[rascorp]

Now is process of installing/connecting three 12v, 200ah batteries in passenger side rear, behind wheel well under bed. I will then connect batteries in parallel to 4000w Pure Sine Wave Inverter-charger also located same place. I will have 120v input cable to an outside plug mounted on driver's side rear. This will provide campground 120v land line input to run A/C, Microwave, Hot water htr, & Refrigerator.This AIMS Inverter will also charge the house batteries. I would also like to have recharging ability from Transit factory HD alternator when traveling, sometimes 8-10 hrs a day. This way house batteries should be fully charged when stopping at Walmart or rest area for our two hour afternoon nap or 6-8 hrs overnight. My goal is not to have to use an annoying generator to power Coleman Mach 8 13,500 btu unit.

Later purchase will be a small Honda Generator for recharging, and/or rooftop solar power for battery charging. My Transit came with heavy duty alternator and dual batteries. My desire is to hook up the engine driven alternator and/or the vehicle batteries to charge the three AGM house batteries. I need some guidance or ideas on how to achieve this ability to recharge house batteries from the vehicle system. Any help on this will be appreciated.

 

[Budsky]

Some here have used this- http://promariner.com/products/marine-dc-to-dc-charging-systems/
Looks like a very good way to go since it does a proper AGM profile charge that your alternator cannot.

 

[orton]

Another way to charge from the vehicle is to add a second inverter powered by the vehicle 12 volt system. Had this system in my sold Sprinter and it worked very well.


Transit will have a 1000 watt pure sine inverter that will provide 120 volt power while the engine is running. That power can be switched to the Magnum charger to provide the maximum 50 amp charger rating.


Most RV's use a relay to directly connect the house battery to the vehicle battery. I prefer to always charge the house battery with a 3 stage charger programed with a charge profile that matches the house battery requirements.


http://www.ortontransit.info/drawings2.php

 

[jonsobi]

I connected a third AGM directly to two of the 3 CCPs. It sits behind the driver seat along with a 1000w inverter.

I used two 12" #4 ga from the CCPs to a 100amp ANL fuse, and one 12" #2ga from the ANL to the battery terminal.

This system is straight forward and works very well for my minimal camper requirements. It relies totally on the HD alternator for charge.

The 1000w PS inverter happily runs my esspresso maker, so I am a happy camper!!

 

[Budsky]

Do you have a means to disconnect the third battery from the CCP? Otherwise you are draining the vehicle battery as well when camping.
BTW I am essentially doing the same thing, 3rd battery behind the driver's seat with a 1000w pure sine invertor strapped to it. I use an Anderson 50A connector to connect/disconnect the 3rd battery from the vehicle batteries. I will eventually replace that with a switch.

 

[jonsobi]

I did put a marine disconnect switch to isolate my third AGM if the van goes in for service. Otherwise all three on board batteries are used at all times for everything.

When I install my fridge, it will have low v battery-run down circuit protection.

I also bought the upfitter connector plug and wired all uf switches to a terminal box behind the seat.

I am using one upfitter sw to activate a dual cigar lighter outlet above the visor shelf. It connects my gps/cam without cables coming down to the dash. My gps and other stuff shuts down at engine off, the way it should be.

The third Ccp post will provide power to a separate fuse terminal box for the fridge and other items.

I am having lots of fun with this!!

 

[Moot]

I'm using the Pro Mariner charger mentioned in Budsky's post #2 . It is charging two 6 volt 224 ah Full River AGM batteries. I like this setup. My two previous vans incorporated a Hellroaring isolator to charge two 12 volt Optima yellow tops. I believe with the Pro Mariner's proper charging profile I should get several years of service from the Full River batteries.

 

[tthrsn]

Here are three products available from Defender.com.

The Sterling products are lower priced. Also if you add the Sterling product to your Defender cart you will be offered a price lower than the MAP price listed below. The third product at 210 Amps might be a little too much for the Transit's alternator.

