Hi,
We live on a cruising yacht ( not as grand as you might imagine ) and we have a marine diesel with two alternators.
The auxiliary alternator is 24 volt 100 Amp relatively new and internally regulated.
I would like to know if I can connect this directly to an Orion XS1400 ( no battery on the input side).
Then to our lithium house bank (920Ahr @ 24 volts). We have multiple sources to charge the battery bank and this would be one more.
I would probably fit a Balmar alternator protect unit to this alternator just in case.
I am trying to avoid fitting the Wakespeed controller I have as it requires work on the alternator as well has a fair bit of additional wiring.
If the Orion XS will work in this configuration it’s a better integration with the rest of my Victron gear as well as being considerably simpler to install and maintain.
All and any considerations appreciated- thanks.
Generally you need a lead acid buffer battery on the alternator output to avoid voltage cycling. When people have tried DC to DC direct to an alternator most see voltage cycling because you have a short piece of wire with voltage control circuits on both the alternator and the DC to DC and any changes in current have an immediate effect on voltage with nothing to buffer the response. Alternator to battery chargers (not sold by Victron) have extra circuitry in place to eliminate this.
I have a WS500, lovely bit of kit, works really well, but have to agree with extra wiring, luckily mods were easy on my alternator.
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