Contrary to popular belief, the Van Conversion is not dead! I'm just struggling to find the time and money necessary to work on it. But this video represents a huge milestone that I've been wanting to complete for some time. I hope you get some use out of it! Many thanks to NOHMA.com for sponsoring this video. Links to their products, kits and services can be found in the description.
I can say having watched dozens of videos similar to this on TH-cam… This is by far the cleanest wired Victron system that I have seen yet. Kudos to you for doing what other people are evidently not able to do and putting everything together with obvious care and neatness.
As an Electronics Engineer, I'd say that's a good high level explanation of this system. Clear and concise. There is a lot of power involved that can do damage in a very short period of time. As Matt points out, contact someone in the know if you don't understand electrics. Thanks for sharing!
Explained in it’s simplest form, even someone who has very limited knowledge in electrical matters would be greatly educated and enlightened after watching this video, Well done, brilliant 😊
I'd only add one additional thing. A super or ultra capacitor to the busbar. This will extend the life of your battery and assist with any large start-up current draws from pumps or fridges..
As someone who is planning on building my own in april, I will rewatch this one 100 times :D Aiming for 30kwh worth of battery in mine, cus im a neard and need gaming on my 750w computer. Might try to add extra solar by custom making slide out shelfs if I don't get enough on my roof. No idea how well it's all gonna go but Imma give it a damn good try and videos like these are gonna help me massively.
Trying to do the same thing. Dual layer/wing panels are a must have if you want your rays traced. You're also going to need a lot of roof. I'm getting a 37ft toy hauler for mine.
Connecting bigger loads to the inverter side of the MultiPlus-II allows you to use their "PowerAssist" function. It allows you to limit the current taken from shore power and supply the rest from your battery. This can be useful if shore power can't supply enough, as you do quite often see on camping sites. Brew your coffee or tea with battery support and recharge it while you enjoy your beverage.
Well this is a great video! Wish this video released last month haha! My system looks very similar. I just bought all my victron components 3 weeks ago, and bought batteries 3 days ago. I did have the victron batteries spec'd out first but couldnt justify the price of them so went with RFK batteries (2x 300ah) after a bunch of research. I would recommend also getting Orion XS 50A as tests showed that it is more efficient, doesn't heat up as much, smaller in size, and you can charge quicker. I skimmed through the video but will watch it in full to make sure I didn't miss anything.
So for the project I'm working on, I found a UK company - Fogstar - just received one of their big batteries into my work - 560Ah, built-in BMS and battery heater, and plugs into the Cerbo via VE CAN and/or BMS CAN
DC-DC 12-12-30 4.1. General • Mount vertically on a non-flammable surface, with the power terminals facing downwards. Observe a minimum clearance of 10 cm under and above the product for optimal cooling. But your video is good. :)
I had a rats nest of different wires coming off my battery. I tidied this up so so a single cable from the battery terminals to a bus bar via an isolator. This weekend I actually put the positive from the solar controller and the smart shunt back onto the battery. So I ca isolate the system but keep the solar charging and. The power to the smart shunt.
Your Truma could have been powered off the AC-out 2 connectors on the Multiplus. It is powered directly from the AC input and disconnects when shore power is unplugged. I suppose you still would have needed a fuse/breaaker/whatever you call them, so it would be a wash.
Great, albeit very intimidating explanation. I understand why you've left out some information so I will re-watch it several times to learn more. Many thanks and hopefully your time/money issue improves soon so we get the next video soon. Thanks again for doing this!
GREAT video, but .... We've gone 3 summers aound the US with a propane stove, 2 wet cel Gp31 batteries, 200 w solar, Renogy DCC50s, Isotherm 130 AC/DC Refrigerator with Freezer, 200W cigarette lighter inverter, and a 12V water heater. IF we decide we need a toaster or coffee maker we'll add a 2000W Renogy inverter for $280.00. It's not for everyone but if your budget is tight electrics is where to save.
Have ye had your van put onto a weighbridge as the payload is XLWB is 1124 kg ? DVSA are the people to worry about if you are . Great video being a long-distance lorry driver away from home months at a time living in the top of the range truck. Having all the facilities inside my truck. Apart from the obvious I think in this video it is a bit too much but I will say very well explained. You sound more clued up then your letting on
great video with good advice and direction to other sources. One thing, people will try and copy this (it the internet). Thought I should add in here the Solar MCB, should be a DC MCB and not a normal house AC MCB, as Matt said seek advice, and an AC one won't work the same.
The very first fuse from the battery - lots of new advice out there saying you should use a T-class or MGBF fuse instead of a Mega fuse. The shirt circuit current of a lithium battery is unbelievably high and above the specs of a Mega fuse. This can mean the fuse can fail then arc across the mega fuse and not cut the circuit if there is a short circuit. I may be wrong as I am not an electrician but I would double check this. Great build and video :)
@@robertfrost5020 Crazy how fast these regulations change! Even if it’s not guaranteed to be correct advice, it’s still something that people should look into further now that you’ve bought it to light. Thanks for this Robert! 🙏
@ I know it’s bonkers complicated - I think one of the benefits of the Victron inverters is they aren’t ‘centre tapped’ like most of the others. Centre tapped means 240v isn’t sent down the cables the Same way as in your home. Basically this means trip switches (residual circuit breakers - the things you find in your fuse box/ consumer unit) won’t work. That info isn’t at all clear even when you buy branded good quality ones. That’s why Victron is so expensive. It is different (better/ safer) technology.
Brilliant explanation matt, found your breakdown and explanation very easy to follow and understand making a very intimidating diagram easier to understand..
Cool explanation of a complicated topic - well done. I'm left with a simple product question - why the MultiPlus II instead of the cheaper MultiPlus with the same configureation. From what I know the only addition in the newer version is a functionality that is only used for household installation in which it prevents putting solar power from your roof back into the grid when the "GRID connection fails (e.g. for service reasons). I think it could save a couple hundred bucks for a functionality we don't need in our vans...please correct me if I'm wrong :) GREETINGS from Victrons home base - Germany!
