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Luca Barbierato avatar image
Luca Barbierato asked

Van Solar Electric Scheme with PV, Alternator and External 230V Plug

Dear all,


here my idea for the electrification of the Van. First of all, do you see some error in the design? If yes, please correct me if I did something wrong. I have still some doubt:

  • A 24V 300Wp PV will manage to charge a Victron GEL 12/220Ah battery completely considering a normal spring/summer/autumn/winter day?
  • Are the cables area correct considering the cables lengths?
  • Do I need to put in the schema other fuses along the cables?
  • Where do you suggest to use a manual circuit breaker?
  • Is the interconnection of the MultiPlus correct? It is ok a 125A fuse?
  • Which kind of AC Circuit Breaker do I need to consider for such MultiPlus?

MPPT ControllersMultiPlus Quattro Inverter Chargerwiringcampervan
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2 Answers
spirou avatar image
spirou answered ·

I would put a fuse/switch between the panel and regulator to simplify maintenance.

Whether the panel will produce enough in winter largely depends on where you are. Somewhat possible south of 45° latitude, unlikely above 50°.

Another improvement would be a dc-dc converter (not necessarily victron) rather than a battery combiner between both batteries. This way the BS gets the appropriate charge voltage and profile (especially if you have a smart alternator), as well as avoiding a likely issue that comes from its 12.8V disconnect limit. I don't know about victron gel batteries but they're often full closer to 13V, while your BM is probably at 12.6V.


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Luca Barbierato avatar image Luca Barbierato commented ·

I would prefer a switch between the panel and the regulator. I don't think it is necessary to put a fuse. A switch surely will help to disconnect the panel in case of maintenance.

Could you please suggest a DC-DC converter? Because I think I will need it because my van is a Fiat Ducato Panorama 2014 and it is an Euro5b.

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Luca Barbierato avatar image Luca Barbierato Luca Barbierato commented ·

https://www.victronenergy.com/dc-dc-converters/buck-boost-dc-dc-converter-25a-50a#manual

Is it the solution you were mentioning?

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Luca Barbierato avatar image Luca Barbierato Luca Barbierato commented ·

https://www.victronenergy.com/upload/documents/Manual-Orion-Tr-Smart-Charger-Isolated-EN-NL-FR-DE-ES-SE-IT.pdf

This cost less. But now I have another question..if my alternator can reach 100A which model I need with my 220Ah battery?

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spirou avatar image spirou Luca Barbierato commented ·

I have a schaudt wa121525, there's also a 45A model. The thing is, your batteries will never accept 100A charge even if the alternator could supply it. In practice it's not even close. I have 180Ah and I'll see 25A for maybe a minute then it starts going down quite fast. This is with about 3m of 10/16mm2 wire in between. On the previous van I had a cyrix with about 6m of 6mm2 wire between batteries (120Ah gel) and I can't remember more than 15A ever passing through. Lithium is a different matter, that will suck up everything the alternator can provide.

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Luca Barbierato avatar image Luca Barbierato Luca Barbierato commented ·

Final Design.

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schema-elettrico-ducato-orion-tr-bs-singola-con-in.png (1.2 MiB)
JohnC avatar image
JohnC answered ·

Hi Luca. There's a couple of things that stand out. A missing battery isolator. And 16mm2 cables won't fit into a 100/20 (the max of 6mm2 would be adequate over that 0.25m). But there's more..

You've done a good job mapping it all out, but it might actually be easier to start with the full monty and cut out the pieces you don't need. See here, and follow the links for schematics, etc. https://www.victronenergy.com/blog/2019/06/18/the-victron-van-install/

Then of course, the diy'ers best friend: https://www.victronenergy.com/blog/2019/09/03/wiring-unlimited/


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Luca Barbierato avatar image Luca Barbierato commented ·

As for battery isolator, do you mean a switch between battery V+ and SmartSolar Battery V+?

So you recommend to put cables of 6mm2 for the connections:

  • BM V+ to Cytrix-CT 87
  • Cytrix-CT 30 to BS V+
  • BM V- to BS V-
  • BS V+/V- to SmartSolar Battery V+/V-
  • SmartSolar Load V+/V- to DC Load V+/V- (from here a bar with all utilities protected by a switch and a fuse)
  • Multiplus Ground to BS V-

Moreover, you recommend reducing size of cables to 16mm2 from the battery V+/V- to the Multiplus V+/V-? Also in this case you recommend a switch, I imagine.

Thanks for the documentation. I will read the document on DIY. Sincerely the full monty seems to me too complicated. Probably he needs all this complex installation because of the LiFePo4 battery. In my case, I think it is better to simplify it, like in the scheme.

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