Terravan Solar

Vanimal · 08-15-2023, 08:55 AM

Has anyone heard of or installed a Terravan power system?https://terravansolar.com/
I am curious and looking for input. It seems to be a great option for plug n play. They also have a enhanced wheel well model with the Tesla type/style battery set up To be trully plug n play. I know it's pricey but I am considering again "real estate" in the van.

kbeefy · 08-15-2023, 09:08 AM

The all-in-one kits are not usually that good at any one thing, and very cost prohibitive compared to a 'roll your own' solution. I'm still reading about the terra products, but it seems very expensive.

N147JK · 08-15-2023, 09:11 AM

Tempting but (playing devil's advocate here) what to do when one of the 4 internal components fails? Can one replace or repair just part of what's in "the box"?

kbeefy · 08-15-2023, 09:23 AM

It is nice that it's self contained. The Eclipse shows 12/24v, but the Tetra only show 12v. I can't find voltage specs on either, I wonder if they are running 24v? The add-on battery shows 12v, so I'm assuming thats what they all are.

Scalf77 · 08-15-2023, 07:50 PM

The Eclipse is 24V battery, the Tetra is 12V. They do have what one could considered specs, on each product page, although not very detailed. And the Eclipse looks like the manual and specification sheet are the same.

Nothing jumps out at me while reading the limited information. They don't go into any detailed information on the inverter/charge or solar/controller. The Tetra solar will most likely limit your panel size capability (No panels in series). The Eclipse is slightly better being that it's for 24 volt, so supports larger panels, but still not a lot of in series capability.

The alternator solution is considered a smart isolator solution, This would most likely be similar to the LI-BIM solution.

This would be on the top end of that segment. Tiny Watts Power Solutions. These probably have large battery banks, but are also at the higher end of the spectrum. They are all made for the basic Sprinter, Transit, Promaster Garage Bed setup. They do use mostly Victron Power Products, so no problems if something were to break down the road.

Vanimal · 08-16-2023, 09:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kbeefy

It is nice that it's self contained. The Eclipse shows 12/24v, but the Tetra only show 12v. I can't find voltage specs on either, I wonder if they are running 24v? The add-on battery shows 12v, so I'm assuming thats what they all are.

The 24v appears to have only one leg output. I assume it could be used for a/c or floor heat or both, not simultaneously. I am going to bite the bullet on this and get more info on internal parts replacement capabilities. I am looking for minimal space consumption. Quite honestly I feel any thing is repairable/replaceable internally. They build the unit themselves parts should be available and consumables replaceable.The unit alows 1400 solar input, 1000 alternator, my concern is 1000 shore input or is this standard? They do offer 8.7kwh from 4.325kwh as an upgrade!

kbeefy · 08-16-2023, 09:46 AM

100A @ 12v is a common Lithium max charge value, so losses not-withstanding, 1000w of 110v = 71A @ 14v. My stand alone lithium charger is 75A, so about the same.

If they are using a 24v battery (which I assume they are, probably to run the onboard inverter) they must have some sort of on-board step down transformer for the 12v output. That would likely have some parasitic draw and consumption losses. Something to think about.

I'm not to good with watts, I guess their 4.325kWh is something close to a 24v bank built with 200aH cells (or 100aH cells in series). Which would be 400aH on 12v, or similar to what they use in the tetra.

Scalf77 · 08-16-2023, 01:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vanimal

The 24v appears to have only one leg output. I assume it could be used for a/c or floor heat or both, not simultaneously. I am going to bite the bullet on this and get more info on internal parts replacement capabilities. I am looking for minimal space consumption. Quite honestly I feel any thing is repairable/replaceable internally. They build the unit themselves parts should be available and consumables replaceable. The unit allows 1400 solar input, 1000 alternator, my concern is 1000 shore input or is this standard? They do offer 8.7kwh from 4.325kwh as an upgrade!

There is nothing inherently I see in their published data that would make me run away from it. The 24 Volt about is 100 amp, so you can have any 24 volt loads as long as they don't exceed 100 amps. But Yes, a 24 volt AC would be a common thing to attach. The 12 volt does have to run through a step down converter, again that would be common on 24 volt system.

The charger is 40 amps, this would be a little low for a shore charger. Many 3000 watt 24 volt inverter/chargers are closer to 70 amp. The standard battery is 170Ah at 25.6Volts, so about 4+ hours from empty to full.

I would ask what their smart isolator alternator charger is. For 12 to 24 it must be more like a DC to DC charger (not what I would consider a smart isolator to be). It has a Max charging of 45 amps, I expect that means it is settable to something smaller (or you will more alternator)

I would also inquirer about the battery, what BMS they are using, what data is available to the user.

I honestly would have a hard time putting something together off the shelve at this price point. Looking forward to how this goes?

Vanimal · 08-16-2023, 02:13 PM

I will ask on the BMS and smart isolator charger. I did confirm that it is 640 ah.

Scalf77 · 08-16-2023, 08:09 PM

So the Amp hour designation can be difficult when we start talking about different voltage systems. This is generally why they like to specify them Watt Hours as it is how we can compare the two different systems. So being that the Eclipse is listed as 24 Volt system (25.6V) and comes in 4.325 kWh. The extended is listed as 8.7kWh. In amp hours these would be listed as 4325/25.6 = 168.95 or rounded up 170Ah @ 25.6V , for the extended it would 8700/25.6 = 339.84 or rounded up 340Ah @ 25.6 volts. If you wanted to compare that to a 12 volt system using (12.8) we would get 4325/12.8 or 337.89 or 338 Ah @ 12.8 or 8700/12.8 = 679.68 or 680 Ah a 12.8 volts. Being that it is a 24 volt system listing the amp hours in that system would be preferred such as 340Ah. I generally like to include the @25.6 volts.