You have no idea how much hope and determination you give me seeing you still going by yourself. Most channels have a partner which is awesome don't get me wrong. I wish I could have someone to share the experience with but I don't I have to do it ALL on my own. I have very minimal help, basically just a ride to work in terms of the boat and the dream it is 100 percent all me. And it gets daunting and intimidating most of the time. So to see you still going strong gives me soooo much hope that I too will make this happen. Thank you!!
Your partner is the boat, look after her and she will look after you. So many toxic relationships are around like never before. Look at Johnny Depp situation. Better off, enjoy boat life
Thank you for describing lessons learned from your LFP conversion. There are many good ideas here worth considering. Your overall design is one that is commonly recommended - as a way to protect the alternator from too much draw from the LFP bank, and to ensure that the alternator always has a battery to accept its charge. One disadvantage is that the charge rate to the "hungry" LFP bank (400 Ahr) is limited to the capacity of the DC-DC charger, and only while the engine is running. That relies heavily on solar for the rest of the needed LFP charge input. There is an alternative approach worth considering, which I intend to implement on my boat. A 120 Amp alternator (down-rated to 90 amps by an external regulator) sends charge to both the House 500 Ahr LFP bank and Start/Windlass 150 Ahr AGM bank through a Victron Battery Isolator. In this way the battery banks do not "see" other, but are both able to accept charge. Due to the alternator down-rating that alternator, the banks (especially LFP) can "suck" as much power as possible without the alternator overheating. Due to the dual bank connection through the isolator, if all of the LFP BMSs shut down, charge will still flow to the AGM bank, thereby protecting the alternator. The external regulator will be set to an LFP profile and therefore send about 14.4v to both banks (which is a low/slow charge for the AGMs). After the engine is turned off, an 18 Amp DC-DC charger set to an AGM profile will feed a higher charge current (about 14.8v) & then float to the AGMs, keeping them fully charged to avoid sulphation. Although the LFP bank will also receive solar charge, it is OK if the LFPs do not spend most of their time at 100% capacity...
Hi James I see a problem. Your B to B charger installed is not what is on your spec, you installed an 18 AMP. The problem is that if you need to run your engine to charge your house bank you will be getting very little to your batteries. Your alternator is probably an 80 Amp and you are only sending 18 amps to the house bank, the spec is 30 Amps. However I would recommend doubling that to at least 60. You can add multiple units to bring it up or get one of the new Victron 50 Amp B to B's. You may ask why I know this and that you have plenty of power from the solar and don't need the engine. I just completed a circuit of the Pacific in a 27' sailboat solo. I have 560 Watts in a very similar array to yours and 675 AH of lead battery bank. On my passage from HI to Santa Cruz Ca I lost my alternator. I had plenty of power until I got into the higher latitudes then I was REALLY short of power. Solar was only putting out 1/3 of Watts I was getting in the tropics! So if I could have been putting 50-60 amps an hour into my batteries when I ran the engine I would have been golden. BTW in addition to loosing my alternator a fishing net got wrapped around my prop and I was unable to free it or run my engine in gear for most of the voyage. Ben S/V DAWN
I believe the general rule in these scenarios is to use 50% of the rated output of the alternator, early Yanmar 2GM20Fs had 35amps alternators, and some later ones had 55amps, assuming this one is 35amps, 18amp DC to DC is pretty much spot on.
Thanks for putting all of this together and for taking the time to walk though every step and especially for including the wiring diagram and parts list. -By far the most informative of any of the AGM to LifePO4 upgrades I've seen! Cheers
I don’t know everything that you are talking about but your channel is the most interesting channel I have came across on UA-cam! I’ve never been on a sail boat but you have me intrigued! I find myself watching your videos throughout the day. Your story is just cool man! Thanks for sharing your adventure with us! 🤙
This was incredibly helpful! We’re installing our new lithium system this week, and your schematic illustration helped a ton! Thank you for putting out the kind of content that you do! ⛵️💯
Hey James, greetings from DK! Thanks a bunch! You helped me a lot with my own little project I am working on. I hope You allow Yourself a minute from time to time and really appreciate 🙂 Brgds Christian Anker (anchor in danish)
Excellent job! Thanks for providing the color schematic that is more than a schematic. The pictures of each component with wire sizes is just so useful all in one picture! Thanks!
I’m with you. Hooking up the solar chargers directly to the battery would also mess up your shunt BMS measurements. When you look at the complete lynx system, to the left of the lynx shunt there should be only batteries and fuses and to the right on the distribution all the loads and chargers with their fuses. Again, I think you got it right.
James: Hello from Alberta Canada. One of the very best presentations and explanations of a Lithium battery installation. I like the fact that you designed the system to meet your real sailing needs and not the status quo. Great stuff from Hawaii.
Aloha, nice job! My only suggestion would be to feed those house MPPT’s more voltage by adding a few more panels in Series so that the chargers wake up earlier and stay up later. We’re lucky to live in such a sunny place, might as well take advantage of it and the advantages MPPT offers over other types. When you feed them their max voltage input, they really “shine”. Good call on paralleling smaller chargers. In addition to redundancy, they also generate less heat and noise than larger ones. And the Load Output feature on the smaller units are great for controlling things like lights on a scheduled timer. Also handy is the ability to Disable the chargers via the Victron App.
I went back and watch this episode since I'm just wrapping my LifePO4 install. Your DC charging system is really well thought out. I like the concept of the Lynx distributor. Likely that will be my next electrical upgrade. I need to clean up the bus bar design. Excellent work.
Looks great. You have top quality equipment. I would recommend a couple simple things that do not change your wiring layout. The first thing unless I’ve missed it would be an in-line fuse between the solar panel and the charge controller. They should be placed pretty close to the solar panel. The universal rule is always fuse as close to the power source as possible. A solar panel is considered a power source. I usually like 10% over the maximum load of the panel. The next thing I would recommend is that you insert a plastic cutting board or plastic sheet approximately a quarter of an inch thick between the batteries and the wooden bulkhead they are up against. Wood likes to burn. The plastic even though that also likes to burn, can be used as an insulator and protector. Just basically shielding the high tension lugs from your wooden bulkhead. It’s an option it’s probably not critical. Also unless I missed some thing, your large rotatable disconnect switches on your Victron solar charge controller’s allow you to disconnect the battery from the charge controller, correct? Solar charge controllers do not like to be disconnected from the battery before the solar. You should check the instructions of those controllers. Most solar charge controllers can be damaged if the solar is connected but the battery is not. You definitely don’t want to put yourself into that position. Great stuff and you have great equipment. Following seas….