ProMariner Digital Mobile Charge130
Item # : 200942
•DC Input 12 Volts, DC Output 12 Volts/Up To 130 Amps
•In-Transit Alternator To Battery
Model Number: 05513 Advanced Electronic In-Transit – 4-Stage Battery Charger
Digital Mobile Charge130 alternator to battery on-the-water charging system provides a significant increase in charging capacity of... more...
List Price: $779.88
Our Price: $529.99

Sterling Power ProAlt C Alternator to Battery Charger
Item # : 259313
•Output: 12 Volts, Input: Alternator, 130 Amps
•Designed for GEL, AGM, FLA, Calcium and LiPO4 Batteries
•Dimensions: 250 L x 180 W x 70 D mm
Model Number: AB12130
The Sterling Power ProAlt C is effectve, simple and fast to install. It transforms the output of your alternator into a sophisticated multi-stage battery charger resulting in faster... more...
List Price: $446.00
MAP Price: $356.80

Sterling Power ProAlt C Alternator to Battery Charger
Item # : 259314
•Output: 12 Volts, Input: Alternator, 210 Amps
•Designed for GEL, AGM, FLA, Calcium and LiPO4 Batteries
•Dimensions: 250 L x 280 W x 70 D mm
Model Number: AB12210
The Sterling Power ProAlt C is effectve, simple and fast to install. It transforms the output of your alternator into a sophisticated multi-stage battery charger resulting in faster... more...
List Price: $552.40
MAP Price: $441.92

 

[Radioman]

You might try the circuit breakers that have a disconnect switch on them. I use them all the time when I install emergency equipment in police and fire vehicles and in my own T150. Many amp ratings are available and I use a 50 amp breaker from the single CCP on my Transit to power one of my sine wave inverters. Another power source that I use is the battery charging post in the engine compartment. I run an 8GA wire to a disconnect breaker and also to a high current relay to my aux AGM battery. This way I can charge the aux battery when I want to from the vehicle alternator and isolate all my communications equipment.

 

[morey]

Have a look at the CTEK products. A CTEK D250S DUAL and a CTEK SMARTPASS seems like a pretty simple setup. Biggest con I see with a CTEK system is the limited input voltage of 23V which could impact what solar panels you can use.

Manual: http://ctek.com/Archive/ProductManualPdf/SMARTPASS_EN.pdf

 

[Airedrifter]

Have a look at the CTEK products. A CTEK D250S DUAL and a CTEK SMARTPASS seems like a pretty simple setup. Biggest con I see with a CTEK system is the limited input voltage of 23V which could impact what solar panels you can use.

Manual: http://ctek.com/Archive/ProductManualPdf/SMARTPASS_EN.pdf

I think the limit you're talking about is the maximum allowable amperage of the solar input to the solar controler portion of the system. Is that right?

I used this system and have had zero problems in almost 1 year of use.

http://www.fordtransitusaforum.com/camper-vans-conversions/6433-electrical-guts-house-system.html

 

[RandomJoe]

I think the limit you're talking about is the maximum allowable amperage of the solar input to the solar controler portion of the system. Is that right?

The controller specifies a maximum input voltage of 23V. That severely limits your solar panel options, especially if you're trying to get higher-current panels. The controller is supposed to be MPPT (there are quite a few cheaper ones that *say* they are but really are just PWM, I don't know about this one) so they could have designed it to accept a higher voltage on the solar input which starts letting you select some higher-wattage panels with a higher Vmp (max-power voltage).

Even for the nominal 17Vmp panels they specify a rating of 23 Vmax is cutting it close. I have seen some 17 Vmp panels that have a slightly higher Voc (open circuit) whenever the controller isn't charging (say, the battery is full).

Another advantage to having a higher solar input voltage (if it's high enough) is you can series your panels together on the roof and only bring two smaller diameter wires down since the current is halved. If you have to parallel panels you either bring multiple sets of wires inside or you have a combiner box on the roof and bring down two heavier-gauge wires.

 

[morey]

Here are three products available from Defender.com.

The Sterling products are lower priced. Also if you add the Sterling product to your Defender cart you will be offered a price lower than the MAP price listed below. The third product at 210 Amps might be a little too much for the Transit's alternator.

