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washdcguy asked

Battery Charger for 4 x 100Ah Lithium 12v in Parallel House Batteries on 45 foot Boat

On a 45 foot Sail Boat we have upgraded to 4 x 100Ah Lithium 12v batteries in parallel for House Domestic Services. I have researched your site and feel 2 x Smart IP-22 30A (1output) Chargers are best selection given protected space down below. Space is limited in Battery Locker below Aft Cabin Bunk so the small size of the IP-22 and redundancy of 2 chargers seems a good choice. I already have a Victron 12v 30/30 DC/DC charger installed to charger Batteries from Engine Alternator. How do I connect the 2 x IP-22 in Parallel to each other and to the Single Bank of 4 Lithium Batteries. I am also going to purchase the BMV-712 Monitor and Shunt to monitor Battery condition.

battery chargingLithium Battery
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Sarah answered ·

The answer will depend partly on if you have 'drop in' lithium batteries or externally managed BMS batteries. Assuming you have 'drop in' batteries you can use VE.Smart network over bluetooth to synchronise the charge between the two IP-22 chargers. https://www.victronenergy.com/media/pg/VE.Smart_Networking/en/index-en.html If you have managed batteries you will need to look to the BMS system for synchronised charging options.

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washdcguy answered ·

I have 4 Expert Power EP12100 Lithium, they each have their own built in BMS that protects batteries from overcharge, deep discharge, overloading, overheating, short circuit, and excessive low self-discharge rate, but there is no external BMS, so guess this is called “drop in”. So the two Smart IP-22 chargers and the BMV 712, will see each other on Bluetooth App and synchronize, there is no additional wiring? Also The 12v + and - outputs from each Charger just go directly to the 12v House + and - Bus right?

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Sarah answered ·

Yes the batteries are often referred to as 'Drop in' batteries as you can use them to replace existing batteries without having to do the full BMS install. The bluetooth VE.Smart network will transmit battery voltage and temperature from the BMV-712 to the IP22 chargers as well as the synchronisation between the two chargers - no additional wiring required. The charger hooks up to the battery as you described - specific instructions are in the manual. If you haven't done so already download the VictronConnect App and have a look at the 'demo' products available in the demo mode. It won't able to show the syncronisation between IP22 but will give you a good idea of the other functionality. Please note that while the DC/DC charger that you have already installed has bluethooth it does not support VE.Smart.

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washdcguy answered ·

Awesome, great advice, I also purchased Temp sensor for the BMV 712, connect to + terminal on any of the 4 Batteries, it does not matter which one? Thanks for your help, yes I saw the Smart DC/DC Charger is Bluetooth so I can set up using App (which I have downloaded and used Demos), but it will not be part of VE.Smart network, which I am guessing is no big deal as charging Batteries from either 110v Shore/Gen supply or Engine Alternator are mutually exclusive. Again great advice. When I get to hooking up Solar Panels and MPPT’s will probably be back for more advice…..

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