Maybe I don't quite get it, but why have a fuse at the solar panel (source) end ?,...... The panel can only produce that much power, and I'm sure the wires can handle that much, so I don't see why not omit that ? (unless the panels themselves can burn when shortcircuited, but I would guess not ?)......... Wood isolates just as good as plastic, and both plastic and wood can burn (wood somewhat more easily though), but stopping any sparks from poor connections could maybe reduce the risk of fire a bit. ........... Would be nice to know if the chargers handles being disconnected from it's load ?. Being Victron I would guess they're designed to handle it, but I like your question on that. ....... I've seen one youtube video about a boat burning down, likely caused by charging devices with lithium in them (I think that was a supermarket electronic device with lithum internal battery though (probably made in china) and not a more professionally designed high capacity battery), so lesson learned there is maybe not to charge low quality products with internal batteries while not present.
This is great, we’ve got a lithium system in our van that was based off of explorist life wiring diagrams and we just bought a 68’ Cal 34. What you’ve created is very similar to what I’m hoping to get in the boat. About to wire up our 60 watt panel to the starter just like you’ve got here. Love the lynx distributor!
Nice! Love the redundancy. I built a 200 watt system with the same mppt. My thinking was to design it as a modular set up and plan on adding another 200 watt panel and another 75 - 15 mppt when I can afford it. I also have a Raspberry Pi with a touch screen running the Venus OS to monitor the system. It works like the cerbo GX with the touch 50 at a fraction of the cost. Thanks for another awesome video.
I just got the 4/0 cable for my system. Damn! That stuff is huge! I did a double take and the manual for my LiTime (Amperetime 190 with 150amp bms) and it recommended #4 AWG! It looks like 4/0 is what you used. My Renegy 2000W inverter came with 3' of 1/0 cable and it seems big. I get that you are running two inverters and that's why the 4/0. I ran the diagram past the yard owner and he thought it looked good.
James... I'm in Morro Bay, CA visiting. Been keeping an eye out for Triteia. Thought I might get lucky to cross paths with you. The winds were insane here yesterday.
Hello, Thank for the video. Did you protect the surfaces from heating with non inflammable material where you put your mppt, inverter, etc? On the video it seems like wood?
Hi James! This is a big help. I have two uninstalled 190AH LiFePO4, and two rather old AGM's (Mastervolt 150AH). The AGM's are almost 100lbs each! I have been confused about how to wire up my 3 mppt solar, DC-DC charger, and lithium house to my AGM starter battery. I doubt that I need both AGM's anymore, one is a little stronger than the other. Your and Ryan's wiring diagrams including wire size are great! I've got Arethusa in a good yard and they can help, or do it for me, but I want to do the install. I have watched the videos on the "Bank Manager" (Emily and Clarke's Adventure) and he criticizes the Victron DC-DC Orion Tr smart charger. I already bought one, the non isolated kind, and I like the Victron stuff. It seems to be well made for a marine environment.
Hi James. I am an ABYC certified marine electrician and I think you have done nice work. The 4/0 cables passing through the hole in the plywood bulkhead require chafe protection. I prefer split loom conduit. Also, I do not recall seeing a class T fuse for the inverter or a green grounding cable for the inverter chassis. Maybe I missed these items in an earlier video. Also, it is essential there be a battery shut off switch between the battery bank and the 4/0 positive cable going to inverter. You have to have a quick, positive way to shut off DC power to and from the inverter. Never mind the comments above. I saw the fuse and switch in the schematic. Did you ground the inverter chassis? Nice job.
I like your setup. I suggest anyone watching to go 48v system(42-58v). The reason is 48v wiring is cheaper since you use 1/3rd the wire size, 1/4 actual but over sizing wire is a good thing. Then a DC to DC converter for 12/24v items. you can run longer wires way cheaper and and have a converter in bow and stern. Plus once you start upgrading items like windless to 48V which gives you way more torque and uses less power. Efficiency is key to save power and weight. Using old 12V wires with a new system is not a good solution. If you change your system then replace wires and go with 48V. Also oversize your inverters so if you average 3kw for several hours you have 3 3kw inverts or 2 5kw inverters. you want your inverters to run between 10-50% rated power consumption to prolong the life of your inverters. I have 2 5kw inverters powering my house and I use under 5kw almost all the time. Sometimes I hit 7kw but most of the times I use 1kw. Build your system so it can last 20 years and be upgradable by adding more batteries or even another inverter for a spare/backup.
@@SailorJames Not at all. You are overworking your inverters. The system I am talking about is not over worked and you have redundancy. Plus it's way more efficient.
Nice! this is January 2023, when's the next video coming out James? I really love your living story. I can't wait to see what's next.Oh nice charging instructions. I am going to hook one up on our RV
Very informative video. But could you complete the circuit from a plug socket back to the battery via a fuse board ? It will help complete novices like myself. Love the trickle charge circuit to the starter battery. Thank for a interesting video.
Fantastic job! Love the redundancy and totally agree with what you have done. Did you give consideration to increasing the MPPT's size for the larger panels to be able to support the entire output? It probably came down to cost. Clean wiring job!
Looks great. Hopefully by this time you got a ho alternator to take advantage of your system. I fried my stock one immediately with lithium I know you prevented that. But.
The Victron multiplus has a trickle charge for the start battery. I haven’t hooked up to shore power since June of 2021, but I have run my small generator a few times when prolonged storms got my house bank low
That's a great setup and great explanation. Nice job putting it all together. What are your orion settings? What voltage did you set it to start passing through the current to Lithium? or will it start charging lithium as soon as the alternator starts assuming alternator output voltage would be above 14v?
I have a Colvic 26 Sailor yacht here in the UK My yacht comes out this week the wiring is set up for a live aboard but there are no circuit breakers what so ever on the yacht. So i may have to stripe the wiring out and start from fresh all the wiring is ordinary household wiring, going to replace it with marine tinned wiring and fit a circuit bus for the wiring with fuses.
