Cons of 48v setup for RV?

My trailer will have a 50A hookup with 3 A/C units. Although the end goal is to use as much solar as possible so don’t expect to be running all 3, or even 2 haha. My solar setup won’t be That big haha.

the leveling system is the Lippert Level Up, I did speak with some current users with this system and ive been getting answers of just under 80amps. I’m told these units ship with an 80amp circuit breaker for the leveling system so I think I’d be good with a 100 amp dc-dc converter.

With 48v, if you lose one cell, you have no battery bank.
With 24V, you still would have half your bank.
I would go with 24V.
As to 30A vs 50A: The dividing line is usually whether the RV has one or two air conditioners.

orangeminnie said:

With 48v, if you lose one cell, you have no battery bank.
With 24V, you still would have half your bank.
I would go with 24V.
As to 30A vs 50A: The dividing line is usually whether the RV has one or two air conditioners.

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THIS. This is a good point I didn’t think about. And just may be a deciding factor. Everything else so far is great but I still felt I could go either way comfortably.

but since I’d be on the road I’d rather have at least half my bank than none if that ever were to happen.

Thanks for bringing this up to me.

orangeminnie said:

With 48v, if you lose one cell, you have no battery bank.
With 24V, you still would have half your bank.
I would go with 24V.
As to 30A vs 50A: The dividing line is usually whether the RV has one or two air conditioners.

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30A vs. 50A? Or electric heat, washer/dryer, and or electric hot water. Or generator size -if present.
24v? Redundancy is a plus. A little more wiring/wiring gauge is a negative.
48v ? Or availability of mobile rated devices that make provisions for ensuring that proper neutral bonding and grounding are maintained during power inversion using multiple power sources at one time.
Or life safety issues of the higher voltage. 48v can kill easily. This means the neutral bonding and grounding system must be designed to properly include all system devices such that any electrocution hazard potential is contained under the expected operating conditions.

mapguy525 said:

30A vs. 50A? Or electric heat, washer/dryer, and or electric hot water. Or generator size -if present.
24v? Redundancy is a plus. A little more wiring/wiring gauge is a negative.
48v ? Or availability of mobile rated devices that make provisions for ensuring that proper neutral bonding and grounding are maintained during power inversion using multiple power sources at one time.
Or life safety issues of the higher voltage. 48v can kill easily. This means the neutral bonding and grounding system must be designed to properly include all system devices such that any electrocution hazard potential is contained under the expected operating conditions.

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Just noticed that you posted this here which is relevant to a discussion on a thread of mine. How might grounding and neutral bonding be incorporated in a mobile environment to negate this issue?

DW SD said:

Maybe the question was targeted for me?

I kept my system 12V native. An alternative might be to find 24V hydraulic motors.
I don't run Air Con via inverter. I can run a convection oven, but won't often nor for long.
DC to DC converter is another option. But likely pricey for something to deliver high current (>30A) 12DC.

Doug

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What size bank do you have? Inverter?

I have home grown 560Ah 12V LFP bank (8 Eve cells). With Victron 3000 x 12 inverter charger.

I stayed with 16 cells assembled at 12v, 2000w inverter, 675w solar. My trailer is smaller and I like simple. Works well for me.
May have gone higher voltage with a larger RV. Maybe even 32 cells.

I have found in applications that have existing high current 12V requirements, it’s cheaper to use several seperate 12V systems.

In your application with the levelling jacks i’d price up components for one 12V battery pack capable of running your highest DC load - then use this pack on a 12V inverter for your airconditioning and any other short term high current AC circuits.

Build another 12V system and use this for low current 12V DC loads, and a 12V inverter sized to cover the rest of your AC needs.

The only disadvantage of 12V DC is the high current DC side, use a high current busbar situated as close to the battery as possible, and keep your inverter and charge controller as close to the busbar as possible.

Keep in mind that a typical situation with a large inverter (eg 4kw) is that your aircon will be drawing constant 1kw, and other transients, eg (toaster/hairdryer/vacuum/microwave) only run for a few minutes - meaning wiring heat may not be an issue. I wouldn’t recommend running a constant 4kw@12V, but if you size your wiring for 400amps (remember there will be less than 50cm runs) and only ever have short bursts of high current use as in a typical RV situation - you may find this system is the most suitable.

Firstascent said:

there is definitely 12v items on board I

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Firstascent said:

had a separate 12v battery just for their electric/hydraulic jacks.

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The windyNation 200W kit with the little P30L pwm to charge your 12V battery (batteries) is a good option imho. Basic lights and everything work fine, and let the 24V system do the demanding work