Victron Energy electrical system

Victron CCGX screen image

We decided to install electrical components that would talk to each other as a system, so that we can control everything from one location rather than crawling around in the back of the van.

Victron Energy make a series of products that are sturdy, well engineered, and have been proven in home and marine installations for several years. They are a Dutch company but they sell worldwide.  Continue reading “Victron Energy electrical system”

Fuses will save your van (and maybe you too)

Blown 25 Amp mega fuse

We plugged a phone charger into the cigarette lighter socket in the front of the van. It’s a 25 Amp socket. The end broke off the charger inside the socket. A fuse saved us from a potential melt-down.

25 amps of short-circuiting 12 volt electricity creates a lot of heat. If the fuse hadn’t blown, by the time we’d realized there was a problem and disconnected the battery there might not have been much left of the central console in the dash.

Mercedes did a nice job of protecting their electrical system. We decided to do an equally safe job of the electrical stuff we added to the vehicle. Continue reading “Fuses will save your van (and maybe you too)”

Knowing how much juice your battery has

Victron BMV-700 battery monitor

It helps to know how full or empty your battery is. In the same way that you wouldn’t drive without a fuel gauge, you shouldn’t use a battery without some form of monitoring.

Lead batteries last longest if they are always kept above 50% of their capacity. Lithium batteries last longest if they are kept above 30% of their capacity. Abusing batteries by discharging them too far seriously shortens their useful life. The cost of a battery monitor works out to be much less than the cost of a new battery.

There are lots of monitors out there. Several of them are great demonstrations of what happens when you let engineers specify the design. They do their job (some very well) but they look horrible and their interface is terrible to configure. Continue reading “Knowing how much juice your battery has”