Great system and very helpful as I am seeking to design my own lithium capable system. Thanks. Can you please explain what you did with your (automatic or manual) combiner (that surely would have been fitted at some time)? As you will appreciate, they were installed at a time when both start & house were the same chemistry but now most manufacturers recommend lead acid on the start and lithium on the house, while ignoring that key piece of equipment, although one recommended keeping it to provide an alternative load (to protect the alternator) in the unlikely eventuality the BMS switches out. Did you remove yours and, if so, how do you ensure that your start battery is always charged?
@@SailorJames So you have no other means of charging the start battery in an emergency? And presumably no flexibility to combine both banks if the start battery is low (but the house charge adequate)?
Sorry to reignite an old video but im finding it extremely helpful in my refit!! So thank you so much for all the information you are putting out there in an extremely palatable way. In thinking through my own system I just wanted to clarify about your lynx distributor. Its my understanding that it also acts as the common ground/negative bus no? Do you have you lynx directly grounded to your motor as well? And what is your opinion on an external grounding plate? On a side note, did you bond/ground all of your seacocks/thru-hulls?
Yes the lynx is grounded to the motor. Grounding thruhulls is no longer advised by experts and has proved to introduce electrical currents to fittings that otherwise were naturally isolated
I've watched a lot of videos on installing electrical systems on boats and this is the most helpful. I'm about to do a very similar setup on my 38ft ericson (minus the 2nd inverter and dedicated starter solar panel). Is there anything you'd do differently in hindsight?
Only thing I would have done differently would have been to add a smart alternator, when there is more than two weeks of cloud cover a smart alternator would be less hassle than my small generator
Curious as to how you wired the starter. Are you able to use the house bank if you had to? I know it's not recommended, but in an emergency, I'd prefer to damage the battery over wrecking the boat.
Between sails and an anchor you should not need an engine (or need to destroy your lithium batteries) as long as you don’t put yourself in a bad situation to begin with. I sailed from Fiji to NZ engineless and arrived in a building gale and was fine.
Hey James, Love the video. Currently doing a refit on my 35ft boat and I am going to be following this design very closely for my 600ah house bank. Something I noticed was that you had installed the Orion 18 in the video but on the electrical diagram you have an Orion 30. I have a 75 amp Balmar that isnt new but is aftermarket. Curious why you went with the 18 vs the 30 and do you have any advice for which one i should go with?
Great video and love the setup, especially the way you build in redundancy. How is the DC DC charger setup to not over draw from the starter battery, ie when lower revs and alternator putting in less than DC DC drawing for lithium, I am guessing with min input voltage cut out setting or something?
I have one DC-DC for my thruster bank, and it's by design/default only charging (outputing) when it senses close to 14 Volts inn, which it's using to assume that the engine generator is running, and that consequently it's o.k. to charge (do it's dc-dc job) (that's a 50A one though). ........ The moment the input drops below probably 13.something, it stops charging I think, avoiding to drain it's source. .... And I have to assume his DC DC does aprox the same in order to conclude that his setup will work (which I think it will). .... And the ampers (max) it charges with probably also works as a generator overload protection. .............. Actually I think he could have had a larger DC-DC, but then there's the size and the cost, and his focus is on solar, and not on charging from a running engine.
The intimation is that a separate 5v supply is required for the LED fuse failure lamps to function. Did you wire anything to the RJ11 connection? Still a great bus bar solution.
Hey James Question: so Clark on “SV Temptress” has a battery monitor system to manage the lead and lithium charge differences and as to not screw up the alternator??? It’s 380$ and I’m wondering what you think about this and how You, with this system monitor the voltage fluctuations? BTW I’m installing all this on my sailboat ⛵️
You come across a bit hippie-dippy, but you know your stuff! I've been looking into exactly this aspect of power supply, but for a land vehicle; you've successfully 'rounded' off' my education, I think. Thank you. On a more personal note (for us both)... I grew up in Papua New Guinea, where every adult had hoops in their ears like you. Does it hurt? edit: I've been with you since your trip from mainland USA to Hawaii...that was some trip. You're an inspiration...to anybody.
Hi, I’ve just got my Victron stuff today, same things, some different specs and will be building almost identical system, only one MULTIPLUS 3000 though. Question on your diagram. I cannot see where are the 12V loads. Mine will come out of the Lynx but you’ve got two inverters so no more room. Also a particular question on Orion TR. I also have a stock alternator on my new Beta 38. Did you have to do any special configuration to get the charger going or is it just sensing voltage on the starting battery and comes on when it’s high enough?
Alternator to AGM and then charging the lithium through a DC to DC converter is safe for the alternator. But it’s slow. If you had a high current alternator you could pump 100+ amps right into the lithium and you’d end up running your engine to charge a lot less time.
Hi James! Nice job. I'm currently doing a renovation of my whole system as well and can't decide if I should change the system to 24 volt instead of 12 (as it it right now). What do you have and why?
@@SailorJames Alright. I think I will go with that as well because everything on the boat is 12 volt today. Just was reading something about benefits with 24 volt when it comes to the efficiency of the solar power, but haven't read enough about it yet. Thanks
Captain James, you are seriously LEGEND in both your travels and shipwright abilities. I've been running Victron for the last two years after I smoked my Magnum and love the gear. I've just ordered more components to do as you show - breakup my solar arrays into separate MPPT's and also swapped out my power posts for the Lynx system for the reasons you state in your video. My question to you on the Wirring Diagram it appears you have the Alternator Positive running to the Battery as well as the Orion TR Positive - is that the case or am I reading it wrong? Keep on Keepin the barnacle side down... Cap Dave
Any reason you went with a AGM dual purpose battery instead of a starter batt? I have a newer AGM dual purpose but wonder if I should use a starter battery. I will also use a DC to DC charger so would a dual purpose be the better choice? thanks
One possible thing. In that tight space where a large inverter is going (against the hull) is there sufficient ventilation to let heated air out when in hot latitudes? I really couldn't see much of the space so may be off the mark. Really nice solar set up.
You mentioned that you prefer several solar controllers + isolators/switches. I get the point about redundancy but can you explain the point about it helping if one panel is under cloud? Ordinarly, one would have your panels wired in parallel (ie 12/18V nominal) so are suggesting that if one panel is producing (say) 18V and another (say) only 6V (due to cloud), that results in feeding a current round the underperforming panel (presumably lost in heat); whereas if the parallel connection is made after the controller, that dedicated controller essentially isolates the underperforming panel? Is that the theory?
