Which DC-DC battery charger?

[Loz]

[Guide] DC-DC Charger (for leisure battery) -- How I Done It --

DC-DC Charger (for Leisure battery) -- How I Done It -- ************************************************** Dellmassive`s -- "how I Done It" -- Thread ************************************************** Kit List And Stuff -- How I Done It & What I Use --...

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[T6Jay]

I have to ask, why is ehu better than solar for someone with ‘advancing years’ ?

I have both, and barely use the ehu. Mostly it’s for boosting the leisure battery when parked up on the driveway on crappy winter days.

 

[Salty Spuds]

I have to ask, why is ehu better than solar for someone with ‘advancing years’ ?

I have both, and barely use the ehu. Mostly it’s for boosting the leisure battery when parked up on the driveway on crappy winter days.

Exactly, on another thread, another new member (I hesitate to use the “Newbie” word as some now take it as derogatory) is asking the collective to chose between EHU & an inverter. They are complimentary, not mutually exclusive. If you have Solar/EHU/Inverter/B2B, you are covered for all eventualities. They all do different things in different ways. They should be regarded as components of a complete system.
In answer to the OP, Victron Orion.

 

[T6.1 slayer]

Dc to dc charger victron or renogy? Can't decide between the 2 does the renogy give out 50a charge ? I've read all the stuff about solar and alternator connected at same time and isolators to trick into just one is connected but is there still a 50a charge ? Bit lost in the flood of Chinese wires and panels ? Hoping to use 100ah lifepo4 renogy self heating and mainly only want the renogy 50a unit as my alternator charger . Any guidance appreciated

 

[Dellmassive]

Renogy Dc50s will charge at 50A from Alternator alone.

Then get a seperate Victron mppt for solar. (75/15 smart)

 

[Salty Spuds]

Can't decide between the 2 does the renogy give out 50a charge ? I've read all the stuff about solar and alternator connected at same time and isolators to trick into just one is connected but is there still a 50a charge ? Bit lost in the flood of Chinese wires and panels ? Hoping to use 100ah lifepo4 renogy self heating and mainly only want the renogy 50a unit as my alternator charger . Any guidance appreciated

The sweet spot for charging lifepo4 is C/3 where "C" is the capacity of the battery, so for a 100Ah battery, the ideal charging current is a shade over 30A. This will give maximum battery cell life. The 50A Renogy will be ok, but "might" stress the battery. just something to consider. You could go the whole Victron route & have an Orion 12/30 & the Bluesmart MPPT that @Dellmassive mentioned. As an aside, I've gone through a CTEK DC/DC/solar charger & A Sterling B1230, I'm now a fully paid up member of Team Victron. The victron kit has been faultless.

 

[widu13]

My insight on the CTEK
250SE. I have one, it's performance is flaky/poor and CTEK have not been the slightest bit interested.

 

[Salty Spuds]

My insight on the CTEK
250SE. I have one, it's performance is flaky/poor and CTEK have not been the slightest bit interested.

Similar to my experience. The CTEK eventually died & I just binned it.

 

[T6.1 slayer]

Thanks for the info, and that rules ctek out , is there any other battery that is better in price than renogy 100ah self heating? Will probably go full victron on that advice as I don't want anything fan cooled anyway, but if anyone thinks I can improve on battery for money I'm all ears ? I understand sort of that putting too much amps into battery can reduce life but will have fridge freezer running from moment I drive so maybe sort of compensation for extra amps? If not can it be throttled down so to speak ?

 

[T6.1 slayer]

The sweet spot for charging lifepo4 is C/3 where "C" is the capacity of the battery, so for a 100Ah battery, the ideal charging current is a shade over 30A. This will give maximum battery cell life. The 50A Renogy will be ok, but "might" stress the battery. just something to consider. You could go the whole Victron route & have an Orion 12/30 & the Bluesmart MPPT that @Dellmassive mentioned. As an aside, I've gone through a CTEK DC/DC/solar charger & A Sterling B1230, I'm now a fully paid up member of Team Victron. The victron kit has been faultless.

I've ordered the victron orion, the mptt controller will the 75/ 15 with Bluetooth is that the one and will that do 200w of panels if required?

