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Embarked on a project during Covid to convert a Promaster Van and have it be all electric - no propane, no gas generators, and as simple as possible. Having zero solar or LIFEPO4 experience I relied heavily on this forum to design, build, and implement a 24V system to drive a roof A/C (in...

I picked up a 12-volt water cooled A/C for my boat but have had nothing but problems with it ... it has multiple mini compressors and as things cool it turn them off one at a time...super efficient but very finicky about water pressure, "freon" pressure, battery voltages etc.... it's been a PITA...

Thanks! BTW that power wall is cool!

Update - fifth try is a winner! They sent me a third MPPT board and finally the solar works on my LV2424. Took six months and five daughter boards but we are back in business!

I noticed that if I doubled the charging wires (neg and positive) from my bench charger to LIFEPO4s that Amps went up and it seems to charge them to 3.65. Worth a shot.

Thanks Guys!

gonna make popcorn and watch this one.

I have two 100watt flexible solar panels from fleabay that stopped working and of course the seller is MIA and unresponsive. Hate to throw them away. Both panels have fried diodes ... can these be replaced by someone with limited soldering skills. Thanks for your ideas/recommendations.

I have - not sure what is beefy enough for the power. It would be interconnecting two 12V batteries into a 24V

And I'd like 16 for under $1500 :) shipped to S FL

Awesome when things work out. Nice job!

It is a van conversion so I plan to double up chassis grounds for AC and DC. I can put meter on it and see what I see and if course tighten all Connections.

My Coleman Mach something 13000 btu can run off 24v lifepo4 bank and lv2424 for a while and cool van down but will kill batteries pretty quick. 1100 watts once running. When plugged in to 15amp shore power works like a champ....though fan is high or low....no cycling so bit noisy. Old ears don’t...

nice write up - learned something.

I ended up going for 3.55 and it eventually stopped charging. Good enough for me as I set my Charger/MPPT using the 90% rule anyway to keep them alive longer. I still get more than 270AH out of my 280s which is good enough for my needs.

Actually the LIFEPO4 is it's own battery bank and does not touch the other 12-volt banks. I think I am going to simply purchase a small 10Amp LIFEPO4 specific charger to keep things simple. Thanks for info!

I will check one at a time Saturday - as by the time I get home from work they are shaded heavily. The reason I did 2S2P is that some of the time one side of the van will have a kayak mounted on the roof and cover two of the panels. Wanted them to be somewhat separated as I figured one string...

BOOMSHAGALAGAH it was a bad connector on the positive cable to the fuse block. Thanks Folks for the assist! Swampy

Thanks all - topped off and ready to rebuild but it took nearly two weeks - wasnt expecting that but onward and upward.

Welcome & thanks for your Service. I'm in FLL area and built a RVan during covid - you will find all the expertise you need on here - great group!

So using metal spanner type tool is a bad idea - LOL - thanks for the reminder Symbioquine - wouldnt be the first time I do something silly with these batteries

yes oversized to start. Thanks for double check

and the inverter is not 100% efficient - it uses some juice just inverting. Depends on how accurate you need/want to be?

Thanks Derpsy - because it is a promaster van conversion I'm not sure where I would put split system...I have a low profile (about 8-inches tall) roof A/C now and it works well enough for our needs ... in fact could hang meat in the van if I ever put it on high cool LOL)...worst case I add...

Swamplizard here - thanks for the welcomes and answers to my questions ths far! Always been an explorer - world travel, motorcycle touring abroad, scuba, boating, and general wandering. Heading to a stage of life where extended travel/road trips may be possible so building a Van-based RV with...

Best of luck with your build - you will love it when it is done. One quick comment - because we vanners have solar panels flat on the roof (not angled towards the sun) we get less solar than you might expect....even in FL where I am, the lack of angle can make a big difference. My point is -...

So I did a test today in the conversion van ... A/C is actually using about 190watts for fan only and when compressor on and fan I am seeing 1700 to 1200 watts. Seems to soft start on its own. I have Amy LIFEPO4 bank comprised of 8 280ah cells in a 24v configuration with a Daly 100amp BMS...

never too silly for newbies. Thanks for taking the time. user error and a scraggly bus bar

FWIW - We live in S FL and needed A/C in order to do our Promaster 3500 extended high top build-out during Covid. Van was Foam insulated by previous guy who used it as a toy hauler/dirtbikes. Found a Coleman Mach 8 13500 btu A/C on craigslist with intent to use it for build out and then replace...

Thanks for the inputs folks - truly appreciated. Looks like a 100/30 would be ideal. It is a conversion van so I don't have room to have more than the six 100watt semi-flexibles so don't need to build for much more. They look to be about $100 but I have spent that is shipping warranty parts for...