question

dr-p avatar image
dr-p asked

Swapping input and output on an orion charger

I currently have the following setup

Conventional alternator charges engine battery (Lead)
Alternator also feeds to input of Victron Orion DC DC smart charger
Output of DC DC charger feeds to Lithium house battery
Engine battery used to start engine

Since the current of the DC DC converter is limited to 30A and I would like to upgrade to a smart 120A alternator, I was wondering if I could do the following

Smart alternator charges house battery (Lithium)
Smart alternator feeds to input of Victron Orion DC DC smart charger
Output of DC DC charger feeds to Lead Engine battery
Engine battery still used to start engine in-spite of alternator rewiring.

The hope is that I can get 90A to the house and 30A to the engine.

Any thoughts


I should have pointed out that this is on a boat that will be crossing the atlantic. The alternator will be a Balmar Smart 120A Alternator with matching control system.


The charger is the Orion isolated DC DC 30A charger.

orion-tr smart
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6 Answers
Kevin Windrem avatar image
Kevin Windrem answered ·

Another option would be to parallel up multiple DC-DC chargers. There are also larger DC-DC chargers available like the 3 KW Safiery Scotty which is bidirectional. Sterling also makes larger chargers that are available from Victron.

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bathnm avatar image
bathnm answered ·

@Dr P Yes that works. It is what I do. What Smart Alternator are you using. Make sure that it can really handle Lithium and control its output based on alternator temperature. Something like the Wakespeed 500 is an ideal alternator controller and will also interface to the Cerbo GX (VenusOS) for monitoring.

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dr-p avatar image dr-p commented ·

I should have pointed out that this is on a boat that will be crossing the atlantic. The alternator will be a Balmar Smart 120A Alternator with matching control system.


The charger is the Orion isolated DC DC charger.

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kevgermany avatar image
kevgermany answered ·

Generally smart alternators are controlled by the vehicle's electronics/computer. Make sure what you buy is compatible.

I'd make as few changes as possible to the vehicle. @Kevin Windrem has given good advice.

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Kevin Windrem avatar image
Kevin Windrem answered ·

Since you would be upgrading the alternator anyway, another approach would be to keep the vehicle's charging system intact and add a second alternator and lithium-compatible controller just for the house battery.

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kevgermany avatar image
kevgermany answered ·

Some thoughts.

As @Bathnm said, it will work.

Need to be careful about switching the Orion. This setup is likely to charge the starter from the house battery when the engine isn't running if the Orion isn't set up properly. Any other loads on the starter battery? You could end up with both batteries being too low to start the engine.

How will you handle starting the engine if the starter battery fails? You have two incompatible chemistries. And the likelihood that the BMS in the lithum will prevent starter from getting enough current.

Any other chsrging? E.g. solar.

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bathnm avatar image
bathnm answered ·

@kevgermany you are correct. The ignition switch is wired to the remote on/off. This means that when the engine is off nothing is going from the Lithium house side to the starter battery.

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kevgermany avatar image kevgermany ♦♦ commented ·

is, or should be ;-)

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