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"Shop1102891696 Store" on Aliexpress is selling "grade A" 50Ah prismatic LiFePO4 cells for $18 each in qty 16, or $0.11/Wh. Store only open since June 2023. The form factor and capacity are exactly what I need to make an ultra compact 36V 50Ah (2kWh) battery to charge my Bluetti AC180 at 400W...

Yet another great application of lithium jump starters! Great tip. Thanks. We already use them for powering 12V/5V items on long trips (our boy overheats without a car seat fan!).

I never thought about this, that solar charge controllers don't simply feed voltage without reading a battery voltage. The Victron 150/85 manual does state: "The controllers will operate only if the PV voltage exceeds battery voltage (Vbat). PV voltage must exceed Vbat + 5V for the controller...

Thank you for the lowdown! I was able to get decent new grade A 280 Ah cells about a year ago for a little over $100 each, tested out to 285 Ah tho I wasn’t able to test at 0.2C, my tester maxed out at 200W, so it was more like 0.05C. Was hoping for a similar good deal.

Anyone try ordering cells from either of these AliExpress sellers: "5825 orders Store" "Battery factory direct sales store" I found "5825 orders Store" first selling "100% New Lifepo4 320Ah 4-16PCS 3.2V Grade A 48V 310AH Battery Pack DIY RV Cell And Solar Energy Storage System EU US Tax Free"...

I'll look into doing that. Thanks! Yesterday I got very little done except unpacked my battery cases and battery cells, which - after all the research and planning - is getting me very excited. Getting ready to top balance but I'm not sure my tester is up to the charging task (ZKE Tech...

If you could upload a napkin sketch, that would be great. I'll try to noodle on it later tonight either way. Thanks!

What if I put the DC-DC charger between the alternator and the chassis battery? (See updated diagram.) The down side is it limits the starter battery to charging at 60A. The upside is the battery solenoid should work normally to boost the battery. I just need to change the boost button to a...

Add'l questions re: alternator, chassis & house battery, and battery mode switch/solenoid: We don't like camping in freezing temps, so I bought a LiFePO4 chassis battery; I will still add a battery warmer to make the system more robust. I found out LiFePO4 batteries can draw too much from the...

I think either three 2s strings or Pappion's dual 3s strings would be the way to go. I like this approach, and the 150-35 are still fairly affordable, could add a third 3s string if I use risers to mount above A/C (low profile unit).

Thank you! That's amazing. I've tried the Victron calculator before, but couldn't quite figure it out. I'll try playing with it again. Costwise, the 150/85 ($560) is a lot less than the 250/100 (~$1K). But it's pretty close to 3 x 100/30's (about $120 more than $147 x 3 = $441). What are the...

Sorry, I thought I successfully uploaded the spec sheet. I'm camped at Wahweap Campground at Lake Powell, 0-1 bar with T-mobile and the campground's satellite internet guest wifi is terrible with good weather, we were having hailstorms yesterday. I've re-uploaded the spec sheet (EDIT: upload...

I'm using 200W 24V Newpowa panels x 6.

Thank you, @HRTKD! So you mean connect the batteries in parallel using bus bars rather than directly wiring them in parallel, correct? That sounds like a great idea. Separate fuses sounds safer, too. But it also sounds like a nightmare in terms of the number of different fuses I have to carry...

Sorry I've been gone for a while, put the system on the back burner. But it's back on the front burner thanks to necessity. First, thanks to all who contributed to helping firm up my PV battery system. Second, I’m switching to a 12V battery. I was decided on 24V, bought all my stuff to build...

Agreed, BMS, inverter, SCC are all more likely to fail than a LiFePO4 cell, especially if the battery cell is protected by a BMS. Fortunately, nothing is as crippling when it fails than the house battery (you lose functionality, not the use of your coach). Hence my focus on maximum redundancy on...

