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jointcustody avatar image
jointcustody asked

Orion 12/24-10A wiring questions

2 questions;

I have a boat with a house bank of batteries, and I wish to feed 12v from there to my new 24v bank of batteries in the bow for a newly installed bow thruster.

I already have a set of heavy cables (4/0) running about 25ft from the house bank up to my 12v windlass (very tip of the bow). I want to install this dc-dc charger in the bow next to my thruster batteries and thruster on a nice new wood panel with all the electrical stuff mounted on it. Ideally I would like to cut into those 4/0 cables, about 75% of the way to the bow, add some battery "posts" and then carry those on to the windlass. This way I could connect my 12v side of my orion charger to those posts, and feed my 24v bank. Otherwise I will need to run two more sets of #6 wire (+ and -) or larger another 25ft from the alternator or house bank.

1) Does the dc-dc charger HAVE to be connected to my alternator to sense it, or can I simply connect it to my 12v bank via the existing 4/0 cables (I am thinking it would sense the voltage rise when the alternator starts charging my house bank and turn on?)

2) It states that I need to run #6- but when this is only 10A @ 24v. max fuse is like 25A, so I am thinking I can just run #10 on both the 12 and 24v side of this converter and that should be adequate- assuming I don't have that long run to my house bank- just 2-3ft from the converter to the battery posts. Thoughts?

Thanks, Ty.

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1 Answer
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kevgermany answered ·

Should work if you make the connections properly, but before you start, measure the voltage on charge and off charge at the windlass end. If those values are within the automatic switching range of the Orion, you're good to go. Suggest you download the victron connect app, go into demo library, find the Orion. Then check all the settings/values there. No comment on wire sizes from me. Victron have a calculator in the Toolkit app.

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Victron Wiring Unlimited PDF

Victron Wiring Unlimited Online

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