wood, that being said the combustion temperature of plywood is around 230c, whilst Victron units, particular the B2B to get warm when dishing out 30amp, however they begin to throttle themselves back after reaching 40° C.
The new cupboards has large slit vents both at the top and bottom on the unit panel to encourage passive airflow. I do so also have plans to install a 12v fan to encourage activate air flow. I do have some 2mm aluminium plate leftover which is on a list of jobs to do, to cut and mount the between the B2B & Mppt to the wood. I do like it when people spot things like this, I was discussing things like this with another RUclips the other day. I get particularly annoyed when I see these units sidemounted...
But he raise a good point, I think I’ll update the original description
@@MispronouncedAdventures looks like you're on top of the situation... Great work by the way 👏 impressive & neat work too 👍.
Honestly I appreciate constructive feedback! Especially when it’s presented in a nice manner like you did! And not just abuse which RUclips comments can be known for! I guess it’s always the way with a van build and definitely a learning process as you can look back at your previous things and would’ve done it differently. I definitely try my best for every aspect of the van build to make things not permanent or adaptable, changeable if ever needed or I learnt as a better way of doing it
Hi Alex, thank you for all your really helpful videos. We are just starting the Transit MK8 journey and I am taking on the electrics. I have a couple of questions. You placed the smart charger and your solar controller near the battery end of the van I think your leisure battery is there too? and not in a garage. Why have you done this? It looks like 16mm cable but would you have need that in under a 5m run? Thanks in advance Linda
Glad you found it useful. This is a older video now and layout changes were made. The batteries are now further back in the cabinet which isn’t built in this video. I didn’t build a garage in my van so needed somewhere else to put them. A shorter length if you could go potentially 10mm. But 16 mm is my go to for most charge related things. After all there is no penalties for oversizing wire except a slight amount of extra cost per metre
@@MispronouncedAdventures Thank you for getting back so quickly Alex. I have another quick question. I see you went for the Isolated Orion DC-DC Charger. Did you at any point consider earthing the leisure battery to the chassis and go for the non-isolated one?
No problem. “Earth” is for AC electrics, “ground” is for DC electric ( I do miss speak in this video at one point and say the wrong terminology ).
But I understand your question, No I have no plan to ground the DC system to the van chassis as there is no need for it here. The chassis is normally used as a DC negative return so less wires needed to be run normally on a vehicle. Personally I prefer to keep the vehicles electrics and my leisure system separate. But there is no harm in using the non-isolated version if you wish.
@@MispronouncedAdventures Thank you for your take on it Alex it will help me make a decision. Having read some comments on another channel. Some people with the isolated version were having a problem with the charger not functioning properly when driving. It would charge for a short period then stop. Maybe it was to do with their setting on the app though.
More likely an issue with set up over the unit itself
Hi just watching your video and wondered we have two batteries under the seat of our mk8 transit as it's a mini bus does yours have two batteries? If yes which one do we attach the 16mm cables to?
Hey. So your Mk8 minibus, Will have a slightly different battery set up to my panel van version which only has one. I just quickly explain how that works. The rear battery is the starter battery, The front battery is the auxiliary minibus battery. In your minibus, When the engine is turned off, The two batteries are separated and all minibus related auxiliary items like Rear lights, Electric step and so on are take power from that auxiliary battery so it wouldn’t be possible to drain the starter battery. When the engine is turned on those batteries are then linked ( in parallel, I think ) and the auxiliary battery is recharged off The alternator alongside the starter battery. So the answer to your question is you would put the positive and negative of the DC to DC Charger from the starter battery ( rear battery ) hope that helps!
@@MispronouncedAdventures thanks very much we have had an issue with batteries as we thought the auxiliary battery was dead because our step wouldn't work but the bus would still however when checked at the garage it was the starter battery which was dead and needed replacing so I assume it was pulling charge from the auxillary just enough to start the bus.
We have just found your channel and been watching your video and would like to say how informative and easy to understand it is unlike some channels who leave out when things don't go right first time, once again thanks for the advice.
I’ve heard similar stories about interesting effects when one of the batteries dies. Hopefully you can get it sorted
No problem it’s why one of the reasons I wanted to make the series is there aren’t many RUclips series on this model of transit. Feel free to message me on Instagram if you have any particular questions and after help. I don’t have the minibus version but lots of other areas are similar
@@MispronouncedAdventures thanks, started following you on Instagram under describe the name wandering_barnaby. Will probably have more questions ☺️
Hi Alex, great vid - thanks very helpful! Silly Silly question... but if you don't opt for a bluetooth DC to DC charger, what do you need to see how charged your battery is? Is it always worth going with the bluetooth model? I don't plan on having solar so I wont have an MPPT to use. Thanks!!!! Em
All the Victron Dc to dc models have build in Bluetooth. It’s the mppt where you can buy “bluesolar” version which has no Bluetooth or “Smartsolar” which had built in.
