Li-thiiii-um.... continued.

[MVA]

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

phew, at 50 amps charging, I measure a 0.2 volt drop between the converter output terminal and battery + terminal on the fuse panel. but the ugliest drop is about 0.5 amps at the stock battery disconnect which, which yes, I'm going to replace. its getting quite warm at 50 amps.

John,

At 50 amps, 0.2V is not too unexpected perhaps; ~1.5% voltage drop. What size wire are you using?

The stock switch you plan to change out (https://www.amazon.com/DaierTek-Auto.../dp/B07SJS8BFM) is only rated for 50A so that is sensible to upgrade it. Do you mean 0.5 volts (not amps) drop at the stock switch?

[John in Santa Cruz]

Originally Posted by MVA

John,

At 50 amps, 0.2V is not too unexpected perhaps; ~1.5% voltage drop. What size wire are you using?

The stock switch you plan to change out (https://www.amazon.com/DaierTek-Auto.../dp/B07SJS8BFM) is only rated for 50A so that is sensible to upgrade it. Do you mean 0.5 volts (not amps) drop at the stock switch?

that 0.2 volt drop was entirely on the fuse board, between the converter + output connector block to the battery + cable connector an inch apart., and including the two 40 A 'reverse circuit protection' fuses that are in parallel.

yeah, sorry, 0.5 volt drop on the switch.

[BobG]

I had 0.8 volt drop from charger output to battery +. There was 1 really bad ring connector crimp in the circuit that had about 30% of the wire strands missing. Everything got warm. I replaced everything. Subsequently, I read a comment by someone in the business that the battery will still charge to maximum capacity because as the voltage increases in the battery the charging current decreases and therefore the voltage drop will decrease allowing the higher voltage to reach the battery.



I don't like that way of doing things but it makes sense to me. However, maybe that someone, who I can't remember who, gave a smokey response and I fell for it.

[John in Santa Cruz]

No that's definitely true. Even with my batteries only seeing about 13.5 volts at 50 ampps, they still fully charge. The curve is much flatter and then steeper with lithium than it is with wet acid, the current doesn't start dropping until the batteries are almost completely charged and then the voltage goes up to 14.5 at 0 amps quite quickly.

[ATHiker]

While you have the bed platform open, might be good to take a close look at the black tank outlet. Several have had leaks.

[Vermilye]

You might look at one of these "Trailer Wiring Junction Box" as a replacement for the original wiring.

[alanmalk]

Originally Posted by ATHiker

While you have the bed platform open, might be good to take a close look at the black tank outlet. Several have had leaks.

Will second that. Our 2015 leaked in 2016. Much easier to fix with the platform open!

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

... and few if any of our pots and pans are induction compatible... I don't think they work with stuff like Le Creuset style enameled cast iron for example.

Cast iron is perfect for induction; any cast iron cookware will work, as long as the bottom is reasonably smooth (no feet on a dutch oven, for instance). The enamel doesn't matter and stuff like the Le Creuset lines (which I can't afford, but my Henckels is similar) has a nice smooth bottom.

Le Creuset: Choosing Induction Cookware

[gbaglo]

Propane works for me.

[John in Santa Cruz]

so, with the Norcold N2175 dc compressor fridge coming tomorrow, and the mobile installer is going to help me fish a wire behind my streetside cabinets+fridge, I had to wrap stuff up.

I ran a new #10 wire from the front junction box to the midships, so tomorrow we can snake it behind the cabinets and to the rear electric area under the dinette bunches, and spliced it to the emergency breakaway power up under the bed, so I can use the existing #8 wire for tow power into an Orion-TR 12/12-18 charge regulator, set for lithium. I will wire this #10 wire through one of the two 30A thermal disconnects.

I connected the existing #8 wire to the other 30A thermal disconnect, and from that to the Orion-TR + Input. I made a #8 wire to go from the Orion - input to my main ground bus.

I replaced the battery disconnect switch with a 250A marine one, wiring the original #8 wire from the WFCO-nee-PD converter to one side, and a #4 to my main positive bus bar on the other. the batteries have 100A fuses, and the PD4655 can easily put out 50 amps charging power nito the batteries,

this pic is from Tuesday, work in progress, under the center section of the U dinette. final wire dressing is being put off until done.

[John in Santa Cruz]

should I have gotten the 30A orion to put inline with the tow vehicle charging power and regulate it to Lithium levels ? I got the 18A Orion because I didn't want to tax the wiring on my 2002 F250 diesel, but hah, it probably can handle quite a big draw.

(digs into 2002 Ford Super Duty Wiring Diagrams...)

hmmm. 40A fuse. So I *could* use a 30A DC DC converter, heh.

considering my batteries are 412AH total, if I run them down to 20%, that would take 11 hours of driving with the 30A converter, and 18 hours with my 18A converter

i will have about 20A of solar charging capacity when the new panel is installed. if I run my batteries down really hard, it could take 3 days of summer wide open skies in clear weather to fully charge them.

plugged in, the PD4655 is dumping 50A into the batts until they are 90% and 45A until they are almost full. Thats 700W, so it is 8 hours from 0% to 100%

I want to be able to dry camp 6-7 nights without solar or AC and keep the fridge happy.