Great video. Everybody says the same. I agree. I have been following your woodwork for several years. It´s just one thing. Maybe i am too old, but. Matt you have too breath. You might end up whit one of my friends at work. Be Cool, MD, Stan in Sweden
I like how you layed out all of your components but I wonder if there was a way to pack them in tight to take up less space. Would there be complication from having these parts closer together or even touching? Considering everything has a housing and the wires are insulated
The Shunt is a coulomb meter and not used for measuring Voltage as such; it counts the amps that are transferred to and from the battery in order to determine the state of charge, the current being used by the loads or being input back into the battery. Voltage is not a good way to measure Lithium SOC, but is useful in viewing/setting the endpoints of the charge/discharge cycle to avoid damage to the battery. Great video though.
I used to build the wiring harnesses at Aston Martin (Newport Pagnell days) we used to get visitors looking at the 900+ wires laid on the bench, the regular question was "how on earth do you know when it's all there" 😂
Hey Matt, aren’t you doubling up on the solar isolator side? The MCB can be used as an isolator switch and fuse instead of having the additional PV isolator switch also.
Constructive criticism... 1)The phrase "Connecting the positive and negative terminals together" is a fairly critical flaw. Better said "connecting the positive on each battery to each other and the negative one each battery to each other" or some other clear way the precludes anyone of thinking of connecting the positive and negative of a battery. 2) Equal length positive and negative in this context is not even remotely required. Ripple is rapid oscillations in voltage, and is solved best with a capacitor, not equal length cable. Equal length cable is typically for matched impedance and timing in data transmission, like at the scale of tracks on a computer motherboard. 3) With large enough cable over that short of a length it doesn't really matter how you connect to your batteries. 4) Solar panels, whilst off roaders an so on will colloquially call a panel "12v" in the context of this video this can be dangerous. The voltage of the panels is specified in 2 ways, Vmp and Voc. Vmp is the voltage of the panel at max power, Voc is Voltage open circuit. Using the datasheet for Victrons 175 watt panel Vmp is 19.4v and Voc is 23.7v 3 of these in series has the potential to reach 71.1v which is double the 36v you calculated, and can be a minor electrocution risk and risk to an improperly sized solar charger. - Wiring them in series means smaller cable required and means they will still generate useful power in lower light conditions (start generating earlier in the AM and continue until later in PM) 5) The MPPT150-35 is a bit undersized, but only slightly. It's good up to 35amps, but with 525w of solar you will hit that 35amp limit on a good day with low batteries. This is actually not a huge issue, as mentioned in a post i replied to below... 3 x 175w = 525w / 12.8v system nominal voltage = 41Amps Subtract that panels rarely actually generate specified power and the 2% loss in the MPPT and the 35amp unit chosen is about right, maybe a tad small. It will only be maxed out in certain circumstances... Victron controllers limit current safely, so going over is not a concern to the durability of the controller. 6) Should be more clearly defined - MCB = Miniature Circuit Breaker - and must be DC rated for this task. 7) The MultiPlus II could have been exchanged with the EasySolar-II GX, this brings the solar charging inside the inverter and simplifies some of the setup and monitoring, though it does dit 90mm taller. 8) The AC going direct to the heater could be omitted and run from the AC2 out of the inverter instead, this automatically disconnects when shore power is unavailable. This could have had the add on effect of simplifying the consumer unit install and wiring too. 9) While it would provide a path to ground i wouldnt rely on powering the BMS via the Inverter. Giving it a dedicated line to the battery would seem best practice. - I could be stand to be corrected on this. 10) On the output RCBOs would have saved more space again, eliminating the need for a dedicated RCD This combined with the tip above might have gotten you down to 1 consumer unit while increasing functionality by making the protection 'per circuit' thus having a fault on one doesn;t bring the whole AC output down. 11) The Lynx power distribution unit is huge, yet really all it's going is passing high current to the inverter. I'd have skipped the battery fuse, the main switch and the Lynx and just run a 250 or 300A DC breaker to both the Inverter and the fuse box, or seperate 250A and 100A breakers incase you wanted to isolate the inverter for power saving or maintainance. Looks like you got a good end result, but gee that's big setup and unnecessarily complicated. Still i hope it brings you some joy.
that's really a good explanation and easy to understand. Great Video. Do you planning on doing the 'how to' do the sensor video soon? would love to see the sensor placement
I love Victron equipment but it is so expensive. I went with eg4 all in one system with the server rack battery and it’s much cheaper. Much easier to Install with less components and tons of energy. It is also expandable which is amazing.
Remember to derate your wiring for high temp! And put air space between wires carrying near capacity current!!! Especially in vehicles left in the sun.
Hey Matt, another great video - your content has been invaluable for me as I plan my own build. A question (for anyone who may know): Instead of having the separate Battery Protects between the battery & MPPT and fuse/distribution board, would it be possible to have a single Battery Protect between the positive battery terminal and manual isolator (just before the Lynx distribution panel)? I figure that in the event of issues with the batteries, this would cut the whole circuit (both charges & loads) with only a single battery protect. Curious to hear anyones thoughts! 🙏
Hello I would like you to give me your opinion (expert!) I have a multiplus 2 in (8000VA) in output + (2X on the 8000VA) should I put 1 or 2 disconnectors? since 2X50MM² are needed 2 disconnectors are better I think? the 2 50MM cables will not fit on a disconnector. What do you think? on the other hand for the - (2X) should I also have 1 or 2 disconnectors? or can the 2 - cables of the multi go directly to the P- of the BMS jk? thanks
I have a question about the wiring here. You've got the various chargers connected directly to your 12V distribution bus, but a battery charger for 12v batteries typically outputs > 12V in order to properly charge the batteries (which means your 12V bus would be outputting something higher than 12V). Is this something you need to be concerned about? Should there be a DC/DC converter somewhere here to maintain a constant 12V output in the face of differing voltage levels from the batteries, the solar charger, the dc/dc charger, etc?