According to the Sterling manual it needs to be wired in between the alternator and the engine/starter battery.

That seems much more intrusive than the CTEK system.

I think my approach is going to be to start out with the CTEK system. If I exceed its solar abilities I could always add a better MPPT charger into the mix.

 

[morey]

Looks like Sterling also makes a battery to battery charger which wouldn't require putting it in between the alternator and the engine/starter battery. Here is the manual.

 

[skagitstan]

Looks like Sterling also makes a battery to battery charger which wouldn't require putting it in between the alternator and the engine/starter battery. Here is the manual.

For what it's worth, a snip from the manual:
"For best effect use open lead acid batteries. Avoid gel, sealed and AGM batteries. Even though open lead acid batteries are by far the best for fast charging and longer life using advanced charging units. There is
sometimes no choice but to use gel or AGM. The unit has the settings to enable these to be charged within their recommended charging curves."

 

[swellguy]

Correct me I'm wrong but isn't this unit restricted to 20a of charging from the alternator? Doesn't that defeat the purpose of having a 150a or 250a alternator? It says you can increase that to 80a with the Smartpass. Wouldn't it just be better to get a 150a or 250a isolator? What am I missing here?

I want to take full advantage of my vehicle's charging system. I may have a new purchase to share with the group in the new year. The Ford incentives are pretty good now.

 

[morey]

CTEK system is a multi stage charger (bulk, absorption, ...) which is the best and probably only way to really charge the house battery to 100%.

At the end of the CTEK manual there is a charging graph that shows the various voltages and currents.

If you don't care if the batteries are charged to 100% and your okay with shortening their lifespan then yes, you can just you an isolator.

 

[orton]

CTEK system is a multi stage charger (bulk, absorption, ...) which is the best and probably only way to really charge the house battery to 100%.

There is another way to charge your house battery to 100% with 3 stage charging with the correct charge profile. Install a pure sine inverter powered by the vehicle 12 volt system. The 120 volt AC "shore power" is then used to power a 3 stage charger. A selector switch can select either real shore power or the inverter supplied "shore power".

The vehicle supplied "shore power" can also be used to heat shower water or heat the van interior with engine running.

http://www.ortontransit.info/img/ODJ127-37ER.pdf

 

[skagitstan]

We are using a Blue Sea VSR along with our Blue Sky 3024 solar controller to provide reasonably complete charging. The van alternator is the 230A unit supplied to charge the car dual AGMs. No additional inverter is used.

The idea is that IF the house is depleted to some lowish voltage AND the car is running, the relay engages, and the car alternator will automatically charge the house. Once the house gets over some threshold, the relay disconnects. This will be before full float. At that point, the solar controller will continue to charge the house to 100% based on its AGM profile. I don't have the VSR transition points in front of me, but they are in the Blue Sea documents.

Even if this method does not completely match a theoretically ideal charge curve, the battery life impact should be minimal..at least from what I've read. Probably long enough for lithiums to become a mature viable, and affordable alternative.

It has few other advantages:
It easily allows for the house to be used to jump start the car.
It is far less lossy than an extra inverter scheme.so house charging can go as fast as the alternator can handle.
It all happens in the background. Normally, no need to flip switches (unless you are doing a jump start). The VSR come with a remote switch for handling the different scenarios.
When in storage, shore power can be used to charge & maintain both the house and car AGMs via the MS2012 inverter/charger.
It's practical to set the system to use the solar to keep the car topped off as well as the house. For example if we are out camping someplace sunny.

Stan

 

[swellguy]

CTEK system is a multi stage charger (bulk, absorption, ...) which is the best and probably only way to really charge the house battery to 100%.

At the end of the CTEK manual there is a charging graph that shows the various voltages and currents.

If you don't care if the batteries are charged to 100% and your okay with shortening their lifespan then yes, you can just you an isolator.

Why do they offer 150a and 250a alternators from the factory then? Are all factory batteries (including dual battery setups) having their lives shortened? Seems stupid to limit your factory 250a charger to a mere 20a. You might as well not spent that money to upgrade.