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matwill avatar image
matwill asked

Orion Isolated vs Non Isolated

Hi,

I want to switch to a lithium house and lead starter with a Orion charger charging the house, currently I have the starter negative connected to the house negative - does this mean I don't need the isolated charger if I leave the set up like this?

I think my current set up is set up backwards with the alternator charging the house bank and solar charging the house bank then using the VSR to charge the starter.

Mathew

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1 Answer
kevgermany avatar image
kevgermany answered ·

Generalising, the house and starter should have a common negative. So good there.

No need for an isolated Orion, but it won't do any harm if you do use one for future proofing.

Yes alternator to charge starter, Orion/solar to charge house. But you'll lose the solar charging the starter. If the solar stays on the starter battery, house charge is limited by the Orion's current capacity. Check exactly what the VSR is doing before you start. You probably want to remove it. If you still need solar to keep the starter topped up, look at adding a DC:DC trickle charger. Usually starter doesn't have any load outside of starting, so you just need trickle to cover self discharge.

Not a good idea to charge lithium direct from alternator, so Orion needed. Guessing you had a lead house battery before.

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