Hi does anyone knows if we don’t have victron battery, I have lifepo4 batteries how to connect BMS to my batteries because there is no place to Link as victron as he linked
Amazing Video - thanks alot. I am a great fan of Victron myself and have used it amply, so know the amount of effort that would have gone into such a neat system would you mind elaborating to the shot of the 12V DB (14:25) - it seems like you are using an interesting mix of cable colours. is there reason behind this choice, would love to hear your thoughts on it.
48V is the way to go, but there are some things to consider. Solar would need to be higher voltage, 36V won‘t cut it. You also need a DC/DC charger that boosts to 48+V. And you need a DC/DC stepdown converter for your 12V loads. 24V could be the middle ground, there is tons of DC stuff that works on 24V and the 36V solar system would also work fine.
@@bellumCretatusthis tbf. Also stepping down from 48v to 12v would be hugely inefficient. 24V is a middle ground but there’s nothing wrong with 12V for smaller systems.
@@MarkChivers-z1u why? I disagree. Just check the step-down converter datasheets, e.g. for Victrons (110W), the 48V to 12V version is even 2% more efficient over the 24V to 12V
I believe you did a couple mistakes. You connected the mppt to the lynx distributor after the main battery disconnect switch. So whenever you disconnect your batteries from your loads, you'll end up disconnecting them from your solar array too. That is not good. As long as the panels are connected to the mppt, the mppt should stay connected to the batteries. And there should be a way for you to isolate your batteries from all your loads but at the same time keep them charging, which is not possible with this setup. Another mistake is you have the main fuse before the mppt as well. If for some reason the main fuse blows, it will disconnect the mppt from the batteries, while the solar panels are connected to the mppt. That is a potential hazard. The mppt should only be cut off from the batteries if its own fuse blows, which will only happen if there's a short. The correct way: Connect the output of your mppt directly to your batteries or to an unswitched busbar, before the main fuse. Install a fuse in between. Lastly, if you choose to cut off your panels from the mppt using the breakers you've installed, the mppt will not output anything. So there is no need to install a breaker or switch between your batteries and the mppt. You only need a fuse.
Nice vid, have never seen as many battery protects 😁 Surprised one was used on the mppt, you have most of the same options in software? Saves a bunch of components and wiring.
Thank you very much for this video - I've watched a lot of the Explorist Life videos/tutorials, so it's nice to see you echoing much of the same wisdom. Quick question - why did you choose to place the battery isolator switch between the fuse and distributor, rather than at the battery terminal?
@@SimonWad Cheers Simon :) The positive terminal is kinda hidden towards the back of the bank and is difficult to access. Otherwise it would have gone on the terminal itself. The cable run is only 300mm or so though and is massively overspecced so it should be fine
Sponsoring of this video in extremely efficient. I am planning a very similar installation (although on my boat), so I vent directly to NOHMA, very decided to use their service. Unfortunately, they sell only in the UK and in the US! I would have gladly paid for the engineering advice only, but they don't do that. Additionally, they work only with vans, and not boats. I don't know any similar service that would be available in Europe. I might simply replicate your installation, but I have a problem with the BMS since the one you use is for Lithium batteries only, and I want to use gel batteries (not a preferences, but because I have 6 100 Ah brand new gel batteries.)Hence my question: does anyone knows what BMS to use for gel batteries?
Complex but intriguing setup. What about voltage regulation on the 12 volt side - components like the roof fans are sensitive to voltage, they don't like more than 12 volts.🤔
Where did you hear this?? No... fans are not sensitive to voltage. Close enough is good enough. It's probably going to have a perfectly happy life anywhere from 9 to 15 volts.
@@MattsVan No, BMS does nothing. The DC side of your system is variable with the battery / charge voltage... and this is fine. 99.9% of 12v gear is happy to run anywhere between 10v and 15v Regulation not required. Where regulation is important the device has regs inside it. Your USB lamps/chargers for example will have 5v switch mode regs internally. Automotive systems are well known to be typically 12v to 14v. Lots of gear is actually specced @ 13.8v as that's close to your DC system voltage while the vehicle is running.
@@errolmagill1611 Just saw the videos and have seen some of their boards, does seem a legit issue. In light of this new information they are simply unfit for purpose. Voltage regulation for a "12v system accessory" should not be a thing, if i needs a specific voltage then the regulation should be in the fan itself. It's accepted and normal for automotive/ RV systems to operate through a range of voltage. Designing a device for those applications that cannot roll with this is bad business.
not vice versa, the inverter is only converting dc to ac and not the other way around, but u said this multiplus is also a charger so I'm not sure what that function is used for since you have an mppt charge controller in the system which should charge the batteries !!
12:23 I get it now, so the 12v from battery or solor gets converted to ac which is the inverter function, and also the incoming ac can be converted to 12v to charge the batteries which is the charger function, but you keep saying the inverter works both ways, which is wrong , the multiplus works both way, one way is the inverter part and the other is the charger part. anyway u keeps saying you're not qualified and this proves just that hhhh, no ofense just kidding, it's just the words or terms used are wrong but the meaning and actual thing correct hhh
Actually it's under spec'd already. The panels can harvest over 40 amps at that battery voltage, so even the 35 is under. 3 x 175w = 525w / 12.8v system nominal voltage = 41Amps Subtract that panels rarely actually generate specified power and the 2% loss in the MPPT and the 35amp unit chosen is about right, maybe a tad small.
@@virtual812agreed. Victron (and others) have a calculator which you can use to determine which charge controller is best suited to the solar array (whether in series/parallel or combo). Such a controller would be underrated.