@@SailorJames I got it the renogy will be inverter only the victron is inverter, charger as well as ac shore power switch. Is you refrigerator going off the victron? Thank you
Would like to get my sailboat electrics as well sorted, I've had several charge controllers die in past, sometimes concurrent with Hurricanes for no apparent reason.
I have a 30-foot Pearson, and my electrical system is turning out to be a lot like yours. When I bought the boat a couple of years ago, it only had the original starter and 1 leas acid house battery. I commissioned an electrical firm to update the system. They installed a Multiplus 2000 watt charger/inverter, 2 AGM house batteries and a Color GX system monitor. I also had two flexible solar panels mounted on the Bimini. Strangely, the AGM batteries failed earlier this year. After reading a few UA-cam reviews, I decided to replace them with 2 Redodo 200AH LiFeP204 batteries. Since the AGMs only provided 50AH of power apiece, I am quadrupling the size of my house bank by installing Lithium. I am curious as to why you chose to install Dakota batteries as they are so much more expensive than other 200AH batteries on the market.😅
For one thing Redodo only offer a 5 year warranty and Dakotas offer an 11 year warranty. Which tells you what the companies confidence in the materials used are.
James, where can I download a copy of your electrical diagram? There were a few comments u made that were of great interest to me. PS keep up the good work.
Thank you...Great stuff, James. Hello from the cold and windy East Coast of the UK. I'm just beginning to start to try to understand this equipment...it is definitely the way forward on clean energy and ecology grounds . I sail an old wooden boat. First project that I am researching is to replace the Primus stove with a small 2000 watt induction hob run by a battery, separate to the engine starter battery, that would be charged by a solar panel - I feel the same way about my starter battery as you do! Any chance you could advise what a small 'independent' system should contain?..I have a 200w panel a 2000w inverter and a single 2000w max hob waiting but not fitted... maybe I'll have to re-think this as well...but any advice appreciated.
Question: I'm about to buy a sailboat with minimal house power, and want to upgrade to a good on/off grid system with solar, and all-electric galley. For the time being, I will have shore power from slip owner's house system, and will be living aboard part-time. I'm not sure yet what the amp rating is for the circuit he's providing, but my question is: with your system, assuming you are on shore power, with normal usage via charger/inverter, what would you say the minimum amp-rating would need to be for that shore power outlet? I know most marinas provide 15, 30, and 50-amp service, but it's likely that my hookup will only be 20 amps (currently the boat is set up for propane cooking, no fridge, no radios, and a bunch of power strips, etc. for device charging and some AC fans/lights). Obviously I will need to know how much I can pull from the shore system, but your setup seems very close to what I will have, so I'm just wondering what you typically draw.
@@SailorJames Wow, thanks for the prompt reply! I am probably going to have to assume that 30A should be the minimum limit, as that is more or less the standard for sailboats. I only asked because it's very difficult to find a straight answer about this , from any mfr. I'm looking at one of Dakota's lithium/solar packages (200Ah for now, as I don't have a lot of space on this boat for batteries or solar panels)... at some point I will have to call them, I guess, because they don't spec current requirements for their chargers, or even output wattage so you can calculate the current demand under load. Nobody else, does, either. It's weird, because just about any AC appliance listing online will include quick reference to the amps needed for the thing to do its job. Glad to hear you are boondocking successfully with as much electrical stuff as you have... it's encouraging!!
![Lp. Сердце Вселенной #60 РОЖДЕНИЕ ЛОЛОЛОШКИ [Финал] • Майнкрафт](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YoR0pAV9FVQ/mqdefault.jpg)
You have no idea how much hope and determination you give me seeing you still going by yourself. Most channels have a partner which is awesome don't get me wrong. I wish I could have someone to share the experience with but I don't I have to do it ALL on my own. I have very minimal help, basically just a ride to work in terms of the boat and the dream it is 100 percent all me. And it gets daunting and intimidating most of the time. So to see you still going strong gives me soooo much hope that I too will make this happen. Thank you!!
Your partner is the boat, look after her and she will look after you. So many toxic relationships are around like never before. Look at Johnny Depp situation. Better off, enjoy boat life
Thank you for describing lessons learned from your LFP conversion. There are many good ideas here worth considering. Your overall design is one that is commonly recommended - as a way to protect the alternator from too much draw from the LFP bank, and to ensure that the alternator always has a battery to accept its charge. One disadvantage is that the charge rate to the "hungry" LFP bank (400 Ahr) is limited to the capacity of the DC-DC charger, and only while the engine is running. That relies heavily on solar for the rest of the needed LFP charge input.
There is an alternative approach worth considering, which I intend to implement on my boat.
A 120 Amp alternator (down-rated to 90 amps by an external regulator) sends charge to both the House 500 Ahr LFP bank and Start/Windlass 150 Ahr AGM bank through a Victron Battery Isolator. In this way the battery banks do not "see" other, but are both able to accept charge.
Due to the alternator down-rating that alternator, the banks (especially LFP) can "suck" as much power as possible without the alternator overheating. Due to the dual bank connection through the isolator, if all of the LFP BMSs shut down, charge will still flow to the AGM bank, thereby protecting the alternator.
The external regulator will be set to an LFP profile and therefore send about 14.4v to both banks (which is a low/slow charge for the AGMs). After the engine is turned off, an 18 Amp DC-DC charger set to an AGM profile will feed a higher charge current (about 14.8v) & then float to the AGMs, keeping them fully charged to avoid sulphation. Although the LFP bank will also receive solar charge, it is OK if the LFPs do not spend most of their time at 100% capacity...
Hi James I see a problem. Your B to B charger installed is not what is on your spec, you installed an 18 AMP. The problem is that if you need to run your engine to charge your house bank you will be getting very little to your batteries. Your alternator is probably an 80 Amp and you are only sending 18 amps to the house bank, the spec is 30 Amps. However I would recommend doubling that to at least 60. You can add multiple units to bring it up or get one of the new Victron 50 Amp B to B's. You may ask why I know this and that you have plenty of power from the solar and don't need the engine. I just completed a circuit of the Pacific in a 27' sailboat solo. I have 560 Watts in a very similar array to yours and 675 AH of lead battery bank. On my passage from HI to Santa Cruz Ca I lost my alternator. I had plenty of power until I got into the higher latitudes then I was REALLY short of power. Solar was only putting out 1/3 of Watts I was getting in the tropics! So if I could have been putting 50-60 amps an hour into my batteries when I ran the engine I would have been golden. BTW in addition to loosing my alternator a fishing net got wrapped around my prop and I was unable to free it or run my engine in gear for most of the voyage. Ben S/V DAWN
I believe the general rule in these scenarios is to use 50% of the rated output of the alternator, early Yanmar 2GM20Fs had 35amps alternators, and some later ones had 55amps, assuming this one is 35amps, 18amp DC to DC is pretty much spot on.
