One of the upgrades we planned when ordering our 21NE was solar, inverter and lithiums. Judging by what most folks get and are happy with, I realize our needs are greater in this area than most. For those in similar situations, here's what we ended up with - we're very pleased with the result.
First up: Build sheet options.
For reasons other than this electrical install, we chose to have the 4" deeper front bench/thicker cushions. As it turns out, this made for a perfect location for all the components we decided on. What I'll show below fits like a glove, and it wouldn't have been possible with the standard front bench depth.
RE panels: We chose to go with a pair of ETI installed panels, primarily due to mounting and aesthetics. While I know many are happy with VHB attached brackets, nothing but through bolting for us - and having it done at trailer build time is best, not only for reinforcement but you won't see bolts on the ceiling inside. The downside to ETI installed panels for us - they only use 10g wire. Had our system designer/installer (AM Solar in Springfield, OR) put on panels, they would have used 6g (mostly for potential future upgrades) and would have preferred 8g for the two ETI installed panels. This is one of the few areas we couldn't get ETI to make modifications. We offered to supply 8g wire, but they would only use what comes with their panel kits. AM Solar said we'd have relatively minor losses in efficiency with 10g (<5%), so we accepted this tradeoff.
Given we knew lithiums were coming, and they would be mounted under the dinette bench - we had ETI terminate the battery hookup cables inside the dinette bench, leaving a few feet extra. No need to have holes cut through the body and front storage box for the normal battery location. Further, since we knew the ETI supplied charge controller would not be used, we asked they leave it attached with extra cable inside the dinette seat as well. No, you can't opt out of the charge controller when you get the panels - it's part of a kit.
Lagun table - say what? Yes, think about it now if you want one. I documented my reinforcement of the front bench seat wall HERE, and it would have been insanely difficult to do after the inverter/charge controller/batteries were installed.
With the prep out of the way, here are the components we chose - and they fit perfectly.
- 2 x Lifeblue 200ah low temps
- Victron 3000VA Multiplus Inverter/charger
- Victron MPPT 100/30 Solar Controller
- Victron BVM-712 monitor
- Victron Cerbo GX
So far, we're sticking with the phone app to monitor the Cerbo - but we're considering adding the Touchscreen 50 for convenience's sake.
Pics are in this shared album for anyone wishing to take a gander.
First up: Build sheet options.
For reasons other than this electrical install, we chose to have the 4" deeper front bench/thicker cushions. As it turns out, this made for a perfect location for all the components we decided on. What I'll show below fits like a glove, and it wouldn't have been possible with the standard front bench depth.
RE panels: We chose to go with a pair of ETI installed panels, primarily due to mounting and aesthetics. While I know many are happy with VHB attached brackets, nothing but through bolting for us - and having it done at trailer build time is best, not only for reinforcement but you won't see bolts on the ceiling inside. The downside to ETI installed panels for us - they only use 10g wire. Had our system designer/installer (AM Solar in Springfield, OR) put on panels, they would have used 6g (mostly for potential future upgrades) and would have preferred 8g for the two ETI installed panels. This is one of the few areas we couldn't get ETI to make modifications. We offered to supply 8g wire, but they would only use what comes with their panel kits. AM Solar said we'd have relatively minor losses in efficiency with 10g (<5%), so we accepted this tradeoff.
Given we knew lithiums were coming, and they would be mounted under the dinette bench - we had ETI terminate the battery hookup cables inside the dinette bench, leaving a few feet extra. No need to have holes cut through the body and front storage box for the normal battery location. Further, since we knew the ETI supplied charge controller would not be used, we asked they leave it attached with extra cable inside the dinette seat as well. No, you can't opt out of the charge controller when you get the panels - it's part of a kit.
Lagun table - say what? Yes, think about it now if you want one. I documented my reinforcement of the front bench seat wall HERE, and it would have been insanely difficult to do after the inverter/charge controller/batteries were installed.
With the prep out of the way, here are the components we chose - and they fit perfectly.
- 2 x Lifeblue 200ah low temps
- Victron 3000VA Multiplus Inverter/charger
- Victron MPPT 100/30 Solar Controller
- Victron BVM-712 monitor
- Victron Cerbo GX
So far, we're sticking with the phone app to monitor the Cerbo - but we're considering adding the Touchscreen 50 for convenience's sake.
Pics are in this shared album for anyone wishing to take a gander.
