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mplnck avatar image
mplnck asked

Paralleling Orion 12-12-9 with MPPT 100/20

Dear community,

I'm setting up a campervan and actually I'm curious about electronics but still have a question about this problem.

I want to charge my AGM Battery mainly via solar. Therefore I've got the MPPT 100/20. Input is the Panel, Battery is the AGM and Load are all consumers.

Parallel to this I want to charge the battery (AGM) while driving an the weather is bad so I can be sure my battery is loaded. Therefore I'm using the Orion-TR 12-12-9 with a manual switch.

Actually everything should work, but I'm not sure about the fused inputs and outputs and the solar panel.

What do you think?


Cheers Mario

MPPT ControllersSolar PanelOrion DC-DC Converters not smartsolarcampervan
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ripper avatar image
ripper answered ·

Mind, there is two types of Orion: with and without galvanic something. You have drawn with galvanic which is the correct choice. It is also adjustable in voltage.Which voltage do you want to set? Mind, depending on circumstances this will interfere with the decision the mppt will make as it looks at the voltage when charging starts and may alter absorption time.If you drive everyday the Agm will be over or undercharged a lot of the times which they will thank with early failiure. 9A is depending on the size of the Agm on the small to tiny side, it also does not offer 3 step charging. If you only drive short distances of less than 1h you are better off with a battery booster. Fast on small trips and correct charging on longer trips of what is usually a big investment.


I would switch on the orion automatically with a relay or something only when the engine is running because I would forget the switch one of these days.

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mplnck avatar image mplnck commented ·

Hey ripper,

thanks for the answer. It's the galvanic one thats right.

Actually I just want to use the orion when its bad weather, or too less sun and I also do not have the opportunity to plug my van in somewhere. I've installed a battery monitor which has two relay outputs. so actually I want to programm it, that the orion is only able to load the agm to 98%, when the switch is closed ;)

Undercharging wont be happen because i have the plug in charger which also brings down the battery to a stand by voltage if not used frequently.

I made lots of thoughts about the schematic and using a booster or not. but all in all its the most reliable and cost-efficient solution (in my view).

Cheers Mario

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