DIY: 105 AH Lithium Powerpack with VICTRON MPPT, Battery Protect and Smart Sence

BorealOverland

Active member
Hi all!
Wanted to share my latest DIY project with you guys..
Yes, yes i know.. another one of those "solar generators" that does not generate any solar.. LOL.

Last year i made my first so called "Solar Generator" with a 38AH VICTRON AGM battery and that worked out great on our road-trip last year.
Charging ipad's, camera's and such..
Version 1.0:


C4309A19-3DAF-4DA0-A4E5-E4C5AF41EB3B.jpeg

This year i wanted to build a much more powerfull one that could at least handle a small Dometic frigde for a day or so,
takes a fast charge and does not weigh a ton.. so i went the Lithium LIfePo4 way.
In the end it weight 1,5x at much as my DIY AGM powerbank but it has 5x times more power available.
I gathered all the components in the beginning of this year, bought the 4 lithium prismatic cells from a respectable seller and started building..
Finished the project a couple months ago but did not have time to make decent photo's and post it here on the forum.

This is what i came up with:

IMG_0982.jpg

It has a main power switch, a switch for the USB and Neutrik Powerplug 20A outlets,
and a switch that switches on a 200A relais that powers the 50A Anderson outlet and the 125A Anderson plug inside the box.
It has 2 Neutrik Powerplug "solar" or "DC" inputs, those power the VICTRON MPPT 75/15 solar controller.
I like to upgrade the MPPT to a larger and Smart ( i use a smart dongle) model in the near future..
When the MPPT is working / charging the battery it powers the two fans in the front so the box does not heat up inside.

IMG_0974.jpg


ALL outlets are "controlled" by the VICTRON SMART BATTERY PROTECT 100A (SBP),
and the SBP is connected via the Victron Smart Network with a VICTRON SMART BATTERY SENCE that checks battery voltage and temperature.
The MPPT is also connected to the battery sence so no charging below 5 degrees Celsius.
The 50A and 125A Anderson plugs are also connected to the SBP but via a relais that gets powered by the SBP because the SBP does not seem to like large inverters..
I won't use the 50A and 125A that much but i just wanted to have that capability to use a inverter or maybe charge the battery via the Andersons plugs since those are not directly in line with the SBP (sending power the wrong way into the battery protect will kill it!)
The SBP will switch off all the loads / outlets if the voltage drops to 12V, say about 9% battery life
and in turn the SBP gets switched off by the small BMS (Battery Management System) if something might go wrong with the LifePo4 cells.

IMG_0968.jpg

IMG_0971 (1).jpg

I attached a little cell monitor to the battery just to check now and then how the cells are doing and if they are still in balance..
They seem to do just fine and don't differ much from each other most of the time.. , sometimes the are within 2mv of each other.

IMG_0963.jpg

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Build a quick 12V to 24V car charger the day before we left home to go on adventure but did not have to use it..
I would like to have a VICTRON SMART DC to DC charger in the near future.

Pretty happy with how it came out and how it performs so far..
We just came back from a awesome 2 week round trip thru Norway and Sweden,
charging all are electric goodies almost each day and the pack is still 68% full from the 100% when we left home.
Overkill so far but should work out great once we throw in a nice little fridge on our next adventure.

Could i just have bought a portable powerbank from a populair brand.. yup.
Would that have been cheaper.. nope..
Would that have been easier.. yup, and more fun.. most definitely not!!

Thanks for watching guys.. stay safe!
 
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BorealOverland

Active member
That's amazing looking. I would like to see more details of the build and components. In particular the wiring and battery bank.

I may upload some more pictures from the build itself later on.
Because of the very limited space in the box most of the wires are nicely tucked away,
they are all black or red, and bound together with tyraps or velcro so i don't think there is much to see for you on the photos
if you are looking for a wiring schematic. I do have a schematic.. it's somewhere in my messy head LOL..

I'll try to see what i can find from the build process.
Take care.
 

Photobug

Well-known member
I'll try to see what i can find from the build process.
Take care.
I already built my own. It only has 60ah lithium but it has a solar charger and inverter. Mine weighs about 40lbs. Either my wife and I can carry it any more it would become a problem. Mine works great not nearly as clean looking as yours.

I would be interested to see what is behind connectors on front.
What do you have that requires a 20 amp circuit?
WHere did you get that battery monitor?20200725_103818.jpg
 
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BorealOverland

Active member
I already built my own. It only has 60ah lithium but it has a solar charger and inverter. Mine weighs about 40lbs. Either my wife and I can carry it any more it would become a problem. Mine works great not nearly as clean looking as yours.

