Boats
Small boat power systems are very similar to RVs. The panels are more challenging to mount, but the kits are very similar.
1. Select a battery bank: The battery bank is the heart of the system. We recommend Lifeblue lithium batteries because of their built-in Bluetooth monitoring, high quality, and ability to expand over time. Depending on the size of your boat’s battery compartment, you may only be able to fit one or two batteries.
We sell LifeBlue batteries individually, or as a base kit, which includes one battery, a Victron BMV-712 battery monitor, cable, lugs, and heat shrink, plus expansion kits, which include one battery and parallel cables. For two batteries, select one base kit and one expansion kit.
If you plan on running an inverter, you will want 100Ah of LifeBlue battery capacity per 1000W of inverter capacity.
LifeBlue batteries come in three size configurations, choose what will fit best for your application.
100Ah: H 9.4" x W 12.5" x D 6.5" 28lbs
200Ah: H 10.8" x W 20" x D 6.9" 57lbs
300Ah: H 9.5" x W 20.25" x D 11" 83lbs
Do not let your lithium batteries get below -10° F. Lithium batteries will not charge below 32° F.
Estimated Installation Labor
200Ah LifeBlue Lithium System with BMV-712
10 hours / $1,450
LifeBlue lithium batteries have integrated controls to automatically protect against overcharging, overly discharging, and frozen charging. This integration makes installation much easier for DIY projects. LifeBlue offers the most comprehensive Bluetooth monitoring showing status, temperature, voltage, current, cycle life, battery health, Faults and state of charge.
This is a complete LifeBlue lithium RV battery base kit with a Victron BMV-712 Bluetooth battery monitor. The monitor is included to provide cumulative battery bank data, compatible with Victron VRM monitoring. When expanding the battery bank, do not mix battery models and limit the battery bank to four batteries.
This kit is designed to be an add-on to an existing LifeBlue battery system.
2. Alternator Charging: In some applications, it may be possible to get you a charge to the house battery bank from the alternator.
Estimated Installation Labor
DC/DC Charger
4 hours / $580
Enable DC/DC charging from your alternator to a secondary Lithium, AGM or Flooded battery bank. This kit is ideal for van conversions and skoolies with older alternators or lithium batteries with input current limits under 100A.
Ideal for: Vans, skoolies, motorhomes
*Please note that cables length needs may vary by application. Please email info@amsolar.com if you would like to customize the cable lengths to better suit your needs.
3. Design a solar charging system: Add a solar charging system that will fit on your roof. As a rough rule of thumb, every 100W of solar will produce about 25Ah (or 300Wh) of charge per day.
For a complete explanation of everything you would want to know about how to design a solar charging system, check out our Solar Charger Design Guide.
These solar charging kits use the AM Solar combiner box and give you everything you need to create a solar charging system.
The Victron SmartSolar MPPT charge controllers are compatible with any battery type, can work on 12V or 24V battery systems, and communicate status via Bluetooth.
Estimated Installation Labor
2x 100W on 20A Controller
11 hours / $1,595
Communicates battery voltage and solar charge rate to a smart phone or tablet via Bluetooth, Expandable up to 300W, Advanced MPPT charge controller delivers approximately 20% more energy than PWM, Combiner box covers roof penetration and allows for easy upgrades, Panel(s) can be tilted
Communicates battery voltage and solar charge rate to a smartphone or tablet via Bluetooth, Expandable up to 450W, Advanced MPPT charge controller delivers approximately 20% more energy than PWM, Combiner box covers roof penetration and allows for easy upgrades.
Communicates battery voltage and solar charge rate to a smartphone or tablet via Bluetooth, Expandable up to 700W, Advanced MPPT charge controller delivers approximately 20% more energy than PWM, Combiner box covers roof penetration and allows for easy upgrades, Panel(s) can be tilted
Add solar panel kits ending in Cable and get one tube of Dicor for every three panels.
4. Select an Inverter/Charger System: The Victron Multiplus inverter/chargers combine an inverter and a charger in one unit. They also offer PowerAssist, which means that they can combine shore power with battery power when necessary.
For a Boat, you will want kit variants that include the phrase “Empty Shell”.
The 3000VA inverter/charger is only slightly more expensive than the 2000VA and shaped differently. The 3000VA inverter/charger gives you the option of running an air conditioner or running multiple appliances at the same time, like a coffee pot and a microwave. Installation time is the same for both inverters.
In order to fully support a 2000W inverter, you will need a battery bank that can handle 200A of current outflow or two LifeBlue batteries. A 2000W, or 3000W inverter will work on a smaller battery bank, but will only work like a 1000W inverter if only one battery is used.
Estimated Installation Labor
Multiplus Inverter (RV Upgrade Kit)
17 hours / $2,465
The MultiPlus is a powerful true sine wave inverter, a sophisticated battery charger that features adaptive charge technology and a high-speed AC transfer switch in a single enclosure. Rated at 2000VA.
Note: Some Keurig coffee makers are known to be incompatible with inverters. In some cases, this will just result in a loud buzzing noise while operating, and in other cases, it will result in inverter overload and failure to operate. This doesn't mean your inverter will be damaged or that trying to use your coffee maker is dangerous; however, AM Solar cannot support compatibility issues resulting from a Keurig coffee maker. We recommend doing some research and purchasing a different coffee maker if you find yours to be incompatible with your inverter system.
Please note there is currently a nation-wide shortage of Duplex AC breakers (primarily 15/20). Our kits are designed to include these, but we may need to make substitutions due to stock level. Please email info@amsolar.com if you have any questions about this.
Steady State: 1600W
Surge: 4000W
Voltage Output: 120V AC
Voltage Input: 9.5-17V
No Load Draw: 3-9W
Waveform: Pure Sine
Frequency: 60hzCharger: 80A
Passthrough: 50A
Efficiency: 92%
Dimensions: H 19.70" x W 9.21" x D 5.75"
Extra: PowerAssist
The MultiPlus is a powerful true sine wave inverter, a sophisticated battery charger that features adaptive charge technology and a high-speed AC transfer switch in a single compact enclosure. Rated at 3000VA.
Note: Some Keurig coffee makers are known to be incompatible with inverters. In some cases, this will just result in a loud buzzing noise while operating, and in other cases, it will result in inverter overload and failure to operate. This doesn't mean your inverter will be damaged or that trying to use your coffee maker is dangerous; however, AM Solar cannot support compatibility issues resulting from a Keurig coffee maker. We recommend doing some research and purchasing a different coffee maker if you find yours to be incompatible with your inverter system.
If you have a 50A coach, we recommend looking into our MultiPlus-II 12/3000/2x 120V VE.Bus Inverter/Charger kits for 50A coaches.
Please note there is currently a nation-wide shortage of Duplex AC breakers (primarily 15/20). Our kits are designed to include these, but we may need to make substitutions due to stock level. Please email info@amsolar.com if you have any questions about this.
Steady State: 2400W
Surge: 6000W
Voltage Output: 120V AC
Voltage Input: 9.5-17V
No Load Draw: 8-20W
Waveform: Pure Sine
Frequency: 60hz
Charger: 120A
Passthrough: 50A
Efficiency: 93%
Dimensions: H 14.3" x W 10.2" x D 8.6"
Extra: PowerAssist
Additional inverter and charger options:
5. Optional components and tools: You may consider including these items in your purchase.
Tools - Make sure you have something equivalent to everything on the top row of this page.
Tech Support - Each kit comes with a set amount of free tech support, if you feel you may exceed that, you can purchase more here.