Thanks for putting all of this together and for taking the time to walk though every step and especially for including the wiring diagram and parts list.
-By far the most informative of any of the AGM to LifePO4 upgrades I've seen! Cheers
Very nicely done video. Thanks. So youre not just a good sailor, but a techie too!
I don’t know everything that you are talking about but your channel is the most interesting channel I have came across on UA-cam! I’ve never been on a sail boat but you have me intrigued! I find myself watching your videos throughout the day. Your story is just cool man! Thanks for sharing your adventure with us! 🤙
Very nice very well thought out
I’ve watched a lot of these types of videos and usually come away confused but found this very helpful!
This was incredibly helpful! We’re installing our new lithium system this week, and your schematic illustration helped a ton! Thank you for putting out the kind of content that you do! ⛵️💯
I can say after a year in with the setup it all work’s perfect 👍🏻
Thanks, this very helpful!
Hey James, greetings from DK!
Thanks a bunch! You helped me a lot with my own little project I am working on.
I hope You allow Yourself a minute from time to time and really appreciate 🙂
Brgds Christian Anker (anchor in danish)
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
That's a very tidy job James, well done!!
Great video - great information - and I love that you can do it "correctly" many ways
Excellent job! Thanks for providing the color schematic that is more than a schematic. The pictures of each component with wire sizes is just so useful all in one picture! Thanks!
Thanks!
Thanks 🙏🏻
Quite a qualified techie, well done and thanks for a wonderful presentation!
I’m with you. Hooking up the solar chargers directly to the battery would also mess up your shunt BMS measurements. When you look at the complete lynx system, to the left of the lynx shunt there should be only batteries and fuses and to the right on the distribution all the loads and chargers with their fuses. Again, I think you got it right.
I just have to thank you for the information, I've learned so much from your channel. Thank you.
I am in the process of doing the same to vessel from 1938.. very helpful and informative
A good video on your electrical system. 👍
Wow! You have really done an incredible job with the new power setup! It really looks good! Congratulations on the much needed improvement!
Brilliant system. Thanks for sharing.
Nice install, I think this could be ideal for when I upgrade my Rival 32 to Lithium. Thanks for sharing. Andy UK
Nice clean panels great job, I’m with you on the individual mppt’s I setup the same way as well as a dedicated AGM charger.
Love this brother it helped me with rewiring and setting up the electrical on my boat thank you
James: Hello from Alberta Canada. One of the very best presentations and explanations of a Lithium battery installation. I like the fact that you designed the system to meet your real sailing needs and not the status quo. Great stuff from Hawaii.
Great video! Easy to understand and follow. I’m in the process of installing a lithium battery on my boat and this will definitely help
Aloha, nice job!
My only suggestion would be to feed those house MPPT’s more voltage by adding a few more panels in Series so that the chargers wake up earlier and stay up later. We’re lucky to live in such a sunny place, might as well take advantage of it and the advantages MPPT offers over other types. When you feed them their max voltage input, they really “shine”.
Good call on paralleling smaller chargers. In addition to redundancy, they also generate less heat and noise than larger ones.
And the Load Output feature on the smaller units are great for controlling things like lights on a scheduled timer.
Also handy is the ability to Disable the chargers via the Victron App.
I went back and watch this episode since I'm just wrapping my LifePO4 install. Your DC charging system is really well thought out. I like the concept of the Lynx distributor. Likely that will be my next electrical upgrade. I need to clean up the bus bar design. Excellent work.
Dude, the lynx seems expensive but it’s worth every penny!!!!!
Very helpful and great explanation.
That’s a smart idea for the trickle charging.
Very clean set up , thanks for sharing
Looks great. You have top quality equipment. I would recommend a couple simple things that do not change your wiring layout. The first thing unless I’ve missed it would be an in-line fuse between the solar panel and the charge controller. They should be placed pretty close to the solar panel. The universal rule is always fuse as close to the power source as possible. A solar panel is considered a power source. I usually like 10% over the maximum load of the panel. The next thing I would recommend is that you insert a plastic cutting board or plastic sheet approximately a quarter of an inch thick between the batteries and the wooden bulkhead they are up against. Wood likes to burn. The plastic even though that also likes to burn, can be used as an insulator and protector. Just basically shielding the high tension lugs from your wooden bulkhead. It’s an option it’s probably not critical. Also unless I missed some thing, your large rotatable disconnect switches on your Victron solar charge controller’s allow you to disconnect the battery from the charge controller, correct? Solar charge controllers do not like to be disconnected from the battery before the solar. You should check the instructions of those controllers. Most solar charge controllers can be damaged if the solar is connected but the battery is not. You definitely don’t want to put yourself into that position. Great stuff and you have great equipment. Following seas….
If you look at the diagram you will see the inline solar fuses.
The plastic is a good idea
Maybe I don't quite get it, but why have a fuse at the solar panel (source) end ?,...... The panel can only produce that much power, and I'm sure the wires can handle that much, so I don't see why not omit that ? (unless the panels themselves can burn when shortcircuited, but I would guess not ?)......... Wood isolates just as good as plastic, and both plastic and wood can burn (wood somewhat more easily though), but stopping any sparks from poor connections could maybe reduce the risk of fire a bit. ........... Would be nice to know if the chargers handles being disconnected from it's load ?. Being Victron I would guess they're designed to handle it, but I like your question on that. ....... I've seen one youtube video about a boat burning down, likely caused by charging devices with lithium in them (I think that was a supermarket electronic device with lithum internal battery though (probably made in china) and not a more professionally designed high capacity battery), so lesson learned there is maybe not to charge low quality products with internal batteries while not present.
A very smart and dynamic system. Love it :)
Another good one James!👍👍
This is great, we’ve got a lithium system in our van that was based off of explorist life wiring diagrams and we just bought a 68’ Cal 34. What you’ve created is very similar to what I’m hoping to get in the boat. About to wire up our 60 watt panel to the starter just like you’ve got here.
Love the lynx distributor!
