Upgrading to Lithium - DC to DC? 2016 Navion 24G

[G-Sizzle]

Hey y'all!

2016 Navion G Mercedes Benz diesel sprinter
I bought a Victron Orion-Tr Smart 12/12-18 DC to DC charger and a 280 Lithium battery

Can I put this after the existing charger? Where is that charger?

Do I have a smart alternator? The internet says there should be a little thing off the black terminal on the chassis battery...I see nothing. Web also says that my Year/M/M has a smart alt. ???

My plan is to pull the 2 house batteries under the step, put the Lithium and DCDC charger in the same compartment and wire it all up. Any issues with this plan? There is a jumper across S1...is this OK?

I'm also swapping the Zamp solar charger for a new one that does Li...that seems like a retrofit and easy enough. Anything else I need to be aware of? Zantrex 1000 inverter? (My house batteries charge up to 14.7v for some reason, so I can't imagine the inverter being an issue...although I know it's too high for LA house batteries)?

Thanks y'all!

 

[G-Sizzle]

anyone...???

 

[creativepart]

Hi, I just saw your post.

I can’t answer all your questions, but the Zamp solar charge controller already supports Lithium batteries. It is a PWM controller which is fine for smaller solar systems. A MPPT type controller is more efficient but there’s not much benefit with a small system and lower voltages. You just need to set the battery type in the controller.

I don’t own a Sprinter RV so I’m limited to what I’ve seen others post about. Lots of folks have mentioned a device under the passenger seat that is involved in this called ChargeMate Pro. But I’m unclear on its role.

You may get more response here over time or you could check the Sprinter-Source RV forum. Here’s a link.

Sprinter-Source.com

Mercedes Dodge Freightliner Sprinter Discussion Forum.

sprinter-source.com

Be aware that a 1000w inverter is of limited usefulness. For instance, it can’t run your microwave?

I have that same Victron DC2DC charger. I just connect it between my chassis battery and my 480ah Epoch LFP battery.

 

[WMGMAN]

Some thoughts (in no specific order):

I don’t know if the Victron is rated for outside use, but (at least on our 2012) that step compartment is not sealed very well and can get wet.

Sprinter chassis is often one year earlier than the coach. From another forum (Sprinter Smart Alternator) the alternator on the 6 cylinder is smart, but not incredibly so. Don’t know what that means for your situation.

Other questions I have no specific information about.

 

[Bnystrom]

The DC-DC charger is generally installed under the passenger's seat, as it bypasses the factory boost solenoid that's located there. The battery box is a hostile environment that's not suitable for electronics. I would not install the charger there unless you do something to prevent it from getting filthy, but that gets complicated because the charger requires ventilation. It can be done, but it will require sealing most of the box, then adding air filtration and a ventilation fan to exhaust hot air. I did this when I repurposed our battery box to hold a 3000 watt inverter, but it's a fair amount of work. Installing your DC-DC charger under the seat would be a LOT easier.

Why are you using only an 18 amp DC-DC charger? With a 280 Ah battery, you'd be much better off with Victron's 50 amp model. I used a Renogy 60A charger, but the installation under the seat was complicated due to its size and shape.

 

[Kenny Bo]

Hey y'all!

2016 Navion G Mercedes Benz diesel sprinter
I bought a Victron Orion-Tr Smart 12/12-18 DC to DC charger and a 280 Lithium battery

Can I put this after the existing charger? Where is that charger?

Do I have a smart alternator? The internet says there should be a little thing off the black terminal on the chassis battery...I see nothing. Web also says that my Year/M/M has a smart alt. ???

My plan is to pull the 2 house batteries under the step, put the Lithium and DCDC charger in the same compartment and wire it all up. Any issues with this plan? There is a jumper across S1...is this OK?

I'm also swapping the Zamp solar charger for a new one that does Li...that seems like a retrofit and easy enough. Anything else I need to be aware of? Zantrex 1000 inverter? (My house batteries charge up to 14.7v for some reason, so I can't imagine the inverter being an issue...although I know it's too high for LA house batteries)?

Thanks y'all!

View attachment 1330900

We also have a 24G 2017 just bought 7 weeks ago I found the converter under the drawers in the galley I replaced the converter it was pretty easy. Match the size for watts and amps don't go smaller and don't go too much bigger. Too many amps would be hard on the wiring. Don't know about the alternator. The solar charger in the 2017 will do lifePO4 batteries. Your might also.

 

[Bnystrom]

We also have a 24G 2017 just bought 7 weeks ago I found the converter under the drawers in the galley I replaced the converter it was pretty easy. Match the size for watts and amps don't go smaller and don't go too much bigger. Too many amps would be hard on the wiring. Don't know about the alternator. The solar charger in the 2017 will do lifePO4 batteries. Your might also.

There are only two leads from the converter, a positive that goes to the battery and a ground that goes to the chassis. If you want faster battery charging - which is important with larger-capacity batteries - you can upgrade the converter and just change those two leads. For example, I replaced the 45-amp Parallax converter in our rig with their 75-amp model with a lithium battery module, and installed 4-gauge leads, which have ample capacity. Installing the new leads was really easy on our '10 View DL and the converter was a wire-for-wire swap.

If you prefer an easier swap, but with less charging capacity, you may find that you can upgrade from a 45-amp converter to a 55-amp model using the existing wiring. Check the size of your converter wiring and consult an ampacity chart to determine how much current it can handle.

 

[G-Sizzle]

Thanks for the replies everyone. Just so y'all know, I ended up using a LI BIM for now. I got everything working proper and good to go.