Application
RV, Campervan and Marine
In a vehicle or a boat, the load is intermittent and often inductive, the alternator is a second charging source, and the install is usually inside a confined space that nobody wants to open twice.
This page is not finished
The engineering constraints below are written, but this page has not yet been reviewed by a technician and contains no product-specific recommendations.
Blocked by: Technical review (docs/evidence/) — see ACCEPTANCE A-09
We publish this page in its incomplete state rather than filling it with plausible-looking detail. If you need an answer now, ask us directly.
What this application demands
Each line is a constraint that can rule out a board on its own. They are listed in the order they usually eliminate options, and each one has to be checked against the manufacturer's document for the specific model.
Charge sources are multiple and unequal
Solar, alternator, shore power and DC-DC chargers may all be present. The BMS must tolerate concurrent charge paths, and charge current limits must be configurable per source rather than globally.
Peak loads are short and large
Inverter start-up, winches and thrusters draw far above the continuous rating for a fraction of a second. The peak current figure is only meaningful together with its duration.
Ambient temperature is not room temperature
Engine bays and lockers run hot; unheated spaces run cold. Continuous current derates with temperature, and charge must be inhibited below the cell manufacturer's low-temperature limit.
Low-voltage disconnect interacts with other systems
Cutting the pack affects lighting, refrigeration and navigation equipment. Whether the disconnect is on the load side and how recovery behaves matters as much as the threshold itself.
Where selection goes wrong here
- Sizing from the inverter's rated output without allowing for start-up surge.
- Assuming a common-port board can limit charge and discharge independently.
- Placing the board where condensation forms — conformal coating is a question to ask, not to assume.
What to send for a fit check
Four items. With all four, one reply is usually enough to say whether a given board works — or which constraint rules it out.
- Cell chemistry
- LiFePO4, LTO or Li-ion — the series range differs between them.
- Series count
- How many cells in series, or the nominal pack voltage.
- Continuous load
- What the pack powers, and its rated wattage or current.
- The other end
- Inverter, charger or motor — the protocol has to match on both sides.
The same board, four different constraints
Every application page describes what the environment demands. None of them names a model — that decision belongs on the product page, with a source attached.
- Off-grid Solar / Backup
A stationary system trades mobility for scale: higher series counts, larger continuous currents, and a duty cycle that is close to continuous. The failure mode that matters is thermal, not mechanical.
- Electric Mobility
Traction loads are the harshest case for current ratings: high peak, fast repetition, and vibration that works loose any connection that was not mechanically secured.
- Battery Repair / PACK
A workshop needs different things from a retail buyer: documentation at the board revision level, repeatable configuration, and a way to test a repair without risking a customer's pack.