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If the Orion is your main method of charging you'll definitely want something more robust like around 100A. I charge my 200ah battery directly from the alternator via the starter battery and a relay. I'm not usually driving for hours at a time so it's a good way for me to rapidly charge...

If you routinely drive for 20-30 hours without stopping then I would definitely set it to 13.6v. Really, you should probably just get a proper charger with a higher output. Even if you're getting 30A that's only .075c for a 400ah battery bank. Not a lot of bang for your buck, and you'd only...

A video testing the ampacity of different kinds of wire would be cool.

My 1200w Giandel inverter has a 5 watt idle draw. Been reliable for about 4 years now. Mostly with low draw but occasional power tool use.

What's dirty power? Isn't that only an issue with AC?

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Living in a cold damp metal box is not only uncomfortable but also unhealthy, sounds like a great place for mold to grow. Beef up your electrical system a little, mainly by adding alternator charging, run some fans constantly and your heater more often(all night), the benefits far outweigh the...

Yes, running a roof vent fan is the number one way to prevent moisture from accumulating in a van. I'm a bit shocked that you weren't doing this all along.

6A sounds slow. 100/6=16.666 hours to fully charge your 48v battery bank. 400w of solar is also anemic, especially since the panels will likely be mounted horizontally. Your best bets would be to either add a second alternator that outputs 48v, or a 12v to 48v DC-dc charger that is powered...

That's good, I don't think the CMU blocks in your original idea would work very well. Stacked vertically like that and they wouldn't have any stability on their own so you'd be relying on the wood framing to hold them in place. A board on the bottom weighted down with sand bags stacked...

You can refill the 1lb propane bottles from a 20lb or 30lb tank, if you can store the tank at your mum's or something. Save you from installing a tank. I wonder what it would be like using your current stove in the summer, wouldn't it get super hot in your van?

Just get a charge controller for a 12v system, or change everything to 24v. No point in screwing around with weird work arounds.

Originally the problem manifested while the inverter was in use, so it doesn't seem likely to me that the root of the problem is the inverter needing to be pre-charged. Also, it's only a 1500w inverter, isn't this typically only an issue with higher capacity inverters? Wouldn't a short circuit...

I don't think you're off track. Though relying on your gut feeling for things that can be quantified without much difficulty is a bit odd. While I appreciate that you are dealing with physical constraints of the van it would be unfortunate to sink a bunch money into this and then it doesn't end...

What can't you get your head around? When combining panels in parallel they should have a similar voltage. If your existing strings are 3 x 20.4Vmp then your new one should be close to 61.2Vmp. Higher would be better than lower, as lower would reduce the output of your roof mounted panels.

DC systems don't have grounds. Using the vehicle chassis for a return path will work, but if any problems arise they can be difficult to solve. Best practice is to use wires for the return path, would strongly recommend for any high current circuits.

Follow the battery manufacturer's specifications for your battery.

Looks like your connecting various components using the same cable? Not a common practice. Most people would use a negative and positive busbars to distribute loads and connect charging sources and use cables for return paths rather than the vehicle chassis.

6s2p? Wire size should be a little more reasonable.

Seems like Renogy is always having sales that are about to end.

I would strongly recommend considering ~400w panels. Probably should be able to find them locally and the cost will be much less than 16x100w panels.

Would try to get more solar up there if you can. 14,000kwh / 700w = 20 hours. Granted, flat mounted panels will seldom see maximum power production, and you probably won't completely deplete your batteries. Residential panels are about 40"x80", not sure if you can mount them crossways on a...

The hammer crimper can be a little tricky holding the lug and wire in place to get started but still makes a good crimp with like 4 or 6 awg. Not quite as satisfying as with thicker gauge either.

I would recommend getting a ~400w panel. They're typically about 40"x 80". If you can get one locally it's very cost effective, if not shipping a single panel of that size is probably not worth it.

For your application I think you might want to consider a separate components for dc-dc and mppt since that unit is limited to 50A output. The wiring is simple and those components don't take up much space. It'll take a lot of juice to keep a 400ah battery charged. I would recommend figuring...

Heat dissipation and intended application and environment, is what I've been told. But it is perplexing when you look at welding cable vs. battery cable for a marine application.

For battery bank sizing you would probably need to convert everything to watt hours. Watts = Volts x Amps. If you have 10 6Ah batteries at 53v, that's ~3200 watt hours, times 1.25 for conversion inefficiency. ~4000 watt hours. 4000wh/12v 333ah. So you would probably want a 400ah battery bank...

I can report that I had one of those MRBF fuses successfully blow the other day, 12v 2 x100ah battleborns. Though it wasn't from a short circuit, if that's relevant.

A 1000 watt solar panel? That's not very common, the picture you posted is says 350 watts, which is common. If you're trying to figure out what you need then make a diagram with the various components, wires, fuses, etc.

Yeah, a diagram showing at least major components and circuits would be helpful.

Not familiar with the Orion, but you might want to check the settings. Perhaps the input voltage is too low and it's staying on. Or is there a signal level input so it can tell when the ignition is on that's connected to an always on circuit instead of an ignition on circuit?

Ideally, no one would help you with this fool's errand. Just wait to until you have a BMS. An inverter/charger is not a precision charging device. It will just do it's thing and the voltage it measures may not be the same as the actual voltage of the battery pack. Literally no upside to trying...

Sounds like a good way to know if the moon is full.

The best option is to install a BMS first so you don't damage your cells.

When you get sick and go to the doctor are you going to tell them not use any electricity when they treat you? You're going to spend all your time like the guy on the Led Zeppelin cover, wandering around with a bundle of sticks on your back. With only a couple acres of land you might have a...