Victron 24/12 70 in parallel for leveling jacks

I’m installing a 24v lithium battery system and will be using a Victron Orion 24/12 70a converter to power the existing DC system. I’m reading in my owners manual that the Lippert Ground Control 3.0 can use up to 95a momentarily which exceeds the Orions 85a max output. Does anyone have better current draw data on this system? If it is that high, it sounds like the solution would be to run a second Orion in parallel? The Victron website says you can do that, but I didn’t see specific instructions in the manual. Has anybody done this connection?

Do you have a 12V battery in the system at all? If so, it can handle the extra 15A.

snoobler said:

Do you have a 12V battery in the system at all? If so, it can handle the extra 15A.

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I do, but it is at the end of its useful life and I was going to remove it. Not worth the cost to put a new one in there.

Did you ever end up running two in parallel? I’m running into a similar scenario, and a quick explanation or diagram would help greatly.

Cmeister23 said:

I’m installing a 24v lithium battery system and will be using a Victron Orion 24/12 70a converter to power the existing DC system. I’m reading in my owners manual that the Lippert Ground Control 3.0 can use up to 95a momentarily which exceeds the Orions 85a max output. Does anyone have better current draw data on this system? If it is that high, it sounds like the solution would be to run a second Orion in parallel? The Victron website says you can do that, but I didn’t see specific instructions in the manual. Has anybody done this connection?

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^^

I'm currently in this situation and curious to see if it works. Any updates?
Note that the 5th Level Up manual, it doesn't state electrical specifications. It does say, "Circuit protection requirement is 50-100A as needed by RVIA standards and OEM requirements."

I have an 80A resettable breaker on that line.

heckler40 said:

I'm currently in this situation and curious to see if it works. Any updates?
Note that the 5th Level Up manual, it doesn't state electrical specifications. It does say, "Circuit protection requirement is 50-100A as needed by RVIA standards and OEM requirements."

I have an 80A resettable breaker on that line.

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As a follow up, I have the system now installed and functioning. Not only does the 24/12-70 converters handle the jack system, it rips the gen with 0 issues.

Second follow up. I've tested starting the generator with 1 converter, which will not work. That implies the generator requires in the range of 85-170A. Also note that these ship from the factory set at 13.2V. The generator and the leveling system will cause voltage sag that is noticeable on 12V devices (low lights, power cycles GX, etc) when these are first started/engaged. I have modified the voltage to 14.2V and it appears to have fixed this issue.

Hello, I'm in the midst of doing the same thing to my Class A 2004 Dolphin. May I ask what your 24v battery system is and the BMS size? I'm currently putting a 200AH 24V Redodo which I haven't purchased yet, 2 of the Orion's in parallel would draw 140 amps am I correct?
Thanks!

heckler40 said:

Second follow up. I've tested starting the generator with 1 converter, which will not work. That implies the generator requires in the range of 85-170A. Also note that these ship from the factory set at 13.2V. The generator and the leveling system will cause voltage sag that is noticeable on 12V devices (low lights, power cycles GX, etc) when these are first started/engaged. I have modified the voltage to 14.2V and it appears to have fixed this issue.

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Hello, I'm doing the same thing right now, wiring 2 DC-DC 24/12 70A Orions. May I ask how you wired yours? It was suggested to me to wire the inputs separately from the Lynx distributor with 2 70A Mega fuses. The problem is I cant find 70A Mega's anywhere. How are your Orion's wired? Thanks for any help.

This should be a sticky or something like it. I’ve searched and searched for this exact problem. How many ppl want to go to 24v on our Rv/camper and the limiting factor is the 12v system. I know ppl talk about the converter but no one gives enough detail or answers the important questions. All…. RVs have a jack or generator or some large amp draw and that converter @70 amps was my limiting factor. I knew you could parallel them but why… why don’t they come out with a 100amp converter that can handle like 150amps for 10-30 seconds of inrush. It would make jumping to a 24v system the default. Or even a 48v system. Most of these converters are 20 amps or 30amps. Which they gave a place for those but man I would rather have one converter that can handle 100amps and a surge. Or even 150amps.

The generator and jacks were my only issue and I was thinking I had to add a second 12v battery and charger but even then it complicates the whole system. How to charge float and manage that with these dc to dc chargers and then you have to add another shunt? And a battery protect? Silly.

Anyways. I’m glad I found this post. It’s super helpful and I will be doing this dual converter setup now.

Thanks OP

I have a Victron Orion IP67 24/12-100 which is a 100 amp unit. I cannot find a surge rating on it but it has yet to shut down on me when powering anything in the RV. I don't have a built-in generator so no comment on that aspect of the unit.