@emerge411, I support your decision. Like you, I was decided on 24V, bought all my stuff except connection hardware (Victron 24|3000|70 + SmartSolar 100|50 + 6 x 200W 24V Newpowa panels + one 8S 280A 24V LiFePO4). Thank goodness I didn't install. So for now we're stil in a 2018 Winnebago Via...

Yes, I have the Orion 24-12/70 which is adjustable between 10V and 15V. I'll set it to 14.6 for charging the chassis lead acid battery. Or… I could replace the lead acid chassis battery with a 280 Ah 4S LiFePO4 battery; I have another new 280 Ah 4S setup I was going to put in my old rig, but if...

Since I was gonna get a set of Blue Sea 600A busbars + covers for about $200, I'm actually saving money by getting the Victron Power In!

Yup, @Screwball and @Boondock Saint, I tried stuffing all the wiring into the Power In and the layout is MUCH prettier.

Functionally speaking there’s no need to be on the busbar, but I have an empty spot in the busbar and it would look cleaner if I moved it onto the busbar.

If yours is stamped that way it’s definitely right. I just have the high res photo I downloaded from Victron that is labeled differently, maybe a preproduction unit or Photoshopped in by their artists?

Would this work? I tied the 12V load center neg to the neg terminal of the 24-12V converter and ran another line from same terminal to busbar. I also made the following changes: 1. …incorporated your idea of tying the inverter leads directly to the battery switch and shunt (and using two cables...

Hey @Screwball, I was just biting your idea but my photo of the Smart Shunt shows the "To System Minus" and "To Battery Minus" posts reversed from your mockup. Can you please confirm you have the system minus attached to the neg bus bar? I'm not at home so I can't check mine.

I just found the Blue Sea Systems HD Series 3000 battery switch actually has two output terminals plus 600A rating. Wondering if I could use M8 hardware to fix one output to the Lynx Power In busbar and the other direct to the MultiPlus, freeing up the Power In’s output terminals. And...

I've seen others using those busbar M8 holes for other things. It's genius! I did't realize all I needed was M8 bolts and nuts. Love it for simplicity, worry about physical rigidity. I hope I won't need to disconnect the attached switch and shunt!

Thanks, that's what I was using it as, for a clean layout with a nice cover. I felt I didn't need the Distributor version as I was using circuit breakers that would do double duty as switches. I'll consider the possibility of having two wires on some terminals. I was worried the Lynx Power In...

Thank you! I'll make that change. So what happens to the 12V negative? Thanks! I'll be spending a lot of time now trying to figure out the lug sizes and wire lengths. This is time consuming!

Every time I think I'm about ready to build, there's more stuff to do: 1. Lugs for the various sizes of posts and wire 2. Lugs for the BMS balance leads 3. Wire Still trying to find the right PV breaker isolator, plus breakers for the solar panel strings; these will be under the panels, so they...

Hopefully getting close to the final version of the diagram/schematic. I needed one extra negative compared to positive connections because of the MultiPlus's Case Ground, so I joined the 24V load negative and the SCC negative at the small negative busbar and ran a fatter negative wire from...

This sounds fabulous for removing redundancy (shunt in BMS AND an external shunt) and potential failure points. Does it work completely seamlessly? IOW does it look like you're running a Victron Smart Shunt from your GX device screens? Thanks for the hard work, @Louisvdw !

Good point, I think I'll get a 60A breaker. I just wish I had a better idea how much current I'll be expecting on the DC load circuit. I'm hoping to get a DC air conditioner, which will draw 37A, but until then, I probably need a much smaller breaker. Even with it, and the 2.5A a DC refrigerator...

I didn't want to risk cutting off charging amperage in peak sun. Am I nuts?

Thanks, but I don't see anything above 250A there. Might have to go with fuses.

Thanks for bringing this up! I was calculating based on the rating of 3000W, which would be 125A at 24V. I checked the manual, and for the 24|3000-70 (vs the 12|3000) it recommends 50mm (1/0) for under 5 m runs, two for 50mm cables for 5-10m. My battery will be less than 1.5 m from the...