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Renogy DC DC Charger w/ MPPT

yes, definitely says connect for smart alternator
i don't have a smart alternator, so i don't use it
That would be binary, confirm?
By binary I mean either continuity or not from the POV of the alternator.
 
Thanks Rickst29! Again I appreciate your response. Hopefully this is my last question on this matter. I noticed that a member is using 35mm wire as they are in Germany to a proposed inverter mock up. I noticed on an online calculator that number (35mm) is comparable to 2awg. This was used in a schematic by NV200. And given approval no less. No one suggested to use 4/0 or metric equivalent. Forgive me if I have missed something this has added to my confusion over the correct gauge wire. I will change my circuit breakers to ANL. And purchase the appropriate Class t fuse and holders. I want to be safe. Many thanks!
 
Forgive me....
This is the reference. Attached is one of NV200 option/proposal. The main wire used here ie 32mm2. Close to our 2awg. My understanding is that I need to use 4/0 which was determined with my first question. If it's okay to use 2awg "32mm2" more like 33...mm2 in Germany for a 300watt solar array and a 2000w inverter. Then can't a 1 awg wire be used for a 400w solar array with a 2200w inverter. Trying to determine the logic based on previous posts on this forum. Also, bereft by being recommended items that are not very good or "too slow" At this stage I have 1/0,1,2,4awg wire with 4/0, 2x 250amp anl that accommodate 4/0 and similar Class T fuses and holders on the way. I'm not running a microwave, coffee maker etc. I joined the forum to ask about a smaller gauge wire due inpart to what I read. If the general consensus is the 4/0 is absolute then great! I'll happily send any additional wire free to a member(s) here.
 

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Forgive me....
This is the reference. Attached is one of NV200 option/proposal. The main wire used here ie 32mm2. Close to our 2awg. My understanding is that I need to use 4/0 which was determined with my first question. If it's okay to use 2awg "32mm2" more like 33...mm2 in Germany for a 300watt solar array and a 2000w inverter. Then can't a 1 awg wire be used for a 400w solar array with a 2200w inverter. Trying to determine the logic based on previous posts on this forum. Also, bereft by being recommended items that are not very good or "too slow" At this stage I have 1/0,1,2,4awg wire with 4/0, 2x 250amp anl that accommodate 4/0 and similar Class T fuses and holders on the way. I'm not running a microwave, coffee maker etc. I joined the forum to ask about a smaller gauge wire due inpart to what I read. If the general consensus is the 4/0 is absolute then great! I'll happily send any additional wire free to a member(s) here.

The wiring in that diagram does seem to be undersized. Maybe because the inverter is listed as "optional"? If there was no inverter in the diagram, then the wiring recommendations are adequate. With a 2000 watt inverter (note that it says 2000 volt!) the use of 2 gauge wire might be OK, depending on the length of the wire. A 12' round trip run of wire at 196 amps @ 12 volts will have a 3.15% voltage drop which is over the usual threshold. Not many of us on the forum would use such small wire for an inverter. My inverter is rated for 2400 watts and I used double runs of 2/0.
 
Got it, finally, thanks very much. Since posting I have read a great deal on this forum and watched video tutorials. I feel slightly embarrassed now that I asked. I appreciate that you Hrtkd and Rickst29 shown patience. Many thanks again!
 
Sorry if this has already been covered in this thread, I did a search, but 41 pages is a bit daunting.

I am assuming that most people looking at this are using it in a van conversion set up, but I am doing a cargo trailer to toy hauler bumper pull setup. The previous RVs I have had would charge the lead acid batteries through the pig tail on the bumper, but that is a very small gauge wire on the truck that feeds that connection, so I would assume that it would be pointless to try to charge LiFePOs with it. Is that correct?

I don't plan on running heavy gauge wires from my truck, so should I just plan on only charging with solar instead of from my alternator as I drive?
 
Sorry if this has already been covered in this thread, I did a search, but 41 pages is a bit daunting.

I am assuming that most people looking at this are using it in a van conversion set up, but I am doing a cargo trailer to toy hauler bumper pull setup. The previous RVs I have had would charge the lead acid batteries through the pig tail on the bumper, but that is a very small gauge wire on the truck that feeds that connection, so I would assume that it would be pointless to try to charge LiFePOs with it. Is that correct?

I don't plan on running heavy gauge wires from my truck, so should I just plan on only charging with solar instead of from my alternator as I drive?
Sure. Save money and just buy a Solar Charge Controller (SCC) that uses the MPPT (maximum power point algorithm) if you choose not to do DC to DC battery charging. No need for a DCC30(50)S in that case. I would recommend a Victron SCC.
 
Sorry if this has already been covered in this thread, I did a search, but 41 pages is a bit daunting.

I am assuming that most people looking at this are using it in a van conversion set up, but I am doing a cargo trailer to toy hauler bumper pull setup. The previous RVs I have had would charge the lead acid batteries through the pig tail on the bumper, but that is a very small gauge wire on the truck that feeds that connection, so I would assume that it would be pointless to try to charge LiFePOs with it. Is that correct?

I don't plan on running heavy gauge wires from my truck, so should I just plan on only charging with solar instead of from my alternator as I drive?

That is how I wired my toy hauler. The LiFePO4 battery bank gets no charge from the tow vehicle.

If I wanted the tow vehicle to charge the LiFePO4, I sure as heck wouldn't use the goofy Renogy MPPT/DC-DC device. I would use a Victron that limits the charge amps to the LiFePO4 to no more than 18 amps.
 