Yes I’ve seen this but you can’t adjust the voltage correct? And there is no info on surge ability?

Azguy82 said:

Yes I’ve seen this but you can’t adjust the voltage correct? And there is no info on surge ability?

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On the 24/12 70A you can adjust with the little screw near the terminals. I have 2 which I'm going to install in parallelprobably next week and will get a third if need be. My DC draws 150A, I'm crossing my fingers that I can get by with only 2, if not it's still cheaper than a battery and a lot less weight. Here's my wiring https://diysolarforum.com/threads/please-check-wiring-multiplus-ii-24v.71240/

gr8pix said:

On the 24/12 70A you can adjust with the little screw near the terminals. I have 2 which I'm going to install in parallelprobably next week and will get a third if need be. My DC draws 150A, I'm crossing my fingers that I can get by with only 2, if not it's still cheaper than a battery and a lot less weight. Here's my wiring https://diysolarforum.com/threads/please-check-wiring-multiplus-ii-24v.71240/

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Yes I know the 70amp does allow for you to adjust the voltage but I don’t see any info on the amp one? It’s ip67 and I don’t think you can have a dial on it. Maybe it’s Bluetooth? I looked on victrons site and all the specs talk about is the basics.

Nothing about max amperage.

I know the 24/12v 70amp actually can do 85amps for a little bit but they don’t have that info on the 100amp one.

I hope someone chimes in who knows so we can all get some clarity.

Very interesting thread. Glad people are talking about it. I have a box truck conversion to RV car hauler that has a liftgate we've modified dramatically to lift a car into the truck. In stock form, as it came from the factory, it has a resettable fuse of 150 amps. This will necessitate using a pair of the 24-12 70 amp converters to cover a draw they certainly expected to go past 100.

1) I appreciate the tip on resetting the voltage to something higher than the factory default. I do wonder however if that decreased the amp output... It might if watts are held steady and constant. Since the hydraulic pump could draw up to 150, that is within the peak max of 85x2... but it may not be 85x2 if we up the voltage output. Right?

2) I assume when grounding, its reasonable to use a busbar for the ground on the 24V battery along with the grounds from the pair of these 24-12 converters and that the busbar can be (should be) grounded to the chassis. My liftgate is grounded through the chassis.

So glad this thread exists. I’m about to upgrade my Class A to 24v lithium and using an Orion 70 to power all the 12v circuits. The PowerGear hydrologic leveling jacks were my main concern as I had read about them surging past 70amps. But after careful inspection and disconnecting the house batteries completely I realize they are powered by the chassis battery/alternator. Makes sense since my owners manual says to have the engine running when operating the jacks and slides. Might be useful for you or others that stumble onto this post in the future. I have a 2018 Holiday Rambler Vacationer XE.

However I never thought of the Generator Starter. It’s an Onan 5500. I don’t know how much the starter draws but will start to research it. Anyone here know? I may have to add another Orion 70 for that. I thought I had dodged a bullet…oh well

gr8pix said:

On the 24/12 70A you can adjust with the little screw near the terminals. I have 2 which I'm going to install in parallelprobably next week and will get a third if need be. My DC draws 150A, I'm crossing my fingers that I can get by with only 2, if not it's still cheaper than a battery and a lot less weight. Here's my wiring https://diysolarforum.com/threads/please-check-wiring-multiplus-ii-24v.71240/

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Consider the full output of an Orion 24-12-70 amp to be 12Vx70 amps= 840 watts. This means you are drawing 840 watts off the battery.

But you are drawing it at 24V. That means your amperage is only 35. (840/24). I think you want a 35 amp fuse, not 70. Your diagram shows 70 amp fuse.

That’s conceptually. To be “real”, you could draw 85 amps at whatever you set the adjustable trim to. Say 13.2 V as example,

85x13.2 = 1122 watts.
If your battery is really 25.6, then 1122/25.6 is 43 amps. Maybe a 45 amp fuse is actually what we should use.

But you get my point on drawing at 24, not 12V from simplistic analysis.

Thanks again Alex, I've already updated thanks to you. The amount of people that have viewed this thread and nobody caught that. I'm wiring everything up right now and it's a huge job in a Class A.
Cheers!

gr8pix said:

Thanks again Alex, I've already updated thanks to you. The amount of people that have viewed this thread and nobody caught that. I'm wiring everything up right now and it's a huge job in a Class A.
Cheers!

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Yes, not a bad catch for a rookie taking his first swings at bat.

But as my mechanic mentor taught me:

If I see any further than the next person, it’s because I’m standing in my mentors shoulders.

Great stuff being taught through these forum discussions. (But you need some experience and critical thinking skills to sift through and understand when well intentioned people are just wrong, or make mistakes)