55 replies to this topic

[cdbrow1]

My progress on this project was documented on a different thread - including some false starts....

 

See http://www.wanderthe...battery-to-fwc/ to follow the saga.....

 

For medical reasons I need to eat a pretty limited diet - most of the food requires a microwave. In addition I have a bunch of other toys - so I needed enough juice for Microwave, fridge, CPAP, Furnace for winter camping and to run various cameras and radio gear.  End result was I needed a lot of good clean power. 

 

The end result of my build is as follows - 

 

Base was a 2015 Hawk on a 2015 GMC Sierra DuraMax- 

 

100 Amp Hour LiFePo4 Battery x2 (200 Amp Hour Total) (Starkpower Batteries) 

 

Install second Alternator dedicated to Camper (220 AMP)  (Nations Alternator) 

 

Dedicated LiFePo4 friendly Voltage Regulator (Balmar 614) (Also from Nations) 

 

2 Gauge wire from Camper Batteries to Alternator 

 

Ability to bridge Charging systems if needed 

 

Install 300 watt Roof Solar (Renology) with 15 amp charging (real world is ~11 amps) 

 

Morningstar MTTP 15 AMP Solar Controller 

 

Xantrax LinkLite Amp meter 

 

Xantrax 2000 Watt Pure Sine inverter 

 

 

 

Things I removed - 

 

Factory battery isolator 

 

Replacement high amp remote control isolator (not needed with dedicated alternator) 

(http://www.blacksnakesystems.com/ - these guys are AMAZING) 

 

Factory camper wiring 

 

 

OK so how does this all work.......

 

The batteries can deplete to near zero without damage (2000 times est.). So unlike lead acid there is more usable amps. 

 

The output voltage starts at 14.2 amps, drops to 13.8 under slight load and remains there until under 30% remaining when it slowly drops to cut-off at 10.5 (never been there).

 

LiFePo4 batteries have very little resistance so they charge very easily. 

 

Batteries can charge at 50 amps for extended time and upto 100 amps for less than an hour. 

 

My charging rate from the alternator peaks at around 60 amps at idle and drops to around 30 amps after 15 minutes or so. 

 

Overnight the fridge will drop the batteries to around 85%

 

Batteries can recharge from 50% in ~4 hours driving time without solar. 

 

 

A NOTE about LiFePo4 batteries.....

 

They are not a fire hazard. The dangerous batteries are the other chemical formulations of Lithium batteries. My LiFePo4 batteries have a built in Battery Management System which will shut down any cell that gets out of line. If you feel otherwise please feel free to contact my vendor and disscuss it with them (Starkpower) - they convinced me. 

 

Photos should be below....

 

 

[97grandby]

wow, that is some pretty impressive hardware. Where did you get your Batteries from? How many days can you boon dock with that set up?


Sent from my iPad using Wander The West

[cdbrow1]

wow, that is some pretty impressive hardware. Where did you get your Batteries from? How many days can you boon dock with that set up?


Sent from my iPad using Wander The West

 

I got the batteries from Starkpower (www.starkpower.com). 

 

On one battery I had no problems boondocking for two days - without do anything to conserve power. However that was at fairly mild temps with not a lot of heat or fan use - the heater and fans are pretty good drains. 

 

My guess is I could go for a week or so with two batteries - depending on how much Solar I could get. 

 

I really hate hauling my generator and fuel around so this system should eliminate the need to do that, which is another plus. 

[mib]

Thanks for your report. This looks pretty nice. The 2nd alternator takes away a lot of thinking when it comes to charging from the running engine, and the solar then tops it off with a proper charging method. Do you use your charge controller for tracking battery levels? If so, the alternator would charge without the controller noticing it, right? Or does the Xantrax do this job?

 

I'd just have a question regarding the charging in below freezing environments: is there any safety device that prevents this in your setup? Or are you not planning to use it in such climate. It seems that the LiFePos are really finicky about that and can be damaged in an instant.