Nice! Love the redundancy. I built a 200 watt system with the same mppt. My thinking was to design it as a modular set up and plan on adding another 200 watt panel and another 75 - 15 mppt when I can afford it. I also have a Raspberry Pi with a touch screen running the Venus OS to monitor the system.
It works like the cerbo GX with the touch 50 at a fraction of the cost. Thanks for another awesome video.
Ship shape - great call on the individual solar routing
Merci beaucoup ❤❤❤❤❤
Looks freaking awesome with this setup… Thinking of doing something similar to our camper on property to be basically off grid 100%…
Nice diagram. I am gong to use it in my SV when I put in my system. I will be doing it from scratch, so this information is great!
Awesome , stoked it helped 👍🏻
high level content sir. i will think about adding more redundancy in the future.
Very informative video. 👍 thank you.
I just got the 4/0 cable for my system. Damn! That stuff is huge! I did a double take and the manual for my LiTime (Amperetime 190 with 150amp bms) and it recommended #4 AWG! It looks like 4/0 is what you used. My Renegy 2000W inverter came with 3' of 1/0 cable and it seems big. I get that you are running two inverters and that's why the 4/0. I ran the diagram past the yard owner and he thought it looked good.
Yes they are massive but that’s what you need for a setup like mine. It’s basically the same cable used for welders
James... I'm in Morro Bay, CA visiting. Been keeping an eye out for Triteia. Thought I might get lucky to cross paths with you. The winds were insane here yesterday.
I am Hawaii based until the end of next month when I push off for the South Pacific 👍🏻
Cool smart set up I think blue bells in for a up grade
Hello,
Thank for the video. Did you protect the surfaces from heating with non inflammable material where you put your mppt, inverter, etc?
On the video it seems like wood?
Good stuff 👍
Hi James! This is a big help. I have two uninstalled 190AH LiFePO4, and two rather old AGM's (Mastervolt 150AH). The AGM's are almost 100lbs each! I have been confused about how to wire up my 3 mppt solar, DC-DC charger, and lithium house to my AGM starter battery. I doubt that I need both AGM's anymore, one is a little stronger than the other. Your and Ryan's wiring diagrams including wire size are great! I've got Arethusa in a good yard and they can help, or do it for me, but I want to do the install. I have watched the videos on the "Bank Manager" (Emily and Clarke's Adventure) and he criticizes the Victron DC-DC Orion Tr smart charger. I already bought one, the non isolated kind, and I like the Victron stuff. It seems to be well made for a marine environment.
I have had zero issues with the Victron Dc to DC 👍🏻
Some people say the DC to DC put out a lot of heat. Where did you mount yours, and does it heat up the cabin?@@SailorJames
Great video! Thanks
Hi James. I am an ABYC certified marine electrician and I think you have done nice work. The 4/0 cables passing through the hole in the plywood bulkhead require chafe protection. I prefer split loom conduit. Also, I do not recall seeing a class T fuse for the inverter or a green grounding cable for the inverter chassis. Maybe I missed these items in an earlier video. Also, it is essential there be a battery shut off switch between the battery bank and the 4/0 positive cable going to inverter. You have to have a quick, positive way to shut off DC power to and from the inverter.
Never mind the comments above. I saw the fuse and switch in the schematic. Did you ground the inverter chassis? Nice job.
Yeah it’s grounded to the chassis 👍🏻
I like your setup. I suggest anyone watching to go 48v system(42-58v). The reason is 48v wiring is cheaper since you use 1/3rd the wire size, 1/4 actual but over sizing wire is a good thing. Then a DC to DC converter for 12/24v items. you can run longer wires way cheaper and and have a converter in bow and stern. Plus once you start upgrading items like windless to 48V which gives you way more torque and uses less power. Efficiency is key to save power and weight. Using old 12V wires with a new system is not a good solution. If you change your system then replace wires and go with 48V. Also oversize your inverters so if you average 3kw for several hours you have 3 3kw inverts or 2 5kw inverters. you want your inverters to run between 10-50% rated power consumption to prolong the life of your inverters. I have 2 5kw inverters powering my house and I use under 5kw almost all the time. Sometimes I hit 7kw but most of the times I use 1kw. Build your system so it can last 20 years and be upgradable by adding more batteries or even another inverter for a spare/backup.
Sounds like way more stuff that can fail
@@SailorJames Not at all. You are overworking your inverters. The system I am talking about is not over worked and you have redundancy. Plus it's way more efficient.
Nice! this is January 2023, when's the next video coming out James? I really love your living story. I can't wait to see what's next.Oh nice charging instructions. I am going to hook one up on our RV
Very informative video. But could you complete the circuit from a plug socket back to the battery via a fuse board ? It will help complete novices like myself.
Love the trickle charge circuit to the starter battery.
Thank for a interesting video.
Good Job way safer than gas or alcho stoves in a small boat, i like it you smashed it dude
So long as you’ve got enough power (and sunshine). Those cookers take quite a lot of power for quite a long running time.
Really great job!
Thank you great explanation
Fantastic job! Love the redundancy and totally agree with what you have done. Did you give consideration to increasing the MPPT's size for the larger panels to be able to support the entire output? It probably came down to cost. Clean wiring job!
Looks great.
Hopefully by this time you got a ho alternator to take advantage of your system.
I fried my stock one immediately with lithium I know you prevented that. But.
Nice job 👏 I'm sure I'll have some questions thank you
Hi; nice explanation. Thanks. Just to know as you do not have an emergency sw, what happened if the eng batt caput...
Bad ass set up 🤙🏼
agreed, the trickle charge of your starter battery not only gives you peace of mind, it also prolongs your battery life....
"Lee shore". That danger echos down through the ages...
nice system!
Hi James. When you connect to shore power, do you have two different chargers for the batteries? One for the AGM and one for the lithium batteries?
The Victron multiplus has a trickle charge for the start battery. I haven’t hooked up to shore power since June of 2021, but I have run my small generator a few times when prolonged storms got my house bank low
That's a great setup and great explanation. Nice job putting it all together. What are your orion settings? What voltage did you set it to start passing through the current to Lithium? or will it start charging lithium as soon as the alternator starts assuming alternator output voltage would be above 14v?
I have a Colvic 26 Sailor yacht here in the UK My yacht comes out this week the wiring is set up for a live aboard but there are no circuit breakers what so ever on the yacht. So i may have to stripe the wiring out and start from fresh all the wiring is ordinary household wiring, going to replace it with marine tinned wiring and fit a circuit bus for the wiring with fuses.
