First RV upgrade 30A 5th wheel

[Rocketman]

Yes all your wires look sized a size bigger than strictly needed - which is good. It keeps the voltage losses down - especially on the longer runs.

I would have no worries or concerns about combining the two Solar charge controllers into one Lynx spot. Also, because the 120v charger and the Dc-Dc charger won’t be used at the same time- they could also be combined. I would not combine more than two items.

Good Luck

 

[Scycle]

Yes all your wires look sized a size bigger than strictly needed - which is good. It keeps the voltage losses down - especially on the longer runs.

I would have no worries or concerns about combining the two Solar charge controllers into one Lynx spot. Also, because the 120v charger and the Dc-Dc charger won’t be used at the same time- they could also be combined. I would not combine more than two items.

Good Luck

I'll have to check when I get the lynx, because the positive runs over the top of the negative, so not sure there's space for 4 wires. I do have space if I use the ends of the busbars, but finding the lower amp mega fuses is.

 

[DVD]

Regarding your Victron DC/DC charger - I remember seeing a video about an old/new version comparison on a Victron DC/DC charger. Older version got very hot. In looking at the specs for the Orion Tr 12-12/30, the efficiency is 87%, so when delivering say 360 watts, this Orion with consume 54 watts as heat.!!! That’s a lot of heat for the size package.
You might look around and see if the more efficient version is available.

 

[DVD]

It’s the Victron Orion XS 12/12-50
Victron has a video on it and others has YouTube on the XS vs. TR

 

[Scycle]

It’s the Victron Orion XS 12/12-50
Victron has a video on it and others has YouTube on the XS vs. TR

Will do, thanks. I see that the TR does get very hot, but the xs is new and much smaller package and not as hot. I'm not stuck on victron, but choosing them over some chinese brands for quality and price is not extremely higher.

 

[Scycle]

After checking I don't like how hot the TR gets and I know they have been in service a long time but having a cooling fan makes sense to me. The XS it too new and $$$. I would try the sterling or even the renogy although I told myself I would stay away from renogy, but seems like many people use them so maybe decent quality but poor customer service. I also think if I up the charge amps I may need to run 4awg from the truck yes/no?

 

[Scycle]

I'm wondering if anyone has experience with Power Max transfer switches? I know they're based in Florida, but not sure it's US made. I want to use one in my system but since the generator is priority, I would wire shore power to GEN connections and my inverter to the shore power connections. This way if the inverter is on and I plug in to shore power it will have priority. I would also wire my charger to the GEN connections along with the shore power. The Go Power in my diagram is wired this way and I don't have a problem with them, but cost twice as much and not sure they are us made either. My thought is to wire the shore power in the generator position and the inverter in the shore position shown in the drawing, because it makes sense to me to use shore power to energize the relay and let the inverter power flow through without using power to hold the contacts down.

 

[Scycle]

Yes all your wires look sized a size bigger than strictly needed - which is good. It keeps the voltage losses down - especially on the longer runs.

I would have no worries or concerns about combining the two Solar charge controllers into one Lynx spot. Also, because the 120v charger and the Dc-Dc charger won’t be used at the same time- they could also be combined. I would not combine more than two items.

Good Luck

I still have a dilemma with this setup concerning the RV panel and the 12v wire to the battery. I will be disabling the charger in the panel because it's not lithium compatible and the direct fit lithium replacement has a constant 14.6v charge. So that leaves me with the converter which will provide 12v when on shore power and also when using the inverter. Does it make sense to use the inverter to run the converter or just use it for AC and get 12v from the battery?

There is a connection from the converter to the 12v side and also from the charger to the battery, but it seems power must come back to the 12v side from the battery when there is no AC. I have to look at the panel carefully with a meter because it seems there would be a problem if the converter is on supplying 12v and 12v coming from the battery.

Another thought I had is to disable the converter and wire the separate charger with the shore power in the transfer switch then when on shore power I would get AC and the charger with 12v coming from the battery. When on inverter power I would get AC with 12v coming from the battery.

I don't know what makes sense or is the correct way to do it without getting power feedback. Also I have found wire ampacity charts that are not consistent, and I realize length plays an important role, but I've seen 4/0 from 260-430A and some charts don't even go above 250A. Most of my heavy runs will be less than 10', like you said I think I'm pretty good although I might change the DC/DC run to 4awg depending on the charger.

 

[Scycle]

I think I've decided to disconnect the converter because I don't want to run it from the inverter, so 12v would come from the battery and I added a switched outlet for the separate charger so I can isolate it in the battery area. I have to research grounding, but wondering if there is anything else that should be addressed?

 

[G8trwood]

If you used the victron 50amp smart charger, would it give you the charging and dc load capacity you need while on shore power? It doesn’t switch automatically but does have a power supply mode.

 

[Scycle]

If you used the victron 50amp smart charger, would it give you the charging and dc load capacity you need while on shore power? It doesn’t switch automatically but does have a power supply mode.

I assume it would, but they recommend disabling charge mode to use it as a power supply or it will do both and I'm sure it's a strain on the unit. I'm not sure as I would need it to be honest, my thinking is that whatever 12v is used while on shore power would be replaced by the charger. I guess the other option would be to put the converter (only) and the separate charger on a circuit connected to the shore side of the transfer switch.

 

[G8trwood]

I assume it would, but they recommend disabling charge mode to use it as a power supply or it will do both and I'm sure it's a strain on the unit. I'm not sure as I would need it to be honest, my thinking is that whatever 12v is used while on shore power would be replaced by the charger. I guess the other option would be to put the converter (only) and the separate charger on a circuit connected to the shore side of the transfer switch.

Thanks for the info. The fanless aspect was intriguing as my inverter charger is a bit noisy.

 

[Dooug]

Instead of chasing a 40 amp mega fuse you could run a small sub fuse panel with AMI/midi fuses that go as low as 30 amps. Run the appropriate fuse/wire to the sub panel from the Lynx and have all you DC charging coming into that. The lynx are a bit annoying for "medium" current loads.

That how I power the medium loads. But im on 24v so none of my solar or DC to DC is over 20 amps. I have a 100 amp capable sub panel with blade fuses up to 30 amps.

Just a thought, it certainly adds cost. Might be tough to fit 8 gauge in to the 100/20 SCC.

 

[Scycle]

Instead of chasing a 40 amp mega fuse you could run a small sub fuse panel with AMI/midi fuses that go as low as 30 amps. Run the appropriate fuse/wire to the sub panel from the Lynx and have all you DC charging coming into that. The lynx are a bit annoying for "medium" current loads.

That how I power the medium loads. But im on 24v so none of my solar or DC to DC is over 20 amps. I have a 100 amp capable sub panel with blade fuses up to 30 amps.

Just a thought, it certainly adds cost. Might be tough to fit 8 gauge in to the 100/20 SCC.

I have thought about a sub panel or use a MRBF fuse which will go as low as 30A also. I'll need to change wire size for both SCC to 6AWG for the 100|30 and 10AWG for the 100|20 according to Victron specs. Maybe have both SCC the same as not much cost difference.