Quote:
Originally Posted by dedlewamp
That looks pretty slick! Any chance you have a parts list or more pictures?
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Yes sure. Some additional pictures o of the box and the mounting system.
The parts that I used:
1) Battleborn 50Ah LiFePO4 Battery
2) Renogy DC-DC (20A) Charger which lives outside of the vehicle (it has user selectable voltage which allows me to get exactly 14.6 into the BB)
3) Blue Sea 6 circuit fuse block
4) Blue Sea terminal fuse (40A)
5) Eaton 50A Circuit Breaker (panel)
6) Victron Smart Shunt 500A (Bluetooth only - no panel)
7) Victron MPPT (10A)
8) SB50 Anderson connections - Red for solar which plugs into MPPT (uses 10 AWG cables) and Gray (uses 8 AWG cables) that can accept the DC-DC charge or can be used for any other power need that requires higher current
9) Panel mounted Powerwerx PanelPole that accepts two Powerpole connections. I use one for my N. Luna fridge, and the other is permanently connected to my Noco Genius 10A
10) A Blue sea panel (USB and Cig port)
11) A Powerwerx supplied panel mount for USB type C
12) 10 AWG, 8AWG, and 12 AWG cables and connectors as required
13) Fuses sized for the application and wire size chosen - The BB has a 60A max continuous BMS and I also use a 40A terminal fuse. The DC-DC (20A) has a 30A fuse at its power source (a blue-sea panel that I have mounted in the tire-removal kit compartment)
14) I used ferrule connectors for all connections going in to / coming out of the MPPT and copper terminals for everything else
Everything with the exception of the Renogy DC-DC is mounted in the box. I had plans to mount a DC-Dc inside the box, and the box can actually accommodate a Victron DC-DC inside (a friend over at Expedition portal who worked with me to do a similar build went that route) but I chose to go with the cheaper Renogy option and mount it outside - It has worked great over the last 10 or so months. The red plate is what you can order for the Packout boxes (Milwaukee sells it in plastic but quite a few folks on IG or Facebook make these in aluminum or steel). I have mine mounted in the back on top of my drawer system. The battery is held together a few ways. I put Velcro at the bottom corners so that it adheres to the box. I then used brackets that you can see to hold it in place so that it doesn't move around. I also use a stra to secure it in place and between these three, it hasn't moved one bit in both day-day use in the back of the truck, or when off-road. The box latches shut, and it and the connection to the plate is strong enough that I have no problems storing stuff on top of and around it and securing it with a strap (the box is built very well and if anything is a bit of an overkill in terms of its size and strength).
I also have a 100 Watt solar panel hard mounted on the roof and a 60 watt portable blanket that I carry with me. When the aux battery is in the vehicle, I connect it to it and keep it topped up. When I don't need to provide it solar, I can remove the connection and connect the solar panels to my starter battery (Odyssey AGM). I have a cheap PWM Charge controller connected to the starter that lives in the back of my vehicle (and backfeeds through the fuse block mounted in the tire replacement kit storage area). The same PWM can also be swapped and connected to the aux battery (i have it with quick disconnect powerpole connectors) so that I can have two solar panels connected to the aux battery box. This way, I have redundancy since my fridge can be powered by both the aux or starter batteries and I can draw from each so have a backup incase I need to spend some extra time stationary and the 50 Ah LiFEPO4 isn't enough. With the solar panel, Last month we spent 2.5 days parked with the semi-full fridge set to 35F (2C) and still had about 35% SOC when we finally were on our way. And we were also using the battery box to charge our ipads and iphones on occasions so I have good confidence, that based on our need (mostly fridge and a few camp lights) we be out without much engine on time for about 3-5 days (between the aux and starter batteries) and be perfectly fine. With excellent solar we could just stay out there indefintly as between the two panels I can almost pump back in what I would consume in 24 hours or so.