Quote:
Originally Posted by CruiserAD
I plan a similar setup on my catamaran, but I'm going to use a Sterling Pro-Split with TWO alternator inputs, so I only need one B2B charger charging the Starter Battery and the LFP house bank. See that attachments for details.
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Hi,
just some comments and suggestions to your setup:
instead of a sterling B2b (which a) is wasting a lot energy and B) doesn't solve all your problems when the LFP
battery protection kicks in and cuts
alternator or your windgen under load which will kill their diodes immediatly through the massive ampere spike caused by the cut off.
i suggest one of the 2 following:
best solution: get 2
Balmar alternators with external
regulator (or any other brand that can switch off the magnetic field under load) which you can then both connect directly to the bus bars plus and minus of the house bank.
when LFP protection kicks in the
balmar can cut the magnetic field of the alternator so it doesn't deliver any
power anymore but still spins. both
regulator will also automatically sort out the max loading ampere, if one or both is running.
to charge the starter connect a small DC to DC
charger for each starter battery. I have for each starter battery a small 50W flexible
solar panel connected which always tops up the starter, so its nearly full all the time and DC to DC just kicks in after week of coulds or heavy use of the starter.
for the windgen you use the
Victron Orion smart charger from the alternative below.
alternative:
victron has a new smart DC to DC charger but they are only avaliable in 30A Version. But you can parallel them up 6 to match the
current charge of your alternator. you have to measure the real max output
current of your alternator as a standard 80A is normally delivering max 40-50A (if a balmar is rated 80A it delievrs 80A!) so 2 Orions in parallel are enough per alternator. Means for 2 80A alternators you need 2 Orions each, in total 4. your windgen reacts the same as the alternator so you need a 5th one or you connect it to one of orions in parallel but you can only run the windgen when this engines is off.
https://www.victronenergy.com/dc-dc-...orion-tr-smart
The huge attvantage of the orion is that it can handle different battery chemistries in 2 different banks in parallel and switches instantly between them. They are actually devloped for your setup a lead/AGM starter and
Lithium housebank. So they charge with a small current your starter to top it up (programmable if prio charge over house or not) and simultanious your
Lithium with max current possible. If LFP is full the orion switches instanly purely to the lead/AGM starter to create a load so there is no cut off spike which kills the diodes.
Lifepo
batteries:
The victron Lifepo are the worst value for
money and the "advantage" of integrating their own BMS is actually none. not goog quality too.
If you want super simple drop ins I suggest the battleborn and their integrated BMS is sorting everything out for you automatically.
otherwise I suggest get the bare cells and a BMS seperatly as in 95% the cases not the cells break but the
cheap BMS that the dropin
batteries integrated which you cannot replace seperatly (battleborn is an excemption but let you pay for this a steep premium)
best bare cells you can get are winstons, which cost 1$ each 1AH here in the forum over Julia (search winston cells and you find the thread). Huge advantage 5000cycles, capacity advertised is underrated (friend has 700AH cells and they are in fact 850AH due to capacity tests) and you can get up 1000AH in one cell that means you need 4x 1000AH cell to create a 12V 1000AH bank, or 4x400AH for 12V/400AH or 4x 700AH=12V/700AH. easy to handle for each BMS, no intercharge between cells as with multiple in series/parallel connection and also easy to put togehter. If you do your
engine maintenace yourself you can do this.
cheap and good cells are the LISHEN 272AH or EVE 280AH (Lishen preffered), see comment above from DIYsolarforum. 12 cells make a 12V 810/840AH bank for around 1500$ shipped. good AGMS with this capacity cost nearly the same. Suggest to use 2 or 3 daly BMS 60AH connected in parallel to the whole bank and connect the under/overvoltage protection via a 300AH cut off relay. First like this each BMS sees a very small current, so its lifespan is drastically improved and 2nd if one BMS fails the other is cutting it off via the relay. the 60A daly are under 60$ each and relaible.
Additionally a BMV712 Victron Battery
monitor which also acts as over/undervoltage protection cut off to the same relay.
multiplus 2000VA:
its not 2000W, only 2000VA. If you look at the specs with 40degrees celcius this only delivers 1300W continous and 40 you have very quick in the tropics or in summer everywhere in the mediterian deep down in the locker where the multiplus is installed. 2nd you wanna do induction
cooking and every portable (like the often used ikea one) that makes sense or readly
marine use avaliable have a 1600W or 2000W BUT their CosPi is very hard on the
inverter and even a 2200W shuts off when used on highest level.
So I would highly recommend the Multiplus 12V/3000VA (with 40 degrees in can do 2200W continously) which is not much more expensive and in the same case as the 2000VA. or if you seriously thinking about a gas free
galley take the 12V/5000VA right away. one induction plate plus a connvection
oven (mostly a combination of Microwave, convection and sometime steamer) uses togehter around 3000W or 2 burners simultanouesly 2500-3000W. using the
inverter often on the limit reduces his lifespan and relaiblitiy significantly. your lithium can handle this load and if you do cook you will use them often togehter. Also you wanna connect your hot
water boiler to the inverter and when
solar charged your batteries to 95% at noon then make hot
water with the excess energy of the solar panel,
classic heating element has 750 or 1200W. Well and a
washing machine on 60 degrees or 90 will run in parallel. or suddenly running in parallel you just cook some water for your tea/use the nespresso machine and bang fuse is off or inverter overload shuts it off. And not only the wife doesn't always think about
power consumption, believe me you too...as soon as you have it you use it
Multiplus or better quattro: you wanna use a
honda portable as backup genny instead of the
engine, very good idea and I do this too. With this setup I recommend to get the quattro because you can and will run small dimensioned shorepower (typically 6-8A max often instable in
remote locations) and the genny together or more likely if you take the 3000VA Quattro you will later add a 1200W inverter and the quattro can then put them togehter as a 4200VA (which is 3500 continous) inverter with the power assist function and a genny as shorepower replacement or add on to
shore power while running both inverters in parallel. And again you will do, even if you think you won't.