Thinking about upgrading my factory solar system

[hshan]

Update:

I just wanted to update you guys on my new solar system. It has worked flawlessly since installation about a month ago. I got my right knee replaced on Wednesday.....

I've been PM'ing Brian as I've been following his install. I've pretty much duplicated his setup, though I have a generator and half the battery/solar capacity. First night on the road and happy to say so far, yeeha!. Wow so nice to have both legs fully powered. Ran instant pot, microwave, coffee grinder, tv with surround sound and the rest of normal dc stuff. Batteries still at 76% tonight @ 9:00 pm. Brian, thank you soo much for your help and the rest of you gurus (unnamed but followed) for getting me here! Awesome camaraderie and support here. Brian, I can't believe you were giving me the attention you were with what you were going through. Total respect! Amazing spirit and example. Awe. Heal fast!! Thanks again!

[bertschb]

As I was staring at my Victron VRM Portal this morning I noticed for the first time that the inverter was in Power Assist mode. I'm plugged into a 30amp outlet and this morning we had the electric water heater, fireplace and espresso machine all running concurrently. That exceeded the amount of available shore power so the Multiplus II started pulling power from the batteries in Power Assist mode. I know this is old news to some of you but it was still fun for me to watch.

As an aside, we arrived here at my SIL's house almost two weeks ago. We are staying here as I recover from my second knee replacement surgery. My original plan was to remain disconnected from shore power for the full 5-6 weeks of our stay. But, the last couple of days have been cold (highs in the 40's) and cloudy so rather than burn through propane like crazy to heat the RV which means my poor BIL has to go get the propane tank refilled, I caved in and had my wife plug the RV into shore power so we could use the fireplace. I did make it 10 days or so on my solar/battery system alone so I was happy with that. I'll disconnect shore power again in a couple days when it warms back up (relatively speaking) and should be able to make it the rest of our stay on batteries alone.

[howson]

bertschb ,
When you're ready to mess with a few settings I can talk you through enabling ESS to prioritize the solar even when you're connected to shore power. Typically shore power has priority so solar drops to next to nothing (annoying at minimum). While you're recovering reading through the ESS documentation might be something to do. Have your pain pills handy 'cause you'll have a headache real quick.

This assumes the Multiplus II interacts with the SmartSolar controller the way my "old" Multiplus does. We may have to do a few tests to see exactly what happens with various loads when connected to shore power.

And yes--Power Assist is a fantastic feature of the Victron setup. For the casual reader: some other OEM hign-end inverters have a similar feature but with a different name.

Howard

[bertschb]

bertschb ,When you're ready to mess with a few settings I can talk you through enabling ESS to prioritize the solar even when you're connected to shore power.

I'd love to learn more about this feature Howard. I figured there must be a way to get my system to prioritize PV over shore power when available. I just haven't looked into it yet. I'm actually surprised it isn't set up this way by default.

I'm assuming I'll need to plug my laptop into the inverter to update settings. If so, that will have to wait. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be able to pretzel my way into the front compartment right now to connect to the inverter. If I had a 50' cable I could do it from the couch I've been glued to for 10 days.

Time to read up on ESS!

[Jlawles2]

Since most have maxed out the real estate on top of their units, has anyone looked into making a hinge over system where they can double the footprint of the panels on the roof?

[howson]

Since most have maxed out the real estate on top of their units, has anyone looked into making a hinge over system where they can double the footprint of the panels on the roof?

That's one I haven't heard about. TucsonJim is a moderator on the Facebook group Solar-Powered Grand Design RV. This is a private group, non-affiliated with GD (the guy who set it up, Ed, was the one who initially inspired my solar journey many moons ago). If anyone's done what you're suggesting they'll be in this group (or one of the regulars will know of an install of that nature).

If you find something and they are OK with sharing it here, please post the info as I'm rarely on Facebook these days.

Howard

[bertschb]

Had something interesting happen just now. I got an email from my Victron VRM Portal that I lost grid power. We had two A/C units running along with other misc items (TV, sound bar, cellular router, etc). I shut off one of the A/C units and went outside to check my Progressive EMS display. It showed error code 6- low voltage. I reset the breaker at the post and got the same message. I'm going to try my 30 amp power cord just to eliminate my cord as a potential problem. In the mean time, the park has called an electrician to check things out. Oh, I also got a couple emails for Overload warning on L1 right after this happened and that's because we had both A/C's running when we lost grid power.

But, we're sitting here with the A/C running from the inverter no problem! THIS is the type of situation that made me want to upgrade my factory solar system!!!

[Brother_Bluto]

I went ahead and removed all the factory solar equipment from the front compartment today. I also removed all of the other things that were on the wall (battery cutoffs, inverter remote power switch, fuses, bus bars, breakers, etc). I also spliced the two yellow wires together. These are the wires mentioned above in the photo. I flipped the shore power back on and everything worked fine! No surprises.

