Routing the Cable to install a EcoFlow 800w Alternator Charger

[Corradobrit]

Sorry for the confusion here, I switched off at fuse box at the rear of the van inside the cabinet (Cali Ocean) only,

I'm pretty sure that toggle circuit breaker in the rear cabinet only cuts power from the EHU supply. The leisure batteries will still be powering the electronics.

 

[Euro Traveller]

I'm pretty sure that toggle circuit breaker in the rear cabinet only cuts power from the EHU supply. The leisure batteries will still be powering the electronics.

 

[Euro Traveller]

Yep sounds about right, I thought it was a good idea at the time as I’ve said novice but keen however the installation seems to have worked ok

 

[Corradobrit]

Yep sounds about right, I thought it was a good idea at the time as I’ve said novice but keen however the installation seems to have worked ok

Don't worry I also made the same mistake thinking it was a master power breaker for the internal electronics.

 

[myvanrodney]

Thanks everyone for the awesome responses, having removed passenger seat (2 bolts & 2 nuts) balanced seat at an angle, I have connected the EAC live to the relay, earthed -black cable to closest bolt at the base of the seat/chassis to the right of the relay, tested all good after a few problem with the EAC and EcoFlow Battery, both required firmware updating to current version, then all worked perfectly

This is my plan too. So easy to access (originally planned to tap off the rear leisure battery, but the cabinet work is so good, cable routing looked dire).

 

[Corradobrit]

This is my plan too. So easy to access (originally planned to tap off the rear leisure battery, but the cabinet work is so good, cable routing looked dire).

The main advantage is that you'll be pulling full amperage off the alternator without the risk of the battery charging management system throttling output, which happens at the leisure battery terminals.

 

[jaydisc]

Question: Instead of connecting the EAC to the Leisure side of the split charge relay, what about connecting it directly to the Leisure AGM battery terminals? I have a Beach (single leisure battery under seat), and it is my intention to do this. I can set the EAC to only work if voltage > 13V (meaning the car must be running and the alternator is charing the leisure). And then, if I've parked up for a couple of days, and want to boost my Leisure AGM back up, turn on Reverse Charge feature on the EAC, and grab some power from the EcoFlow Delta back into the Leisure AGM?

 

[Kayleigh]

Question: Instead of connecting the EAC to the Leisure side of the split charge relay, what about connecting it directly to the Leisure AGM battery terminals? I have a Beach (single leisure battery under seat), and it is my intention to do this. I can set the EAC to only work if voltage > 13V (meaning the car must be running and the alternator is charing the leisure). And then, if I've parked up for a couple of days, and want to boost my Leisure AGM back up, turn on Reverse Charge feature on the EAC, and grab some power from the EcoFlow Delta back into the Leisure AGM?

This is how I am currently using the EAC. The reasoning behind this was to be able to use all the existing sockets for my 12v electrical needs, while using the Delta 2 for anything 240v and provide a means to charge the leisure battery while parked up. Yes, it does work but I would say the downside is that you need to make sure the leisure battery is well charged before charging the Delta 2. The Delta 2 also will not charge as quickly compared to the configuration described in this thread.

 

[jaydisc]

This is how I am currently using the EAC. The reasoning behind this was to be able to use all the existing sockets for my 12v electrical needs, while using the Delta 2 for anything 240v and provide a means to charge the leisure battery while parked up. Yes, it does work but I would say the downside is that you need to make sure the leisure battery is well charged before charging the Delta 2. The Delta 2 also will not charge as quickly compared to the configuration described in this thread.

Awesome. Glad to confirm that's a working strategy. Did you connect to the leisure battery in the front or the back? If in the front, do you have an answer to this question by chance?

Why do you need to make sure leisure is well charged? Is that because it'll steal the alternator juice and charge itself before the EAC/EcoFlow? I've been wondering how the power flow is negotiated between the two competing needs.

And you don't get the full 800W to the EAC? That was kind of expected. Have you set a maximum, or is nature defining it?

 

[jaydisc]

@Euro Traveller How are you getting on tith this?
I am about to do the same , Did you leave the alternator under the passenger seat with the battery ?
Where do you have you ecoflow ? I want mine in the boot so I can hook it up to the EHU

Why not connect it up via the rear leisure battery (assuming you have), conveniently already in that area?

