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I didn't realize the US I didn't realize that the US was the only place in the world that designed or made good solid quality equipment. I guess I'll have to throw out all my rubbish Victron and RedArc gear as those European and Aussie engineers must be incompetent. I'll give Donald Trump...

Agree. It might be the current that kills but you need the voltage to push it. Simple experiment. Grab the terminals of your 12v battery, capable of providing 100s of Amps and you probably won't even feel it. Now grab an electric fence that can provide only a few milli amps and see how...

I have made a very interesting discovery which I think I can explain. My RV has 1000W of solar panels flat mounted on the roof. It is now the middle of Winter here in New Zealand with about 10 hours of daylight and quite low sun elevations (30 degrees and zenith). My RV is parked in the...

I did a quick spec sheet comparison, (which of course will be optimistic) and I lose about 7% through the DC DC, whereas it is about 10% at the inverter, and again at the charger, However I will also have a bit of loss through voltage drop pushing 12v 7 meters, so I am guessing it will be...

That's correct. One other point. A lot of people I meet on the road are surprised how much power I'm pulling compared to them as a percentage of panel capacity. As can be seen from picture on my avatar, I have a very clean roof with no AC or tv antennae to shade the panels. I think this...

The cells are held together with double sided tape and then I have taped them around the outside as well with a heavy pvc tape. The ratchet holds them in place as this is all Under the bed in a van

There is one way to do it. Get a 12v inverter and then use the 230v output to run a battery charger. Need to size the charger so as not to overload inverter. Bonus is you have an extra inverter, albeit linked to your vehicles 12v system. I run this system for 12 - 24v as I can control...

If you experience a bit of shading from time to time, wiring multiple panels in parallel will minimize the impact, likewise, many beleive that a higher voltage ( panels in series) provides better low light efficiency. I think the multi panels gives a bit more flexibility. I have 6 panels...

But I'm pretty sure you can parallel up the victrons, so problem solved.

Yes, It's in a caravan, or trailer as you call them in North America. In New Zealand we use 230 v reticulated AC, and my multiplus is only 16 A with a single AC input. That provides me with 3000VA on inverter, about 3800VA through it on Shore Supply only, but most importantly 6800VA in...

In good solar conditions your array will give you about 3kw/hr of production a day. This is about 250 a/hr. Based on that I would say a pair of 200a/hr would provide about 5 kw/hr and allow you to operate using about 60% capacity and the ability to coast through a couple of days with...

But also agree that more is better. weight, volume and cost are the only limiting factors. And lifepo is small and lightish so really its only cost.

I have a very similar system to yours. I went with 24 to keep the current down to the inverter and allow me to use a smaller MPPT. You won't regret victron it is amazing gear. I would run 2p 2s for your panels to give higher voltage but maintain some shading redundancy.

Hey Matthew, Where about in NZ are you. I have built my Caravans system electrical system from the ground up and have gathered quite a bit of data on balancing my cells and solar performance. Also done a lot of experimenting on solar charge setting. I build the system on the bench first and...

Luckily I live here, but don't holiday here. But have more than enough to keep the caravan energised all year round, including running the compressor fridge.

I'm in New Zealand and travel in latitude ranges from 34s to 42s. I work on getting about 5x panel size in Kw/hr per day over summer and 3 x panel size in winter. This has proven to be a pretty reliable average. This is based on reasonably clear conditions, but in NZ we rarely get a...

I have both a victron 712 and an electrodacus sbms0 so I am pretty confident that both my voltages and SoC are accurate

For me 12 or 24 was a close decision. These were the main points that swung me. I had calculated I needed 5kw hr of battery. I could get a good price on 200 ah cells and was more comfortable configuring these in a single 24v battery than 2x 12 in parallel. I needed a 35amp MPPT ($...

The one big thing in favour of 48v is the use of it in home solar systems and the availability of high quality affordable controllers and inverters at this voltage.

I'm in New Zealand with a very small market and here the Victron 48v 3000 multiplus is Nz$ 2000 and the 24 is 2500. We are also 240 v here as well. There is also about 300 of saving in a smaller MPPT.

Victron make very good Orion 48-12 DCDC converters. An option for charging from bus alternator would be to run a smaller 12v inverter off the bus and use this to power an AC charger. This is a bit less efficient, but cheaper and has the bonus of a 2nd source if AC when on the road. I'm...

Good Point, I am talking about 3 - 5 kVA inverters, and also live in New Zealand. I suspect there are a couple of factors in play, one of those is that we are a very small market, and so the very small number of 12v systems compared to 48v pushes the price up. Certainly here a Victron...

Hi, I am running a compressor fridge off 1000 w of panel and only lose about 7% SoC overnight. (14a/h @ 24v). Am I better off cycling between 93% and 100% every day, or set it up with a lower rebulk and float voltage so it cycles every 4th day between 70% and 100. In summary are fewer...

I just put a victron one in mine, 24/12 and it is very efficient and less than 1w at no load. I now wish I'd gone 48v instead of 24 for my solar.

I have just completed a 1000 w system at 24v and it works great, I now wish I'd gone 48v as much of the quality equipment, especially inverters is cheaper as this is the standard for home solar. The DC DC converters work great and you can use way smaller cables and MPPT which offset the...

Check out my system, it does everything you want and is scalable. Victron gear is so easy to set up and configure. Both the smart MPPT and Orion DC DC charger are really good. If you want to go all in the Multiplus is wonderful as well. It is a high end configurable charger and inverter.

My system is near identical to what you want. Here's a photo

I run a 24V 200ah system for my travel trailer. My MPPT is a Victron 35A. I have 1kw of solar and run a compressor fridge constantly. I have set the absorption voltage to 27V and float to 25.8 and find that the system settles at about 70% SoC after a few days. A day before I head...

Hi James, This is pretty much identical to my system, except I have 1/2 the battery capacity. I have a Victron 150/35, and this copes 99% of the time with 6 x 170w solar. In theory it could output 2 or 3 more amps but this is for such a small percentage of time I couldn't justify the...

Mister sandals, a couple of explanatory notes. I live in New Zealand and travel around the 40 s latitudes. My experience of 5x solar capacity per day in w/hr is based on flat mounted panel and that in NZ you very rarely get a day without some cloud. I would agree that in many places...