Grounding question with inverter and charger

DIY
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1

Our solar to inverter system is on top of the roof of a van and works perfectly charging a 24 v DC battery while providing 110 volt AC. There is no ground to the chassis. Now we want to add the Victron Energy Orion Tr Smart 12/24 15 amp DC-DC non-isolated charger so that the 24 v DC battery charges from the van’s 12 volt DC system while it is running. The existing 24 volt DC solar-inverter system will also be charging the 24 volt battery at the same time as the new 12 volt charger.

When wiring the Victron Energy Orion Tr Smart 12/24 15 amp DC-DC non-isolated charger, the wiring diagram shows the grounding wire is shared between both the 12 volt input and 24 volt output battery, requiring us to ground the existing 24 v system. This means that both the 12 volt DC and 24 volt DC systems will be sharing the 12 volt ground chassis of the automobile at the same time that they are charging from the existing solar/inverter and the new charger. Is this a problem?

2

You either have to use the isolated version of the charger so you can keep the negatives grounded.

Normally there is no problem having common negative on independent battery systems, certainly the Victron equipment will not be concerned. However, the answer can not be guaranteed as we do not know about all devices on your system.

3

The solar feeds a Li Time 24 VDC: 110 VAC 60 HZ 3000 W Pure Sine Wave Inverter. The inverter has PV input for positive and negative, 24VDC for positive and negative to the battery, and 110 VAC output for Load;Nuetral;Ground. There is no ground terminal for the unit. Unsure how to proceed from this point…

4

Like mentioned, if you want to keep the 12 and 24 sides separate you need to use the isolated charger

If you’re set on using the non isolated charger the ground of the 24v system needs to be connected to the ground of the 12v system for it to function.