 

[myvanrodney]

I sent mine back. I was not able to get the full 800W charge consistently. Might be a solution but I abandoned my project. I connected it to the engine side of the isolator relay to ensure I had access to the full 150A of the alternator. However to get this I assumed the van needed to be in max charge mode. Problem was, when in max charge mode the leisure batteries take some of the current and the alternator also seems to be modulating the charge current/voltage. Outcome was, when watching the actual charge current being drawn by the ecoflow charger it only ever seemed to get to 600W. Maybe I was misreading the behaviour, but I felt too many things trying to take control and be ‘intelligent’ with the power systems that the installation was a bit too ‘retrofit’ for me and my brand new van.

Just some experiences for those persevering.

 

[Kayleigh]

Awesome. Glad to confirm that's a working strategy. Did you connect to the leisure battery in the front or the back? If in the front, do you have an answer to this question by chance?

Why do you need to make sure leisure is well charged? Is that because it'll steal the alternator juice and charge itself before the EAC/EcoFlow? I've been wondering how the power flow is negotiated between the two competing needs.

And you don't get the full 800W to the EAC? That was kind of expected. Have you set a maximum, or is nature defining it?

Sorry I hadn’t seen your response.

There is only one leisure battery in a Beach so it’s connected under the passenger seat. I wired it to one of the other connectors rather than the main terminal. I would need to check which one, but mine is a T6, so will be different to your photo.

Regarding my comment about the leisure battery needing to be well charged.. I set the EAC to charge over 13v only. If the leisure battery does not have a good charge, even with the engine running it will not hit 13v and so the EAC will not kick in. At least that is the case in my T6. That’s the reason for my comment.

Yes, I regularly see the full charge of 800W.

 

[jaydisc]

Sorry I hadn’t seen your response.

There is only one leisure battery in a Beach so it’s connected under the passenger seat. I wired it to one of the other connectors rather than the main terminal. I would need to check which one, but mine is a T6, so will be different to your photo.

Regarding my comment about the leisure battery needing to be well charged.. I set the EAC to charge over 13v only. If the leisure battery does not have a good charge, even with the engine running it will not hit 13v and so the EAC will not kick in. At least that is the case in my T6. That’s the reason for my comment.

Yes, I regularly see the full charge of 800W.

Whoops. I missed that you had a Beach. I ended up connecting mine to the an open connector behind a 100 fuse on the positive bus bar, also under the passenger seat.

Like you, I have it set to the default 13V, and it's been working PERFECTLY. Expectations exceeded! When the smart alternator rolls back the current (if the leisure battery is already topped up), I can just invoke Max. Charge (a T6.1 feature, but I think there are tricks to impose this on a T6?) and the alternator goes back to pushing 14.4+ volts, and charges the EF in a jiffy. HOWEVER, I really haven't needed to do that at all. It's all just self-managed perfectly. I also have been getting the full 800W (in both directions!), but have scaled it back to 400W for day-to-day, and can crank it up if/when needed. I figure the car has a built in 300W inverter, so pulling 400W from the EcoFlow (while not using the inverter) should be keeping the alternator load within VW expectations.

Adding this has also added an amazingly fast and useful electricity hookup to my Beach. When camping this weekend, I plugged in the EF Delta to AC, and set the Alternator Charger to Reverse Charge, and both the EF Delta and Leisure AGM were topped up in just a bit over an hour (the Delta was down to 20%, and the AGM ~ 50% _usable_)

 

[myvanrodney]

Whoops. I missed that you had a Beach. I ended up connecting mine to the an open connector behind a 100 fuse on the positive bus bar, also under the passenger seat.

Like you, I have it set to the default 13V, and it's been working PERFECTLY. Expectations exceeded! When the smart alternator rolls back the current (if the leisure battery is already topped up), I can just invoke Max. Charge (a T6.1 feature, but I think there are tricks to impose this on a T6?) and the alternator goes back to pushing 14.4+ volts, and charges the EF in a jiffy. HOWEVER, I really haven't needed to do that at all. It's all just self-managed perfectly. I also have been getting the full 800W (in both directions!), but have scaled it back to 400W for day-to-day, and can crank it up if/when needed. I figure the car has a built in 300W inverter, so pulling 400W from the EcoFlow (while not using the inverter) should be keeping the alternator load within VW expectations.