I started to to and read through the threads also, I have the 50dcdc/mppt renogy and the most amps that I am seeing is 10-12amps no solar hooked up.
Also having a weird reverse current that comes from the 12v battery through the dcdc24v converter. It stops when the 7pin is pulled.
Thanks Joe
 
I started to to and read through the threads also, I have the 50dcdc/mppt renogy and the most amps that I am seeing is 10-12amps no solar hooked up.
Also having a weird reverse current that comes from the 12v battery through the dcdc24v converter. It stops when the 7pin is pulled.
Thanks Joe
You should not be using a non-isolated charger in combination with a 7-pin tow cable.
It creates a ground loop.
 
Update with respect to my previous post regarding the DCC50s hardly charging at all from alternator.
Connecting the IGN (ignition sense) wire made all the difference in the world. Despite the alternator outputting below 13.5V, the charge current now goes up to 50A as it should. Disconnected the IGN sense wire and the charge current is down to maybe 6A.
Bottom line: if you have a non-smart charger and the DCC50s does not charge adequately, connecting the ignition sense wire helps.
Note: this is in direct violation of the installation instructions. Do this at your own risk.
 
Is it possible your charging wire is too small causing a huge voltage drop. That signal certainly could trigger the DCC50S to limit the current to 6A. Tricking the DCC50S not to be too concerned about that voltage input may not be a good thing.

What is the supply voltage when it is charging at 50A? What wire gauge and length are you running from the alternator to the DCC50S?
 
This is an odd newbie question regarding the effects of charging a LIFEPO4 at 50A.

First the set-up: I have a truck/camper that I am outfitting - I spend a fair amount of time dry-camping. I recently bought a Lynx 120ah battery https://lynxbattery.com/collections...rv-marine-golf-cart-van-off-grid-applications Lynx states using <50A to charge. To increase my time off-grid, I intend to add a second battery with equal or greater AH capacity. I also bought the DCC50S but have yet to install it.

My question is: does having two batteries charging at 50A "protect" the Lynx from the higher amperage the Renogy delivers? Am I effectively "softening" the hit the charger delivers when charging multiple batteries at the same time?

Sorry if this is redundant or ridiculous :}
 
This is an odd newbie question regarding the effects of charging a LIFEPO4 at 50A.

First the set-up: I have a truck/camper that I am outfitting - I spend a fair amount of time dry-camping. I recently bought a Lynx 120ah battery https://lynxbattery.com/collections...rv-marine-golf-cart-van-off-grid-applications Lynx states using <50A to charge. To increase my time off-grid, I intend to add a second battery with equal or greater AH capacity. I also bought the DCC50S but have yet to install it.

My question is: does having two batteries charging at 50A "protect" the Lynx from the higher amperage the Renogy delivers? Am I effectively "softening" the hit the charger delivers when charging multiple batteries at the same time?

Sorry if this is redundant or ridiculous :}

Yes, the two batteries will share the charge. In theory, each would see no more than 25 amps. Reality may be different, but I wouldn't expect one battery to see the full 50 amp charge as long as both batteries are balanced, meaning the state of charge of both batteries stays close.
 
This is a heads up to owners of the DCC50S

I installed a Renogy DCC50S and bluetooth dongle in November, all was working right when I got done configuring it, setting battery type to user defined setting parameters, etc, then while monitoring things today I noticed that it was not charging from the alternator, first I check for wiring / breaker problems, then checked software, the app would show charging from the alternator, but only at about 1 amp, even though the batteries were down to about 85% charge. I eventually tried switching battery type to lithium and it went to 48.25 amps charging, switching it back to user defined battery profile it continued 48.25 amp charging. I don't know what the problem was, software glitch, or when it happened in the last couple of months (was working right in January), but changing the battery type to lithium and back to user seems to have fixed it for now.
 
This is a heads up to owners of the DCC50S

I installed a Renogy DCC50S and bluetooth dongle in November, all was working right when I got done configuring it, setting battery type to user defined setting parameters, etc, then while monitoring things today I noticed that it was not charging from the alternator, first I check for wiring / breaker problems, then checked software, the app would show charging from the alternator, but only at about 1 amp, even though the batteries were down to about 85% charge. I eventually tried switching battery type to lithium and it went to 48.25 amps charging, switching it back to user defined battery profile it continued 48.25 amp charging. I don't know what the problem was, software glitch, or when it happened in the last couple of months (was working right in January), but changing the battery type to lithium and back to user seems to have fixed it for now.
Renogy Magic !
 
A newbie question here. What will happend if I connect the DC-DC charger directly to the alternator and not to the starter battery of the van? There is no smart alternator.
The van is a 2004 Sprinter Westfalia with 90Amp alternator (I believe but I'm not sure). All the seting (the wire) is already done by Westfalia and I prefer to leave it like that instead on routing another wire from the starter battery.
 
A newbie question here. What will happend if I connect the DC-DC charger directly to the alternator and not to the starter battery of the van? There is no smart alternator.
The van is a 2004 Sprinter Westfalia with 90Amp alternator (I believe but I'm not sure). All the seting (the wire) is already done by Westfalia and I prefer to leave it like that instead on routing another wire from the starter battery.
What is the amp rating of the DC-DC charger you intend to use ?
 
It would not matter where you attached the cable on that circuit. Beginning, end, middle, does not really matter.

The closer to the alternator would give you the highest voltage reading. Further down the line, the voltage drops.
 
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