SaltyNomad
New Member
I'm new to solar systems, new to this forum and grateful for your feedback.
I've installed a 200W, 12v solar system on a Lance 825 slide-in truck camper, following Will Prowse's The Minimalist design, and using his recommended components (thanks Will for the tutorial). The design is at this link: https://www.mobile-solarpower.com/the-minimalist-great-for-small-vans-and-cars.html. Now that's it's installed it raises two questions:
(1) Regarding the camper's 12v system leads that were connected to the old lead-acid battery, do I simply reconnect them directly to the new lithium battery, or do I instead remove the in-line 40amp breaker and connect the leads to a 40-amp fuse on the new Blue Sea fuse block? In Will's tutorial, he connects the battery, inverter, and MPPT to the fuse block and states that other appliances would also connect to the fuse block. I interpret that as meaning the camper's 12v leads are the total appliance load and would also connect to the fuse block and not directly to the battery?
(2) Regarding the camper's factory-installed Blue Sea ACR, I read (after the install) that an ACR intended to disconnect the truck battery from the house battery when the alternator is not powered should not be used with a LiFEPO4 house battery, as it could damage either the battery or the alternator. The info I could find seems to point to replacing the ACR with a DC-DC charger. It isn't clear to me if the system risk and solution apply to The Minimalist design. Can anyone clarify?
Thank you!
Cheers,
Jeff
I've installed a 200W, 12v solar system on a Lance 825 slide-in truck camper, following Will Prowse's The Minimalist design, and using his recommended components (thanks Will for the tutorial). The design is at this link: https://www.mobile-solarpower.com/the-minimalist-great-for-small-vans-and-cars.html. Now that's it's installed it raises two questions:
(1) Regarding the camper's 12v system leads that were connected to the old lead-acid battery, do I simply reconnect them directly to the new lithium battery, or do I instead remove the in-line 40amp breaker and connect the leads to a 40-amp fuse on the new Blue Sea fuse block? In Will's tutorial, he connects the battery, inverter, and MPPT to the fuse block and states that other appliances would also connect to the fuse block. I interpret that as meaning the camper's 12v leads are the total appliance load and would also connect to the fuse block and not directly to the battery?
(2) Regarding the camper's factory-installed Blue Sea ACR, I read (after the install) that an ACR intended to disconnect the truck battery from the house battery when the alternator is not powered should not be used with a LiFEPO4 house battery, as it could damage either the battery or the alternator. The info I could find seems to point to replacing the ACR with a DC-DC charger. It isn't clear to me if the system risk and solution apply to The Minimalist design. Can anyone clarify?
Thank you!
Cheers,
Jeff