diy solar

diy solar

Looking for advice on a new solar build

Joined
Oct 7, 2019
Messages
5
My fiancee and I are currently renovating an old Airstream and are trying to determine how we'd like to do the solar/battery setup. We really like the idea of using the DIY raw LiFePO4 cells to create a 24v system, however, we're interested in having 800AH, instead of 400AH. We wanted to make sure we were setting this all up in the best way possible for our requirements. Our best estimation as to what the daily Wh will be is hovering around 5,500. We have the entire area from the front door to the front of the trailer to store these in a mostly insulated area.



Here's what we're thinking with our set up:

1. Ruixu 12v 400ah x4
2. 24v to 12v DC converter
3. Giandel 4000W Inverter
4. Victron smart battery sensor (10m)
5. Victron smart charge controller 250/100
6. Victron smart battery protect
7. Battery warmer
8. Balance lead
9. Cell meter battery balancer
10. Active balancer

We're still not sure which type of active balancer to get from eBay. We'll be getting the solar panels at a later date, but are open to recommendations. We're also worried that the inverter is not powerful enough for while we're on shore power since we have 240v 50-100amp coming in, with a w/d combo, oven, and two ac units that all draw 15amps (1800w) when in use pulling current back out. If the inverter is exclusively for on battery power then, as far as we can gather, it should be fine. Thanks y'all for helping us out!
 
Last edited:
You might be able to save some $ and make wiring simpler/cleaner with an inverter that includes an automatic transfer switch, charger, low voltage cutoff, and circuit breakers. I don't know much about about them, but I think Aims corp has some.
 
You might be able to save some $ and make wiring simpler/cleaner with an inverter that includes an automatic transfer switch, charger, low voltage cutoff, and circuit breakers. I don't know much about about them, but I think Aims corp has some.
I like the looks of the Aims corps ones, however, I'm not sure which one would be the best to pick out of their line up.
 
I thought the inverter was also acting as a converter/charger to charge the batteries from shore power...
Some inverters have chargers built in, some don't. - I didn't see it listed in the Giandel's feature list though. I don't really have any first hand knowledge on inverter manufacturers; I just picked Aims as an example because I knew they had a line of inverter/chargers with ATS and low volatage cut offs. There is a thread on the topic though: quality inverter?

Update: make sure it isn't a lead-acid only charger if you'll be using LiFePO4 ;)
 
Yeah big on a quality inverter charger.

You never mentioned panels. An airstream won't accommodate them. You'll have to have a rack setup outside somewhere.
You're correct about the rack setup, that seems to be the best way to set up the panels.
 
Some inverters have chargers built in, some don't. - I didn't see it listed in the Giandel's feature list though. I don't really have any first hand knowledge on inverter manufacturers; I just picked Aims as an example because I knew they had a line of inverter/chargers with ATS and low volatage cut offs. There is a thread on the topic though: quality inverter?

Update: make sure it isn't a lead-acid only charger if you'll be using LiFePO4 ;)
Thanks, that would be bad to buy the wrong type! That's what we're struggling with when it comes to buying an inverter/charger versus buying an inverter and a charger. This unit looks to be pretty sweet, but it's only a 12v. Since most of our electrical requirements are 120v and as far as we can gather need at least 3000w constant (especially if we want to turn on an ac unit ever while on battery) we figured it makes most sense to bump up and set up the electrical system to a 24v, but maybe this isn't the case?
 
Back
Top