Yeah your safest bet is to rip it all out and replace it like you mentioned, also make sure you get a label maker and label both ends of the new wires
Does your shore power connect to distributor? And are both your AC circuit breaker and DC circuit breaker going to inverter?
Lookin good.
Bad ass my man !!!
Great system and very helpful as I am seeking to design my own lithium capable system. Thanks. Can you please explain what you did with your (automatic or manual) combiner (that surely would have been fitted at some time)? As you will appreciate, they were installed at a time when both start & house were the same chemistry but now most manufacturers recommend lead acid on the start and lithium on the house, while ignoring that key piece of equipment, although one recommended keeping it to provide an alternative load (to protect the alternator) in the unlikely eventuality the BMS switches out. Did you remove yours and, if so, how do you ensure that your start battery is always charged?
The starter has its own dedicated solar panel as a trickle charge. Works perfectly
@@SailorJames So you have no other means of charging the start battery in an emergency? And presumably no flexibility to combine both banks if the start battery is low (but the house charge adequate)?
Sorry to reignite an old video but im finding it extremely helpful in my refit!! So thank you so much for all the information you are putting out there in an extremely palatable way. In thinking through my own system I just wanted to clarify about your lynx distributor. Its my understanding that it also acts as the common ground/negative bus no? Do you have you lynx directly grounded to your motor as well? And what is your opinion on an external grounding plate? On a side note, did you bond/ground all of your seacocks/thru-hulls?
Yes the lynx is grounded to the motor.
Grounding thruhulls is no longer advised by experts and has proved to introduce electrical currents to fittings that otherwise were naturally isolated
I've watched a lot of videos on installing electrical systems on boats and this is the most helpful. I'm about to do a very similar setup on my 38ft ericson (minus the 2nd inverter and dedicated starter solar panel). Is there anything you'd do differently in hindsight?
Only thing I would have done differently would have been to add a smart alternator, when there is more than two weeks of cloud cover a smart alternator would be less hassle than my small generator
@@SailorJames gotcha, thanks for the reply
Curious as to how you wired the starter. Are you able to use the house bank if you had to? I know it's not recommended, but in an emergency, I'd prefer to damage the battery over wrecking the boat.
Between sails and an anchor you should not need an engine (or need to destroy your lithium batteries) as long as you don’t put yourself in a bad situation to begin with. I sailed from Fiji to NZ engineless and arrived in a building gale and was fine.
Great video! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
Hey James, Love the video. Currently doing a refit on my 35ft boat and I am going to be following this design very closely for my 600ah house bank. Something I noticed was that you had installed the Orion 18 in the video but on the electrical diagram you have an Orion 30. I have a 75 amp Balmar that isnt new but is aftermarket. Curious why you went with the 18 vs the 30 and do you have any advice for which one i should go with?
The 18 is the one Dakota Lithium recommended I use and sent me, it’s worked great 👍🏻
Thanks, man!
Well damn i don't have any questions . .
Great video and love the setup, especially the way you build in redundancy. How is the DC DC charger setup to not over draw from the starter battery, ie when lower revs and alternator putting in less than DC DC drawing for lithium, I am guessing with min input voltage cut out setting or something?
I have one DC-DC for my thruster bank, and it's by design/default only charging (outputing) when it senses close to 14 Volts inn, which it's using to assume that the engine generator is running, and that consequently it's o.k. to charge (do it's dc-dc job) (that's a 50A one though). ........ The moment the input drops below probably 13.something, it stops charging I think, avoiding to drain it's source. .... And I have to assume his DC DC does aprox the same in order to conclude that his setup will work (which I think it will). .... And the ampers (max) it charges with probably also works as a generator overload protection. .............. Actually I think he could have had a larger DC-DC, but then there's the size and the cost, and his focus is on solar, and not on charging from a running engine.
Looking at the Lynx Distributor, it requires a 5 volt power supply to work properly? If so what did you used to provide that constant power?
The lynx is just a big bus bar and when it’s hooked up it has more than 5v as long as your battery isn’t dead
The intimation is that a separate 5v supply is required for the LED fuse failure lamps to function. Did you wire anything to the RJ11 connection? Still a great bus bar solution.
Hey James Question: so Clark on “SV Temptress” has a battery monitor system to manage the lead and lithium charge differences and as to not screw up the alternator??? It’s 380$ and I’m wondering what you think about this and how You, with this system monitor the voltage fluctuations? BTW I’m installing all this on my sailboat ⛵️
If you have a DC/DC it manages the charge between the two different types. There is no “Need” to know that info, some people just like to know.
You come across a bit hippie-dippy, but you know your stuff!
I've been looking into exactly this aspect of power supply, but for a land vehicle; you've successfully 'rounded' off' my education, I think.
Thank you.
On a more personal note (for us both)...
I grew up in Papua New Guinea, where every adult had hoops in their ears like you.
Does it hurt?
edit: I've been with you since your trip from mainland USA to Hawaii...that was some trip.
You're an inspiration...to anybody.
When I stretched my ears in 1997 it was uncomfortable for sure but no not since then
Hi, I’ve just got my Victron stuff today, same things, some different specs and will be building almost identical system, only one MULTIPLUS 3000 though. Question on your diagram. I cannot see where are the 12V loads. Mine will come out of the Lynx but you’ve got two inverters so no more room. Also a particular question on Orion TR. I also have a stock alternator on my new Beta 38. Did you have to do any special configuration to get the charger going or is it just sensing voltage on the starting battery and comes on when it’s high enough?
The 12V loads (from the batteries) bolt to the two end prongs that stick out of the lynx. And yes the DC/DC just detects the load and applies it 👍🏻
Excellent video again James Have all these improvements added much weight to the boat ??
The lithium battery’s weight less than half the weight of led acid so no it hasn’t
Alternator to AGM and then charging the lithium through a DC to DC converter is safe for the alternator. But it’s slow. If you had a high current alternator you could pump 100+ amps right into the lithium and you’d end up running your engine to charge a lot less time.
Yes if I have $700 for an alternator that’s exactly what I would do.
Did you find charging with Victron MPPT controllers generated noise in your onboard SSB radio?
