LifePO4 and solar build for my Land Rover

[jeegro]

My current setup (dual AGM's under the hood and 5 fuse panels scattered throughout the truck) has been evolving into a spaghetti mess over the past 2 years.

I've gutted everything out, and am planning a centralized location for all electrical components, plus one auxiliary fuse panel under the steering column. Here are some photos of my current setup

Components of current setup:

• ML-ACR (tossing)
• Dual odyssey 68ah (keeping, in parallel)
• Morningstar MPPT 15 (tossing)
• CTEK 25 amp charger (keeping, but removing from vehicle)
• Blue sea safetyhub 150 (keeping)
• Multiple 6-12 circuit blue sea panels
• 6 relay distribution block under the hood, and another 6 in the rear
• Blue sea 1830 battery monitor (keeping)
• Custom Blue Sea 360 panel (keeping)

Things I don't like about current setup:

• relays under the hood are not protected from weather, and make access to factory fuse panel difficult
• long, heavy 2/0 gauge cable run from AGM's to rear of vehicle
• difficult to access rear panel (blocked by fridge), and a spaghetti mess
• distribution fuse panel under passenger seat, bad location
• 80a solenoid under the steering column fuse panel provides switched power, overkill, a 30/40a relay would be fine for these small loads
• not enough juice. With dual isolated 68ah Odyssey's, I only have 34 AH of usable energy
• solar extension plug-ins are inside the cab, should be outside on the front of the vehicle
• inverter under passenger footwell

Things I like about current setup:
- 200w of solar on a slide under the roof rack. Doubles as an awning. Works great.


I will update soon on the new plan and build photos, hopefully someone finds it useful in planning their own.

 

[jeegro]

The new build will consist of:

- Centralized location for all electrical stuff

• RedArc BCDC1240D
• BattleBorn 100Ah LifePO4
• Magnum Smart battery combiner (to maintain the dual AGM's)
• Blue sea custom 360 panel with 6x USB, 5x ciggies, 2x power pole's, 2x AC outlets, 8 circuit breakers, Blue sea 1830 SoC monitor, ammeter for charge inputs, ammeter for loads, and 4x switches
• SafetyHub 150 for primary load distribution
• Victron Smart BatteryProtect 100, for low voltage disconnect
• Blue sea surface mount 3x MBRF fuses for BCDC, safetyhub150, and Magnum SBC
• 3x shunts (SoC, charge ammeter, load ammeter)
• 8x relay panel for power distribution. Trailer cable will run to front of vehicle to power these loads (mostly lights)
• Fuse panel under steering column for dash switches, iPad and Garmin USB charging, extra USB ports, etc

I think that covers most of it. The plan is to build a panel on the rear of a new fridge cage I'm making, and have it be semi-permanent such that everything plugs in via Anderson power pole connectors (except for the battery). E.g. alternator input, solar input, switch trigger wires & outputs to loads, amplifier, etc are all plugged in via color coded APP connectors so the fridge cage is removable and minimizes errors when hooking things back up.

Here is a pic on the fridge cage so far. The main electrical components will go on a hinged panel on the rear of the fridge cage, below the Blue Sea Panel.

 

[dreadlocks]

why 3 shunts? a Victron BMV will provide you SOC, Charge and Load with just one.

 

[jeegro]

why 3 shunts? a Victron BMV will provide you SOC, Charge and Load with just one.

My blue sea 1830 SoC monitor only shows net amps. Can the victron really separate charge and discharge currents? I don't see how it's technically possible with a shunt.

 

[Hillbilly Heaven]

Individual relays suck!! A centralized relay and fuse power distribution hub is the way to go. My preference is the Eaton SSVEC line.
https://www.waytekwire.com/products?pSearch=ssvec
Simplifies wiring as fuses and relays are in one spot, no wiring needed between. Eliminates terminal strips. I hate terminal strips. It is the first place for loose connections and corrosion to happen. With proper planning they can be eliminated.

Instead of fuses use circuit breakers. They make plug in direct replacement breakers for just about any size fuses.

 

[dreadlocks]

-Amps/Wattage is a load, +Amps/Wattage is a Charge, it can calculate Lithium SOC correctly which I dunno if the BluSea SOC does.

 

[john61ct]

My blue sea 1830 SoC monitor only shows net amps. Can the victron really separate charge and discharge currents? I don't see how it's technically possible with a shunt.

Usually net SoC per bank is what's desired, so one shunt per bank is the norm.

For more specific flow rates, a cheap clamping style ammeter works well.

 

[luthj]

Jesu Christo! You have some serious wiring going on there. I would say my full live-aboard build has only slightly more!

Its hard to beat LFP for power density and overall safety. Its going to be half the size and a quarter the weight of equivalent lead. Obviously avoid mounting under the hood though.

Despite the annoyance it can create, using smaller fuse blocks/bus bars for branch distribution is often the best approach. You only have to run a single larger wire pair through the tight spaces to the FB location.

Not all SOC monitors can be adjusted for lithium. Generally you need the efficiency adjusted to the high 90s.

I would suggest getting a single monitor/meter product, and using a single shunt.

BTW, most digital devices connected/reading a shunt have quite high impedance. You could likely connected 2 or even three to the same shunt and still have only minor error (if any). This assumes they all take the same shunt resistance.