This is a big relief as this part of the project was a little daunting. Installing the new gear should be pretty straightforward from here. I still have a ton of work to do but I understand what I'll be doing so I'm not worried about it. I'm still waiting for the new BBGC3 270ah BB batteries, charge controller and Multiplus. Roof sealant arrives tomorrow evening so I'll continue installing the solar panels Tuesday. I cut out a new piece of plywood that I plan to screw to the existing wall in the front compartment then mount the new gear to that. I added carpet to it but purchased and cut sheet metal to mount the charge controller and Multiplus on. I can't believe how much time I've spent on this project and right now all I have to show for it is one solar panel on the roof that isn't connected to anything

I'm not sure how I'll mount the BBGC3 batteries. I need to set them in the front compartment and see where they best fit. It looks like stacking is an option with these new batteries so I'll consider that as well. Tomorrow I plan to relocate my Ford TPMS receiver from the wall in the basement to under the floor of the basement. I need to splice the cable to get more length so it will reach.

I will soon be upgrading the "solar option" on 2022 351M-R and replacing the 2K inverter with a Multiplus-II setup. The sub-panel was one of the questions I had on how to handle once I removed the 2K inverter... and I think this post solved it. One question though: I'd think just taking the yellow wire coming off the main panel, cutting it and simply wiring it directly into sub-panel would remove the excess wire, splice and need for another junction box? Am I missing something (perhaps the ability to return back to factory setup if needed)?

[Brother_Bluto]

I've been PM'ing Brian as I've been following his install. I've pretty much duplicated his setup, though I have a generator and half the battery/solar capacity. First night on the road and happy to say so far, yeeha!. Wow so nice to have both legs fully powered. Ran instant pot, microwave, coffee grinder, tv with surround sound and the rest of normal dc stuff. Batteries still at 76% tonight @ 9:00 pm. Brian, thank you soo much for your help and the rest of you gurus (unnamed but followed) for getting me here! Awesome camaraderie and support here. Brian, I can't believe you were giving me the attention you were with what you were going through. Total respect! Amazing spirit and example. Awe. Heal fast!! Thanks again!

How is having the Multiplus-II mounted horizontally working out? Best I can find is they recommend vertical for best heat flow... but don't actually say not to mount horizontally. Any issues? That definitely solves some of the lack of belly-bay space for those of us with non-drop frames and generators.

[hshan]

@Brother_Bluto

Hi, sorry I've been busy getting my house ready to list for sale so haven't been on the forums lately.

I got the idea to mount the inverter horizantal from watching this video from Changing Lanes.

He's since switched to my inverter and moved it to vertical position and moving his Battleborn batteries to the previous positon.

Here is the link to his new setup.

I haven't been camping in super hot weather yet, but have installed a fan that I will have to manually turn on for now behind the inverter (in horizantal positon). I remember reading that though horizantal is not optimal, it is acceptable, but you have to be cognizant of the possible heat issue.

[Popga]

I've been PM'ing Brian as I've been following his install. I've pretty much duplicated his setup, though I have a generator and half the battery/solar capacity. First night on the road and happy to say so far, yeeha!. Wow so nice to have both legs fully powered. Ran instant pot, microwave, coffee grinder, tv with surround sound and the rest of normal dc stuff. Batteries still at 76% tonight @ 9:00 pm. Brian, thank you soo much for your help and the rest of you gurus (unnamed but followed) for getting me here! Awesome camaraderie and support here. Brian, I can't believe you were giving me the attention you were with what you were going through. Total respect! Amazing spirit and example. Awe. Heal fast!! Thanks again!

Steve, and all in the know,
Did you you mount your inverter horizontally, attached to the wall, or horizontally with the back attached to the floor (Floor as in generator box etc. like Changing Lanes video showed). I ask this because I have been told 2 different things from 2 different reputable sources....since I have limited height in my pass thru, I'll have to go horizontal, so I need to figure it out.

2 different answers:

1) Its ok to wall mount horizontally, basically rotating it from 12 O'clock- 6 O'clock to a horizontal 9 -3 O'clock position.
2) Its only ok to mount it horizontally if its on its back, back to the floor, front facing up.

Erik

[howson]

Popga

Curiously, the old version of the Multiplus II manual had this entry:



The current version of the manual omits the option to mount horizontally. The current manual does not specify vertical mounting, but it's implied in "Appendix G" looking at the drawings. Current manual is here: https://www.victronenergy.com/upload...0V-230V-en.pdf

On the Victron forum there's a thread that has all of this information. It's here: https://community.victronenergy.com/...tal-mount.html

One Victron owner, having no choice, mounted the device horizontally but has a fan blowing on it constantly. Below is a picture "stolen" from that thread.



Howard

[Popga]

howson

Howard,

Thank you for the attachments and links. I'm still trying to figure a way to go vertical, perhaps by cutting a hole in the pass thru floor. My system will be 2000W and the 2000W Multiplus is quite a bit longer than the 3000W. 3000W would fit vertical.

Erik