@virtual812 the panels are wired in series. He says it himself, so with 3 175W panels, Voltage is 36 V nominal (probably 50 VOC) and the current 14.86 Amps. He might have wanted to go to a Victron 100/20 but a 150/35 is complete overkill
Those older DCDC chargers de-rate really badly when they get warm. Any reason you didn't go for the newer Orion XS which doesn't seem to suffer this same shortcoming?
@@alpacatje Ground is just a term, the same as your car battery when you jump it off, you put a cable to frame not on the “ground”. In reality electricity is PFM (pure Fking magic) and it just works.
@@DetcordDedushka grounding means when there’s a leak the electricity goes to the ground. When it can’t leak to the ground it will stay on the frame. Meaning when you have a leak and you touch your frame you can have deadly shocks
Is the rotary isolator switch a 25 amp ? If so should it not be a higher rating as your solar is putting out a higher amp , being a novice I’ve probably got this all wrong , thanks John
@@CleancutCampersUK Hi Iam on about the one after the solar panels think it says it’s a pro joy , sure it’s rated at 25 amp , unless I have it wrong , which is more than likely, the three 175 watt solar panels are producing nearly 44 amps ? Thanks
@@user93237 £5-6k all in I reckon. Not cheap but can also be ripped out and installed in any future off grid conversions I’m planning. So I saw it as a future investment ;)
@@MattsVan leave you doing this work spending 24-ish pounds on the regulation book is recommended but essentially you are meant to have it so only folks on the circuit that has issues traps so individual RCBO are required and a main switch instead of the RCD and AFD are recommended for socket circuit and you need to have a reason why not to install them but they are around £100. You are also meant to include search protection unless the customer has signed some kind of thing but you can’t do that because you’re not a professional charging customers so you should do it.
The days of systems like this I feel like are coming to an end. It seems much easier to just buy the all in one powerbanks like jacket/Anker/ecoflow things. As they all support solar and have UK plug sockets. Plus if they fail they can be whipped out and replaced which you can imagine is a pain with the victron setup. A hybrid setup with a fuse board for 12v stuff would be a great starter setup.
The way in this video is a little bit expensive and potentially complicated but the message you suggested is bad because the power is often of a lower quality and you’re often paying more for the same thing than cheaper alternatives to energy is better to make a custom system as a lot of thesepower stations only work with weird solar panels voltages and stuff like that so you can’t get appropriate ones to mount on a roof as it’s not the maximum efficiency
I think the all in ones are great till they break , then your at the mercy of one distributor and there supply . Many places have this Victron stuff lying around.
When AIO system like Bluetti etc breaks, you have to send your complete system to repair, or buy new with thousands. When one component fails on separate system, you isolate and replace only one component. Repair cost might be only a fraction vs AIO system
@@OnTe88 generally speaking they don’t repair much. They would only exchange under warranty cost part definitely has a point because people failed to realise that things like charge controllers will break they have things in that wear out
Just buy a Clayton Power LPS II 3000 and cut out all the fuss, and save space at the same time. So many professional van converters are moving away from Victron.
Great job sir and thank you. I've finally posted my first video on TH-cam, it's about modifying the Victron blue smart battery charger. Please watch it and tell me what you think
bro i think there are too many fuses in your system. lithium -> fuse -> distribution box -> fuse -> 12v blade fuse box -> fuse -> 12v appliance. it's fuses on every layer!
Not to mention the fuse on the way to the fuse block. "The great thing about the lynx distributor is it has fuses to each output, but before we connected to the fused distributor we need a fuse."
Contrary to popular belief, the Van Conversion is not dead! I'm just struggling to find the time and money necessary to work on it. But this video represents a huge milestone that I've been wanting to complete for some time. I hope you get some use out of it!
Many thanks to NOHMA.com for sponsoring this video. Links to their products, kits and services can be found in the description.
I can say having watched dozens of videos similar to this on TH-cam… This is by far the cleanest wired Victron system that I have seen yet. Kudos to you for doing what other people are evidently not able to do and putting everything together with obvious care and neatness.
As an Electronics Engineer, I'd say that's a good high level explanation of this system. Clear and concise. There is a lot of power involved that can do damage in a very short period of time. As Matt points out, contact someone in the know if you don't understand electrics.
Thanks for sharing!
Voltage ripple is stopped when the cables are the same length?
rubbish ! and you know it. !
@@sggr7708 thank you for contributing to Matts algorithm
Explained in it’s simplest form, even someone who has very limited knowledge in electrical matters would be greatly educated and enlightened after watching this video, Well done, brilliant 😊
I'd only add one additional thing. A super or ultra capacitor to the busbar. This will extend the life of your battery and assist with any large start-up current draws from pumps or fridges..
One of the finest presentations I have seen.
As someone who is planning on building my own in april, I will rewatch this one 100 times :D
Aiming for 30kwh worth of battery in mine, cus im a neard and need gaming on my 750w computer. Might try to add extra solar by custom making slide out shelfs if I don't get enough on my roof. No idea how well it's all gonna go but Imma give it a damn good try and videos like these are gonna help me massively.
Trying to do the same thing. Dual layer/wing panels are a must have if you want your rays traced. You're also going to need a lot of roof. I'm getting a 37ft toy hauler for mine.
@dishcleaner2 Sick! :)
Connecting bigger loads to the inverter side of the MultiPlus-II allows you to use their "PowerAssist" function. It allows you to limit the current taken from shore power and supply the rest from your battery. This can be useful if shore power can't supply enough, as you do quite often see on camping sites. Brew your coffee or tea with battery support and recharge it while you enjoy your beverage.
Well this is a great video! Wish this video released last month haha! My system looks very similar.
I just bought all my victron components 3 weeks ago, and bought batteries 3 days ago. I did have the victron batteries spec'd out first but couldnt justify the price of them so went with RFK batteries (2x 300ah) after a bunch of research. I would recommend also getting Orion XS 50A as tests showed that it is more efficient, doesn't heat up as much, smaller in size, and you can charge quicker.
