Perfect system aproach. The multi hub system works better in my opinion too. Long signal wires, short power wires. There is also an advantage in having the ability for ignition or engine run circuits at the hubs, something you cannot do with those single point fuse boxes. It is also worth considering the maximum through amperage in things like fuseboxes. the ones you are using are not very highly rated, but handle a lot more than they are rated for. The only suggestion I really have to this is an IP rated fuse box for the front one, those little boxes don't like water. I've replaced a few with rotted out insides
Follow the herd of "experts" and you will install a huge wiring centre with all the bells, whistles and gizmos, with complexity to match. Sit down and analyse what you really need and you might come up with a system rather like mine :-)
I have recently acquired my 110 and I definitely want an auxiiary battery setup. I notice that a lot of Defender owners are going for these Jackery portable power systems, and I was tempted, but they are very expensive and I struggle to find many examples where I would use the "portable" function of it given the size of these big units. You're not going to be porting them very far, and then what would you be powering with them when you get there? Most "away from the vehicle" use cases you can think of can be satisfied easily by much smaller and truly portable 18650 based power banks. So for me, an auxiliary battery installed permanently in the Defender - which is where I really need the high power devices - is the way to go. Much cheaper too, but there is of course the significant effort involved with installation as another type of cost. Anyway I enjoyed your planning presentation (food for thought) and also the advice regarding ducting and terminations etc.
I am not familiar with these Jackery portable power systems but, having looked them up quickly, they seem to be glorified power banks. This would be fine if you are doing short trips from home when you can charge it up before you go but much less practical for extended trips. You'd need to have a charging station built in to the vehicle and if you are going to do that you'd be better off with an auxiliary battery IMO. I hope you find a good solution whatever you decide to do.
I like the approach to your system. I really need to lock in what aux battery I use and where it will live before I have a hope of starting our wiring upgrades. I am still torn with carrying extra weight of an aux battery for everyday commutes. Every kg affects the economy as it also affects GVM when loaded up for trips.
If you are worried about weight then a Lithium battery would be an obvious solution. I won't touch them because the associated electronics. I have just ordered a new Rolls AGM battery which should give me good service. For me an auxiliary battery is absolutely essential.
Very hard to constructively add much, apart from suggesting to leave spare draw wires or lengths of fishing line through major arterial conduit runs for future development. High duty cycle heavy loads, especially "Travel Buddy" type pie ovens and to a lesser extent inverters and compressors will be areas to be most over-generous with conductor sizing and current rating of terminations to avoid thermally stressing . If wanting some precision, the IEE Wiring Regs (sadly now IET) have useful tables giving downrating factors for current carrying capacity, considering environmental temperature , "grouping factor" of multiple cables and in-conduit versus "clipped direct" installation methods. Only a high-end inverter will likely be picky on incoming Voltage to decide when to abandon operations as battery Voltage sinks; is your Victron unit a new one or already mission-proven ? Also, notwithstanding my mania for simplicity, I like the idea of your auto low battery Voltage disconnect unit; I'd better investigate ! Rgds
The low voltage cut off is a great battery saver. I bought an Alfatronix 60A unit (www.alfatronix.com) - British made although you can get cheaper Chinese devices. There is however one pitfall; these are designed for one way current flow so any charging devices should be attached directly to the battery post. I found that both my mains battery charger and solar charger liven up when they are attached to a battery and will drain it after a while. I have these auxiliary chargers on a toggle switch (on - off -on) so I can charge either battery and I just need to remember to leave the switch in the off position when not in use. The Victron inverter is about 6 months old. The previous inverter (which shall remain nameless) expired in a puff of smoke and could even have caused a vehicle fire. The inverter is rated for 500W but fused for about half that. I like to run equipment de-rated for reliability.
For simple graphics I use Open Office Draw but I also have a very old flowcharting programme (Flowcharter 2003) for doing SLDs which takes care of the cable crossovers. I also have much higher end software (TurboCAD Platinum) but that's way too complicated for 2D graphics.
@@defendermodsandtravels I am still at the design stage. I am thinking of adding a layer of complexity to what you have done by using a lithium starter battery as well as a lithium aux battery. By doing so I am able to both save weight and to exclude the need of a dc-dc charger for effective charge. By speaking with the technical support of the battery manufacturer, I have come to the conclusion that only an isolator between the 2 batteries is required. This can be achieved with the cheapest and most reliable voltage sensitive isolator in the market, however my problem for now is to find one that works at an appropriate voltage as a lithium battery can sit at 13.3V when not charging thus meaning that most of the voltage sensitive switch are going to be always in the "closed" position. The built in BMS in the batteries allows also to not require a solar regulator but only a reduced voltage solar input. What do you think?
@@Maedetto "A man should know his limitations" (quote from a Clint Eastwood movie, Dirty Harry I think). I know little about Li batteries and hence can't advise. Stefan Fischer of All Offroad Adventures has has made a particular study of Li batteries and Roy who comments on this channel is pretty knowledgeable too. If you have difficulty contacting either I can try. Good luck.
I like this - a simple electrical system that can be easily repaired on the road if necessary. Nicely done!
Great job, good tips. Thank you.
