Boat lithium upgrade kit, large (house bank, engine and shore charging)

Description

The full lithium house bank refit for a 12V boat: main fuse holder, switch, BMV-712 monitor with display, busbars, fuse blocks, a DC-DC charger for the engine, a lithium-ready shore charger and a low-voltage disconnect.

For a bigger house bank that charges while the engine runs and when you plug in at the dock. Bring your own battery or add one from the list below. Example, our math: the Orion-Tr in this kit puts in up to 30 A under way, so 2 hours of running adds up to about 60 Ah.

Add all parts to cart. Already own a part? Set it to 0 below.

What’s in the box

Swaps on this page: Victron SmartShunt 500A/50mV Bluetooth. Set the part you don’t need to 0 and the swap to 1.

Add a battery (optional): Pro-Guide 31M235-DP 12V 235Ah Dual Purpose Lithium Battery; Pro-Guide 31M180-DP 12V 180Ah Dual Purpose Lithium Battery; Victron Lithium SuperPack NG 12.8V 200Ah Battery (ships by truck; freight quoted after you order). Set the one you want to 1. Check its manual for charge voltages and the main fuse it calls for: the class T holder here takes 225 to 400A fuses.

Not in the box

• The battery, unless you add one above
• Battery cable (cut it to your boat’s lengths)
• Fuses: class T, ANL, the DC-DC charger fuses, the shore charger fuse and the blade fuses, each sized to its cable and the maker’s manual
• Fuse holders for the DC-DC charger (input and output) and the shore charger
• Lugs with a 5/16 inch hole for the busbar studs and the Smart BatteryProtect’s M8 studs

Who it’s for

Boat owners moving a house bank to lithium who keep a lead-acid start battery, charge from the engine, plug in at the dock, and want a display at the helm. It’s the parts list for diagram 2 in our wiring guide, plus shore charging and load protection.

Good fit if: Your boat keeps a lead-acid start battery, charges the lithium house bank under way and at the dock, and you want a display at the helm.

Not the pick if: You only charge at the dock or by solar: get the small boat lithium upgrade kit, which leaves out the DC-DC charger.

How it goes together

You can do this. Here’s how.

1. Turn everything off and disconnect the battery, negative first.
2. Mount the class T holder as close to the battery positive as it fits. Battery positive to the fuse, fuse to the switch.
3. Switch to the positive busbar.
4. From the positive busbar, the ANL holder feeds the 12-circuit fuse block. Fuse it for that cable.
5. One circuit per blade fuse. Run the small negatives to the fuse block’s ground bar, then one wire from the ground bar to the negative busbar.
6. Battery negative goes to BATTERY MINUS on the shunt. Nothing else goes there.
7. Run one cable from SYSTEM MINUS on the shunt to the negative busbar. Every other negative lands on that busbar.
8. Connect the shunt’s thin fused red wire to the battery positive. That’s how it reads voltage.
9. DC-DC charger: start battery positive through a 60A fuse near that battery to the Orion-Tr input. Orion-Tr output through a 60A fuse to the positive busbar. Its negatives, and the start battery negative, go to the negative busbar on the system side of the shunt.
10. Shore charger: output to the positive busbar on its own fuse, negative to the negative busbar. Never on the battery posts.
11. Smart BatteryProtect: positive busbar to IN, the group of loads you want cut when the battery runs low to OUT. Loads only.
12. Fit the fuses, reconnect the battery (positive first, negative last), and set the BMV-712, Orion-Tr and charger to your battery in the VictronConnect app.

Read next: Boat lithium battery wiring diagram · Charging lithium from a boat alternator

Fit rules

• The Egis 3912 holder takes only 225 to 400A class T fuses. If your battery maker calls for 200A or less, you need a smaller holder (not in this kit).
• The alternator only sees the start battery. The Orion-Tr draws from the start side and charges the lithium bank at up to 30A, with a fuse near each source. (Guide 2)
• Shore and solar chargers land on the positive busbar on their own fuses, negatives on the negative busbar, never on the battery posts. (Guide 2)
• The Smart BatteryProtect goes between the positive busbar and a group of loads. Current only flows from IN to OUT, so don’t put a charger on it. (Victron Smart BatteryProtect manual)
• The Blue Smart IP22 charger has a Li-ion mode (14.2V absorption, float off, 13.5V storage) and will not charge Li-ion below 0°C battery temperature. Check that matches your battery. Its screw terminals take up to 6 AWG; Victron suggests 8 AWG under 1.5 m and a 40 to 70A fuse. (Victron Blue Smart IP22 manual)
• The Smart BatteryProtect 100A has M8 (5/16 inch) studs, so the 3/8 inch rings in this kit are not for it. (Victron Smart BatteryProtect datasheet)
• Victron gives a 60A fuse for a 12V input or output on the Orion-Tr 12/12-30. (Victron Orion-Tr Smart manual)
• The Orion-Tr has screw terminals for flexible stranded copper up to 16 mm2 (6 AWG), no lugs. Victron’s cable table for the 12/12-30 gives 10 mm2 for a 1 to 2 m run one way and 16 mm2 for 5 to 10 m. (Victron Orion-Tr Smart manual)
• XD switch: 225A continuous on one 2/0 cable, 300A on 4/0, 500A only with two 4/0 cables (Egis XD Series brochure).
• Victron busbar studs are 5/16 inch (8 mm). The 2/0 lugs in the kit are 3/8 inch, for the battery, shunt and switch.

Maker’s pages: Victron BMV-712 · Victron Orion-Tr Smart · Victron Blue Smart IP22 · Victron Smart BatteryProtect

Questions

Does this kit include a battery?

No. Use your own and follow its manual for charge settings and the main fuse.

Will the DC-DC charger hurt my alternator?

It limits what the house bank pulls to 30A, which is the point of it. How much your alternator can safely give is a question for its maker or a marine electrician.

I already have a shore charger with a lithium setting. Can I leave it out?

Yes. Set the Blue Smart charger to 0 before you add to cart. The kit page lists each part on its own.

I’d rather not have a display at the helm.

Swap the BMV-712 for the SmartShunt listed on this page. It does the same counting and shows on your phone.

Each part ships from the maker’s distributor, so a kit can arrive in more than one box.