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  1. J

    Renogy 50a DC charger not charging via solar, but charges via alternator

    Yup, but that's not my issue. with the alternator off and solar on, I'm not seeing any power coming in on the battery monitor, like i normally would
  2. J

    Renogy 50a DC charger not charging via solar, but charges via alternator

    Hi, In my Chevy astro van i have a renogy 50a dc charger, 2 renogy 100w panels, 100a lithium battery, aili battery monitor. Solar panels suddenly stopped charging the battery. It was working yesterday but not today. The red light indicator on the DC charging unit for the solar panels panels is...
  3. J

    For Sale: Renogy 1000W 12V Pure Sine Wave Inverter with Power Saving Mode (New Edition)

    Price update to $180, someone buy this please :) Leaving for 6 month road trip in 4 days.
  4. J

    Compact size battery on off switch?

    Yes but will charge the battery with solar and alternator. i should have mentioned the alternator charging, i have a dc to dc charger with mppt for solar. also sized the wire for an inverter that i want to add in the future. that way i don't have to rewire.
  5. J

    Compact size battery on off switch?

    max amps, i can't see drawing more than 15 amps simultaneously. i have a 28l dometic fridge (7 amps i think when just powering up), 12w of led overhead lights, will charge cell phone and camera, have a laptop and monitor, both running on 12v not through an inverter. that's it, no big appliances...
  6. J

    Compact size battery on off switch?

    Just bought a blue sea systems on off switch for my battery (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000MMC914) and boy is this thing HUGE. I have a small system in a Chevy Astro... 100ah lithium battery, 200w solar. Space is limited, this stupid switch takes up almost as much space as my entire DC...
  7. J

    For Sale: Renogy 1000W 12V Pure Sine Wave Inverter with Power Saving Mode (New Edition)

    Not the same model. The one I have has power saving eco mode, and is listed as "new edition" on Renogy's site. They are have a different look to the case as well. Don't know much else about how they are different, but you can see the price difference on renogy The one I have...
  8. J

    For Sale: Renogy 1000W 12V Pure Sine Wave Inverter with Power Saving Mode (New Edition)

    New, never used, but no original packaging "1000W 12V Pure Sine Wave Inverter with Power Saving Mode (New Edition)" https://www.renogy.com/1000w-12v-pure-sine-wave-inverter-with-power-saving-mode-new-edition/ I bought this one month ago from Renogy.com. I am building a Chevy Astro camper and...
  9. J

    Safe to connect solar panel wires to panels, but not charger during build?

    What is the sequence of connecting the solar components? Unfortunately I am mounting the solar panels now, can't really wait any longer, and the connections are underneath the panels. But as far as connecting them to the charger goes, I can certainly do that in the am, or just in the garage.
  10. J

    Safe to connect solar panel wires to panels, but not charger during build?

    Thanks. This is pretty much what I assumed, but wanted to make sure there was no additional potential to harm the panels. I've taped the wire ends so that should be reasonably safe while parked in my garage.
  11. J

    Safe to connect solar panel wires to panels, but not charger during build?

    Maybe a dumb question, but given I don't know much about solar, and there seems to be a ton of little nuisances, better safe to ask... I am almost done mounting my solar panels to the roof of my van. I have routed my solar panel cables through the roof and have not connected them to the panel...
  12. J

    How to charge lithium battery at home

    Oops, haha yes 13v not 31! Ok cool, that puts my mind at ease. I'll just hurry up and build quickly :) thanks
  13. J

    How to charge lithium battery at home

    Well that might make it easy. I should have my electrical system up an running in another week or so, just didn't want to do any long term damage to the battery capacity by not charging it. Just bought dad a Goal Zero Yeti for his birthday and that says to keep it plugged in at all times when...
  14. J

    How to charge lithium battery at home

    Bought a 100ah lithium battery (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B084DB36KW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) for my camper van build, but it's been sitting around for 3 weeks now since it was delivered. I just realized I am supposed to always keep it charged? How can I do this...
  15. J

    Please check my power center plan

    Thanks for your reply. I actually bought two 100ah batteries, but realized my power needs are quite low, and not thinking it will be an issue with one. That's why I bought the 1000w inverter and DC charger. My thought was that I can always add a second battery later if I find I need it. I don't...
  16. J

