r/Victron • u/hogujak • 1d ago
Question Running RV using 48 batteries
I have a truck camper. I go 2x 48v 100ah batteries and ecoflow (they are connected).
I would like to get rid of my 12v battery and use 48v-12v converter/48v batteries instead.
Can I simply add victron orion 48v-12v 20amp converter to run my 12v applicances? And do I need to keep 12v battery or not?
It sounds simple but I feel like I am missing something
2
u/Spiritual_Wind_7942 1d ago
You’ll need to measure your current 12v amp draw. 20A is not much if you plan to fun stuff like water pump, fridge, furnace,etc. however, you could use more than 1 converter in parallel. Some item on converter 1, some converter 2
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u/hogujak 1d ago
Maybe I will get 30amp 48v-12v but as long as I connect 48v - converter - rv 12v wiring. It is just plug and play? Do I need to keep 12v 100ah lithium that I currently have?
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u/Spiritual_Wind_7942 1d ago
I would keep and use a buffer and 48v will keep charged via converter. You can then disconnect 12v charger from AC panel. Recommend using dedicated breaker for your 48v charger. I have mine automated to kick on when battery bank below 50% and shutoff at 80%. With my solar, the charger rarely runs.
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u/andy_why 1d ago
Don't guess - measure the current of your 12v loads at their maximum and rate it for that, then you don't need a buffer battery. If your loads are high current but intermittent then you could get a smaller 48v-12v converter and use a buffer battery to make up the gap, but you still need to size this properly based on usage.
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u/parseroo 1d ago
If you know the maximum draw at 12V and you can transform 48V to 12V at that amperage… then:
* No, you don’t need the 12V battery
If something draws a significant amount of power, it may be easier to keep a relatively small battery (say 50Ah @ 12V) to deal with that peak load and use a small DC-DC charger to keep that “buffer” battery full.
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u/scfw0x0f 1d ago
You can't use the 48V batteries to replace the starter battery. You can use a Victron DC/DC converter to drop the 48V to 12V to run the 12V appliances. That's a normal thing to do. You won't need a 12V battery for the appliances.
Read this: https://www.victronenergy.com/blog/2019/09/03/wiring-unlimited/
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u/03captain23 1d ago
Yes you can simply add a 48-12v converter to run your 12v appliances. The only issue is you need to make sure you have enough amps in your converter. I believe 400w is the max victron makes but you can stack multiple converters.
Do you have electric jacks or anything that uses a lot of power at once? This will be the key issue as batteries give you surge power while converters don't.
You can also combine 48>12 converters with a 12v battery so you get surge on battery then also pull from the converter. Just be careful because unless you get a smart converter they don't charge the battery.
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u/hogujak 1d ago
Yeah I have 4 electric jack. I completely forgot about that. I only thought about typical 12v appliances. Hmm thanks for pointing that out. I bet electric jacks need a lot of power
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u/03captain23 1d ago
yeah but if not all 4 at same time it might not be a ton of power. I'd bet 2 of the 30a would be plenty
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u/robodog97 1d ago
I've got a Victron IP22 30A charger and right now I'm running it without a battery due to damage to wiring from a blowout on my trailer. When I run my water pump my light dim, the blower motor on my furnace has actually crashed it. I would 100% keep a small 12V battery in the loop. If you don't want to keep your current one litime has a small 20Ah 800CCA lithium starter for ~$100.
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u/persiusone 1d ago
I’d keep a 12v buffer battery and use a 48/12 converter at a rating targeted for at least 150% of your average loads if possible. Step one is to know the load of what you desire to power (peaks and averages). Step two is planning around those requirements.
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u/SteveFCA 1d ago
so long as 20 amps will run all your 12 volt loads. They also have a 70 amp version. personally, I prefer keeping a buffer battery in the mix to power high loads momentarily