Hi people, hoping to get an idea of what's being used and what is reasonable. I am running an enerdrive 40a dc-dc in the canopy of the car, but have it set to 20a at the moment. I am now towing a caravan (god help me!) and it is currently running 1 x 25a dc-dc to the van batteries. There is another 25A unit available if required (taking it to 50a- see how good my maths were there?)
This in a 2017 Ranger with 150A alternator (I believe, based upon online advice). I have been told(!) 60% draw is reasonable, taking into account the general requirements of the vehicle, not sure about this. So I can leave it as is (45a total), switch up the unit in the canopy back to 40A (65A total), leave the canopy unit at 20A and connect the second unit in the van (70a) or let it all go free and draw 40a in the canopy, 50a in the van!!!.
Or I can get a larger alternator fitted (prefer not...).
Any comments/recommendations?
Cheers, Mark
-- Edited by Silkwood on Monday 12th of May 2025 11:23:48 AM
-- Edited by Silkwood on Monday 12th of May 2025 11:54:23 AM
Peter_n_Margaret said
01:22 PM May 12, 2025
What capacity batteries? Any solar on the van?
We don't use a DC-DC charger. In the unlikely event that we need any extra charge I get it direct from the alternator.
Cheers, Peter
-- Edited by Peter_n_Margaret on Monday 12th of May 2025 01:24:08 PM
Silkwood said
10:34 AM May 13, 2025
Having posted elswhere and received advice from a number of people (including Peter, as above), I have decided to leave my units on 20a in the canopy, 25a in the van. should suit my needs adequately and will place little strain on the alternator.
Cheers,
Mark
Whenarewethere said
02:23 PM May 15, 2025
I use two 9amp Victron DC-DC chargers in parallel, you can put something like 999 of then in parallel. So should be enough for most situations.
Stacked on each other at bottom of photo. Above is MPPS 100/20 solar controller with added custom heatsinks.
Whenarewethere said
07:10 PM May 15, 2025
Forgot to say my Freelander has 180 amp alternator. The Freelanders with "cold pack", heat steering wheel & windscreen etc have a 210 amp alternator.
Silkwood said
04:10 PM May 17, 2025
Thanks Wawt...
Radar said
08:38 PM May 17, 2025
Silo wood.
First off, keep it simple.
We run 320 watts of solar.
120amp hour lithium battery.
The expensive battery charger lives in a box in the garage, very seldom do we plug into 240 volts.
Hi people, hoping to get an idea of what's being used and what is reasonable. I am running an enerdrive 40a dc-dc in the canopy of the car, but have it set to 20a at the moment. I am now towing a caravan (god help me!) and it is currently running 1 x 25a dc-dc to the van batteries. There is another 25A unit available if required (taking it to 50a- see how good my maths were there?
)
This in a 2017 Ranger with 150A alternator (I believe, based upon online advice). I have been told(!) 60% draw is reasonable, taking into account the general requirements of the vehicle, not sure about this. So I can leave it as is (45a total), switch up the unit in the canopy back to 40A (65A total), leave the canopy unit at 20A and connect the second unit in the van (70a) or let it all go free and draw 40a in the canopy, 50a in the van!!!.
Or I can get a larger alternator fitted (prefer not...).
Any comments/recommendations?
Cheers, Mark
-- Edited by Silkwood on Monday 12th of May 2025 11:23:48 AM
-- Edited by Silkwood on Monday 12th of May 2025 11:54:23 AM
What capacity batteries?
Any solar on the van?
We don't use a DC-DC charger. In the unlikely event that we need any extra charge I get it direct from the alternator.
Cheers,
Peter
-- Edited by Peter_n_Margaret on Monday 12th of May 2025 01:24:08 PM
Cheers,
Mark
I use two 9amp Victron DC-DC chargers in parallel, you can put something like 999 of then in parallel. So should be enough for most situations.
Stacked on each other at bottom of photo. Above is MPPS 100/20 solar controller with added custom heatsinks.
Forgot to say my Freelander has 180 amp alternator. The Freelanders with "cold pack", heat steering wheel & windscreen etc have a 210 amp alternator.
Silo wood.
First off, keep it simple.
We run 320 watts of solar.
120amp hour lithium battery.
The expensive battery charger lives in a box in the garage, very seldom do we plug into 240 volts.
, so it's of no use.
Solar, controller and battery. Simple as.
Very little expense.