@@MispronouncedAdventures sorry, my bad, I didn't explain myself well. Does this device monitor your battery charge? I am worried about overcharging / running too low as I am a complete amateur with electrics. Thanks for getting back to me so quickly, I am working my way through your series for ideas!
The device doesn’t monitor the battery as such, a Victron BMV or smartshunt would be a battery monitor. But after you set up the B2B device which the correct charge profiles for your battery it will take care of it and prevent overcharging
Hi does / did you just come off the main battery ? No alternator connection
Yes. These are connected to the start battery not the alternator, there start battery is connected to the alternator anyway
@@MispronouncedAdventures thanks man just got one
Just curious..if the starter battery dies how would it impact charging of the house battery?
My DCDC Charger is only running when the engine running running. If they starter battery dies, The engine can’t turn on and if the engine can’t turn on the DCDC charger won’t turn on. I also have 500watts of solar panels Charging the leisure batteries. If my starter battery dies, I could then charge it up with the leisure batteries. To start the engine, when the engine started the DC to DC Charger turns out it would recharge their leisure batteries.
@@MispronouncedAdventures Nice vid. Looking at using the same on my van and wondering how to charge the starter battery if it dies. You say you can charge the starter battery from your leisure batteries - How do you do this with your setup?
I don’t think you can do it with this unit particularly. However I have built a system so I can charge the starter battery off the leisure batteries in van which will be coming in an upcoming video. I have a victron 240V to 12v 30amp charger. That’s mounted in the vans electrical cupboard which I normally you so I can plug the van into a wall socket and charge the leisure batteries. However I’ve added some heavy duty quick connectors so I can connect charger into the starter battery and then plug the wall socket of the charger into the leisure systems inverter. Not the most energy-efficient way, but I only need to spend £10 on some connectors as I was already installing the wall charger for the van. I find it takes 8 to 10 minutes are charging to give the starter battery enough energy to turn the engine over if it’s flattened. Then once the engine is on the DCDC Charger turns on recharges the energy used to the leisure batteries.
I would’ve loved a system where the Victron DCDC Charger could just reverse the current direction to charge the starter off the leisures
@@MispronouncedAdventures Haha - I was hoping this was going to be the answer - but it sounds like I need another option to charge the starter if it dies. Thanks for the quick response. HNY.
how did u find that cable crimper tool?
The larger handle one for lugs?
@@MispronouncedAdventures yes Alex would u do large battery cable lugs? I see a lot use the hydraulic ones off ebay but these are cheaper just wondering do they work OK? paul
Switched to the hydraulic crimper halfway through the build, I think they are superior
@@MispronouncedAdventures thanks for that
Could have saved yourself a few quid and bought the non isolated dc to dc with the way it’s been wired.
Why? it’s an isolated system. There is no common ground between the vehicles electrical system and leisure system
Also, this video came out before the non-isolated version was available on the market
@@MispronouncedAdventures Maybe i'm confused then but doesn't connecting a negative to the starter battery then back to the victron or bus bar mean you are sharing the same ground between starter and leisure ?
Never mind, just me being simple 😂. I looked at victrons diagrams and now understand the wiring.
do ALL your wiring first, before ANY internal woodwork etc. otherwise as you can see, like this guy you will struggle with a very simple job!
I wouldn’t completely agree with all wiring needs to be done before wood work. Just planning conduit and probably running larger cables makes life easier. Conduit is run throughout the entirety of the van so for the rest of the build and normal 1-2mm2 gauge wires were easy to run with conduit and a cable puller. Only wires which I had difficult with were running the two 16mm2 for B2B ( as I found out and you can see two didn’t fit very well in conduit ). Lots of Self builds change and develop so much over the course a build so trying to do all runs isn’t for every appliance isn’t really realistic, or limits scope for change. Running smaller wire later on isn’t a issue which have planned for it with conduit runs
Probably a really stupid question so sorry in advance! I can see you have the "isolated" version. What i the difference betwwen that and non isolated?
The non-isolated version has a common negative, whilst the isolated version have independent negatives for the input and output. This effectively isolates your input and output circuits from each other allowing them to be at different voltages.
Mispronounced Adventures so in a nutshell the isolated is a lot better?
Yeah for most Applications yes, I’m not really sure what why you would want a non isolated version, I’m sure there are good reasons.
Mispronounced Adventures Thankyou for help. Great video 👍
chasis is for ground not earth. not the same thing
Apologies if I used the wrong terminology, you are correct that are different. Since this is 12v and not 240v there is no reason to mention Earth. I am also not using the chassis at all as ground in my leisure Circuit as it isn’t necessary too. Obviously The vans own electrics used the chassis as ground.
