Renogy 12V Lithium ion battery - Sargent EC160

[1mperialSoldier]

Removing the charger fuse will isolate the Sargent internal charger.
I've got the EC160 unit but it's the same deal, if you've got a Durite or similar ignition controlled split charge relay under the drivers seat with the existing leisure battery then that will need removing and the ignition trigger wire connecting to your B2B charger along with the alternator incoming feed (VW 75A fused fattish black wire) and your outgoing leisure battery fat wire feed.
Put fuses everywhere and a big ie 300A battery isolator switch at the leisure battery to prevent back leakage through the charger, inverter or any other kit that will drain the leisure battery when not in use or when you want to connect additional stuff to the battery safely.
I added a Renogy shunt with remote display to show what's going in/out and remaining duration on my setup and it's a great graphical indication of the leisure battery state of play rather than slightly misleading phone apps and Bluetooth combo.

Thanks for the tip on the durlite relay, the issue I have now is the EHU won't power the 230v sockets, Unsure why. However whoever installed the EC155 made it so to change anything on the unit I had to remove all the cupboards at the back so that was a fun 5 hours

 

[Stay Frosty]

Make sure the MCBs in the Sargent are turned on, realistically there's probably just the one 16A one being used for your campers mains skts.
On mine I used one of the other two spare MCBs in the Sargent to power a 13A skt by the drivers seat for a 30A smart charger for the leisure battery when on hook up.

 

[1mperialSoldier]

Make sure the MCBs in the Sargent are turned on, realistically there's probably just the one 16A one being used for your campers mains skts.
On mine I used one of the other two spare MCBs in the Sargent to power a 13A skt by the drivers seat for a 30A smart charger for the leisure battery when on hook up.

That's I think they were all on, I will check some point this week. I'm not too fussed as the lithium battery runs everything and charges which is a bonus. But definitely want the EHU to work before out next long camp

 

[Ian1966]

That's I think they were all on, I will check some point this week. I'm not too fussed as the lithium battery runs everything and charges which is a bonus. But definitely want the EHU to work before out next long camp

Mine is the same I’ve got lithium to run everything. I can also use EHU but obviously won’t charge lithium but will allow us 240v sockets should we need them.

 

[M18BTE]

@Stay Frosty how are you getting on with the set up? been reading over the thread multiple times getting my head around it and I think I want the same outcome as you. I've got the ec160 and a lead acid battery but I want to upgrade it to a Lifepo4 as i can be offgrid. I already have a victron MPPT for my solar so that should work with the Lifepo4. Am I right in saying I need a Victron dc-dc charger for when the starter batteries running? I think if I unplug the right cables in the back of the ec160 then when on ehu it will just power sockets and in one socket i need a victron ip65 connected to my leisure battery to power all the 12v system?

 

[Stay Frosty]

Hopefully I'll remember this correctly but yes to a B2B charger to charge the leisure battery from the vans alternator.
Ditch the Sargent unit 12 volt charger which is a case of pulling the fuse and disconnecting the existing feed from the EC160 to the leisure battery, in my case with Redlines conversion there were two wires which went to an old school leisure battery split charger so you could charge the starter or leisure battery when on hookup.
I used a spare way on the 230v side of the EC160 to add a 16A domestic MCB and feed a conventional surface mount single 13A switched skt in 2.5mm2 blue arctic flex on the side of the fridge housing and that powers a stand alone 30A Victron IP22 smart charger.
The basic install went easily enough but getting the right fuse type for the 12v side of things took a while to get right as I started off using some old kit I had from my car audio days back in the day and AGU glass tube type fuses are no good with 80 and 100A loads at 13.8 volts they either blow or worse the lead at the end of the fusible link melts and gives a continuity reading on multimeter but won't carry any real current.
Go lithium and if you're feeling lucky add solar, we've had literally hours of fun getting ours to play nicely but worth it when you know you can survive without an electrical hookup.

 

[M18BTE]

Thanks for the reply even though its been a while really helpful. What you have described is pretty much what I had in my head I just wanted to makesure it will work before i bit the bullet and brought things. I've just ready about the IP22 smart charger so will probably go for that too. I've not thought about the fuse side of things yet I was hoping that would be the easy part!

Already got solar It didnt work when I purchased it and I've got it working now, that was fun figuring it out and learning so lithium is my next project

 

[Sasquatch]

Hopefully I'll remember this correctly but yes to a B2B charger to charge the leisure battery from the vans alternator.
Ditch the Sargent unit 12 volt charger which is a case of pulling the fuse and disconnecting the existing feed from the EC160 to the leisure battery, in my case with Redlines conversion there were two wires which went to an old school leisure battery split charger so you could charge the starter or leisure battery when on hookup.
I used a spare way on the 230v side of the EC160 to add a 16A domestic MCB and feed a conventional surface mount single 13A switched skt in 2.5mm2 blue arctic flex on the side of the fridge housing and that powers a stand alone 30A Victron IP22 smart charger.
The basic install went easily enough but getting the right fuse type for the 12v side of things took a while to get right as I started off using some old kit I had from my car audio days back in the day and AGU glass tube type fuses are no good with 80 and 100A loads at 13.8 volts they either blow or worse the lead at the end of the fusible link melts and gives a continuity reading on multimeter but won't carry any real current.
Go lithium and if you're feeling lucky add solar, we've had literally hours of fun getting ours to play nicely but worth it when you know you can survive without an electrical hookup.

Thread resurrection alert!

I have a 2021 Redline conversion, also with rhe EC160.

Im looking to upgrade to Lithium too some been poking and prodding andnim very pleased to discover mine has a B2B charger, which saves some grief.

Im not fussed about charging from the mains hookup so ill probably just pull the fuse there, then reconfigure the Victron MPPT to a lithium profile then I should be good to go...?

 

[Stay Frosty]

Currently stopped at Lancaster services so will scour my brain later when we get to Glasgow but broadly what you said.
On my original Redline version I used the trigger for the split charger to activate the Renogy DCC50S which took care of B2B and MPPT duties.
I just pulled the battery charger fuse on the EC160 and used the feed from there to the leisure battery to reverse feed all the 12V circuits fed from the Sargent apart from the fridge and diesel heater which are not straight from the Roamer via a mini blade fuse board also under the drivers seat.
We're away in Scotland storm Floris chasing so will reply from various bus and storm shelters to help with the various aspects of modding the electrics.

 

[Sasquatch]

Aye, id like the Renogy charger but as theres one in there already and working ill leave it be for the present time. I have the instructions for both the B2B and Victron and know how to select the lithium profile for each so its should be a straightforward job.

However, if in the the future the B2B died and needed replacement id choose one with an MPPT built in and simplify the whole setup.

 

[Stay Frosty]

Aye, id like the Renogy charger but as theres one in there already and working ill leave it be for the present time. I have the instructions for both the B2B and Victron and know how to select the lithium profile for each so its should be a straightforward job.

However, if in the the future the B2B died and needed replacement id choose one with an MPPT built in and simplify the whole setup.

Is your present battery under the drivers seat only my under seat area is properly constipated with random loose fuses , a shunt, B2B/MPPT, battery isolator, mini blade fuse board, maxi/mega fuse board all fighting for the same space filled by the Roamer... if you were wary of sitting on a primed bomb you might want to spread some of the equipment around the camper?