Hi, I am looking at doing an install to charge an auxiliary AGM battery which will be at least a 5 metre cable run from the starter battery to aux. battery.
The model I am looking at is Victron Orion-Tr 12/12-9A
Will this model be sufficient? Also, is it better to mount the charger closer to the starter battery or closer to the aux. battery?
Hi @tristanhooft,
the Victron Orion-Tr 12/12-9 is a DC-DC converter and not a charger.
If you're looking for a DC-DC charger, then have a look at the Victron Orion-Tr Smart DC-DC charger series (isolated and non-isolated).
About mounting: the charger should be mounted close to the battery you want to charge, which is closer to the aux battery in your case.
Ah yes, my mistake. I’m looking at the 12/12-18 Amp charger now. One more question: will this also charge my starter battery when the voltage from the aux battery is brought above the cutoff voltage?
Thanks
Simple answer: yes.
In the end it depends on what you set as Engine Shutdown detection and Inout voltage lockout. You'll get a first impression when you look at one of the DC-DC Orion-Tr smart chargers in VictronConnect Demo Library.
Hi Stefanie,
I am using the 18a orion smart dc dc to charge my AGM. The charger is right next to the caravan battery with good thickness wire but I have almost 10m of undersized wire (10 gage I think) from my starter battery. I bought the DC charger to upgrade the hotwire charging system I had to my caravan but didn't realise that the wire used in my car was a bit thin. I had problems with the controller cutting out on the factory engine shut down settings so I lowered the voltages (shut down to 12.5) and it seems to be able to get the caravan battery up to 14.4v while I'm driving but if I stop the car it will loose input voltage and still shut off the controller as it goes below 12.5 after the cable. Same thing happens if I run too many things in the car while driving. Am I going to hurt something in the car or controller doing this? How low can I go with the controller cut off voltage and not hurt something?
Calculate your voltage drop in the input to the Orion to make sure it isn't excessive especially if you plan to use the automatic shutdown logic. Remember that the current will go up as the voltage at the Orion input voltage drops. For example, a 30 amp output at 14 volts will require 35 amps with an input voltage of 12 volts.