I skimmed through the video but will watch it in full to make sure I didn't miss anything.
Great video and total respect for crediting Greg Virgo and his series of videos
Just when I was feeling confident in my abilities to wing my way through the electrics...
That being said.. It is a sponsored post, so, of course they're gonna add a bit more spice to it.
So for the project I'm working on, I found a UK company - Fogstar - just received one of their big batteries into my work - 560Ah, built-in BMS and battery heater, and plugs into the Cerbo via VE CAN and/or BMS CAN
Thank you! I am wiring my off-grid cottage and your explanation on the system has been very helpful! It is very clear and well explained!
DC-DC 12-12-30
4.1. General
• Mount vertically on a non-flammable surface, with the power terminals facing downwards. Observe a minimum clearance of 10
cm under and above the product for optimal cooling.
But your video is good. :)
Finally, an installation which has an AC breaker /fuse box/consumer unit in metal enclosures from the shore power/hook up AND from the inverter.
I had a rats nest of different wires coming off my battery. I tidied this up so so a single cable from the battery terminals to a bus bar via an isolator. This weekend I actually put the positive from the solar controller and the smart shunt back onto the battery. So I ca isolate the system but keep the solar charging and. The power to the smart shunt.
Your Truma could have been powered off the AC-out 2 connectors on the Multiplus. It is powered directly from the AC input and disconnects when shore power is unplugged. I suppose you still would have needed a fuse/breaaker/whatever you call them, so it would be a wash.
So professional and clean.
Great, albeit very intimidating explanation. I understand why you've left out some information so I will re-watch it several times to learn more. Many thanks and hopefully your time/money issue improves soon so we get the next video soon. Thanks again for doing this!
GREAT video, but .... We've gone 3 summers aound the US with a propane stove, 2 wet cel Gp31 batteries, 200 w solar, Renogy DCC50s, Isotherm 130 AC/DC Refrigerator with Freezer, 200W cigarette lighter inverter, and a 12V water heater. IF we decide we need a toaster or coffee maker we'll add a 2000W Renogy inverter for $280.00. It's not for everyone but if your budget is tight electrics is where to save.
Great high- level explanatory video...well done!
Have ye had your van put onto a weighbridge as the payload is XLWB is 1124 kg ?
DVSA are the people to worry about if you are . Great video being a long-distance lorry driver away from home months at a time living in the top of the range truck. Having all the facilities inside my truck. Apart from the obvious I think in this video it is a bit too much but I will say very well explained.
You sound more clued up then your letting on
great video with good advice and direction to other sources. One thing, people will try and copy this (it the internet). Thought I should add in here the Solar MCB, should be a DC MCB and not a normal house AC MCB, as Matt said seek advice, and an AC one won't work the same.
Yep good point! This nearly tripped me up too.
The very first fuse from the battery - lots of new advice out there saying you should use a T-class or MGBF fuse instead of a Mega fuse. The shirt circuit current of a lithium battery is unbelievably high and above the specs of a Mega fuse. This can mean the fuse can fail then arc across the mega fuse and not cut the circuit if there is a short circuit. I may be wrong as I am not an electrician but I would double check this. Great build and video :)
@@robertfrost5020 Crazy how fast these regulations change! Even if it’s not guaranteed to be correct advice, it’s still something that people should look into further now that you’ve bought it to light. Thanks for this Robert! 🙏
@ I know it’s bonkers complicated - I think one of the benefits of the Victron inverters is they aren’t ‘centre tapped’ like most of the others. Centre tapped means 240v isn’t sent down the cables the Same way as in your home. Basically this means trip switches (residual circuit breakers - the things you find in your fuse box/ consumer unit) won’t work. That info isn’t at all clear even when you buy branded good quality ones. That’s why Victron is so expensive. It is different (better/ safer) technology.
Brilliant explanation matt, found your breakdown and explanation very easy to follow and understand making a very intimidating diagram easier to understand..
Well illustrated. Love your system. Ultra clean install.
Extremely well done. Very helpful would be if you could present the tools and parts you used for preparing the cables
Cool explanation of a complicated topic - well done. I'm left with a simple product question - why the MultiPlus II instead of the cheaper MultiPlus with the same configureation. From what I know the only addition in the newer version is a functionality that is only used for household installation in which it prevents putting solar power from your roof back into the grid when the "GRID connection fails (e.g. for service reasons). I think it could save a couple hundred bucks for a functionality we don't need in our vans...please correct me if I'm wrong :) GREETINGS from Victrons home base - Germany!
Great video. Everybody says the same. I agree. I have been following your woodwork for several years. It´s just one thing. Maybe i am too old, but. Matt you have too breath. You might end up whit one of my friends at work.
Be Cool, MD, Stan in Sweden
Awesome!
Great job! Nice to see the project is moving ahead. Electrics are serious business, you can easily cause a lot of issues without realizing it.
Sensational video Matt 👌🏻 Brilliant explanations and edit 👌🏻🍺🏴
Smart. Love victron.
I like how you layed out all of your components but I wonder if there was a way to pack them in tight to take up less space. Would there be complication from having these parts closer together or even touching? Considering everything has a housing and the wires are insulated
The Shunt is a coulomb meter and not used for measuring Voltage as such; it counts the amps that are transferred to and from the battery in order to determine the state of charge, the current being used by the loads or being input back into the battery. Voltage is not a good way to measure Lithium SOC, but is useful in viewing/setting the endpoints of the charge/discharge cycle to avoid damage to the battery. Great video though.
Nicely done, it's good seeing the van coming along :) It should be ready for when you retire :P
Really good video, well explained and very useful
I used to build the wiring harnesses at Aston Martin (Newport Pagnell days) we used to get visitors looking at the 900+ wires laid on the bench, the regular question was "how on earth do you know when it's all there" 😂
Hey Matt, aren’t you doubling up
on the solar isolator side? The MCB can be used as an isolator switch and fuse instead of having the additional PV isolator switch also.
great explanation. clear and precise. keep up the good work.
