trevor.aaron
New Member
- Joined
- Jun 19, 2021
- Messages
- 10
Looking for some help with a few questions around a Victron Orion-Tr Smart Isolated DC to DC Charger (12/12 30A or 12/24 20A)
Setup:
1986 VW Vanagon
Alternator: 90A Bosch
Alternator is in the back of the van
Starter battery is in the front of the van, on the passenger side
Our battery bank and solar setup will be in the middle of the van, underneath a passenger bench
Questions:
1. Can you install this to charge from the alternator? Or is it better to run this from the starter battery? Seems easier to run this from the alternator
2. Wiring from Alternator/Starter Battery - this one has been hard for me to understand... if my DC to DC Charger is 30Amps, should I wire for 30amps and fuse 50Amps? Or do I need to step it up even higher since the Alternator is 90Amps, and or the Starter battery could be even higher? My inclination is to wire this at 4AWG (about 5ft one direction from alternator to where we plan to install the DC to DC charger)
3. Fusing from Starter Battery - Depending on the answer above, what fuse would you recommend? My inclination here was 4AWG wire and to use a 50A fuse
4. Wire and Fuse from Charger to Battery Bank - this should only be a few feet at max, and the max amperage if we chose a 30A charger is, 30A. 50A fuse and 8-10AWG ought to do it. Any recommendation on type of fuse here, and am I not thinking about a critical element here?
5. 30A DC to DC charger shouldn't overheat my alternator? I'm going to measure the Amperage at idle to verify this, as well as test/calculate the load from my van (likely only lights and radio, we don't have anything else in the van that I'm aware of), but from what I can read online, you should plan for 1/3 of your alternator load for a DC to DC charger.
Thanks in advance!
Setup:
1986 VW Vanagon
Alternator: 90A Bosch
Alternator is in the back of the van
Starter battery is in the front of the van, on the passenger side
Our battery bank and solar setup will be in the middle of the van, underneath a passenger bench
Questions:
1. Can you install this to charge from the alternator? Or is it better to run this from the starter battery? Seems easier to run this from the alternator
2. Wiring from Alternator/Starter Battery - this one has been hard for me to understand... if my DC to DC Charger is 30Amps, should I wire for 30amps and fuse 50Amps? Or do I need to step it up even higher since the Alternator is 90Amps, and or the Starter battery could be even higher? My inclination is to wire this at 4AWG (about 5ft one direction from alternator to where we plan to install the DC to DC charger)
3. Fusing from Starter Battery - Depending on the answer above, what fuse would you recommend? My inclination here was 4AWG wire and to use a 50A fuse
4. Wire and Fuse from Charger to Battery Bank - this should only be a few feet at max, and the max amperage if we chose a 30A charger is, 30A. 50A fuse and 8-10AWG ought to do it. Any recommendation on type of fuse here, and am I not thinking about a critical element here?
5. 30A DC to DC charger shouldn't overheat my alternator? I'm going to measure the Amperage at idle to verify this, as well as test/calculate the load from my van (likely only lights and radio, we don't have anything else in the van that I'm aware of), but from what I can read online, you should plan for 1/3 of your alternator load for a DC to DC charger.
Thanks in advance!