@@MispronouncedAdventures Yes i agree with not needing to use the chassis. Can I ask where you got those large Busbars from that you can see next to and above your Orion? Really tidy and would like them for my build. thanks for any help
It seems common / necessary when people are install VSR’s / voltage sensitive relays for there van to charge there leisure batteries on non-EURO6 vans. They need to use the chassis as a neg then but I suspect many people are just watching how others have done it and see everyone else doing negatives to the chassis ( because of there VSR ) but not understanding the reasoning behind why and just copy
@@MispronouncedAdventures I see!! Any tips on your busbars featured next to your Orion Tr? I would love to know where you bought them. thanks
Ram Z - The Human SoundSystem the busbar used for the main Pos and Negs in the System are from 12voltplanet.co.uk there 150A busbar 4 stud terminals ( using M6 )
Wouldn’t it be easier just to put an alternator from America on your van
I wouldn’t really think so. running two wires from a battery to the unit seems little easier and cheaper than shipping an alternator from the other side of the planet, as I have replaced Alternators myself I do know it’s not that difficult to replace. The bigger issue would of been now since I use lithium batteries they can do a good job at cooking alternators if the van is left idling. Dc to dc are pretty common place for most users with lithium batteries as a way for them to prevent lithium battieres drawing too many amps from alternator when at low rpms and over heating them
do u not mean " particularly in Africa "...?
Not sure I’m sure what you mean?
Ah I see, I just had to watch that back! Yeah that’s a spelling mistake! The pitfalls of a dyslexic RUclipsr! I do fail at the captions
@@MispronouncedAdventures im just quite good at noticing stuff like that ...thanks for the video
Is it support smart network so MPPT (solar) +alternator can charge batteries at same time?
The Dc to Dc charger can’t really do anything with the Victron smart network at the moment ( Victron has said this might be added features at somepoint via a software update ). But Is current set up for the MPPT and alternator to be running and charging the batteries at the same time.
@@MispronouncedAdventures guess even without smart network it can check voltages for almost same changing profile etc. Great video 👌
Oh definitely it can do everything independently I can change it all of the setting and changing profiles in the app. My Victron MPPT gets the information like the battery temperature by talking my Victron BMV via the smart network to get information from it,. For some reason the dc to dc can’t at the moment . But it doesn’t matter too much as I can just set the dc to dc charger how I want in its one setting in the app
Hi Alex - great vid, and the Victron kit looks really good; i have a tech question. The Orion (Instead of using a split charge relay) does it automatically restrict the current being pulled off the Euro6 Alternator as i saw this vid on the Victron you tube that at low revs, the alternator is cooked? ruclips.net/video/jgoIocPgOug/видео.html Cheers. P.
Good tech a question. Technically my alternator is not charging my leisure battery ( AGM not lithium ) at all. The alternator is only ever charging the starter battery. The Victron DC to DC Charger is charging the leisure battery from power in the starter battery. The alternator itself is only ever working as Ford intended it to and replacing lost energy from the starter battery.
It’s also not the largest of DC to DC charger at only 30A, I think sterling make a 60 amp model, euro6 alternator the van is fitted with is around 150amps.
I believe in that video it appears Victron are charging a lithium battery which has a lot to less resistance than a lead acid is therefore can take a higher amp charge rate directly from an alternator. Which is obviously putting the alternator under a lot of stress.
Thanks, I believe that the alternator reduces the charging load of the van battery when it reaches the specified voltage. So effectively am I right, the Orion and the van batt are wired in parallel? Bit of a rhetorical question. Hmmm 🤔
Yes and no, but wouldnt of said they were wired in parallel. Both batteries can independently have different voltages but it’s an isolated system. Yes the pos and neg from the van battery is wired to the Dc to Dc charger and the dc to dc charger is wired to the pos and neg of leisure battery. But this Orion dc to dc charger is isolate. So there is no Direct connection between those two batteries . The DC to DC Charger is merely just acting as an appliance off the van battery. If the batteries are in parallel then they would balance each other. Which isn’t the case here
No ferrule on cable ends this size is criminal und dangerous.
You are wrong, Ferrules are recommended for screw terminals, were the screw makes physical contact with the wires core. These are not screw terminals, the screw compression a plate which clamps the wire core. This type of terminal is not designed for a ferruled termination. You will find much literature and online support available saying it is not recommended using ferrules for Victron style clamp terminals.
However, ferrule terminals for compressing and bringing under control find multistrand cores of larger wire gauge such as 35mm2, 50mm2 and so on I have seen used, But again if the multistrand core fits within a plate compression terminal without the organisation for my feral why use the feral and increase potential resistance
Definitely not a sparky are you
Not 2 years ago
same sex thing .. bye
Erm what?