Can the Orion-TR Smart 12/12-30 be used to charge a LiFePO4 STARTING battery?

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twalters63 asked Oct 31, '21

Can the Orion-TR Smart 12/12-30 be used to charge a LiFePO4 STARTING battery?

I have started a project to replace my boat batteries with only LiFePO4 batteries. Details:

Mercruiser 7.4 Engine with Mando Alt. = 55 amps

Bank 1: LiFePO4 70 AH 900 CCA Starting Battery.

Bank 2: LiFePO4 200 AH deep cycle house battery.

I purchased the Orion-TR Smart 12/12-30 thinking that I could use it to charge bank 1 while the engine is running. When bank 1 is charged, switch to bank 2 to charge.

I don't see an example in the manual showing how to use the Orion without connecting it directly to a lead acid type starting battery. Can the input side of the Orion-TR Smart 12/12-30 be supplied directly from the alternator? If not, does Victron make such a device?

I have 120 VAC LiFePO4 chargers to use when I am on shore power, also.

Lithium Battery

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Answer 1 · 2021-11-01T19:52:43Z

Mike Dorsett answered · Nov 01, 2021 at 07:52 PM

Best bet is to use the alternator to charge the house bank, then to use the Orion to float charge the starter battery. You may want to interrupt the charger when actually cranking the engine. Provided the battery voltage set points are programed into the charger, there should be no issues charging the LiFePO4 battery.

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twalters63 commented · Nov 01, 2021 at 10:54 PM

The concern is for damaging the alternator and/or the LiFePO4 battery as seen in this Victron video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgoIocPgOug

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Answer 2 · 2021-11-01T20:58:15Z

kevgermany answered · Nov 01, 2021 at 08:58 PM

Seems a bit overcomplicated to me. Why not simply feed the Orion from the starter battery? You can either let it switch automatically or install a separate on off switch. I'd hazard a guess that the starter battery is shown as lead acid in the victron docs because few people have lithium starters so far.

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twalters63 commented · Nov 01, 2021 at 11:03 PM

I found 2 voltage regulator solutions that will work as both of them have LiFePO4 charging profiles and both are even customizable:

Balmar MC-618 or the Wakespeed WS500

I decided on the Balmar MC-618 due to possible future alternator upgrade through them.

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