Hello everyone,
I own a self-converted campervan based on a Sprinter 906.
My old solar system never produced enough power, and we were constantly running short of electricity.
That’s why I installed an Orion-Tr Smart 12|12-18 to provide additional charging for the leisure batteries.
That has now changed completely thanks to three newly installed 150 W panels and a 12 V, 310 Ah LiFePO₄ battery.
However, after longer periods of being parked, we sometimes have problems with the starter battery.
Probably also because the “brilliant smart alternators” only charge the starter battery to around 80%.
.
The idea now is to use the Orion the other way around, so the LiFePO₄ battery charges the AGM starter battery.
So far, that’s not really an issue, as everything can be configured.
BUT:
Now the Orion would need to switch off when the engine is running, rather than switch on.
I can switch the Orion manually, but what happens if I forget and the alternator and the Orion both supply power?
I’d rather not try it out as an experiment…
Any ideas?
Not really necessary, as if the orion is programmed for a 13.8V float, as soon as the alternator reaches above this voltage the orion will turn off.
Thanks for the reply.
I would set it so that, on the input side, it switches on at, say, 13.4 V measured at the LiFePO₄ battery, in order to protect it.
On the output side, I would limit it to 12.8 V. It really is only intended to provide a maintenance charge.
Could that work, and could the Orion then be left on all the time?
(It’s obviously a shame to misuse the Orion like this, but it’s one way of getting out of this situation without any additional investment.)
yes, the voltage settings are up to you.
Hmm,
I’ve now tried wiring it differently and selected the starter battery (starting battery) as AGM, with 13.8 V for float and 14.7 V for absorption.
That works fine when stationary.
However, since the super-duper “intelligent alternator” only charges at 14.2 V when stationary or with just the daytime running lights on, I set the Orion’s absorption voltage to 14 V as a test.
Unfortunately, nothing switches off at all.
The Orion continues charging, but with the engine running it shows 14.2 V, or 14.7 V with the lights switched on.
When I switch off the engine, it charges at the 14 V I set.
So the Orion behaves exactly as it does in the opposite scenario, when the leisure battery is also receiving power from the SmartSolar.
The devices therefore know nothing about each other and simply measure the battery voltage.
The question remains:
Is this relevant—is it harmful if the alternator and the Orion are both charging while driving, or should I be extremely careful to switch off the Orion before setting off?
Is there a “DIY solution” that switches off the Orion when the engine is running?
Yes, this is expected.
The Orion will remain in charge mode, BUT the output current should be zero.
Ah, okay, I’ll measure it and see.
Then everything should be fine..