Hi, what has been the best solution to charge 24V lithium battery from boat alternator? Charging starting battery directly from the alternator and lithium battery using smart orion dc/dc 12 to 24V charger? Does it need external bms if battery doesn’t have or it is enough to set the parameters in orion? Thanks
While the Orion DC–DC charger can regulate voltage and current, it is not a substitute for a proper BMS, especially if your battery lacks one.
A BMS provides crucial protection—overvoltage, undervoltage, temperature control, and cell balancing. Some chargers, like Orion, can be programmed (“allow-to-charge”) and even shut down if the BMS signals a fault, but they rely on the BMS to detect the issue first.
Below Copied from Victron community archive.
Victron Orion-Tr Smart DC-DC charger cannot directly read live data from a Victron Smart Battery Management System (BMS), but it can be controlled by one. The Smart BMS uses its charge disconnect signal to turn the Orion-Tr Smart on or off via the charger’s remote port, preventing it from charging when unsafe conditions (like low battery temperature) are detected. However, for detailed monitoring of the Orion-Tr’s charge current or other data, you would need to add a SmartShunt to the system.
So smart shunt together with smart orion would be sufficient?
