I have three Lead Acid battery banks installed on my boat (house bank, starter battery, bow thruster battery) which are charged by the alternator (let's only focus on the alternator and ignore other chargers)
All three battery banks shall be strictly separated which is done with an ArgoFET (B+ --> ArgoFET --> 3 Battery banks).
Now I want to replace the house bank by a LiFePo4 battery. In order to protect the alternator from overheating I am planning to insert an Orion Tr Smart between the ArgoFET and the LiFePo4 battery. A great solution for me, because it's a minimal change in wiring.
In other forums I've read that this solution might not work out, because the hungry LiFePo4 will draw all the current from the alternator with the Lead Acid batteries left with next to nothing. What do you guys think, is this correct?
An alternative could be to connect the starter battery directly to the alternator, and to charge the LiFePo4 and the bow thruster (LA) battery via two separate Orions from there. But shouldn't the problem with the hungry LiFePo4 occur there as well?
Are there good reasons why this is the better setup? Well, for me it means more work and more cost.
Or is there another solution that is even better?
Regards
Christian