 

I've just completed to put in a small LiFePo setup in the truck bed, and I'm not worried about below-freezing as we're in coastal California. I am worried for using it for skiing trips to the Sierra, though. I'm thinking of a heating pad and a temperature sensor, hooked up to a relay and spliced into the "charging line" - but first I'd like to see how the whole Lithium thing works out.

 

My setup right now is more to see if I like the LiFePo better than SLA, I'm thankful that I don't absolutely need to rely on it, as you have to.

I currently have:

- a 100W flexible panel (200$), coupled to a cheapo 5$, 15A ebay ideal diode (solar input).

- a Powerstream voltage-sensor (40$) coupled to a cheapo 80A Amazon relay (20$) , that is coupled to a LTC3780 CC source (25$, ebay), and another 15A ideal diode (5$) (=alternator input).

Both input lines go in parallel to the SBMS4080 of Dacian/electrodacus' kickstarter from last year (180$ or so).

I have 4 40Ah CALB batteries that I bought used from ebay.

I just completed it and wired it, and both inputs work nicely to charge the battery. The LTC3780 is adjustable, right now I set it to about 8A/100W. I drove it up to 140W once, but that burnt the fuse and the whole thing got hot. I now put extra heatsinks on the MOSFETs and glued it to the aluminum box that it is all in. No temperature problems now at 100W. Let's see how the whole thing works out - pictures to come...

 

 

Best,

Michael

Edited by mib, 13 November 2015 - 04:43 PM.

[craig333]

Keep it up. By the time my current setup needs replacing I'll know exactly what to do thanks to you early adopters!

[cdbrow1]

Thanks for your report. This looks pretty nice. The 2nd alternator takes away a lot of thinking when it comes to charging from the running engine, and the solar then tops it off with a proper charging method. Do you use your charge controller for tracking battery levels? If so, the alternator would charge without the controller noticing it, right? Or does the Xantrax do this job?

 

I'd just have a question regarding the charging in below freezing environments: is there any safety device that prevents this in your setup? Or are you not planning to use it in such climate. It seems that the LiFePos are really finicky about that and can be damaged in an instant.

 

I've just completed to put in a small LiFePo setup in the truck bed, and I'm not worried about below-freezing as we're in coastal California. I am worried for using it for skiing trips to the Sierra, though. I'm thinking of a heating pad and a temperature sensor, hooked up to a relay and spliced into the "charging line" - but first I'd like to see how the whole Lithium thing works out.

 

My setup right now is more to see if I like the LiFePo better than SLA, I'm thankful that I don't absolutely need to rely on it, as you have to.

I currently have:

- a 100W flexible panel (200$), coupled to a cheapo 5$, 15A ebay ideal diode (solar input).

- a Powerstream voltage-sensor (40$) coupled to a cheapo 80A Amazon relay (20$) , that is coupled to a LTC3780 CC source (25$, ebay), and another 15A ideal diode (5$) (=alternator input).

Both input lines go in parallel to the SBMS4080 of Dacian/electrodacus' kickstarter from last year (180$ or so).

I have 4 40Ah CALB batteries that I bought used from ebay.

I just completed it and wired it, and both inputs work nicely to charge the battery. The LTC3780 is adjustable, right now I set it to about 8A/100W. I drove it up to 140W once, but that burnt the fuse and the whole thing got hot. I now put extra heatsinks on the MOSFETs and glued it to the aluminum box that it is all in. No temperature problems now at 100W. Let's see how the whole thing works out - pictures to come...

 

 

Best,

Michael

 

I am in the Valley just north of Sacramento. I do head out to Nevada and the Sierras in all types of weather. Since the batteries are inside the camper and I have the furnace I am hoping they will be a bit warmer than ambient. Stark Power says they are rated for -22F to +140F. I ASSUME that the built in BMS has a temperature probe and if the cells are too hot or too cold if will reduce the charging to that cell. Adding power to the battery SHOULD result in some internal warming.

 

The short answer is I think I have it handled, but I don't really know for sure.  

[cdbrow1]

Thought I would give an update... 

