Solar use recharging cycle.

[acenip]

I had a lot of help from the Fun community recently with the setting up of my solar and lithium. I thought I'd start a new chat regarding the use of the various things and recharging. Currently we're enjoying a decent bit of sunshine so that's been useful working things out.

My shunt reading this morning was 74% as shown. From what I've read bringing the ah back to zero is goal. Is this correct? Are there any other stats from this screenshot I need to consider?

 

[bigtwin]

From what I've read bringing the ah back to zero is goal.

It is.

Are there any other stats from this screenshot I need to consider?

Charge current to zero, and SoC % to 100%.

All things being equal, they amount to, more or less, the same thing.

Ian

 

[acenip]

So if there's no alternative power source to charge, hookup, or alternator because we're not driving and the overall charge is dropping each day, what percentage would you expect our appliances to fail to work?

 

[LostInSpace]

So if there's no alternative power source to charge, hookup, or alternator because we're not driving and the overall charge is dropping each day, what percentage would you expect our appliances to fail to work?

One of the advantages of LiFePO4 lithium batteries is that the voltage stays very constant as the batteies discharge.

All of the appliances on our Sterling Power batteries continue to work right down to the point at which the BMS switches off the batteries to protect them.

Not recommended to do that too often !!

 

[acenip]

We actually have a 200ah LiFePO4 battery, so good to know we can take it that far. As it's a new installation it's going to take a bit of time to figure it out. The good thing is all the gas stuff is still here if we go to far.

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[ChrisL]

You may find if you allow your battery to get that low that the BMS turns it off that you may have difficulty recharging it again, personally I'd be finding some method of charging it when it gets down to around 15%, go for a drive or get on hookup.

 

[acenip]

Good to know. It's all about finding my limits ATM.

 

[acenip]

Just returned from a 5 day trip with the new lithium/solar system. My first mistake was allowing our 3 way fridge to run about 7 hours the first day, won't be doing that again. Regardless, overall it was a very good experience. We used our microwave, small airfryer, toaster, travel kettle and espresso coffee machine for 5 days. Each day we lost slightly more than we could recoup, partly due to a couple of rather cloudy days. Our 200ah lithium fell to 35% on our final day. So our usage would need to change if we don't see better solar conditions. Unfortunately we don't have a B2B, probably won't be able to have one fitted without changing our original alternator.

A few more outings would help us figure things out better.

 

[jumar]

Just returned from a 5 day trip with the new lithium/solar system. My first mistake was allowing our 3 way fridge to run about 7 hours the first day, won't be doing that again. Regardless, overall it was a very good experience. We used our microwave, small airfryer, toaster, travel kettle and espresso coffee machine for 5 days. Each day we lost slightly more than we could recoup, partly due to a couple of rather cloudy days. Our 200ah lithium fell to 35% on our final day. So our usage would need to change if we don't see better solar conditions. Unfortunately we don't have a B2B, probably won't be able to have one fitted without changing our original alternator.

A few more outings would help us figure things out better.

Can you explain a little more about not being able to have a B2B fitted with your current alternator? You may have opened up a positive reply or two....

 

[headlight]

Unfortunately we don't have a B2B, probably won't be able to have one fitted without changing our original alternator.

A few more outings would help us figure things out better.

Why is that ?

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[Bessy765]

We have a 2019 Burstner on the Fiat 2.3 150 we have 700 watts of solar 2 x 100 Transporter Lithium and a 12/2000/80 Victron inverter charger. We do not have a B2B as the installer said it is not required, we can easily pull in excess of 90 amps when driving. This system has been in for over 4.5 years and 27000 miles. Works perfectly. The installer warranted it for 5 years and the batteries for 10. The only stipulation is if stationary and running the engine just to charge the batteries no more than 15 mins at a time.

 

[Bessy765]

We have a 2019 Burstner on the Fiat 2.3 150 we have 700 watts of solar 2 x 100 Transporter Lithium and a 12/2000/80 Victron inverter charger. We do not have a B2B as the installer said it is not required, we can easily pull in excess of 90 amps when driving. This system has been in for over 4.5 years and 27000 miles. Works perfectly. The installer warranted it for 5 years and the batteries for 10. The only stipulation is if stationary and running the engine just to charge the batteries no more than 15 mins at a time.

