I'm about to take delivery of a small camper trailer, and I have been researching/learning/YouTubing over the last couple of months to do some initial upgrades to the bare bones setup it comes with from the factory. I have zero experience with electrical/solar projects, so I'm reasonably certain that I'm missing something or doing something wrong/stupid/potentially dangerous.
I plan to go with LiFePO4 from the start (Ampere Time since I can't get my hands on SOK and don't want to pay for BB - I'm in Texas, so low temp isn't a huge concern for now and will be sorted out later this year), and I will be using Victron products throughout. I will need to make use of the sidewall solar port and the WFCO Power Center that comes with the trailer for a little while before I can afford to do another round of upgrades (2000w inverter, rooftop solar array w/ beefier MPPT, and possibly a different charging center). Appliances that will be used are typical: 12V fridge/freezer, LED lights, phones, iPads, portable projector, laptops, the camper's Truma Combi furnace & water pump, and maybe even short stints running the little 8,000 btu A/C to cool down at bedtime.
Attached is a quick MS Paint diagram I put together.
A few notes:
1. I plan to run 2awg wire from the starter battery in my 5.7L Ram 1500. This run is the only long run (more than ~10ft) in the installation. Because the max gauge wire the Orion will accept is 6awg, I plan to step down the wire size somewhere close to the Orion, but run 2awg for most of it (the run is roughly 60-70ft total, including the runs in the truck and the trailer).
2. My understanding is that I need a main fuse/breaker between the positive busbar and the LiFePO4 batteries, but I'm not sure how to size it or install it. Each Ampere Time battery has a max charge/discharge current of 100 amps - should the main fuse/breaker be sized per the combined amp rating, or individual amp rating of each battery, or maximum combined draw, or something else?
3. For the wires connecting the batteries in parallel to the busbars - I'm also not sure how to size these. They will each be less than 10ft. I'd like to size them to account for future upgrades (additional 600-700 watts of solar and a 2000w inverter), so I was thinking about just going with 2/0 gauge to be safe and future-proof.
4. I have Blue Sea terminal mount fuses for the MPPT and DC-DC fusing, but the smallest fuse rating for these appears to be 30a. This seems a little big for a 15a MPPT - should I find another solution, or will 30a work? Also, the Orion manual calls for 60a fuses for 12v applications - this also seems a little big for the 30a Orion (although I've read that Orions sometimes pull more than 30a from the starter battery).
5. I read on a Victron community page that the BMV V+ and temp wires should go directly to a battery terminal. It makes sense to me that the temp wire would go to one of the batteries, but should the V+ wire go to the positive busbar instead?
Any feedback is greatly appreciated!!
I plan to go with LiFePO4 from the start (Ampere Time since I can't get my hands on SOK and don't want to pay for BB - I'm in Texas, so low temp isn't a huge concern for now and will be sorted out later this year), and I will be using Victron products throughout. I will need to make use of the sidewall solar port and the WFCO Power Center that comes with the trailer for a little while before I can afford to do another round of upgrades (2000w inverter, rooftop solar array w/ beefier MPPT, and possibly a different charging center). Appliances that will be used are typical: 12V fridge/freezer, LED lights, phones, iPads, portable projector, laptops, the camper's Truma Combi furnace & water pump, and maybe even short stints running the little 8,000 btu A/C to cool down at bedtime.
Attached is a quick MS Paint diagram I put together.
A few notes:
1. I plan to run 2awg wire from the starter battery in my 5.7L Ram 1500. This run is the only long run (more than ~10ft) in the installation. Because the max gauge wire the Orion will accept is 6awg, I plan to step down the wire size somewhere close to the Orion, but run 2awg for most of it (the run is roughly 60-70ft total, including the runs in the truck and the trailer).
2. My understanding is that I need a main fuse/breaker between the positive busbar and the LiFePO4 batteries, but I'm not sure how to size it or install it. Each Ampere Time battery has a max charge/discharge current of 100 amps - should the main fuse/breaker be sized per the combined amp rating, or individual amp rating of each battery, or maximum combined draw, or something else?
3. For the wires connecting the batteries in parallel to the busbars - I'm also not sure how to size these. They will each be less than 10ft. I'd like to size them to account for future upgrades (additional 600-700 watts of solar and a 2000w inverter), so I was thinking about just going with 2/0 gauge to be safe and future-proof.
4. I have Blue Sea terminal mount fuses for the MPPT and DC-DC fusing, but the smallest fuse rating for these appears to be 30a. This seems a little big for a 15a MPPT - should I find another solution, or will 30a work? Also, the Orion manual calls for 60a fuses for 12v applications - this also seems a little big for the 30a Orion (although I've read that Orions sometimes pull more than 30a from the starter battery).
5. I read on a Victron community page that the BMV V+ and temp wires should go directly to a battery terminal. It makes sense to me that the temp wire would go to one of the batteries, but should the V+ wire go to the positive busbar instead?
Any feedback is greatly appreciated!!
