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It looks like using the Victron DC-DC Charger with the Iota (built in charge profile) isn't so simple. It looked like it worked, but because the LiFePO4 was above 13.5 V, the DC-DC went into "absorption" mode, which for a LiFePO4 means don't charge. What I have otherwise observed was the DC-DC...

How to run the battery down: Come home, clean out the fridge, think you have turned it off, but haven't, and leave the door open to prevent mold. The light stays on even when the compressor is off. :( rando, thanks for the settings.

After being nudged by rando, I’m very happy with the DIY result. The front dinette Fleet can only fit 100 Ah of Battle Born or Victron batteries. The several 200 Ah options, such as LifeBlue are small companies that may not hang around, like Stark Battery. I have a 280 Ah battery I can...

About 5 years ago we installed three12V "cigarette" plugs in our front dinette Fleet. One each on the cabinet on the door side of each seat and one on the water cabinet at the front window. It was clear at the time that charging protocols were changing, and the 12V plugs have allowed us to...

I've been there, big time. We twice shipped our 2005 Eagle on the Tacoma by transport truck from Portland OR to Albany NY and back. It let us travel the far north of Labrador and Quebec as well as the Maritimes, Newfoundland and the Gaspe without spending ten days of hard driving across country...

Are you using the factory defaults for engine shutdown detection? The factory numbers didn't seem right, but my attempt to do better didn't work. I reset to factory and my DC-DC appears to be doing the job. However, I have not taken a close look - the battery gets charged while driving, but the...

This sure grabbed my attention. All of the other AC options either require shore power or a generator. Swamp coolers are limited by humidity and require a water supply. It's a true compressor AC rated at 2300 BTU with intake/exhaust hoses that can be run out the camper window or possibly the...

Not sure when FWC added the portable connector on the back, but I'll assume your 2012 Fleet does not have one. If you do have one, just plug the portable solar panel into it (after checking polarity). Unless you have a lot of solar panel watts, you should be able to connect the second panel to...

I would suggest that you also get the Victron battery temperature/voltage sensor for about $35...

We had a Thule 4-bike (for just 2 bikes) swing mount on our Tacoma with an Eagle and it worked well. You just have to make sure you have clearance to open it up when you stop and need to get into the camper. This can be an issue in parking lots when you stop for supplies and an occasional...

Our Eagle had a rollover couch and we had three plastic carrying baskets that set behind the couch back. They held all sorts of stuff and were easy to pull out...

Thanks to everyone for the very helpful info. I've decided to go the DIY route and have ordered the Li cells and BMS. The prismatic cells make for a smaller battery than cylindrical cells, with a downside of somewhat higher cost and somewhat poorer heat dissipation. For my setup, I don't...

rando, I had seen Alibaba cells a couple of months ago when I started looking for LiFePO4s, but a quick search at that time did not turn up much on people's experience with them - and no luck at that time on the kind of BMS I wanted. A new search turned up your 2017 post and I found a BMS from...

Anyone had experience with the LifePo4Blue battery? I'm looking at upgrading my AGMs to lithium. My two Full Rivers just barely fit - BattleBorn and Victron won't fit (at 200aH) in my Fleet front dinette. I've probably got a year or two more on my AGMs, but lithium is likely to outlast me, so...

Checkout the Victron Forums: community.victronenergy.com A quick search yielded two posts that may help. More/better searching should bring up more. https://community.victronenergy.com/questions/16668/use-of-a-bench-dc-power-supply-as-pv-input-to-a-sm.html...

Consider a 24V panel - that's half the current through the plug for a 12V panel. If you are upgrading the charge controller, get one that can handle 24V as well. A Victron MPPT will do you very well.

A Victron DC-DC charger (highly recommended over Redarc and Renogy) will set you back about $225 and a couple of hours of time. Running heaver gauge wire from the truck to the battery separator costs fewer $ but a lot more time. And when you upgrade to a new truck with a smart alternator (if not...

The top of the1x3 frame has 2" strips of 1/2' horse pad on it (salvaged from the Tacoma installation). This leaves a nice 1/2 gap between the bottom of the camper and the EPS. There are four 4" square thin aluminum plates that are screwed into the side of the camper and also into the side of the...

Unless you are going to attach an inverter (12 VDC to 120 VAC), 6 gauge or even 8 gauge is fine - but see note below on charging. The two main criteria for picking wire gauge are current capacity and voltage drop. The maximum current through the FWC fuse block is 30 A, so 10 gauge is fine. If...

Unless you are going to attach an inverter (12 VDC to 120 VAC), 6 gauge or even 8 gauge is fine - but see note below on charging. The two main criteria for picking wire gauge are current capacity and voltage drop. The maximum current through the FWC fuse block is 30 A, so 10 gauge is fine. If...

Hey Fernweh, beat you too it (well, maybe. but who cares). You are right, this is a great idea so i went and ordered one. Installed it today.. I have been looking for a solution for the last year (actually, since 2005 with our Eagle and Tacoma) and this does the trick. The Camera Source camera...

Posted just at the right moment for me. I had the camper lifted off the truck to install a backup camera so I went to HD and came back with EPS foam and fit the pieces into the 1x3 frame that boosts my Fleet. Most of the camper heat is lost through the canvas - we have the arctic pack for that...

Fascinating reading. 3 failed Victron MPPT Controllers on two FWCs, along with your characterization of the problem, looks an awful lot like faulty wiring design or error by FWC. FWC needs to get involved - there may be more owners with this problem. acmedave, the FWC dealer in Portland and...

Does the light come on with the door open? The light is just 12V so it should be tied directly to the 12 V input to the fridge. If no light, suspect a 12 V wiring to the fridge problem. I installed a high efficiency 12 V fan to come on when the fridge comes on.The wiring for this was easy to get...

I've got a shunt on the ground at the battery to read net battery current flow for the battery monitor. What I want to capture is just the current going to the camper accessories. I will move my Hall effect doughnut to the wire coming into the fuse block.