Design for the ideal leccy system?

[928uk]

Hya,
In the process of converting my 1st Bongo & I've read tonnes of threads & details about systems people have installed. From those I am proposing to install the stuff listed below & look forward to any comments about my proposal that could improve the set-up. I've contacted Martin Willinton, but he no longer supplies his kit

Background is I'm converting a 2.0l 2001 AFT to a day van type (mid kitchen on the side - retaining the rear bench).
I'm aiming for surviving "off grid" for up to a month & use of the van will include:-

Fridge (got an absorption - but willing to move to compressor), TV/monitor (21" fold down) Eonon 7" sound. The occasional need for a hair drier & toaster.

I'm fitting a split charge, between a 105 a Starter Battery & 110a Leisure (Durtic 140a relay), 2 x 80 watt semi flexible solar panels with 20 amp MPPT controller.
Mains hook-up diving a Sterling Power 1600watt quasi sine wave inverter/charger linked to batteries & ring-main (auto switches - so no power management gear required).
Also a 350 watt victron pure sine wave inverter to power a 13a uk socket, hidden in the centre console cubby with usb built in (to charge sensitive equipment requiring pure juice).
I'm also considering an Eberspacher heater and replacing all lighting with LED & providing some extras...
I'm also thinking about building in a jump start facility, 25mm lead, 300amp isolator switch & 100amp fuse directly & permanently connected from leisure to Starter, so use the 300 amp isolator as a switched jump.
As the van is currently stripped internally (to get rid of the nicotine mainly, but also to help routing cables etc) it's a blank canvas - so all ideas welcome
Cheers
Roy & Debs

[g8dhe]

Most devices can be obtained in 12 volt versions, so not quite clear why you need such a power level in the mains invertors ? If you want the battery to last then compression fridges are the only sensible solution.
Bear in mind that a 120 Watt device is going to be drawing more than 10Amps from the battery which even for a 100AmpHr battery is probably no more than about 5 hours of use before the battery is effectively flat. Anything more than that and the invertor is going to have to be mounted under the bonnet in order to prevent a significant voltage drop in the cable anyway.
These days most smaller devices will need USB sockets for charging so I would consider on how many you might want at any given time. I've currently fitted two of these;

and about to fit a third, simply for convenience and not having cables drapping around to much.

[928uk]

Thanks Geoff,
Good point about the usb ports - I'll look further into that.
On the 12 volt topic, I'm thinking about a small microwave as well - so the 1600 watt inverter should have enough grunt - as the cost variance between a 12 volt & 240 microwave is so vast (as I understand it).
On the point about inverter location, I think utilising the space available under the bonnet would be a great idea - adding the combined benefits of decent heat dissipation & voltage drop reduction.

Thanks - I will incorporate your suggestions

Cheers
Roy & Debs

[g8dhe]

Heating devices using electrical power are very inefficient, especially those using mains power as they assume you have unlimited power available. Using a gas cooker is a much more practical method!
If your on EHU that's fine but you say you want to use it as a day van, your not likely to find many carparks with an EHU point!

[Spencer54]

If you get the Cyrix-ct split charge relay it has a jump start feature that pushes voltage to the starter in an emergency. I've just done a very nice leisure battery setup using this. I'll put some pics up if you want. I have used the new type single in multiple out fuse boxes they are great.

[928uk]

HYa Spencer,
Piccie would be great - on the fuse set-up, I've gone for a single in 6 out with led blown indicators. Again I'm more than happy to be persuaded in another direction
Advice is there to be heeded!
Cheers

[Spencer54]

Here's some quick ones taken.

Thats the fuse box behind the glove box, note it goes out again as I have power running up to another one in the rear.



Leisure Battery with twin outs, both via strip fuses to either the split charger or into the internal fuse box.



Split charger with jump start function bolts nicely to the plastic grommet



This is the wires from the leisure battery splitting up



This is the rear fuse box (lid off) for the TV and mediaplayer.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7478/154 ... 9fb7_z.jpg

This is the twin battery monitor in the rear

[mikeonb4c]

I'm puzzled. I thought most leisure batteries were judged unsuitable for jump starting.

[Dodgey]

You can use them for jump starting, just make sure you leave them linked for 5 mins to equalise a bit, and dont' do it often.

USB charging - I like these:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00KFENR3I/r ... ar+charger



It's questionable if an absorption fridge will run off grid for a month on 160w of solar. Perahps with two LBs, and good weather.

[Spencer54]

See here:

http://www.victronenergy.com/battery-is ... biner-kit/

Kit for adding a 2nd or 3rd battery system in your car, boat, RV or whatever you wish. It utilizes the simplest and most advanced
technology to keep all your batteries charged using the engine’s electrical system, but isolates the starting battery when charging ceases
so you never get stranded.
The Cyrix-i 12/24-120 is a bidirectional voltage sensitive relay. It will therefore also engage if for example the accessory battery is being charged
by a battery charger.
Intelligent battery monitoring prevents cycling. The software of the Cyrix does more than simply connect and disconnect based on battery
voltage and with a fixed time delay. The Cyrix looks at the general trend (voltage increasing or decreasing) and reverses a previous action only if
the trend has reversed during a certain period of time. The time delay depends on the voltage deviation from the trend.
Emergency parallel feature. An emergency start push button can be wired to the “start assist” connection (85) if required. The relay will engage
during 30 seconds after “start assist” has been momentarily connected to the battery plus. Alternatively, a parallel connect switch can be used to
engage the relay as long as the switch remains closed.
Easy to install. There is no need to cut into any factory wiring that may void the manufacturer's warranty of your boat or vehicle.

[mikeonb4c]

You can use them for jump starting, just make sure you leave them linked for 5 mins to equalise a bit, and dont' do it often.

USB charging - I like these:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00KFENR3I/r ... ar+charger



It's questionable if an absorption fridge will run off grid for a month on 160w of solar. Perahps with two LBs, and good weather.

Absolutely - so that's not jump starting directly from the LB, just using it to give short term capacity to the SB. Jumping direct from all but a few specialised designs of LB will damage them and should be avoided. To be really safe, they should be isolated from the SB before starter key is turned. Just wanted to make sure readers had got that.

[928uk]

This forum is great - I knew so little a couple of months ago, hours of reading gives me the confidence not only to tackle jobs I wasn't certain about, but also to feel comfort in the vast spectrum of knowledge, skills & ability across the membership.
Well worth the membership fees

[Dodgey]

Pretty much Mike, though leaving the LB connected may be essential for many jump starts - the general consensus is you can get away with it as long as you don't do it too often, or you'll warp the plates in the LB. Also, LBs are starting to commonly have thicker plates and are more hybrid than "leisure" and can quite happily handle the odd high cranking amps.

928uk - indeed there is a huge amount of knowledge here - and mostly free