compunaut01
New Member
Been following Will Prowse and this forum for a couple years but finally became a member because…
Bought a well-used 1996 Bigfoot 3000 10.11 truck camper this summer. Includes LP furnace, water heater, generator, and (3-way) fridge. Had an ‘aftermarket’ solar system installed but component age was an issue and execution was… mediocre at best. Panels, charge controller, inverter, battery bank. 2 of 3 panels seem good, CC appears designed for lead-acid (or optional ni-cad!), inverter dead, FLA batteries (not OEM size or location) dead/not holding charge.
So, replaced panel (matching voltage of other 2), bought Victron MPPT and two 12V Seikon 100Ah LiFePO4 batteries (sized to fit in original house battery box). Was gifted a refurb EcoFlow Delta Pro; plan to use that connected to camper’s shore power plug for the occasional AC needs so don’t need another inverter. Believe I have the wiring basics down: PV wired in parallel, cables to DC circuit breaker then MPPT, connection to batteries then to (DC) loads via existing OEM fuse box.
Some questions:
- Am I missing anything obvious?
- Are fuses still needed if there’s no inverter pulling large current? If so, where and what size?
- My understanding is that MPPT ‘Batt’ & ‘Load’ connections aren’t really adequate for monitoring power usage or battery SoC; need a shunt for that? If so, why do manufacturers go to trouble to include ’Load’ terminal on SCC but not shunt?
- I think original camper design has generator connected directly to house batteries: genset needs battery boost to start, and it recharges battery when running. Does this scenario still work adequately for Li batteries? What does wiring diagram look like for MPPT, (Li) battery, shunt, DC loads (only), AND generator?
Thanks in advance for everyone’s time.
Bought a well-used 1996 Bigfoot 3000 10.11 truck camper this summer. Includes LP furnace, water heater, generator, and (3-way) fridge. Had an ‘aftermarket’ solar system installed but component age was an issue and execution was… mediocre at best. Panels, charge controller, inverter, battery bank. 2 of 3 panels seem good, CC appears designed for lead-acid (or optional ni-cad!), inverter dead, FLA batteries (not OEM size or location) dead/not holding charge.
So, replaced panel (matching voltage of other 2), bought Victron MPPT and two 12V Seikon 100Ah LiFePO4 batteries (sized to fit in original house battery box). Was gifted a refurb EcoFlow Delta Pro; plan to use that connected to camper’s shore power plug for the occasional AC needs so don’t need another inverter. Believe I have the wiring basics down: PV wired in parallel, cables to DC circuit breaker then MPPT, connection to batteries then to (DC) loads via existing OEM fuse box.
Some questions:
- Am I missing anything obvious?
- Are fuses still needed if there’s no inverter pulling large current? If so, where and what size?
- My understanding is that MPPT ‘Batt’ & ‘Load’ connections aren’t really adequate for monitoring power usage or battery SoC; need a shunt for that? If so, why do manufacturers go to trouble to include ’Load’ terminal on SCC but not shunt?
- I think original camper design has generator connected directly to house batteries: genset needs battery boost to start, and it recharges battery when running. Does this scenario still work adequately for Li batteries? What does wiring diagram look like for MPPT, (Li) battery, shunt, DC loads (only), AND generator?
Thanks in advance for everyone’s time.