Check my set-up thus far - Victron DC/DC

RKRUGER

Adventurer- Toyota Nut
I have been running my ARB 50L and other electronics off of an X2 Power 27F for a couple of years now with great results. A 6 awg cable runs from the breaker thru the firewall and terminated at the Blue Sea fuse pack mounted to the face of the ARB drawers. Recently the 27F maintained the fridge full of beer at 42 F while my buddies and I canoed away for 4 days. I set the LVD on HI and the battery still showed 12.4 when we returned. Obviously no one was opening and closing it, and it was full of cold beer, but impressive performance nonetheless.

Recently on Prime Days this battery showed up for $133.


So, I decided to give it a try. It isn’t here yet, so I am not certain the form factor, but at roughly 9x8.5x5 it won’t take up much space in the side wing area of my ARB drawer set.

Today I took a stab at preparing for the battery. And I’d appreciate a set of eyes on the wiring.

IMG_6141.jpeg
6AWG from the start AGM through breaker to the cabin ( this was existing and powered the fridge).
IMG_6137.jpeg
Copper ring terminal is for the house loads and will attach to a Blue Sea 40 amp breaker. Terminated 6 AWG plugs into the Victron DC/DC charger.
Now this is where it gets real.
IMG_6138.jpeg
Neg terminal from Victron and current house loads go to shunt. POS output goes to 40amp breaker and to POS lead to the battery. NEG battery lead goes to shunt. I need to make one more ground wire from the charger and that will go to chassis ground.

I relied heavily on 2022 KISS Dual Battery as well as Travis’s House Battery for inspiration.
 
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RKRUGER

Adventurer- Toyota Nut
The Blue Sea fused terminal will hold a 40amp fuse directly connected to the battery. The POS lead will attach to that terminal. Once the battery shows up I will be able to determine cable length. And it all will tuck away under the fixed portion of the DS drawer wing.
IMG_6146.jpeg

Should I be concerned that the charger is mounted horizontally as far as heat dissipation?
 
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Dave in AZ

Well-known member
Gonna respond for both you and other future readers, maybe you know more than them, if so then the basics are for them...
1. Nice battery fuse and 50A Anderson plug, I literally installed the exact same thing on my 100Ah 12v mini LFP yesterday! I like that fuse choice. I see fuse is 60A, so that wire should be 6AWG... I couldn't find an sb50 premade with 6awg, best I found was 7awg on Amazon. 7awg isn't on most charts, but voltage drop apps show it ok for 1ft run of 60A, with its silicone insulation.

2. Why do you have that tiny red wire feeding off of your battery, outside of the main terminal fuse? It looks like it has an inline fuse, but still... all your power should feed in/out of battery through that main fuse, not bypass it.

3. Also, that battery is capable of 100A discharge probably. Your wire from battery needs to be able to carry 125% of planned load, and be fused at or below the wire ampacity. With that wee red wire, probably a Chinese diesel heater it looks like, probably good and fused for that one load... but I expect you'll use battery for other stuff too? I'd use a 6awg feed from battery 60A fuse, to a fuseblock, to feed your loads.

What is the 2nd picture of black wires showing? I see a 40A CB there, what is that protecting?
 

RKRUGER

Adventurer- Toyota Nut
@Dave in AZ Thank you for your thoughtful comments. I appreciate the kudos on choice for fuse holder and I also appreciate the "hey, did you think about this?"
The pre-made Anderson whips are 8AWG and seem to be well made.
Anderson whips
The insulation belies the gauge. Perhaps I am way overbuilt in the wrong places, and could have skinny'd it down here or there.

#2 The small red wire you note is a NOCO charger connection and it needs to be moved. Not because it is mounted on the wrong side of the fuse but because it is on the wrong side of everything. The shore power/charger connection needs to be connected through the shunt if I plan to measure amps in and out. It was an oversight and a late addition.

#3. I think I get your point and the interesting part is I am not sure what to do about it. The battery seems to have tremendous discharge capability. I hope it proves to be durable, dependable and give all 100ah I acquired it for. House loads are minimal; a 50L ARB fridge, a smallish 500W inverter, and some USB plugs. I could get by with a smaller LFP but the CYCLENBATT 100Ah Mini seemed to good of a deal to pass up.

The 40Amp CB separates the battery and the Victron from the house loads. There is a 6AWG that goes from there to the Blue Sea fuse box. The 6AWG cables are attached to the shunt.
 
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Dave in AZ

Well-known member
@Dave in AZ Thank you for your thoughtful comments. I appreciate the kudos on choice for fuse holder and I also appreciate the "hey, did you think about this?"
The pre-made Anderson whips are 8AWG and seem to be well made.
Anderson whips
The insulation belies the gauge. Perhaps I am way overbuilt in the wrong places, and could have skinny'd it down here or there.

#2 The small red wire you note is a NOCO charger connection and it needs to be moved. Not because it is mounted on the wrong side of the fuse but because it is on the wrong side of everything. The shore power/charger connection needs to be connected through the shunt if I plan to measure amps in and out. It was an oversight and a late addition.

#3. I think I get your point and the interesting part is I am not sure what to do about it. The battery seems to have tremendous discharge capability. I hope it proves to be durable, dependable and give all 100ah I acquired it for. House loads are minimal; a 50L ARB fridge, a smallish 500W inverter, and some USB plugs. I could get by with a smaller LFP but the CYCLENBATT 100Ah Mini seemed to good of a deal to pass up.

The 40Amp CB separates the battery and the Victron from the house loads. There is a 6AWG that goes from there to the Blue Sea fuse box. The 6AWG cables are attached to the shunt.
Sounds good.
Only issue I see is the 8awg whip. The max ampacity of 8awg is 50A, over a 1ft length like that in unbundled wire, 75c. Your fuse should be at or LESS than your wire, so that the fuse burns out before the wire.
, but your fuse is 60A. Your wire needs to be larger, 7awg at least and 6awg is better. OR you could replace that 60A fuse with a 50A one.

That's why I was making the point that 7awg was largest pigtail I could find, and I really wanted 6awg. I need 60A, and 60A fuse, as I also plug my battery into my trolling motor which specifies 60A fuse protection. You could lower your fuse, or here is the 7awg I found:

Datanly 4 Pcs Battery Quick Connector with Copper Ring Compatible with Anderson 50A Winch Power Cable for Lifepo4 Battery Power Transfer Forklift Golf Carts Trailer https://a.co/d/1BJCBgF
 

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