 

[Grim Reaper]

I've had no issues with my Redarc BCDC1240D, 40A alternator and built in solar charge controller (up to 32V) which works with my 200W panel.

 

[T6.1 slayer]

I've had no issues with my Redarc BCDC1240D, 40A alternator and built in solar charge controller (up to 32V) which works with my 200W panel.

Now that throws a spanner in the works ? Has to be air cooled no fans

 

[Grim Reaper]

No fans, and it's a really small unit.

 

[Salty Spuds]

Now that throws a spanner in the works ? Has to be air cooled no fans

Purely a personal opinion, but having been bitten by the Ctek, I now prefer separate components rather than “all in one” solutions. Fault finding is easier & if one bit fails, you’re not swapping out the whole unit. Also you get a certain amount of redundancy with separate units. E.g. If the solar fails, you can still use the DC/DC & vice-versa.
Like I said, it’s purely the way I look at things.

 

[T6.1 slayer]

Purely a personal opinion, but having been bitten by the Ctek, I now prefer separate components rather than “all in one” solutions. Fault finding is easier & if one bit fails, you’re not swapping out the whole unit. Also you get a certain amount of redundancy with separate units. E.g. If the solar fails, you can still use the DC/DC & vice-versa.
Like I said, it’s purely the way I look at things.

I think I have to agree separate components just better starting off on the right foot ? What about battery anything better on market than renogy? Also you seem to have been down the route of buying other models that haven't made the grade example ctek and it boils my wee when give hard earned cash over for a substandard product.

 

[Dellmassive]

The Victron Orion runs very hot and may need forced cooling.

You can program the current limiter on the Renogy dcc50s.... So you can set it at 30A if you wished...

I show the Orion,CTEK, Renogy, Redarc over here.....

Dellmassive’s "How I Done It" blogs.

-- Dellmassive`s -- "How I Done It" -- thread -- ************************************************** Dellmassive`s -- "how I Done It" -- Thread ************************************************** Kit List And Stuff -- How I Done It & What I Use --...

www.t6forum.com

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[Dellmassive]

I think I have to agree separate components just better starting off on the right foot ? What about battery anything better on market than renogy? Also you seem to have been down the route of buying other models that haven't made the grade example ctek and it boils my wee when give hard earned cash over for a substandard product.

See here ..

Roamer.

Roamer LiFePO4 Gen2 230Ah Seatbase battery -- "How I Done It" --

Roamer LiFePO4 Gen2 230Ah Seatbase battery -- "How I Done It" -- Its a Lithium LifePo4, its got massive capacity @ 230Ah, its got massive discharge performance 250A/500A, its Bluetooth, its a Roamer !!, its exciting . . . . . its coming soon - the full test . . . . ...

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[T6.1 slayer]

The Victron Orion runs very hot and may need forced cooling.

You can program the current limiter on the Renogy dcc50s.... So you can set it at 30A if you wished...

I show the Orion,CTEK, Renogy, Redarc over here.....

Dellmassive’s "How I Done It" blogs.

-- Dellmassive`s -- "How I Done It" -- thread -- ************************************************** Dellmassive`s -- "how I Done It" -- Thread ************************************************** Kit List And Stuff -- How I Done It & What I Use --...

www.t6forum.com

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So I can adjust charge on the fly with app so if I'd ran battery to 60% but only driving for a couple of hours I could 50 amp it and use accordingly

 

[Dellmassive]

So I can adjust charge on the fly with app so if I'd ran battery to 60% but only driving for a couple of hours I could 50 amp it and use accordingly

Yes. With the Renogy dcc50s and the bt2 adapter and the Renogy home app .

You cant do this with any other DC-DC chargers AFAIK.

(I'm running this combo in the van now)

Running charger @ 30A on a Renogy 100ah lifepo4.
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[T6.1 slayer]

@Dellmassive yes that seems such a useful feature to toggle amps as you please ? I've actually spent hours watching your builds but I'm not electric minded to a degree? So sometimes difficult to grasp but the solar panel comparison definitely gave me a better understanding of panels ? Another question why do you use a shunt when you can view everything on app is it accuracy?