    Please check my power center plan

    Thanks for your reply, Jim. I did have a look in my owners manual for the DC charger and it says 75a input, 65a output, So I figured I'd go with the next size up and chose 80 for the alternator input and 70 for the output to the lithium battery. I had a look at a wire calculator to size the wire...
  17. J

    Please check my power center plan

    I've revised my power center plan and would like someone to take a look at it and make sure this all looks right. Sorry for the crappy drawing and handwriting. Here's my main components: 100ah Lithium battery 1000w pure sine inverter 50a Renogy DC to DC charger 100a DC fuse panel 2 100W renogy...
  18. J

    Battery Monitoring System: What do I need?

    Thanks for your reply Mike, that's very helpful. I think I will give the AiLI monitor a shot. Your suggestion of a breaker for each connected item makes a lot of sense. I'll pick up a positive bus bar and do just that. 250a bus bar would be appropriate? So here's a list of the breakers (I'll...
  19. J

    What size circuit breakers for this setup?

    That seems reasonable. What are some good brands? A lot of the stuff on Amazon looks kinda generic, don't really want to skimp on protection stuff.
  20. J

    What size circuit breakers for this setup?

    Hi, just want to follow up on this. Before I posted here, I had also sent an email to renogy asking them this same question, but I had asked about fuses instead of circuit breakers. I saw Will's setup (the photo I posted of his diagram) and thought circuit breakers would be easier to work with...
  21. J

    Battery Monitoring System: What do I need?

    I'm beginning my first van build/electrical system, and now looking at a battery monitoring system. I was looking at this bayite monitoring system (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B013PKYILS/ref=ox_sc_act_title_4?smid=A2EFSDTWMPHWEA&psc=1), but as you can see, one of the pictures shows a...
  22. J

    What size circuit breakers for this setup?

    Awesome, thanks. Better to be on the overkill side than the underkill side!
  23. J

    What size circuit breakers for this setup?

    Thanks for the follow up. They are renogy panels: https://www.renogy.com/100-watt-12-volt-monocrystalline-solar-panel-compact-design/?gclid=CjwKCAjwhMmEBhBwEiwAXwFoEVz3MIfQrn4NB5Gy1NXxdSTJuXItIO9vkQgBXfr4SQWPoXSUIDX9IhoC3tcQAvD_BwE Also, in the photo of Will's setup, he is using a 250a bus bar...
  24. J

    What size circuit breakers for this setup?

    Quick question: what size circuit breakers and fuses for this setup? 2 100a 12v lithium batteries 2 100w solar panels Renogy 50a DC to DC MPPT Charger 1000w pure sine inverter I'm looking at replicating Will's schematic here...
  25. J

    If using Inverter/Charger, do I need a solar charge controller?

    Thanks for the info. Trust me I was not attached to this particular unit. I'm just going to go with a separate inverter and use a dc to dc charger with mppt for the solar charging and be able to charge with the alternator
  26. J

    If using Inverter/Charger, do I need a solar charge controller?

    Good call, missed that too. I was looking forward to the van build but this electrical stuff is making me sick to my stomach, haha. Been staring at the computer all day trying to piece together the right system.
  27. J

    If using Inverter/Charger, do I need a solar charge controller?

    That is interesting, no mention of "solar" in the manual. Good call! I guess I will just buy them separate then, no biggie. Thanks for the help
  28. J

    If using Inverter/Charger, do I need a solar charge controller?

    Sorry, I'm used to reddit rules where they complain about posting links. Here it is: https://www.renogy.com/1000w-pure-sine-wave-inverter-charger/
  29. J

    If using Inverter/Charger, do I need a solar charge controller?

    Thanks for your quick reply! I am looking at the Renogy 1000W Pure Sine Wave Inverter Charger, and it does say it's capable of handling solar charging. Just wanted to make sure. Thanks!
  30. J

    If using Inverter/Charger, do I need a solar charge controller?

    I am planning the electrical system for a van build, and have a few questions. This is what I am looking at so far: 2 100a lithium batteries Victron orion 30a dc to dc charger 2 100 watt solar panels (will add more in the future if needed) Renogy 1000w inverter/charger Questions: Do I...
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