I'm surprised that Victron DC-DC chargers don't look after starter battery

[RGIvy]

We've just installed a Victron DC-DC 30a charger into my daughters van. I'm surprised that it doesn't look after the starter battery, my motorhome has a Votronic DC-DC and previously had a Sterling B2B (both of which keep the starter battery topped up).
What do Victron owners do to keep their starter battery topped up? Seems a bit crazy to spend money on top-of-the-range kit only to have to buy a bit more.

 

[mikefitz]

my motorhome has a Votronic DC-DC and previously had a Sterling B2B (both of which keep the starter battery topped up).

only if there is a charge source acting on the house battery

What do Victron owners do to keep their starter battery topped up?

use the vehicle with a starter battery in good condition and/or use a maintaining charger,

VOTRONIC - StandBy Charger

Innovative Elektronik für den mobilen Einsatz

www.votronic.de

Mike

 

[jwelter99]

We've just installed a Victron DC-DC 30a charger into my daughters van. I'm surprised that it doesn't look after the starter battery, my motorhome has a Votronic DC-DC and previously had a Sterling B2B (both of which keep the starter battery topped up).
What do Victron owners do to keep their starter battery topped up? Seems a bit crazy to spend money on top-of-the-range kit only to have to buy a bit more.

I don't know of a Sterling B2B that is bi-directional, are you sure there was not a trickle charger hidden somewhere to do so?

I use an AMP-L-START to keep the starter battery topped up from the house batteries. Works well. Others make similar.

 

[fratermus]

Starter battery maintenance is a solution in search of a problem, IMO. I drive my vehicle every 14d and it's fine. Starter batteries don't self-discharge at rates we see with deep cycle lead banks.

If someone has their vehicle in storage then put a suffiient charger on the starter batt and it will automagically pass through the b2b to the aux.

 

[Substrate]

Starter battery maintenance is a solution in search of a problem, IMO. I drive my vehicle every 14d and it's fine. Starter batteries don't self-discharge at rates we see with deep cycle lead banks.

This probably belongs into a different forum, but putting in my 2c..

They sulfate like one! But instead of getting 4 years life, you could get 8 with proper maintenance. But only the hard core hang a proper maintainer off the vehicle after every trip. Or, in an RV, the starter battery may be so overly large in capacity, that the walk-down takes much longer. Still, it just means you are buying replacements sooner than you have to.

Other factors like not knowing if the user is checking electrolyte levels in their FLA, or especially with an AGM not giving it enough float time to actually charge that last 1%...

The #1 killer is not putting brand new batteries through at least one charge from an external charger, and assuming that a few trips to Starbucks and back is enough. Permanent PSOC awaits.

Anyway, I know you're good with your RV's major charging system. It's just do you want 4 years, or 6-8 years with a little maintenance for most others....

 

[time2roll]

I thought the DC-DC charger was to pull energy from one battery to another. Generally it would be pulling power from the chassis/start battery system to feed the house when the alternator is producing power. I don't see a way to support both unless the unit was receiving some other power source. And then it is not really acting as a DC-DC charger.

 

[RGIvy]

I thought the DC-DC charger was to pull energy from one battery to another. Generally it would be pulling power from the chassis/start battery system to feed the house when the alternator is producing power. I don't see a way to support both unless the unit was receiving some other power source. And then it is not really acting as a DC-DC charger.

Both Votronic and Sterling DC-DC chargers will trickle charge the starter battery when the house battery is being charged by something else. For example, if you are on electric hook up and your mains charger is charging your house battery the Votronic/Sterling DC-DC charger detects this and sends a trickle charge to the starter battery.
My current starter battery has had this trickle charge for 13 years and still going strong.

 

[fratermus]

I appreciate the thoughtful input. Conversations like this are why I read this forum.

Full disclosure: I like DC-DC chargers and have recommended them (including ones with this feature) for various reasons.

It's just do you want 4 years, or 6-8 years with a little maintenance for most others....

I agree in general, although I am agnostic about the maintenance feature in the products discussed being sufficient to yield a 2-4yr starter battery life extension. I imagine it helps.

only the hard core hang a proper maintainer off the vehicle after every trip

I take that to mean that people really don't care that much about starter battery maintenance.

If they didn't care about it before then suddenly start caring about it after buying an expensive product with that feature, what does that suggest? IMO it points to choice-supported bias ("they are also likely to notice and amplify the advantages of option A" - emphasis added) rather than some newfound interest in the starter battery's SoC.

Other factors like not knowing if the user is checking electrolyte levels in their FLA,

I check mine. It's a bit of a PITA since the hold-down hardware prevents cap removal, so some disassembly is required. But then again I'm the guy that charges his deep cycles to manufacturer specs, and installed pigtails to simply keeping maintainers on tractors, motorcycles, and any other intermittently-used machines.

 

[Substrate]

To be honest, I don't go crazy with my vehicular starter FLA's either.

Every 90 days or so, when I have time, I'll hit it up with a good charger / maintainer. I don't keep records or anything like that. I don't even hang a wimpy solar panel/scc on it. But I suppose I could.

Thing is, like you, I drive the vehicle. And that helps avoid electrolyte stratification, which I could see being an issue for an RV that is parked for a year or more without movement. Part of a good charge here with an FLA is to get some sort of minor bubbling action to stir that electrolyte without having to resort to some major EQ. Or drive the RV over speed-bumps before charging.

The two things I see most are those trying to recharge a large deep-cycle with a wall-wart maintainer (bad), and any type of lead-acid never once getting a decent "first birthday" charge upon receipt when placed in a vehicle.

It's just a matter of practicality vs good practice. I don't always practice what I preach.

 

[Alphacarina]

I thought the DC-DC charger was to pull energy from one battery to another.

Most of them have an ignition voltage input which acts as a trigger to turn them on - This insures the house batteries are only recharged from the alternator when the engine is running. Shut off the engine and you also shut off the DC to DC which ensures it won't drain the starter battery

Don

 

[blutow]

My Victron multiplus inverter/charger has a trickle charge output for the chassis battery. Agree that it would be a nice feature to include on the b2b charger as long there was an option to easily turn it on/off. One less wire to run since it already sits between the 2 battery banks.