Grey Goose

I just replaced mine with a Delco 28SI, it was a 200 AMP with J mount. Battery and ground wiring only. If you have your old one off and call this place they can make sure you get the right one to convert. https://www.qualitypowerauto.com/ There are a lot of variables so double check. With the 28SI I figure I can now easily walk into any major auto parts store in the US and get a replacement if I need it.

I was thinking the same as I usually have a hose on my wet bay faucet. Another good reason to keep some water in your fresh tank when traveling.

The link you sent is for charging lithium ION. I think most in this forum would be using or considering LiFePo4.

Understood, I assume this was for lead acid battery chemistry and I was not sure if it did the same for what ever battery type you have yours set at. I assume you are using custom or CC/CV? So it does what it is supposed to do in your case.

But what are your settings? Battery type/voltage etc. And what battery chemistry?

By "crank up" do you mean exceed the settings or just go to max voltage setting? I assume you are using CC/CV or customer settings.

My point is Victron uses the float term for its second stage of charging. It basically uses bulk to 80% charge (also known as constant current) and then it goes to "float" (second stage) which is constant voltage. Assumption is this second stage would maintain charge to offset a load on system and or time out and stop charging at a certain period of time if there is no load. But either scenario would prevent the battery from being overcharged. Of course it depends on how the user sets the parameters for the second stage/float voltages and will vary depending the manufacturer of the LifePO battery. My main point is that "float" may be configurable based on the battery chemistry/charger and not necessarily taboo as far as LifePo is concerned.

"Float" seems to be sort of a generic term depending on the manufacturer. I assume in your case a lower voltage (float) would prevent over charging the battery while still maintaining the SOC.

I did not realize that the Magnum products had such a bad reputation. I do know they make a remote that supports a lithium profile as well as custom settings to set up specific CC/CV to match your batteries. Magnum also makes a BMK (monitoring kit) which is must if you want to get the most out of a lithium battery bank. Not a must if you are not a high demand user and spend most of your time with FHU. As you already know I have a 2007 vintage Magnum inverter with a late release remote. As far as defaulting to 14V that should not bother my Lithium batteries as they are supposed to charge at 14+ and have a BMS that will stop over charging. As far as I know most Lithium batteries are similar is this regard. I have considered getting a Magnum BMK kit but I am on the fence about spending more money on Magnum products because I know utlimately I will end up with Victron seeing how they have more control/monitoring and charging products available that seem to be more future proof than Magnum. I am guessing all are made in China these days anyway. I do question Victrons factory support as I hear they push it all down to their retailers. Do you still run your Magnum or did you upgrade/change to something else? Another feature that some of the late model Victron Inverters have is a hybrid mode (Power Assst) it basically allows the inverter to draw power from the battery bank if the shore power is not enough. So if you were plugged into 20 amp and needed a bit more it would make up the difference. I am sure there is a limit but if it worked well it would be good for short periods of time and hypothetically could provide a more stable 110 voltage in those situations that were pushing or exceeding 20 amps. Of course Magnum has a similar feature as well.

I cannot make an excuse for Victron because of the location when I can buy a very inexpensive, AA battery powered temp sensor and place it in the same location and get at least double the range that the Victron has. Yes, you could basically mimic the BIRD/Big boy system as far as charging logic goes. And in this case enhance the logic to support lithium. And in my mind you would not need much capacity (charge rate) for the house to chassis charging function as you should just be maintaining the chassis batteries in most scenarios.

Are you using the bluetooth Victron DC/DC charger? If so how is the range? I cannot connect to mine unless I am in the rear of the coach. I have other blue tooth devices located in the same compartment that have much better range.

You are right on about the block heater but you can always just run an extension cord if you get to that point.

Agree, no need to touch the inverter wiring if you are doing a dc to dc charger. I connected mine to the batteries directly with a dc breaker to protect the wiring. I am contemplating making the connection at the big boy so the Alladin will pick up the charge current. But I am currently getting the voltage reading so I can tell if it is charging or not, so it is low on my priority list.

Edit - I missed the post from John C, it looks like he already covered this. Sorry I am not following on the bold. Why replace the Magnum inverter? Magnum has the capability of charging lithium (depending on the release level). And it is relatively easy to charge the chassis that really need nothing other than a maintance charge when the alternator is not running. Solutions for chassis charging - 1. Solar 2. DC/DC charger from house to chassis - low amperage unit would work and with the Victron you can program it to activate at certain voltages and control the charging profile as well. 3. A small battery maintainer plugged into 110/charges when on shore power - the logic of using the block heater works if you remember to flip the switch otherwise a smart charger wired to a 110 source permanently would maintain the chassis batteries whenever the alternator is not running.

Thank you for sharing the wiring diagram documents. It will save me a lot of time fumbling through the hard copies I have that do not have an index.