Guides

Step-by-step guides for 12V lithium on boats, vans and RVs, written from the makers' own manuals and datasheets.

• Swapping your boat from lead to lithium: what changes, what you’ll do, how long it takes
  The basics before you start: what changes, the jobs to plan for, how long it takes and how hard it really is.
• Trolling motor battery: 12V, 24V or 36V, wired right
  Match the battery to your motor, pick lead or one lithium battery, then size the breaker and wire. Every number from the motor makers’ manuals.
• Upgrading a boat to lithium: everything around the battery
  Moving your boat from lead-acid to lithium? What has to change around the battery: charging, alternator, monitoring, fuses and wire.
• Boat lithium battery wiring diagram: 2 simple setups
  Two plain wiring diagrams for a 12V boat lithium bank: one battery, or a lithium house bank plus a lead-acid start battery. Fuse, switch, shunt, busbars.
• Lithium battery fuse for a boat: class T, MRBF or ANL
  Which main fuse a 12V boat lithium bank needs: what interrupt rating means, class T vs MRBF vs ANL with maker numbers, where the fuse goes, how to size it.
• Battery switch for a lithium boat: where it goes and what size
  Picking and placing a battery switch for a boat lithium bank: after the main fuse, rated for your cable size, switched with loads off. Egis XD and Victron numbers from the makers.
• Boat busbar and fuse block layout: plan a DC panel
  Lay out a boat DC panel in the right order: main fuse, switch, positive busbar, fused feeds, fuse block, negative busbar. One simple diagram, step by step.
• Charging lithium from a boat alternator: 3 ways compared
  Can your boat alternator charge a lithium battery? Orion-Tr DC-DC charger vs Cyrix vs a plain combiner: what each does and which one fits your boat.
• Cerbo GX on a boat: do you need one?
  What a Victron Cerbo GX MK2 does on a boat, from Victron's own manual: VRM, VE.Direct and VE.Can ports, relays, tank and temperature inputs, GX Touch. Plus when you can skip it.
• Boat navigation light requirements: which lights your boat needs
  Which navigation lights your boat needs, by length and type, straight from the USCG Navigation Rules: power boats, sailboats, rowboats and anchor lights.
• Fold-down all-round and anchor lights: how to pick one
  How to pick a fold-down all-round or anchor light for a small boat: what the USCG rules ask for, mount types, 2nm vs 3nm, LED vs bulb, pole height.
• Boat LED light amp draw: what your lights cost the battery
  Real amp draw for Perko LED and bulb nav lights, from Perko's own pages, and how to turn amps into amp-hours a night for your battery bank.
• Tinned marine wire vs regular wire: why tinned, and which size
  Why boats use tinned, finely stranded wire rated 105°C, how it differs from plain copper auto wire, duplex vs triplex, and how to pick the size.
• How to crimp marine wire terminals and battery cable lugs
  Crimp heat-shrink terminals and battery lugs the right way: isolate the battery, match the terminal, strip, crimp with the right die, tug test, seal.
• SmartShunt setup for lithium: the settings that matter
  SmartShunt lithium settings step by step in VictronConnect: capacity, charged voltage, tail current, Peukert, charge efficiency, discharge floor and alarms.
• SmartShunt vs BMV-712 vs BMV-700: which battery monitor?
  Victron SmartShunt, BMV-712 and BMV-700 compared from Victron's datasheets: display, Bluetooth, second input, alarm, relay, IP rating and standby draw.
• Orion-Tr isolated vs non-isolated: which one do you need?
  Victron Orion-Tr Smart 12/12-30 isolated vs non-isolated, side by side from Victron's manuals: what isolation means, when it matters, specs, paralleling.
• Victron Blue Smart IP22 vs IP65: which shore charger?
  Victron Blue Smart IP22 vs IP65 shore chargers compared from Victron's 120V documents: amps, IP rating, outputs, fan, lithium mode and mounting.
• What size inverter for a boat, van or RV?
  Add up the watts that run together, allow for motor start surge, then check the DC amps the inverter pulls from a 12V bank. Worked with real datasheets.
• MultiPlus vs an inverter plus a charger: one box or two?
  Victron MultiPlus 12/2000 vs a Phoenix 12/1200 inverter plus a Blue Smart IP22 charger. Datasheet numbers side by side, PowerAssist explained, and when two boxes win.
• What size MPPT charge controller? 100/20 to 150/60 in one table
  Pick a Victron SmartSolar MPPT by your panels and battery voltage. One table, 75/15 to 150/60, plus series vs parallel and the cold-weather voltage rule.
• RV lead-acid to lithium: what has to change
  Swapping RV lead-acid batteries for lithium? Check the converter, alternator charging, solar controller and battery monitor. Plain steps with maker numbers.
• Camper van electrical system kit: small, medium, large
  Size a camper van electrical system by the amp-hours you use a day: small, medium or large. The parts, the order they go in, and when to add DC-DC charging.
• DC-DC charger for a camper van: smart alternators
  Why a camper van needs a DC-DC charger, how smart alternators fool engine detection, and what Ford, Mercedes, Ram and GM say about the charge wiring.