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ben211286 avatar image
ben211286 asked

Orion-Tr Smart DC-DC with solar panel - Engine shutdown feature

Hi,

I am looking to install a solar system on my boat to charge 2 isolated batteries.

I understood I need to setup my mppt to charge the house battery and I thought to install an Orion-Tr Smart DC-DC to charge the starting battery from the house battery.

I wondered, if there a way to turn on the Orion-Tr Smart DC-DC only when the mppt is charging the house battery, that way I will make sure that both batteries are toped up?


Will the engine shutdown feature in Orion-Tr Smart DC-DC support a mppt charging current or it only for alternator usage?


Thanks

Ben

orion-tr smart
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4 Answers
kevgermany avatar image
kevgermany answered ·

Guessing it's a single start battery and single house battery.

The engine detection is voltage controlled and you can configure the detection/cut out voltages yourself. It doesn't need an alternator. It will turn on when the set voltage is reached, so preventing discharge of the house battery.

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ben211286 avatar image
ben211286 answered ·

Yes, this is a single start and a single house.

Considering the fact that the solar panel will be around 150-200W with a Mppt 75/10

Will this setup allow me to top off 2 100amp batteries which shouldn't have any drain part of bilge pump?


Thanks

Ben

4 comments
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Bob K avatar image Bob K commented ·

200W from the panel at peak efficiency is (Watts = volts x amps) 16 amps, so that'll be 16Ah per hour into your batteries at peak efficiency. Taking into account cloudy hours, do you use more than 16Ah per hour day and night? If not, then that setup should be enough to offset your usage.


Just thinking out loud here: Rather than having a separate DC charger for your starter battery, could you just put a DPDT switch in to switch the MPPT output between the two batteries at regular intervals? I'm not sure if the MPPT would would be smart enough to restart its 3-phase charging cycle when you switch, but if it can be programmed to do that, it would save you $200+ on a separate DC-DC Charger.

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kevgermany avatar image kevgermany ♦♦ Bob K commented ·
Installing a switch this way would probably break the Orion, unless it was turned off before switching batteries.
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Bob K avatar image Bob K kevgermany ♦♦ commented ·

He's not using an Orion (Victron's brand name for their DC-DC converters). He's currently using a SmartSolar MPPT controller.

Why do you think this would break the MPPT controller? It would simply see a new battery voltage and respond accordingly. Likewise, if he used a DPDT switch with an "off" position -- say, a 1 - 0 - 2 switch -- he'd transition through the "Off" state before switching to the 2nd battery.

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kevgermany avatar image kevgermany ♦♦ commented ·
Probably. It will depend on irradiance in your area and be affected by very low charging rates with AGM batteries that are close to fully charged. My van battery is about 100Ah. Takes a maintenance charge of about 1A at 13.5V if that helps.
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Sarah avatar image
Sarah answered ·

Hi @Ben211286 i have a similar install on my boat - biggest difference is my house are service batteries are different chemistries ( lithium and AGM (Bluetop)).I use the generator timer relay on my Cerbo to engage the charger once a week for two hours to give the starter batteries a maintenance charge. An alternative option, if your batteries are the same chemistry, is to use a Cyrix battery isolator/combiner. This will allow bi-directional charging as well the ability to easily put your house and service batteries in parallel. Just an option for consideration. Sarah.

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luphi avatar image
luphi answered ·

If you have a Multiplus in you setup, you can use the tricke charge from the inverter. I do that 24x7 in my camper van.

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