House battery charging via solar, alternator, OR generator.

[dbhost]

So here's the deal. The truck is fitted with an extra high output alternator due to the winch and old fashioned halogen off road lights. I am doing the camper shell conversion now and am adding a house battery using an E series van cab and chassis battery box / mount that attaches to the frame of the truck.

I also have a Dokio 300w solar suitcase setup, AND a Sportsman 1K inverter generator.

I want the house battery to be able to be charged en route via the alternator, AND in camp via the solar, and if weather is just too foul for solar to work well enough, via the generator.

How do I accomplish this?

 

[Hegear]

Redarc manager 30 would do all this, expensive but compact and all in one unit.

 

[Joe917]

Basically You connect all your charge sources to the house bank, done.
You will need a charger between the generator and the batteries. The alternator and solar can be connected at the same time, the solar charge controller and the alternator will be fine.
You need a SOC meter with a shunt that accurately monitors the batteries.

 

[burleyman]

What kind of house battery, lead-acid or lithium? What capacity?

 

[Mgyver1]

A DC to DC charger, a solar controller, and a shore power charger can all be hooked up to your battery together. A Redarc BCDC charger would charge with alternator and solar as it has a solar controller built in. Or you could get a Victron DCDC charger and a Victron MPPT solar controller. NOCO seems to make a decent shore powered battery charger.

 

[4000lbsOfGoat]

A DC to DC charger, a solar controller, and a shore power charger can all be hooked up to your battery together. A Redarc BCDC charger would charge with alternator and solar as it has a solar controller built in. Or you could get a Victron DCDC charger and a Victron MPPT solar controller. NOCO seems to make a decent shore powered battery charger.

I'm not sure which Redarc BCDC you're referencing in particular but I have the BCDC 1212 and it does not have an integrated solar controller.

I use a Redarc BCDC for alternator charging, Victron MPPT solar controller and a NOCO shore charger. I recommend all of them except the NOCO.....
The NOCO chargers have a silly "feature" whereby they do not float when the batteries are full. They shut off until the batteries drop down to something like 12.7v which is WAY too low for LiFePO4 batteries which are just about empty at 13.0v. NOCO claims that not floating is better for the batteries but Battle Born tells me that it doesn't hurt the batteries at all...It's just annoying to have the charger plugged in for a couple days then when you go to leave you find out you're sitting at about 10% capacity because the charger has decided it didn't need to charge yet.....

Cheers!

 

[Mgyver1]

I'm not sure which Redarc BCDC you're referencing in particular but I have the BCDC 1212 and it does not have an integrated solar controller.

I use a Redarc BCDC for alternator charging, Victron MPPT solar controller and a NOCO shore charger. I recommend all of them except the NOCO.....
The NOCO chargers have a silly "feature" whereby they do not float when the batteries are full. They shut off until the batteries drop down to something like 12.7v which is WAY too low for LiFePO4 batteries which are just about empty at 13.0v. NOCO claims that not floating is better for the batteries but Battle Born tells me that it doesn't hurt the batteries at all...It's just annoying to have the charger plugged in for a couple days then when you go to leave you find out you're sitting at about 10% capacity because the charger has decided it didn't need to charge yet.....

Cheers!

I believe the models that have a D at the end have solar input as the D refers to dual input. The 1225D, 1240D and 1250D all have solar built in.

Which NOCO battery charger are you running that does not float? My G3500 v2 has a maintenance mode and claims the battery can be left like that indefinitely.

 

[dstefan]

National Luna’s NLDC-25 also has integrated alternator and MPPT Solar capability.

Mario at AT Overland uses these in his builds. Been happy with mine.

 

[4000lbsOfGoat]

Which NOCO battery charger are you running that does not float?

I have the GenPro 10x2. When I talked to their tech support folks they gave me the impression that *none* of their units float. They believe it is a feature that will protect the battery (which may be true for certain battery technologies but is *not* true for LiFePO4).

My G3500 v2 has a maintenance mode and claims the battery can be left like that indefinitely.

It can be left like that indefinitely but the battery will not be kept topped up all the time. The charger will shut off until the battery voltage drops below 12.7 and then the charger will turn back on again. That is probably fine for most lead acid or agm batteries but it's useless for lithium batteries that run at higher voltages. The charger has a "lithium" charging profile but setting it to that profile does not change the shut-off\turn-on behavior. What that means in practice, with lithium batteries anyway, is that you can have the unit sitting in your garage\campsite\whatever and plugged in for days but when you are ready to leave, depending on where the charger is in it's cycle, you may have batteries that are just about dead - I learned that the hard way...

 

[dbhost]

Well, looking into sizing. I am having a capacity vs. physical dimensions issue. Definately going with AGM as controllers for LifePO4 are few and far between, not to mention expensive. Looking into the Renogy 200 amp /hr AGM just not sure how to physically mount it under the cab of my truck. I know I can make a group 31 work but the highest capacity I can find there is 130 or so amp / hours...

 

[dbhost]

I originally posted this in the DIY camper forum. I noticed the electrical forum and started the thread that is actually productive over there. This thread can die or be deleted...

 

[Wallygator]

I have the GenPro 10x2. When I talked to their tech support folks they gave me the impression that *none* of their units float. They believe it is a feature that will protect the battery (which may be true for certain battery technologies but is *not* true for LiFePO4).


It can be left like that indefinitely but the battery will not be kept topped up all the time. The charger will shut off until the battery voltage drops below 12.7 and then the charger will turn back on again. That is probably fine for most lead acid or agm batteries but it's useless for lithium batteries that run at higher voltages. The charger has a "lithium" charging profile but setting it to that profile does not change the shut-off\turn-on behavior. What that means in practice, with lithium batteries anyway, is that you can have the unit sitting in your garage\campsite\whatever and plugged in for days but when you are ready to leave, depending on where the charger is in it's cycle, you may have batteries that are just about dead - I learned that the hard way...

Wish I would have known this before buying a NOCO 10x1 GenPro. Any recommendations on a charger that does float the lithium batts? I am setting up shore power for a reason, not to be left with a depleted battery when leaving.
Battery is a Battle Born 100AH. From the way NOCO markets their chargers I thought it was the way to go for a permanent mount.

 

[Peter_n_Margaret]

Basically You connect all your charge sources to the house bank, done.

Yep. Don't over complicate it. Various charge sources will work happily together.
And no DC-DC charger is required if the cable voltage drop is not excessive. Your crank battery does not need one, neither does your house batteries.
Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome

 

[4000lbsOfGoat]

Wish I would have known this before buying a NOCO 10x1 GenPro. Any recommendations on a charger that does float the lithium batts? I am setting up shore power for a reason, not to be left with a depleted battery when leaving.
Battery is a Battle Born 100AH. From the way NOCO markets their chargers I thought it was the way to go for a permanent mount.

I work around it by unplugging the charger then plugging it back in after a bit. When it's restarted like that it'll go ahead and charge the battery up. Make sure to unplug\re-plug the night before you plan to leave and you should be good.

 

[Wallygator]

I work around it by unplugging the charger then plugging it back in after a bit. When it's restarted like that it'll go ahead and charge the battery up. Make sure to unplug\re-plug the night before you plan to leave and you should be good.

Nice! Thanks for the tip.