I don’t have or use an SSB
Hi James! Nice job. I'm currently doing a renovation of my whole system as well and can't decide if I should change the system to 24 volt instead of 12 (as it it right now). What do you have and why?
I have 12v because I don’t need 24v
@@SailorJames Alright. I think I will go with that as well because everything on the boat is 12 volt today. Just was reading something about benefits with 24 volt when it comes to the efficiency of the solar power, but haven't read enough about it yet. Thanks
To me, What it gives you vs. the headache of having a 24v system when most things at most shops is 12v just isn’t worth the headache
Captain James, you are seriously LEGEND in both your travels and shipwright abilities. I've been running Victron for the last two years after I smoked my Magnum and love the gear. I've just ordered more components to do as you show - breakup my solar arrays into separate MPPT's and also swapped out my power posts for the Lynx system for the reasons you state in your video. My question to you on the Wirring Diagram it appears you have the Alternator Positive running to the Battery as well as the Orion TR Positive - is that the case or am I reading it wrong? Keep on Keepin the barnacle side down... Cap Dave
poah... that is some 50feet yacht level of equipment :D but hey... it will do the job just fine
Any reason you went with a AGM dual purpose battery instead of a starter batt? I have a newer AGM dual purpose but wonder if I should use a starter battery. I will also use a DC to DC charger so would a dual purpose be the better choice? thanks
I have used dual purpose for years with no issues. I don’t believe it matters.
One possible thing. In that tight space where a large inverter is going (against the hull) is there sufficient ventilation to let heated air out when in hot latitudes? I really couldn't see much of the space so may be off the mark. Really nice solar set up.
It’s completely open in the front to the cabin
@@SailorJames cool. Literally. ;)
You mentioned that you prefer several solar controllers + isolators/switches. I get the point about redundancy but can you explain the point about it helping if one panel is under cloud? Ordinarly, one would have your panels wired in parallel (ie 12/18V nominal) so are suggesting that if one panel is producing (say) 18V and another (say) only 6V (due to cloud), that results in feeding a current round the underperforming panel (presumably lost in heat); whereas if the parallel connection is made after the controller, that dedicated controller essentially isolates the underperforming panel? Is that the theory?
Yes that is correct
@@SailorJames Interesting. Thanks. Yours is the first system to suggest that but it makes sence.
James looks good. Why did you use a victron 2000 and a renogy 3000?
The victron is 3 plus times the coast of the renogy. Thanks mike
I have both, the Victron 2000 miltiplus is my house inverter and the Renogy 3000w is my galley inverter
@@SailorJames why is the one so much more expensive, and 1kw less?
@@SailorJames I got it the renogy will be inverter only the victron is inverter, charger as well as ac shore power switch.
Is you refrigerator going off the victron? Thank you
My fridge is 12volt
Would like to get my sailboat electrics as well sorted, I've had several charge controllers die in past, sometimes concurrent with Hurricanes for no apparent reason.
If you have a moment I’d appreciate getting a copy of your electrical drawing for lithium batteries.
It’s in the description
I have a 30-foot Pearson, and my electrical system is turning out to be a lot like yours. When I bought the boat a couple of years ago, it only had the original starter and 1 leas acid house battery. I commissioned an electrical firm to update the system. They installed a Multiplus 2000 watt charger/inverter, 2 AGM house batteries and a Color GX system monitor. I also had two flexible solar panels mounted on the Bimini.
Strangely, the AGM batteries failed earlier this year. After reading a few UA-cam reviews, I decided to replace them with 2 Redodo 200AH LiFeP204 batteries. Since the AGMs only provided 50AH of power apiece, I am quadrupling the size of my house bank by installing Lithium.
I am curious as to why you chose to install Dakota batteries as they are so much more expensive than other 200AH batteries on the market.😅
Because they are far better 👍🏻
How are they better?
They are assembled in America (with Chinese parts) and cost 3x the price.
Reply
@@SailorJames
For one thing Redodo only offer a 5 year warranty and Dakotas offer an 11 year warranty. Which tells you what the companies confidence in the materials used are.
James, where can I download a copy of your electrical diagram? There were a few comments u made that were of great interest to me. PS keep up the good work.
You can find the link in the description
Thank you...Great stuff, James. Hello from the cold and windy East Coast of the UK. I'm just beginning to start to try to understand this equipment...it is definitely the way forward on clean energy and ecology grounds . I sail an old wooden boat. First project that I am researching is to replace the Primus stove with a small 2000 watt induction hob run by a battery, separate to the engine starter battery, that would be charged by a solar panel - I feel the same way about my starter battery as you do! Any chance you could advise what a small 'independent' system should contain?..I have a 200w panel a 2000w inverter and a single 2000w max hob waiting but not fitted... maybe I'll have to re-think this as well...but any advice appreciated.
You will need a lithium battery if you want to use an induction HOB, high demand appliances like that destroy AGM batteries.
@@SailorJames Thanks James
Question: I'm about to buy a sailboat with minimal house power, and want to upgrade to a good on/off grid system with solar, and all-electric galley. For the time being, I will have shore power from slip owner's house system, and will be living aboard part-time.
I'm not sure yet what the amp rating is for the circuit he's providing, but my question is: with your system, assuming you are on shore power, with normal usage via charger/inverter, what would you say the minimum amp-rating would need to be for that shore power outlet?
I know most marinas provide 15, 30, and 50-amp service, but it's likely that my hookup will only be 20 amps (currently the boat is set up for propane cooking, no fridge, no radios, and a bunch of power strips, etc. for device charging and some AC fans/lights).
Obviously I will need to know how much I can pull from the shore system, but your setup seems very close to what I will have, so I'm just wondering what you typically draw.
I haven’t been hooked up to shore power since June of 2021 but my shore power is 30 amp
@@SailorJames Wow, thanks for the prompt reply! I am probably going to have to assume that 30A should be the minimum limit, as that is more or less the standard for sailboats. I only asked because it's very difficult to find a straight answer about this , from any mfr.
I'm looking at one of Dakota's lithium/solar packages (200Ah for now, as I don't have a lot of space on this boat for batteries or solar panels)... at some point I will have to call them, I guess, because they don't spec current requirements for their chargers, or even output wattage so you can calculate the current demand under load. Nobody else, does, either. It's weird, because just about any AC appliance listing online will include quick reference to the amps needed for the thing to do its job.
Glad to hear you are boondocking successfully with as much electrical stuff as you have... it's encouraging!!