Upgrading factory fitted solar and DC to DC charging check out what we found.
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- Опубликовано: 17 окт 2024
- Freshly delivered Caravan. Issues with inverter installation. Incorrect gauge cable used to link batteries not taken into consideration when installing inverter. Here is a classic example of something we come across daily. Also the solar was wired in a parallel system with plug-in MC4 connections. The load on the roof was well above 35A. To transfer this amount of current from the roof to the spade terminals will no doubt and in excessive heat and loss of power. The remedy here is to split the system into 2×340 W systems.
Networked together using the Victron smart solar controllers.
A 50 amp Redarc dc to dc Charger has been added to upgrade vehicle charging as well as a side Solar input for portable usage. 
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Love your beanie!!!
Colour coded as usual😅😊
Hey mate,
Great vids. Love your work. People can really learn alot from you.
I'm a sparky travelling on the road full time in my van. I've helped several people with charging issues over the last few months. I keep coming across bad work in new vans which simply hasn't been tested. If it was they would realise they haven't installed the system properly. The owners are very upset as they have paid good money for something that doesn't work properly. It's not until they get on the road then they realise. Very disappointing to see.
Please keep up your vids mate. I pass them on so van owners can learn from you.👍
Cheers
No worries
Keep up the good work ✅🔋✅
Bloody awesome video I've learnt so much from this thank you and there's so so much that I'm going to change in our van. Thank you for the Video
Matt, thank you for your informative videos! You freely mention battery brands, inverter brands, heater brands etc etc. If a caravan manufacturer/importer provides a product with such basic failures as in this video, that name SHOULD be mentioned to alert current & future owners. Further, if the caravan manufacturer/importer is alerted to the problems found by an expert such as yourself, the problem can be sorted at source. The whole caravanning community benefits!
I appreciate your comment however it’s not the Caravan manufacturers fault.
It’s just the lack of standards in the industry. I’m trying to make people aware of what to look out for. I agree until the day of standards unfortunately this type of stuff will continue.
I freely mention brands that I use and recommend because they have a proven track record of support and quality.
It's there to be seen if you pay attention........
Morning we have just ordered a new van that has a eco flow system do you know much about this 5kw system
thanks for posting great information. ( without being 'smart) the 'problem' that I can see is uninsulated battery terminals and cable connections. someone stores a metal frame chair ( or similar- even a metal coat hanger) in the tunnel boot and the potential for one huge short circuit, and fire.
Great point too ✅✔️✅
Good job/vid. That is a pretty crappy rookie mistake, there is a lot of shoddy workmanship coming out on these flash new vans, sad to see no QC on the DC side.
12vdc may not electrocute anyone in a hurry, but it still has plenty of potential for electrical fire hazards & performance loss if wiring is not done correctly. Cheers
these are great videos to watch thanks for your input
Awesome work Matt, my new van coming is this brand! with a 3000watt Redarc inverter and a 1250 DC-DC ...I'll be checking to make sure the wiring is up to spec. Thank you for your vids
Excellent 👍👍
Hi Spad562, and the brand of this van is...???
How could you miss it lol
So it wasn't shown how you change the bm pro connectors when thicker cables are needed. ??
So what if someone is wanting a caravan dcdc charging set up and a Ute canopy charging set up, are the dcdc chargers need to be smaller for standard alternator to handle 2 DCDC?
Great video Matt. Would you recommend isolated or non isolated Victron DCDC for caravan setup. Have the BMPro 35 HA but not sure it's up to task of charging Lithium (upgrading from AGM). Shame you're in SA. I'd be calling on you if I was local. Cheers.
Both!
It wont matter in a common ground system.
Great video
Any chance you could email me the wiring diagram set up of this van
Love your work mate
Much appreciated
Excellent mate love watching your stuff as I am just about to do my lithium in my van what size cable do you run from the car battery Through Anderson plug to the van I have a Victron 30 amp dcdc
Thanks Damo
depends on length.
6bns minimum should suffice for up to 50a
I have exactly the same on my van but haven't installed inverter yet.
and that's where the problem begins.
You MUST install the Inverter as a WHOLE. This means plan the entire installation properly.
Hope you don’t mind me asking but what cable should I use linking two 105ah lithiums in my f truck canopy and also back to a bus bar. I don’t have an inverter will be mainly running 80ltr fridge and then Anderson to use air compressor. I’ll never be putting a massive inverter in there as we are getting one in our van to use along side the power Paul batteries thanks to your good wrap on them 😊
Simple link the batteries up with the highest charge or discharge in mind.
What size cables should be used from the draw bar to the lithium batteries.
The van im thinking of ordering is supposedly using only 6mm cables..
that sounds like its a crap job.
What size should i be asking for.?
Thanks
Joe
Hi Joe. Sorry for the delayed response cable length is completely dependent on the current draw between 6 and 10 metres with a 50 amp load you would get away with 6bns.
@@extremeacc101 thank you
Hey mate, I notice the battery linking negative cable on this goes onto the non monitoring shunt side. Is there are issue with having all the negatives at the other end including the linking cable?
My negatives terminate on the one post.
Hope that made sense
All battery negatives to one side of the shunt, loads and chargers to the other.
Have watched a lot of youtube videos lately due to being laid up and I am amazed that the lack of quality workmanship in varying degrees is right across the whole RV industry.
Yep,
And it will only get worse
Can alternators handle the 50amp dcdc charge without causing any issues, thank you.
Most vehicles alternators are fine.
Isuzu dmax being the exception at only 75a
@@extremeacc101 Cheers Matt and I happen to have a dmax Haha.
So what is your opinion on the overall management system on this van, despite you 10mm wiring between the batteries.
Nothing wrong with it.
It’s only when things change that we find an issue like the installation of this inverter.
This is the big issue with the caravan industry. There is minimal standards and installation requirements in relation to 12v equipment. So every manufacturer operates in a grey area with no regulation. Until there is an Australian standard to reference and perhaps some sort of licensing on these installs the problems will get worse… a lot worse actually. It’s going to take a few caravan fires and deaths before something changes
so true, well said
people have to caravan without a inverter---ive done it for 40 years with no inverter
that goes to show that they do not understand the concept of electric current on parallel/series batteries.
Exactly
you c'ant create a inbalance between 2 battery in paralell, but yeah, cable are going to overheat
I beg to differ here. I have seen multiple batteries with balance issues.
Most, if not all of the jobs we do are with a parallel system. The problem is the battery systems are not always wired up the same way. An example would be all of the negatives and all of the positives attached to one battery and the other batteries are simply daisychained onto this. We replace many batteries, and this is the number one cause of out of balance.