Constructive criticism...
1)The phrase "Connecting the positive and negative terminals together" is a fairly critical flaw. Better said "connecting the positive on each battery to each other and the negative one each battery to each other" or some other clear way the precludes anyone of thinking of connecting the positive and negative of a battery.
2) Equal length positive and negative in this context is not even remotely required.
Ripple is rapid oscillations in voltage, and is solved best with a capacitor, not equal length cable.
Equal length cable is typically for matched impedance and timing in data transmission, like at the scale of tracks on a computer motherboard.
3) With large enough cable over that short of a length it doesn't really matter how you connect to your batteries.
4) Solar panels, whilst off roaders an so on will colloquially call a panel "12v" in the context of this video this can be dangerous.
The voltage of the panels is specified in 2 ways, Vmp and Voc. Vmp is the voltage of the panel at max power, Voc is Voltage open circuit.
Using the datasheet for Victrons 175 watt panel Vmp is 19.4v and Voc is 23.7v
3 of these in series has the potential to reach 71.1v which is double the 36v you calculated, and can be a minor electrocution risk and risk to an improperly sized solar charger.
- Wiring them in series means smaller cable required and means they will still generate useful power in lower light conditions (start generating earlier in the AM and continue until later in PM)
5) The MPPT150-35 is a bit undersized, but only slightly. It's good up to 35amps, but with 525w of solar you will hit that 35amp limit on a good day with low batteries.
This is actually not a huge issue, as mentioned in a post i replied to below...
3 x 175w = 525w / 12.8v system nominal voltage = 41Amps
Subtract that panels rarely actually generate specified power and the 2% loss in the MPPT and the 35amp unit chosen is about right, maybe a tad small.
It will only be maxed out in certain circumstances... Victron controllers limit current safely, so going over is not a concern to the durability of the controller.
6) Should be more clearly defined - MCB = Miniature Circuit Breaker - and must be DC rated for this task.
7) The MultiPlus II could have been exchanged with the EasySolar-II GX, this brings the solar charging inside the inverter and simplifies some of the setup and monitoring, though it does dit 90mm taller.
8) The AC going direct to the heater could be omitted and run from the AC2 out of the inverter instead, this automatically disconnects when shore power is unavailable.
This could have had the add on effect of simplifying the consumer unit install and wiring too.
9) While it would provide a path to ground i wouldnt rely on powering the BMS via the Inverter.
Giving it a dedicated line to the battery would seem best practice. - I could be stand to be corrected on this.
10) On the output RCBOs would have saved more space again, eliminating the need for a dedicated RCD
This combined with the tip above might have gotten you down to 1 consumer unit while increasing functionality by making the protection 'per circuit' thus having a fault on one doesn;t bring the whole AC output down.
11) The Lynx power distribution unit is huge, yet really all it's going is passing high current to the inverter.
I'd have skipped the battery fuse, the main switch and the Lynx and just run a 250 or 300A DC breaker to both the Inverter and the fuse box, or seperate 250A and 100A breakers incase you wanted to isolate the inverter for power saving or maintainance.
Looks like you got a good end result, but gee that's big setup and unnecessarily complicated.
Still i hope it brings you some joy.
Finally someone noticed what I noticed. Often I keep quiet and nod my head.
that's really a good explanation and easy to understand. Great Video. Do you planning on doing the 'how to' do the sensor video soon? would love to see the sensor placement
That's an impressive system that. Good job mounting it all and wiring it up, nice tidy job. Would be interested in the cost of this system.
Fair play Matt, my brain is melting....
The shut off switch to the solar panels is redundant, since you installed a automatic fuse before the switch.
Nice guide! Would be very interesting to get an estimate of cost of the setup you have here, with MPPT, DC2DC, Inverter batteries etc.
I guess excluding the battery it's probably 1500€. Price of Victron equipment came down a lot in recent months
Wondering why using a resistive heater instead of an AC/heatpump?
I love Victron equipment but it is so expensive. I went with eg4 all in one system with the server rack battery and it’s much cheaper. Much easier to
Install with less components and tons of energy. It is also expandable which is amazing.
Fair play thats beautiful!
Remember to derate your wiring for high temp! And put air space between wires carrying near capacity current!!! Especially in vehicles left in the sun.
Hey Matt, another great video - your content has been invaluable for me as I plan my own build.
A question (for anyone who may know):
Instead of having the separate Battery Protects between the battery & MPPT and fuse/distribution board, would it be possible to have a single Battery Protect between the positive battery terminal and manual isolator (just before the Lynx distribution panel)?
I figure that in the event of issues with the batteries, this would cut the whole circuit (both charges & loads) with only a single battery protect.
Curious to hear anyones thoughts! 🙏
Brilliant informative video. what’s the total cost of the system
incredible. well done
Thanks, Matt.
Hello
I would like you to give me your opinion (expert!)
I have a multiplus 2 in (8000VA) in output + (2X on the 8000VA) should I put 1 or 2 disconnectors? since 2X50MM² are needed
2 disconnectors are better I think? the 2 50MM cables will not fit on a disconnector. What do you think?
on the other hand for the - (2X) should I also have 1 or 2 disconnectors?
or can the 2 - cables of the multi go directly to the P- of the BMS jk?
thanks
I have a question about the wiring here. You've got the various chargers connected directly to your 12V distribution bus, but a battery charger for 12v batteries typically outputs > 12V in order to properly charge the batteries (which means your 12V bus would be outputting something higher than 12V). Is this something you need to be concerned about? Should there be a DC/DC converter somewhere here to maintain a constant 12V output in the face of differing voltage levels from the batteries, the solar charger, the dc/dc charger, etc?