A common belief is that every device needs its own circuit and fuse. The reality is that most minor/intermittent loads can share a circuit/fuse. Lights, accessories etc. Just size the fuse for the smallest wire. Obviously things like fridges and power sensitive (or safety) items generally deserve their own fuse.

 

[dreadlocks]

yeah all that matters is what goes in and out of your battery bank, seeing how much power is going from charge circuit to your fridge is frivolous data, if you want to figure that out turn off your charge source, note what your load wattage/amps are and subtract em from the battery input wattage/amps when the charger was on.. Besides, my chargers all have display outputs saying how much they are outputting, so dont even need to shut it off, just subtract that display from the battery input and figure load.. (ie, 30A are coming out charger, but 25A going into battery means I have 5A of load)

I do dry testing at home, with just one thing running at a time and calculate that appliances power requirements.. then I can just do it in my head, say I'm pulling 8A of power.. I know my fridge is on and it takes 2.5A, and my furnace is on with 3A, my lights are 1.5A and my radios are taking the last amp.. everything accounted for and looks good.

 

[luthj]

Clamp on DC ammeters are fairly cheap, and much more useful in my experience as well.

 

[jeegro]

Individual relays suck!! A centralized relay and fuse power distribution hub is the way to go. My preference is the Eaton SSVEC line.
https://www.waytekwire.com/products?pSearch=ssvec
Simplifies wiring as fuses and relays are in one spot, no wiring needed between. Eliminates terminal strips. I hate terminal strips. It is the first place for loose connections and corrosion to happen. With proper planning they can be eliminated.

Instead of fuses use circuit breakers. They make plug in direct replacement breakers for just about any size fuses.

I thought about that, but I actually prefer to keep them separate. I will have the fuse panel on the front of the panel (visible), and the relays & terminal strips on the rear side. I'm going to use Hella relay holders instead of individual wire connectors to get most of the benefit of a relay box: https://www.delcity.net/store/Hella-Micro-&-Mini-Connector-Block-Kits/p_818106.h_818107

-Amps/Wattage is a load, +Amps/Wattage is a Charge, it can calculate Lithium SOC correctly which I dunno if the BluSea SOC does.

Right, the blue sea does the same thing. I've always wanted to know exactly how much my solar is producing, at a glance, and that isn't possible on a SoC monitor with loads running.

Yes it's overkill to run two extra shunts for this, but whatever. I needed something to fill in on the Blue sea panel. I'm using the smaller Blue sea mini ammeter (100a shunt) for the charge/load monitoring.

Jesu Christo! You have some serious wiring going on there. I would say my full live-aboard build has only slightly more!

Its hard to beat LFP for power density and overall safety. Its going to be half the size and a quarter the weight of equivalent lead. Obviously avoid mounting under the hood though.

Despite the annoyance it can create, using smaller fuse blocks/bus bars for branch distribution is often the best approach. You only have to run a single larger wire pair through the tight spaces to the FB location.

Not all SOC monitors can be adjusted for lithium. Generally you need the efficiency adjusted to the high 90s.

I would suggest getting a single monitor/meter product, and using a single shunt.

BTW, most digital devices connected/reading a shunt have quite high impedance. You could likely connected 2 or even three to the same shunt and still have only minor error (if any). This assumes they all take the same shunt resistance.

Agreed on lithium. I'm very weight conscious, and that was the primary deciding factor. Lead, when you factor in usable capacity, weights 4x more.

The blue sea monitor is not designed specifically for lithium, so we will see how well it works. Blue sea told me to use the TPPL profile.

In order to separate the charge (BCDC) from the loads, you need to run separate shunts. I'm keeping the wiring very controlled, and all three shunts will be on the negative side.

 

[dreadlocks]

I've always wanted to know exactly how much my solar is producing, at a glance, and that isn't possible on a SoC monitor with loads running.

you know exactly how much its charging the battery, which is all that matters.. and are you sure your not going to end up paying more for a shunt, wiring, etc than just getting a solar charger that has a simple output display on it.

 

[jeegro]

Here's the completed satellite panel for under the steering column. This powers the head unit, ipad charger, Inreach charger, USB ports, engine gauges, and a few other things.

Two bus bars at the bottom are add-a-fuses from the factory panel for switched power and the dimmer, respectively

I actually decided to eliminate the relay here, and just power the switched circuits directly from the vehicle (add-a-fuse), as the loads are small (gauges, etc).

Panel on the left receive will receive power from the lithium

 

[luthj]

With lithium you won't get the charge anxiety like with lead. Is it charging? Yes/no. Is it low or high SOC?

I have a three shunt system in my van. I can monitor solar, alternator, and load separately. Really except for a few rare cases (diagnosing a problem), I really only needed SOC and net in/out of the bank, My loads (like yours probably) are rarely more than ~8A on average.

Plus with alternator charging you can recovery charge very quickly.

 

[jeegro]

you know exactly how much its charging the battery, which is all that matters.. and are you sure your not going to end up paying more for a shunt, wiring, etc than just getting a solar charger that has a simple output display on it.

With lithium you won't get the charge anxiety like with lead. Is it charging? Yes/no. Is it low or high SOC?

I have a three shunt system in my van. I can monitor solar, alternator, and load separately. Really except for a few rare cases (diagnosing a problem), I really only needed SOC and net in/out of the bank, My loads (like yours probably) are rarely more than ~8A on average.

I get it, the choice to do 3 shunts is questionable, but it's already done - I have the parts and am going to do it. Cause I'm a nerd and like my data...