Perfect system aproach. The multi hub system works better in my opinion too. Long signal wires, short power wires. There is also an advantage in having the ability for ignition or engine run circuits at the hubs, something you cannot do with those single point fuse boxes. It is also worth considering the maximum through amperage in things like fuseboxes. the ones you are using are not very highly rated, but handle a lot more than they are rated for.
The only suggestion I really have to this is an IP rated fuse box for the front one, those little boxes don't like water. I've replaced a few with rotted out insides
Very well thought out
Follow the herd of "experts" and you will install a huge wiring centre with all the bells, whistles and gizmos, with complexity to match. Sit down and analyse what you really need and you might come up with a system rather like mine :-)
@@defendermodsandtravels I'll call in next time I'm passing you could put yours in mine , thanks, good informative video.
I have recently acquired my 110 and I definitely want an auxiiary battery setup. I notice that a lot of Defender owners are going for these Jackery portable power systems, and I was tempted, but they are very expensive and I struggle to find many examples where I would use the "portable" function of it given the size of these big units. You're not going to be porting them very far, and then what would you be powering with them when you get there? Most "away from the vehicle" use cases you can think of can be satisfied easily by much smaller and truly portable 18650 based power banks. So for me, an auxiliary battery installed permanently in the Defender - which is where I really need the high power devices - is the way to go. Much cheaper too, but there is of course the significant effort involved with installation as another type of cost.
Anyway I enjoyed your planning presentation (food for thought) and also the advice regarding ducting and terminations etc.
I am not familiar with these Jackery portable power systems but, having looked them up quickly, they seem to be glorified power banks. This would be fine if you are doing short trips from home when you can charge it up before you go but much less practical for extended trips. You'd need to have a charging station built in to the vehicle and if you are going to do that you'd be better off with an auxiliary battery IMO. I hope you find a good solution whatever you decide to do.
I like the approach to your system. I really need to lock in what aux battery I use and where it will live before I have a hope of starting our wiring upgrades. I am still torn with carrying extra weight of an aux battery for everyday commutes. Every kg affects the economy as it also affects GVM when loaded up for trips.
If you are worried about weight then a Lithium battery would be an obvious solution. I won't touch them because the associated electronics. I have just ordered a new Rolls AGM battery which should give me good service.
For me an auxiliary battery is absolutely essential.
I have my aux batteries on anderson plugs so they can be taken out when not needed
Very hard to constructively add much, apart from suggesting to leave spare draw wires or lengths of fishing line through major arterial conduit runs for future development. High duty cycle heavy loads, especially "Travel Buddy" type pie ovens and to a lesser extent inverters and compressors will be areas to be most over-generous with conductor sizing and current rating of terminations to avoid thermally stressing . If wanting some precision, the IEE Wiring Regs (sadly now IET) have useful tables giving downrating factors for current carrying capacity, considering environmental temperature , "grouping factor" of multiple cables and in-conduit versus "clipped direct" installation methods. Only a high-end inverter will likely be picky on incoming Voltage to decide when to abandon operations as battery Voltage sinks; is your Victron unit a new one or already mission-proven ? Also, notwithstanding my mania for simplicity, I like the idea of your auto low battery Voltage disconnect unit; I'd better investigate ! Rgds
The low voltage cut off is a great battery saver. I bought an Alfatronix 60A unit (www.alfatronix.com) - British made although you can get cheaper Chinese devices.
There is however one pitfall; these are designed for one way current flow so any charging devices should be attached directly to the battery post. I found that both my mains battery charger and solar charger liven up when they are attached to a battery and will drain it after a while. I have these auxiliary chargers on a toggle switch (on - off -on) so I can charge either battery and I just need to remember to leave the switch in the off position when not in use.
The Victron inverter is about 6 months old. The previous inverter (which shall remain nameless) expired in a puff of smoke and could even have caused a vehicle fire. The inverter is rated for 500W but fused for about half that. I like to run equipment de-rated for reliability.
What software do you use for wiring diagrams design?
For simple graphics I use Open Office Draw but I also have a very old flowcharting programme (Flowcharter 2003) for doing SLDs which takes care of the cable crossovers. I also have much higher end software (TurboCAD Platinum) but that's way too complicated for 2D graphics.
@@defendermodsandtravels Thank you, will try now. I am in the actual process of doing my electrical system too in my Defender
@@Maedetto Best of luck. Let me know how you get on. I am always happy to share ideas with you.
@@defendermodsandtravels I am still at the design stage. I am thinking of adding a layer of complexity to what you have done by using a lithium starter battery as well as a lithium aux battery. By doing so I am able to both save weight and to exclude the need of a dc-dc charger for effective charge. By speaking with the technical support of the battery manufacturer, I have come to the conclusion that only an isolator between the 2 batteries is required. This can be achieved with the cheapest and most reliable voltage sensitive isolator in the market, however my problem for now is to find one that works at an appropriate voltage as a lithium battery can sit at 13.3V when not charging thus meaning that most of the voltage sensitive switch are going to be always in the "closed" position. The built in BMS in the batteries allows also to not require a solar regulator but only a reduced voltage solar input. What do you think?
@@Maedetto "A man should know his limitations" (quote from a Clint Eastwood movie, Dirty Harry I think). I know little about Li batteries and hence can't advise. Stefan Fischer of All Offroad Adventures has has made a particular study of Li batteries and Roy who comments on this channel is pretty knowledgeable too. If you have difficulty contacting either I can try. Good luck.