[RangerMan]

Originally Posted by RangerMan

The VConnect 'help' feature says Windows Bluetooth will not work with VConnect. I have a VE direct to USB cable coming tomorrow and I will connect it and see what happens.

I know on my phone I cannot use the phone menu to pair it with VConnect. It says it is paired but starting VConnect will not find the device. I had to enable Bluetooth on the phone and then start VConnect to pair. Works then.

I'm guessing Windows will be the same. Enable Bluetooth in Windows and then start VConnect to connect to SmartBMV. This after I have connected the cable to the VE port and the Surface.

There could be driver problems. Windows 10 and up is supposed to include the necessary driver with the OS. If nothing works, I'm going to download the driver from the Victron site and install it.

Got my MS Surface working with VictronConnect this morning. I received the cable (VE to USB) and hooked it to the Victron monitor and Surface. It required the USB C adapter to connect but I had some of those.

Enabled Bluetooth on the Surface and started VConnect. "No devices found". I fiddled a bit and then downloaded the latest driver from Victron, installed it, Restarted VConnect and All is well. Really like the large display. Should have done this long ago. The buttons on the 712 monitor were a PIA.

Gonna fab a wall mount to slide the Surface into so it will be flat against the wall above the small countertop extension I have in the dining area.

My "If it ain't broke" philosophy has gone away!

[dfandrews]

Originally Posted by RangerMan

.....
My "If it ain't broke" philosophy has gone away!

So, now we know what that the Escape trailer Owner mantra is:


"If it ain't broke, Modify it!"

[tdf-texas]

Originally Posted by dfandrews

So, now we know what that the Escape trailer Owner mantra is:


"If it ain't broke, Modify it!"

[John in Santa Cruz]

ok, hmmmmm. testing Orion-Tr Isolated Smart 12/12-18. Its wired with the factory original lenght of 8 gauge back to the electric area, that goes through a 30A thermal breaker, then directly into the Orion.

start truck, orion boots up, get into it with Victron Connect, does a firmware upgrade to 1.06, set it into Lithium battery charger mode. it sees 13.9-14.0V on its input, the output goes up to about 13.6V and 12-13 amps, and blam the input drops to 9.0V, it decides the engine is off, and shuts down. voltage goes back up to 14, repeat.

per the Ford 2002 F250 wiring diagram, my trailer power output is fused 40A and is 'on when run' via a relay.

[Centex]

The 40A fuse notwithstanding, what's the gauge of the wire from the fuse to the 7-pin in the F250?

Are all of the harness connectors in the circuit in good condition to carry the current when it hits the system (e.g. not corroded or making poor contact which would yield resistance / heat rather than good conductivity when faced with higher current)?

[John in Santa Cruz]

yeah, I'm going to have to chase this down tomorrow. it was twilight when I did my test.

everything inside the trailer is in good shape. I am assuming the truck ahs at least AWG 8 but thats just a guess. using less with a 40 amp fuse seems sketchy to me. I estimated 20 feet of wire in the truck and about 22 feet in the trailer for a total of 42 feet and came up with around a 0.4V drop so should have stayed well above 13V BUT, now that I think about it, I'm worried about the fact that the negative return is, I believe, chassis ground on the trailer. There doesn't seem to be a ground wire from the 7-blade to the back, just 7 blade to the junction box to a chassis ground up front.

[MVA]

John,

I have something similar. We have a later version truck; 2015 F150, but your truck may be displaying a similar oddity.

I have an Victron DC-DC converter (non-BT). When the truck is connected (via 7-pin) and started in "park", no current flows (as shown by a battery shunt). When the transmission is moved to a forward drive gear, current flows. When the transmission is then moved back into "park", current continues to flow. Apparently Ford designed the charging circuit to not allow current to flow until the truck is placed in a driving gear. I have duplicated this multiple times so I am confident that it is a real "feature."

I would try to put the truck in drive gear, and since you have a Victron with BT, see if current then flows as displayed on your phone.

2 cents

[Centex]

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

yeah, I'm going to have to chase this down tomorrow. it was twilight when I did my test.

Gotchya, it may be a tedious chore but I'm confident you'll find the weak link.

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

... Its wired with the factory original lenght of 18 gauge back to the electric area, that goes through a 30A thermal breaker, then directly into the Orion....

BTW, is that "18 gauge" a typo that should be "8 gauge"?

[John in Santa Cruz]

btw, Norcold N2175 seems to have drawn about 30 or 32AH in 24 hours on its coldest settings, today was in the mid 80s F, last night had a low of 50, trailer windows are open,a and fan was on low to keep the inside of the trailer from getting hotter than outdoor ambient.

so in THEORY, I could run this fridge for 12 days with nothing but my batteries, no solar, no tow, nothing else. My goal was at least a week.