[SteveSS]

A few random thoughts: Not all LEDs are compatible with dimmers. To be sure, look for LEDs that say "dimmable". A battery isolator plus a B2B is redundant. They do the same thing. These days, most go with a B2B (also called a DC-DC). More of a sure thing, especially with lithium. Minimum 40A B2B for 200Ah of battery. If you have the standard 180A alternator, a 40-50A B2B is max. The optional 220A alternator can handle 60A. The dual B2B-solar controller units are quite popular, but be aware they only do one of those things at a time. That's not bad, it's just a personal choice. I went with separate B2B (Renogy) and solar controller (Bogart TM-SC) units to have max control over both processes. There are lots options. The "best" one depends on your own needs and preferences.

 

[SteveSS]

Ok, will check the pucks later today....I 'think' they are dimmable, but I bought them a year+ago. I think I want to ditch the Renogy anyway since it's PWM, so putting solar on the pontoon roof where it will never get shading, the PWM makes more sense. So, then my option is to use the 150Amp Battery Doctor isolator and a new Mppt controller, or just by a combo unit like the Bogart? Kinda leaning towards the Bogart for the same reasons you mentioned:

Bogart Engineering Trimetric BMS

Trimetric BMS TM-2030 Battery Monitor, SC-2030 Solar Charger Shunt & accessories. Get more cycle life from your lead acid (flooded or AGM/Gel) batteries by automatically ensuring that they are fully charged every time. PWM MPPT RV Solar Charger

shop.bogartengineering.com

Kinda pricey though, so I am exploring other brands.
I do have the 180amp alternator.

The Bogart TM-SC is a battery monitor/solar controller combo. It doesn't do alternator charging. I paired my TM-SC combo with a Renogy DC-DC for alternator charging. The Bogart combo is super flexible, but it's old-school, pre-lithium. There are no "lithium" settings. You have to program it for lithium yourself, but that's not hard once you have the numbers. The Bogart SC is also PWM, but it has worked just fine for me. You sure can't beat its small footprint. A 40-50A DC-DC will do most of the work anyway. Solar output from my 4x100W panels rarely exceeds 20A. Way less if overcast, or under trees.

If you wanted to consider a solar charger/alternator charger combo, look at the Renogy DCC50S or the Kisae DMT. The Renogy can also keep your starter battery topped up with solar.

Regardless, you should also have a shunt-based battery monitor with state-of-charge (SOC%) capability. Monitoring voltage alone isn't that meaningful for lithium. Bogart, Victron, Renogy, etc, all sell them. Amazon even sells one that looks exactly like Renogy's.

 

[SteveSS]

The DC to DC chargers pull around 120% of their rated output so this is where the 50a max charger output recommendation comes from when you have the 180a alternator.

Renogy says 150% for theirs, although I've never seen that much (yet). 50A max for the 180A alternator (60A for the 220) is based on Renogy's guidelines, but that's probably a safe, conservative guideline for most all DC-DCs.

 

[SteveSS]

Much better than stiffy romex.

Yes, romex (house wire) is stiff and hard to work with. Some folks do wire vans with it, but road vibration has also been known to fatigue and crack its large stiff wires. Stranded wire is way more flexible, easier to work with, and resistant to vibration fatigue. Worth the extra expense, I think.

 

[SteveSS]

Back to a couple earlier questions:
1) With lithium, you don't need a temperature probe for any type of charger, Kisae or otherwise. They are only used with lead-acid batteries. Once you set the Kisae to lithium, it would likely ignore it anyway.

2) I don't believe any plain inverter is capable of managing shorepower (bonding, transfer switching, etc) all by itself. That takes an inverter-charger, or a separate transfer switch. As I explained earlier, if you want simple and cheap, you can wire a totally separate shorepower circuit, and you won't need to worry about that other stuff. A separate circuit is essentially just an extension cord plugged into, and grounded through, an outdoor outlet. It doesn't share wiring, receptacles, or breaker box with inverter-powered circuits.

On the other hand, if you also want the option to charge your house batteries off shorepower, and like the elegance of a single set of AC circuits that can be powered by either inverter or shorepower (like big RVs), then an inverter-charger is the way to go. But it's more expensive. I'm not rooting for either one. I went straight to an inverter-charger as a newbie, but given a do-over, I would consider the simpler option, too.

 

[SteveSS]

OK, you guys are killing me. The Kisae inverter is model # IC122055. Looking up the specs, ....

IC122055 – Kisae Technology Inc

I see this:
Features include:

• True sinewave output to run motor loads and sensitive electronics without hum or buzz.
• Multi-stage charger to charge your deep-cycle batteries quickly and efficiently to manufacturer’s recommendations.
• Integrated transfer switch to switch seamlessly from shore power to battery power.
• Ideal for running appliances & consumer electronics the way they were designed to be.

Soooo, now I am vacillating on using it to its full potential, or by-passing some neat features.........{sigh}

Sorry, my bad. Forget everything I said. I didn't realize your inverter is actually an inverter-charger. In that case, by all means use it to its full potential! Did it come with wiring instructions, including recommended wire gauges and fuse sizes?

 

[SteveSS]

Yes, I printed the manual off the 'net. According to their website, it does have lithium capability, but there is no specific charging parameter for it. Since it won't get used a lot, I really think the "flooded" parameters or "Fixed" will be fine, Besides, I have the Kisae dc2dc alternator and solar charging for 80% of charging needs. Some excerpts :

For IC122055, select a fuse or circuit breaker with a minimum of 300 Adc

DC Input and Grounding Cable: • Use of low resistance wire is required for all the DC connections between the unit and the battery bank.
• For IC122055, use minimum #2/0 AWG wire with maximum cable length of 5 feet. Important: The unit is grounded through the ground stud of the unit located near the DC Input terminal.
• For the grounding cable connected between the unit’s chassis and the earth ground, use a matching cable size as used on the DC Input Cable section.

Battery Type and Voltage Setting (Bulk/Absorption/Float)
FLo Flooded: 14.4V / 14.4V / 13.5V
GEL GEL: 14.2V / 14.2V / 13.8V
AG AGM: 14.3V / 14.3V / 13.4V
Fi Fixed: 13.5 Vdc fixed voltage

Looks good. Specs, wiring (etc) look very similar to my 2000W inverter-charger (IC). Mine specs a
300A Class-T fuse (Bussmann JJN-300, BlueSea 5119). It's a big fat expensive sucker. But my IC can also draw a max of 270A (12VDC).

The best voltage settings will depend on what your batteries call for. If like most lithium, their full-charge target is 14.6V, then your IC's "Flooded" setting comes closest. Lithium doesn't need to be floated, so you might lower the 13.5V to more like 13.2V, if you can. Here's a good intro to lithium care and feeding.

 

[SteveSS]

I used the same panel and the biggest wire you can get in the DC lug is a 6awg or so. I fed ours with 60a but most RV manufacturers run an unfused THHN wire from the battery right to the lug and they almost never burn to the ground! The manual just kind of points you to the lug and lets you call your own shots.

I have the same panel. I max'd out the lug with 6AWG. That size wire should have a 60-70A fuse, which then acts as the panel's main DC-fuse. Or, no fuse at all 🚐🔥😜

Just like at home, your individual AC circuit breakers can total more than your panel's main breaker, 30A in this case. Same goes for individual DC fuses and main DC fuse, 60-70A in this case. The main breaker and main fuse protect the two systems, AC and DC, from cumulative overages. I have 3 15A AC breakers/circuits connected to my 30A main breaker. I'm careful not to max out all 3 circuits at once, although I'd have a hard time doing that with the appliances I carry.