 

[Bessy765]

We have a 2019 Burstner on the Fiat 2.3 150 we have 700 watts of solar 2 x 100 Transporter Lithium and a 12/2000/80 Victron inverter charger. We do not have a B2B as the installer said it is not required, we can easily pull in excess of 90 amps when driving. This system has been in for over 4.5 years and 27000 miles. Works perfectly. The installer warranted it for 5 years and the batteries for 10. The only stipulation is if stationary and running the engine just to charge the batteries no more than 15 mins at a time.

 

[Bessy765]

What happens to this website/?

 

[ChrisL]

What happens to this website/?

It had an update yesterday, Jim is working through issues.

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[acenip]

Why is that ?

Apologies for the delayed reply. My motorhome reached 25 years old this month, it still has the original alternator that Fiat fitted, it's has a 2.8i.d.TD engine. There's a leisure battery charging relay installed but not able to charge lithium as far as I know.

From what I've recently read the more recent type alternator will work with the B2B setup. Time for me to be enlighten with advice from the Funsters who've already crossed this bridge

 

[acenip]

See my recent reply to 'headlight'

 

[headlight]

Apologies for the delayed reply. My motorhome reached 25 years old this month, it still has the original alternator that Fiat fitted, it's has a 2.8i.d.TD engine. There's a leisure battery charging relay installed but not able to charge lithium as far as I know.

From what I've recently read the more recent type alternator will work with the B2B setup. Time for me to be enlighten with advice from the Funsters who've already crossed this bridge

A B2B will work with your standard alternator.
You need to find out your alternator amp rating to correctly size the B2B.
General rule of thump is don't fit a B2B over about 40% of your alternator output.
So if you have a 100 amp alternator don't fit a B2B bigger than about 40 amps.
FYI my motorhome is 18 years old.
It has an old fashioned standard non smart alternator.
My alternator is 150 amp and I run a 60 amp B2B.
In a couple of weeks I am doing a full electrical installation on a friend's van, lithium, inverter etc.
He has a 90 amp alternator so I am fitting a Victron Orion 50 amp B2B and dialing it down to 40 amps.

 

[jumar]

Our Hymer is 18 years old...I fitted my Lithium and changed the settings to Lithium on my Victron Solar mppts....
I fitted a Victron B2B 30 amp....now have thoughts on upgrading this to 50 amp..as I've added more Lithium..
The vehicle charger has been bypassed when wiring the B2B...

 

[acenip]

We have a 2019 Burstner on the Fiat 2.3 150 we have 700 watts of solar 2 x 100 Transporter Lithium and a 12/2000/80 Victron inverter charger. We do not have a B2B as the installer said it is not required, we can easily pull in excess of 90 amps when driving. This system has been in for over 4.5 years and 27000 miles. Works perfectly. The installer warranted it for 5 years and the batteries for 10. The only stipulation is if stationary and running the engine just to charge the batteries no more than 15 mins at a time.

Just to clarify, is your fitted victron inverter charger an alternative to a B2B alternator?

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[acenip]

A B2B will work with your standard alternator.
You need to find out your alternator amp rating to correctly size the B2B.
General rule of thump is don't fit a B2B over about 40% of your alternator output.
So if you have a 100 amp alternator don't fit a B2B bigger than about 40 amps.
FYI my motorhome is 18 years old.
It has an old fashioned standard non smart alternator.
My alternator is 150 amp and I run a 60 amp B2B.
In a couple of weeks I am doing a full installation on a friend's van, lithium, inverter etc.
He has a 90 amp alternator so I am fitting a Victron Orion 50 amp B2B and dialing it down to 40 amps.

Thanks for this. I need to get my alternator output information. I would really like to go the B2B route to supplement my current solar. I'm not completely against the idea of adding a few move panels, there's still some space up there. But a B2B working well would seem like a better next step for me right now. We tend to move every few days anyway.