I would be interested to see what is behind connectors on front.
What do you have that requires a 20 amp circuit?
WHere did you get that battery monitor?View attachment 603950

Hi, nice job, and 60ah is more than enough for most occasions..

I don’t have use for the 20amp circuits perse, but I like to have options..
The 20A Neutrik Powercon plugs are very sturdy and lock-in place.. they won’t come loose while driving, so that makes them great for plugging in a fridge later on, solid connection. I just change the fuse to a 5 or 10 amp and good to go.

Same for the 50A Anderson outlet in the front, don’t use it for now but I had the stuff laying around and some spare space in the front panel so it trow it in..

The 125A Anderson inside I use to hookup my 1500W inverter ( i still need to build a box for that so I can connect the boxes together and have a nice complete backup powersystem).

I just wanted to build something that gave me many options for connections and not have to change it after a couple months because i need an different outlet for something.

The box I used is a “Euro” style box, so fixed dimensions 40x30 centimeter x 17cm high.
It weighs about 15Kg, but I transport it in a super strong “cable bag” and it has its own spot in the car so not much carrying it around..

F4064440-C2A4-405B-96B2-7570590ECC6E.jpeg


The Coulomb meter (Volt meter) with a 350A shunt (overkill) I bought from our Chinese “friends” and is a budget friendly alternative to a Victron,
since all the other information I need I all ready get via the VictronConnect app.
It gets decent online reviews and seems to work just fine..
 
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john61ct

Adventurer
That's the way to do it, much better value than off the shelf, custom to your needs.

Could also act as the "front end" controller for a larger and cheaper-per-Ah lead bank that stays inside the vehicle

with the ability to multi-purpose the portable LFP portion when needed elsewhere.
 

BorealOverland

Active member
Clean set up. Thanks for sharing. How do you keep the batteries held in place?
Hi, thanks.

I cut a sheet of 6mm “Trespa” to fit the bottom of the box and made a cutout for the battery cells, a snug fit, I covered the bus bars and connections with thick rubber sheet for electrical isolation (but the vents in the cells are still free) and put a foam sheet on top of the cells and between the top Trespa plate (with all the components) so it’s pressed and clamped down...
It’s going nowhere but still has some room to expend while being charged (should that happen)..

Hoop this explains it a bit, I’ll try to do a “How it’s made“ later on..

Take care, have a nice day.
Steve.
 

BorealOverland

Active member
That's the way to do it, much better value than off the shelf, custom to your needs.

Could also act as the "front end" controller for a larger and cheaper-per-Ah lead bank that stays inside the vehicle

with the ability to multi-purpose the portable LFP portion when needed elsewhere.

Yes, about half the cost...
And now I have top quality Victron components, that I can fine tune, upgrade or replace myself if need be.

And i just like building stuff myself just to see if I can do it, completing the puzzle so to speak, it’s fun and a great learning experience (sometimes an expensive one, not all ends well.. LOL)

Yes, that’s smart thinkin, have not thought about that option I believe.. thanks!
 
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Photobug

Well-known member
The box I used is a “Euro” style box, so fixed dimensions 40x30 centimeter x 17cm high.
It weighs about 15Kg, but I transport it in a super strong “cable bag” and it has its own spot in the car so not much carrying it around.


The Coulomb meter (Volt meter) with a 350A shunt (overkill) I bought from our Chinese “friends” and is a budget friendly alternative to a Victron,
since all the other information I need I all ready get via the VictronConnect app.
It gets decent online reviews and seems to work just fine..


That's impressive to get that all in only 15kg mine weighs likely 19kg.

Do you have a link the Coulomb Meter? I have one but never installed as I don't like its shape. I have built it up to install outside the box, but would like to have one built in. This what I got. The other issue is it does not have a shunt.

 

BorealOverland

Active member
That's impressive to get that all in only 15kg mine weighs likely 19kg.

Do you have a link the Coulomb Meter? I have one but never installed as I don't like its shape. I have built it up to install outside the box, but would like to have one built in. This what I got. The other issue is it does not have a shunt.


€ 16,43 14% Off | 8-80V 50A 100A 350A Coulomb Teller Meter Batterij Capaciteit Indicator Ampèremeter Voltmeter Ebike Li-Ion Lipo Lithium Lifepo4 TR16
 

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