Hi does anyone knows if we don’t have victron battery, I have lifepo4 batteries how to connect BMS to my batteries because there is no place to Link as victron as he linked
Amazing Video - thanks alot. I am a great fan of Victron myself and have used it amply, so know the amount of effort that would have gone into such a neat system
would you mind elaborating to the shot of the 12V DB (14:25) - it seems like you are using an interesting mix of cable colours. is there reason behind this choice, would love to hear your thoughts on it.
So, isn't easier to use, for instant, one ecoflow delta pro plus an extra 3.6kw battery? all in one, aprox 500Ah, about 4.5 k euro price?
Beautiful system. Just my humble opinion, if I needed to power a 3000 watt inverter I’d go 48 volts and not have to deal with such massive cables.
Haha you're not wrong there! Some of these were like handling Pythons
True , 48v is the best.
48V is the way to go, but there are some things to consider. Solar would need to be higher voltage, 36V won‘t cut it. You also need a DC/DC charger that boosts to 48+V. And you need a DC/DC stepdown converter for your 12V loads. 24V could be the middle ground, there is tons of DC stuff that works on 24V and the 36V solar system would also work fine.
@@bellumCretatusthis tbf. Also stepping down from 48v to 12v would be hugely inefficient. 24V is a middle ground but there’s nothing wrong with 12V for smaller systems.
@@MarkChivers-z1u why? I disagree. Just check the step-down converter datasheets, e.g. for Victrons (110W), the 48V to 12V version is even 2% more efficient over the 24V to 12V
I have the same setup but with two orions and two mppt. I'm very confused why the mppt and the orion need to have the battery protect.
Thank you
I believe you did a couple mistakes. You connected the mppt to the lynx distributor after the main battery disconnect switch. So whenever you disconnect your batteries from your loads, you'll end up disconnecting them from your solar array too. That is not good. As long as the panels are connected to the mppt, the mppt should stay connected to the batteries. And there should be a way for you to isolate your batteries from all your loads but at the same time keep them charging, which is not possible with this setup. Another mistake is you have the main fuse before the mppt as well. If for some reason the main fuse blows, it will disconnect the mppt from the batteries, while the solar panels are connected to the mppt. That is a potential hazard. The mppt should only be cut off from the batteries if its own fuse blows, which will only happen if there's a short. The correct way: Connect the output of your mppt directly to your batteries or to an unswitched busbar, before the main fuse. Install a fuse in between. Lastly, if you choose to cut off your panels from the mppt using the breakers you've installed, the mppt will not output anything. So there is no need to install a breaker or switch between your batteries and the mppt. You only need a fuse.
Are the kitchen appliances/area linked up to the 12v array?
I'm more interested in your cabinet/housing for it all!
I am waiting for the answer and willing to pay for design specifications.
Looks really good but insurance won't cover of its mounted on wood
Are you not sharing the wiring guide?
Nice vid, have never seen as many battery protects 😁 Surprised one was used on the mppt, you have most of the same options in software? Saves a bunch of components and wiring.
Thank you very much for this video - I've watched a lot of the Explorist Life videos/tutorials, so it's nice to see you echoing much of the same wisdom. Quick question - why did you choose to place the battery isolator switch between the fuse and distributor, rather than at the battery terminal?
@@SimonWad Cheers Simon :) The positive terminal is kinda hidden towards the back of the bank and is difficult to access. Otherwise it would have gone on the terminal itself. The cable run is only 300mm or so though and is massively overspecced so it should be fine
What's the program that u used to make the diagram? Awesome video, BTW.
very helpful
Nicely explained. Do you have any room left in the van?
Great video and nice and clear.
How did you do the drawing, I've been try to find a way to draw up my system I'm working on.
Sponsoring of this video in extremely efficient. I am planning a very similar installation (although on my boat), so I vent directly to NOHMA, very decided to use their service. Unfortunately, they sell only in the UK and in the US! I would have gladly paid for the engineering advice only, but they don't do that. Additionally, they work only with vans, and not boats. I don't know any similar service that would be available in Europe. I might simply replicate your installation, but I have a problem with the BMS since the one you use is for Lithium batteries only, and I want to use gel batteries (not a preferences, but because I have 6 100 Ah brand new gel batteries.)Hence my question: does anyone knows what BMS to use for gel batteries?
Complex but intriguing setup. What about voltage regulation on the 12 volt side - components like the roof fans are sensitive to voltage, they don't like more than 12 volts.🤔
@@errolmagill1611 ooo that’s an interesting one. I’m going to assume the BMS is the thing that handles that. But I may be wrong
Where did you hear this??
No... fans are not sensitive to voltage.
Close enough is good enough.
It's probably going to have a perfectly happy life anywhere from 9 to 15 volts.
@@MattsVan No, BMS does nothing.
The DC side of your system is variable with the battery / charge voltage... and this is fine.
99.9% of 12v gear is happy to run anywhere between 10v and 15v
Regulation not required.
Where regulation is important the device has regs inside it.
Your USB lamps/chargers for example will have 5v switch mode regs internally.
Automotive systems are well known to be typically 12v to 14v.
Lots of gear is actually specced @ 13.8v as that's close to your DC system voltage while the vehicle is running.
@@virtual812 Maxxair fans are very voltage sensitive, there are examples of people having issues with this on TH-cam. Personally I wouldn't chance it.
@@errolmagill1611 Just saw the videos and have seen some of their boards, does seem a legit issue.
In light of this new information they are simply unfit for purpose.
Voltage regulation for a "12v system accessory" should not be a thing, if i needs a specific voltage then the regulation should be in the fan itself.
It's accepted and normal for automotive/ RV systems to operate through a range of voltage.
Designing a device for those applications that cannot roll with this is bad business.
The guide on how to bring down big oil, the early days.
not vice versa, the inverter is only converting dc to ac and not the other way around, but u said this multiplus is also a charger so I'm not sure what that function is used for since you have an mppt charge controller in the system which should charge the batteries !!
