Feedback on my simple leisure install plan, please

[T6Ollie]

Hello, sorry for another one of these I'm looking for some feedback on my relatively simple leisure electrics plan. I'll be doing it in stages so there is no solar or diesel heater in this but I'll likely be adding that down the road, I will possibly add a 1kw invertor at some point too (in case that is relevant at this stage).

My plan is to have DC-DC for a lithium battery to power some spot lights, a water pump, a fridge and USB sockets. I haven't calculated the blade fuse values yet but I'm comfortable doing that later.

Many thanks for any input!

 

[ginkster]

Looks ok apart from the leisure battery positive area. This would be best as the MRBF (60A ish for now),16mm2 to the isolator, 16mm2 to a positive busbar, then your loads/chargers (inc the 60A from the Orion) from the busbar via fuses. This give expansion options and ensures all cables are fused. If you want an inverter then size the cables from LB to a suitable size at this stage to save work later.

12voltplanet do a good fused busbar that has one mega and 4 midi fuses in a single case that is great for routing the cables for inverter, solar, DC-DC, mains charger, blade fuse box etc from.

Make sure you use a proper MRBF (e.g. Blue Sea), not a cheap copy. There is a good blog on the Roamer website about LB fuses.

 

[T6Ollie]

Looks ok apart from the leisure battery positive area. This would be best as the MRBF (60A ish for now),16mm2 to the isolator, 16mm2 to a positive busbar, then your loads/chargers (inc the 60A from the Orion) from the busbar via fuses. This give expansion options and ensures all cables are fused. If you want an inverter then size the cables from LB to a suitable size at this stage to save work later.

12voltplanet do a good fused busbar that has one mega and 4 midi fuses in a single case that is great for routing the cables for inverter, solar, DC-DC, mains charger, blade fuse box etc from.

Make sure you use a proper MRBF (e.g. Blue Sea), not a cheap copy. There is a good blog on the Roamer website about LB fuses.

Thanks very much bud! I've recreated my diagram in Miro as it was a real pain to edit in photo software and incorporated your suggestions, what do you think?

 

[ginkster]

Thanks very much bud! I've recreated my diagram in Miro as it was a real pain to edit in photo software and incorporated your suggestions, what do you think?

View attachment 294921

Looks good. Just double check the recommended fuse sizes in the Victron manual. You probably don’t ‘need’ 16mm2 to the blade fuse box but no harm if that’s what you have to hand. Also, probably just how you’ve drawn it but the negatives can be local to the chassis rather than having to link up as drawn.

It’s also worth considering a shunt to get a more accurate reading of the battery state as they are more accurate than the built in Bluetooth BMS on the battery.

Finally, have a look at the Ablemail AMT12-2 as well. This will stop your starter battery going flat but trickle charging it from the leisure battery. Great while camping (doors opening, central locking, interior lights etc flattening the battery) or if leaving the can stood for more than a week or two. No more worries of a flat starter battery. They are tiny, super simple to fit (3 wires into the Orion) and cost £65.

 

[T6Ollie]

Ok great, thank you very much. I’ll definitely get the Ablemail! With this configuration, if the engine is running but the isolator is off would the Orion not be providing some power to the blade fuse holder or is that not how it works? Not that I would do that intentionally but I see others have another isolator between the starter battery and the Orion.

 

[ginkster]

The isolator is primarily for maintenance or switching off the system in an emergency and is best practice to have. Each load should be individually switched for your daily turning on/off. So normally leave the isolator on.

I’m certain the Orion won’t charge if the isolator is off as it won’t see any leisure battery voltage. It would however supply power to the busbar if you specifically switched the Orion to power supply mode.

If you want to control if the Orion charges or not you can do that via the app and/or fit a simple switch in the wire loop on the remote terminal. I’ve done that as I don’t want/need my battery being charged every time I start the van. My van is driven more often than I use the leisure electrics and it’s not ideal to keep a lifepo4 battery topped up to full. I also isolate my solar.