I have this setup in my van, it is all wired on appropriate cable and breakers. This setup seems to keep the leisure battery (orange Creabest 12v LiFePO4) topped up without any problems however I suffer from a flat van starter battery when I am not doing any long runs and I feel that I am missing a trick somehow.
Is there a way to rejig the kit I have so that it keeps both the lead acid starter and the leisure battery topped up from the solar panels?
Maybe it is possible to put the MPPT to charge the main lead acid battery instead of wiring it to the busbar and use a setting on the Orion to charge the leisure from solar when it needs to by going around/through the main battery and Orion? Not sure if it has a setting for that though. Have I got the config wrong here?
Quite frustrating getting a flat starter battery when you have all that power under the seat 
Yes, you could charge the lead acid from the solar and use the Orion to charge the lithium. This would lose some efficiency due to power loss in the Orion. The Orion would need engine detection by voltage setting up so that if the lead acid is for example above 13.5V then it starts charging the lithium until the lead acid drops below say 13.0V. Details are in the manual. You need to make sure the system still works with the alternator.
Or you could look into a trickle charger from the lithium to lead acid.
I guess the 13v limit is to prevent a well used lithium pulling too much from the starter battery with no solar or engine running?
Yes, it is too stop the lead acid discharging as soon as the charging sources stop so the starter battery is never depleted to the lithium. The lowest you could take this would be 12.8V.
Thanks for the quick replies here, I am just mulling over both options, I think the trickle charge option may be easier to deploy even if it does cost a little extra. From a spot of googling some sort of “battery master” device plugged in to the Orion might do the job. Shame that’s not a feature in the Orion itself. Is there a victron solution for trickle charging, I see the word “shunt” mentioned from other vendors and a victron smart shunt device but not sure if that is what it is for. I think your wisdom has set me on the right path now, thanks again. I knew there had to be a way.
No, there is not a Victron trickle charger, the closest is another low amp rated Orion. Battery Master and Votronic are 2 simple ones that I have seen, I have one from Ablemail, a UK company that is quite expensive but programmable. The simple ones are often a resistor and diode, so they automatically stop charging when the starter battery is being charged.
I have ordered the van bitz battery master, seems like it will do the job with minimal fuss. Many thanks for pointing me in the right direction.