12:23 I get it now, so the 12v from battery or solor gets converted to ac which is the inverter function, and also the incoming ac can be converted to 12v to charge the batteries which is the charger function, but you keep saying the inverter works both ways, which is wrong , the multiplus works both way, one way is the inverter part and the other is the charger part. anyway u keeps saying you're not qualified and this proves just that hhhh, no ofense just kidding, it's just the words or terms used are wrong but the meaning and actual thing correct hhh
I dont understand why people alway put load disconect.
When a make my batterie there is a integrated protection in the bms
That Victron Charge Controller is over spec'd for that system. You could have used a 75|15
Actually it's under spec'd already.
The panels can harvest over 40 amps at that battery voltage, so even the 35 is under.
3 x 175w = 525w / 12.8v system nominal voltage = 41Amps
Subtract that panels rarely actually generate specified power and the 2% loss in the MPPT and the 35amp unit chosen is about right, maybe a tad small.
@@virtual812agreed. Victron (and others) have a calculator which you can use to determine which charge controller is best suited to the solar array (whether in series/parallel or combo). Such a controller would be underrated.
@virtual812 the panels are wired in series. He says it himself, so with 3 175W panels, Voltage is 36 V nominal (probably 50 VOC) and the current 14.86 Amps. He might have wanted to go to a Victron 100/20 but a 150/35 is complete overkill
Those older DCDC chargers de-rate really badly when they get warm. Any reason you didn't go for the newer Orion XS which doesn't seem to suffer this same shortcoming?
0:44 这个电路图线路画的有一些不符合图纸标识规则，在线路交叉的地方。
Wait a second, aren’t you the one with the wood working channel?
Maybe a stupid question: but since your van is on wheels, how is your installation grounded to the earth?
Hi, It's not, The van chassis is your 'earth' .
@@michaelking3812 Yeah, but the chassis doesn't touch the ground as you're on rubber tyres...
@@alpacatje Ground is just a term, the same as your car battery when you jump it off, you put a cable to frame not on the “ground”.
In reality electricity is PFM (pure Fking magic) and it just works.
@@DetcordDedushka grounding means when there’s a leak the electricity goes to the ground. When it can’t leak to the ground it will stay on the frame. Meaning when you have a leak and you touch your frame you can have deadly shocks
Needed a mortgage to pay for it! Good video though
Is the rotary isolator switch a 25 amp ? If so should it not be a higher rating as your solar is putting out a higher amp , being a novice I’ve probably got this all wrong , thanks John
It's a 300 amp Blue Sea Systems isolator switch
@@CleancutCampersUK Hi Iam on about the one after the solar panels think it says it’s a pro joy , sure it’s rated at 25 amp , unless I have it wrong , which is more than likely, the three 175 watt solar panels are producing nearly 44 amps ? Thanks
@@johnchamney3028 The solar panels are in series and not parallel. So the voltage adds, not the current. He'll have to switch around 10A.
Czemu nie system 24v?
I dont understand that why buying full kit from nohma, more expensive than buying individually
This was brutal.
Fantastic video! What's the cost of such a system?
Probably £3-4k
@@user93237 £5-6k all in I reckon. Not cheap but can also be ripped out and installed in any future off grid conversions I’m planning. So I saw it as a future investment ;)
Nice but you should have chosen different batteries. Victorn batteries are WAY too expensive.
The way the two consumer units are connected up is now technically not appropriate according to the regulations
Yea I heard they changed recently but not quite sure where to find the info. Care to summarise it so that others can benefit?
@@MattsVan leave you doing this work spending 24-ish pounds on the regulation book is recommended but essentially you are meant to have it so only folks on the circuit that has issues traps so individual RCBO are required and a main switch instead of the RCD and AFD are recommended for socket circuit and you need to have a reason why not to install them but they are around £100. You are also meant to include search protection unless the customer has signed some kind of thing but you can’t do that because you’re not a professional charging customers so you should do it.
👍🏻🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
The days of systems like this I feel like are coming to an end. It seems much easier to just buy the all in one powerbanks like jacket/Anker/ecoflow things. As they all support solar and have UK plug sockets. Plus if they fail they can be whipped out and replaced which you can imagine is a pain with the victron setup. A hybrid setup with a fuse board for 12v stuff would be a great starter setup.
I just bought a bluetti ac 200 max with a 30 amp 12 v output to the camper fuse box , 200 amp hour
£924 refurbished with 4 year warranty
The way in this video is a little bit expensive and potentially complicated but the message you suggested is bad because the power is often of a lower quality and you’re often paying more for the same thing than cheaper alternatives to energy is better to make a custom system as a lot of thesepower stations only work with weird solar panels voltages and stuff like that so you can’t get appropriate ones to mount on a roof as it’s not the maximum efficiency
I think the all in ones are great till they break , then your at the mercy of one distributor and there supply . Many places have this Victron stuff lying around.
When AIO system like Bluetti etc breaks, you have to send your complete system to repair, or buy new with thousands.
When one component fails on separate system, you isolate and replace only one component. Repair cost might be only a fraction vs AIO system
@@OnTe88 generally speaking they don’t repair much. They would only exchange under warranty cost part definitely has a point because people failed to realise that things like charge controllers will break they have things in that wear out
at least really honest to call it prime system
where the total system price will make many people think twice.
What the heck are you guys in Australia allowed to say?
Just buy a Clayton Power LPS II 3000 and cut out all the fuss, and save space at the same time. So many professional van converters are moving away from Victron.
All these blue boxes cost more than my entier car… ;)
Great job sir and thank you. I've finally posted my first video on TH-cam, it's about modifying the Victron blue smart battery charger. Please watch it and tell me what you think
👍👍🚐😎
bro i think there are too many fuses in your system. lithium -> fuse -> distribution box -> fuse -> 12v blade fuse box -> fuse -> 12v appliance. it's fuses on every layer!
Not to mention the fuse on the way to the fuse block.
"The great thing about the lynx distributor is it has fuses to each output, but before we connected to the fused distributor we need a fuse."