 

No problems or issues of any type have come up so far - I have not made any changes to the setup in several months. Over Christmas I went to Tule Lake/Lava Beds - overnight temps were 3 degrees (F) and for two solid days temps were below 28. Grey water outlet froze and water tank drain froze. Had frost on all the inside windows and on the popup fabric (no winter kit). No issues with Batteries - even using electric heater and CPAP. After 13 hours in the camper watching TV with the heater going and cooking 2 meals batteries were at 70%. No complaints at all. 

 

A link to the electric heater I use is below. I use this to warm my hands from time to time and to blow hot air into my sleeping bag. Nothing beats a pre heated sleeping bag on a cold night. 

 

 

Electric heater - http://www.raneystru...3RT8RoCZprw_wcB

 

 

[Happyjax]

I have been pondering lifePo for a couple months for a "solar generator" to have in the event of power outages and to use for long days of shooting. I do not have a truck yet so was looking at a portable system I could lift into the trunk of my car to transport.

 

I followed your original posts with high interest and am happy to see updates

 

I have looked into Stark Power and they are #1 on the list at the moment. They did suggest Morningstar solar controllers but I have also been looking at Genasun Controllers.

 

My portable unit will not compare to the super CDb unit but hope it will prove useful when I get it built. All is a prelude to the camper system when it comes to that:)

 

I am glad to hear you had no trouble in the colder weather as I also read that LifePo doesn't like cold.

 

Interested in pics of mib's system to! Thanks to all the leaders in this new technology I hope to tackle

[cdbrow1]

Just another quick update. All has worked well through the winter. Did not camp as much as last winter because we actually got some snow in Cal and the new GF does not camp when it's cold. Heading out to Steens Mountain this weekend for three days to get a little more winter in. 

 

I have replaced my recalled Recology panels with 2 80 Sharp Panels I have had laying around from another project. They are really high quality Japan made units. They seem to work perfect on the camper, but added a lot of weight. 

 

I had one issue with the system driving to LA and back two weeks ago. Halfway to LA I got a red light on the camper alternator. Looking at the regulator display it had a number of alarm codes - all related to "battery temperature." This sounds very serious - except I had not hooked up the batter temp sensors.  I disconnected the camper batteries from both the solar and the alternator and a few miles later got another red light (temp again). This time I pulled the fuse and shut the whole system down and shut down the camper mains. The next day I checked everything again found no problems and turned it all back on again. The error never came back. I am hoping it was just a transient problem, but I will probably find out this weekend. I did notice that my GMC dealer mech seems to have given the regulator a "tap" or two while working on brake booster recall nearby. Even though it is fully encapsulated it is probably not happy with the extra attention from ham fisted parts swapper.

 

Despite the error codes the  batteries are working fine and I have had zero issues in quite a while. I am very happy with the system and all the juice it provides. 

[Stokeme]

With reference to the original thread link, at the top of this thread link, I chose this one for revival due to the brevity. I am looking for any advice/logistics/help for A-Z planning that can be offered. I have received a very helpful PM so far. Here are my particulars ...

ETA early April I for my Grandby Shell from FWC. It will have the std. single battery Shell setup with a fuse box & battery separator in the Shell (so I am told), w/alternator hook up, no other electronics, no solar anything. I will replace the std. existing battery with one LiFePo4 12V 100ah. My power needs will be 12V. I plan on two 100W flex panels on roof & one 100W portable for camp. I want to stay light.

My power needs: two F fans (with altered diy variable speed fan control), interior LED lighting, std. FWC propane heater fan, Engel or similar fridge, cell phone & tablet charging, rare occasion exterior rear flood lighting.
With hopefully the same ETA, I will own a 2018 F-150 with optional interior 110v/400w, AC plug in, outlet. With these variables, I would like to KISS for myself, but most importantly, keep my solar system healthy. Monitor for capacity coupled with real time in & out. I am trying to read & learn but not in my wheelhouse. I would welcome any thoughts or design on needed components, gauges. Starting from scratch.
Thanks - Mark ..... Can not wait for my traveling tent, (tent & backpack lifer) with benefits, to start adventures. My wife is ready to go too.