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What's the purpose of a Victron Orion-Tr DC/DC isolator?
elias:
Depends , if you just make a small capacity bank with the drop in lifepo4 then it might be ok with your alternator I believe. The “drop in” I believe stands for voltage , case geometry , pole attachment etc . Think also that your alternator could fry also with lead acid bank if for example the bank is huge and in the meanwhile of charging with alternator you draw also current through appliances of your boat . I don’t know if there is such thing as a sophisticated internal BMS in your new battery that limits the charging current . I haven’t seen one
tiger79:
--- Quote from: elias on February 22 2023, 14:02 ---
In order to limit the amount of current that your lifepo4 bank will draw from your alternator I believe the dc dc is suggested .
--- End quote ---
The Orion-Tr 12/12 outputs 12.2v. The LX battery is said to accept charge at 14.6v. If it's being charged at 12.2v presumably it'll take longer to charge?
The LX is promoted as a drop-in replacement for lead-acid batteries, and has an internal BMS.
tiger79:
--- Quote from: Krumelur on February 22 2023, 13:57 ---
Reading some blog posts and watching videos, I’m getting the impression that my experience with the technical support is representative; Liontron and the businesses they are connected to (Greenakku and Bosswerk) don’t seem to have the best reputation and now I’m looking into alternatives.
--- End quote ---
I reckon that's a good plan. If you can't get sensible info before you buy, what's the chance of support if you have a problem subsequently?
Victron lithium batteries look good, but prices are eye-watering.
elias:
--- Quote from: tiger79 on February 22 2023, 16:21 ---
--- Quote from: elias on February 22 2023, 14:02 ---
In order to limit the amount of current that your lifepo4 bank will draw from your alternator I believe the dc dc is suggested .
--- End quote ---
The Orion-Tr 12/12 outputs 12.2v. The LX battery is said to accept charge at 14.6v. If it's being charged at 12.2v presumably it'll take longer to charge?
The LX is promoted as a drop-in replacement for lead-acid batteries, and has an internal BMS.
--- End quote ---
With an output of 12.2v no battery can be charged . It need a higher voltage from the side of the charger to enable current flow . 12.2v on a lifepo4 is empty level .The Orion I think acts like a charger converting input voltage to proper output voltage to meet the charging pattern of the battery installed , this case Lifepo4. The BMS as I understand it has some features like stopping excessive amp draw , temperature etc , but it doesn’t work like an internal charger . I don’t know though in the case of the battery model we are discussing . Victron has a comprehensive explanation of setup of lithium that applies everywhere .
SYJetzt:
As you have already noticed:
a lithium drop-in battery is not drop in!
These drop-in batteries are really killing your alternator! Don't ask me, why i know this!
This orion TR DC/DC isolator is a battery to battery charger. The main advantage is to be able to set ALL of the necessary parameters (and there are a lot of them!) for charging your lifepo's AND reduce the drawn energy from your alternator to survive in real life.
Although VP claims their stock alternator is capable of 115A, their continuous output in the hot engine bay is far less. I run my alternator at 70-75 amps and that is the highest limit thermally possible.
I use a Votronic 12/12/70, which was difficult to set up because the high charging current caused the battery voltage of the starter battery to drop slowly below the voltage threshold set by Volvo penta and triggered the battery monitoring of the engine electronics.
You are on the safe side with the Orion, even if it only delivers 30A charging current for your lithium batteries and therefore takes longer to fully charge them. You don't need an isolated converter either, a normal common ground converter will do the job as well.
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