Adding this has also added an amazingly fast and useful electricity hookup to my Beach. When camping this weekend, I plugged in the EF Delta to AC, and set the Alternator Charger to Reverse Charge, and both the EF Delta and Leisure AGM were topped up in just a bit over an hour (the Delta was down to 20%, and the AGM ~ 50% _usable_)

brilliant. Sounds ideal.

 

[Kayleigh]

Whoops. I missed that you had a Beach. I ended up connecting mine to the an open connector behind a 100 fuse on the positive bus bar, also under the passenger seat.

Like you, I have it set to the default 13V, and it's been working PERFECTLY. Expectations exceeded! When the smart alternator rolls back the current (if the leisure battery is already topped up), I can just invoke Max. Charge (a T6.1 feature, but I think there are tricks to impose this on a T6?) and the alternator goes back to pushing 14.4+ volts, and charges the EF in a jiffy. HOWEVER, I really haven't needed to do that at all. It's all just self-managed perfectly. I also have been getting the full 800W (in both directions!), but have scaled it back to 400W for day-to-day, and can crank it up if/when needed. I figure the car has a built in 300W inverter, so pulling 400W from the EcoFlow (while not using the inverter) should be keeping the alternator load within VW expectations.

Adding this has also added an amazingly fast and useful electricity hookup to my Beach. When camping this weekend, I plugged in the EF Delta to AC, and set the Alternator Charger to Reverse Charge, and both the EF Delta and Leisure AGM were topped up in just a bit over an hour (the Delta was down to 20%, and the AGM ~ 50% _usable_)

Sounds like you have it set up very nicely.
Using the max charge feature on the T6.1 is definitely very handy. I’m not sure how to trigger it in a T6 Beach or even if it is possible. Maybe I can but haven’t monitored the voltage closely enough.

Where have you located the alternator charger and Delta 2 in your California?

 

[WelshGas]

Sounds like you have it set up very nicely.
Using the max charge feature on the T6.1 is definitely very handy. I’m not sure how to trigger it in a T6 Beach or even if it is possible. Maybe I can but haven’t monitored the voltage closely enough.

Where have you located the alternator charger and Delta 2 in your California?

Switch on a heated seat to Low.
Headlights On.
AirCon on High Fan.
All these will switch alternator to high output.

 

[Kayleigh]

Switch on a heated seat to Low.
Headlights On.
AirCon on High Fan.
All these will switch alternator to high output.

Thanks WG, I’ll give that a go. Do you know what voltage would I expect to see on my leisure battery monitor on high alternator output with a T6 Beach?

 

[WelshGas]

Thanks WG, I’ll give that a go. Do you know what voltage would I expect to see on my leisure battery monitor on high alternator output with a T6 Beach?

About 14.4v

 

[Corradobrit]

Can any one advise where I should connect the alternator connection please?

Yes, pics would be useful. Where do you attach the negative?

 

[WelshGas]

Yes, pics would be useful. Where do you attach the negative?

To a Chassis ground/earth connection.

 

[Twunt]

I will try again, I am guessing the ecoflow live connection attaches to the right terminal on this pic?
Any input would be appreciated

 

[jaydisc]

It depends which battery you want the EcoFlow to reverse charge. If you want it to reverse charge the Starter Battery, as OP did, someone else will have to respond, as I'm not sure.

If you want it to reverse charge the leisure battery(ies), then you have to consider:

1. Do you have more than one leisure battery (you should update your profile with your Van specs)?
2. Where do you want to put the Alt. Charger and Delta?

I have a Beach, so I only have the one leisure battery under the passenger seat. I attached the positive to the vacant, circled area, kindly already protected with a 100 midi fuse (but I most definitely still used the EcoFlow 80A fuse as instructed):



I then attached the ground to the front right bolt securing the seat to the floor/chassis. Sorry, I don't have a pic of that.

 

[Twunt]

Thanks @jaydisc

I have a Ocean T6.1 with 2 leisure batteries, ideally I would like it to reverse charge the main starter battery as I have solar on the leisure.
I have Delta in the boot so I can use it to plug into the electric hook up when I am working on laptop etc..
I am starting to wonder if its easier to forget about the reverse charge and just put it on the rear leisure battery to save the routing of the cables to the boot area

 

[Corradobrit]

I'm also not prioritising the reverse charging. I just want to maximise 800W into the EF Delta 2 when the engine is running.

 

[Kayleigh]

I’m finding the ability to reverse charge my Beach leisure battery really handy. I can still use the existing 12v sockets but have so much more battery capacity.