 

[Lenny HB]

Just to clarify, is your fitted victron inverter charger an alternative to a B2B alternator?

A B2B takes care of charing the battery from the alternator.

A Victron inverter charger is an inverter & mains charger in a single unit with addition features like auto changeover & mains bypass.
The Victron inverter charger is called a Multiplus, I have the 3000va version, it's is a 3000va inverter with a 120 amp charger.

 

[acenip]

A B2B takes care of charing the battery from the alternator.

A Victron inverter charger is an inverter & mains charger in a single unit with addition features like auto changeover & mains bypass.
The Victron inverter charger is called a Multiplus, I have the 3000va version, it's is a 3000va inverter with a 120 amp charger.

Ah, I'm past the stage of considering one of those. I've already fitted a 1500w pure sine wave inverter.

 

[jumar]

Thanks for this. I need to get my alternator output information. I would really like to go the B2B route to supplement my current solar. I'm not completely against the idea of adding a few move panels, there's still some space up there. But a B2B working well would seem like a better next step for me right now. We tend to move every few days anyway.

Exactly the right route to take in my opinion...although we have enough solar, there is no quicker way known to me, to replenish your battery bank, than B2B.
My active solutions are whilst stationary...Solar...whilst moving B2B...
An average overnight use in our van is quickly replenished in a 40 minute drive..
Staying in one place for multiple days.. Solar, then what the solar hasn't provided...driving to the next location will...

 

[Lenny HB]

Ah, I'm past the stage of considering one of those. I've already fitted a 1500w pure sine wave inverter.

Can be very useful my batteries were down to 62% a couple of days ago as solar has not been that good, on a hook up I put 180 ah back into them in less than 2 hours.

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[AliciaBN]

I have lots of areas to ride that are past my limits for power available,
70+ miles one way.
My Wart Hog MD 750 has a battery size/type of 17200 cells = 48v-15ah-720wh,
x 2 battery's and I average between 80-120 mile per charge, for normal riding,
charged to 92% - 53.4v/13.3v and use down to 42.0v/1.9v, before recharging
back up to 53.4v.

I have been thinking of a portable solar pack for field recharging............

 

[acenip]

Exactly the right route to take in my opinion...although we have enough solar, there is no quicker way known to me, to replenish your battery bank, than B2B.
My active solutions are whilst stationary...Solar...whilst moving B2B...
An average overnight use in our van is quickly replenished in a 40 minute drive..
Staying in one place for multiple days.. Solar, then what the solar hasn't provided...driving to the next location will...

Finally got around to this. I've made several attempts to find my alternator output, taken off a cover underneath the engine, managed to take several clear photos at various angles around the alternator. But all to no avail, there's no plate to be found. My go to mechanic friend told me to put my registration plate into the Europarts website, this I did and it gave me a 90 amp listing for my engine. A few of the other details in there were definitely correct, so not sure if I can trust this information when I purchase the B2B. Would it be best to build in an extra 20amps to be on the correct side of things?

 

[jumar]

I have 30amp B2B but since doubling up on my Lithium I could increase my B2B to 50 or 60 amps...but not until I've tested this fully..

 

[acenip]

I have 30amp B2B but since doubling up on my Lithium I could increase my B2B to 50 or 60 amps...but not until I've tested this fully..

What's your alternator output?

 

[Lenny HB]

Finally got around to this. I've made several attempts to find my alternator output, taken off a cover underneath the engine, managed to take several clear photos at various angles around the alternator. But all to no avail, there's no plate to be found. My go to mechanic friend told me to put my registration plate into the Europarts website, this I did and it gave me a 90 amp listing for my engine. A few of the other details in there were definitely correct, so not sure if I can trust this information when I purchase the B2B. Would it be best to build in an extra 20amps to be on the correct side of things?

With the age of your van a 90 amp alternator is probably right.
If you were to fit a Victron Orion XS B2B they are a max of 50amps but can be set to deliver 1 to 50 amps in 1 amp steps. I would set it to 30 amps then if you upgrade your alternator you could increase it.

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