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cztexas avatar image
cztexas asked

Victron phoenix smart ip43 charger "Power Supply" vs. "Charger"

Hello All,

I am updating my RV power system to lithiums. I am thinking to use Phoenix Smart IP43 Charger to replace my old stock one. I need some help to understand the basic setting:

Will IP43 charger "Automatically" change its status from "Charger" to "Power Supply" after battery is fully charged and RV does have loads running (like camping)?

Thank you!


Phoenix Smart Charger ip43
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3 Answers
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marcve answered ·

cztexas. I have been using the same charger, and remember the following. If you leave the charger "ON", it will charge the batteries. Now, when you put load on the batteries, the charger will continue to provide power to the batteries, as long as the current draw from the charger is not higher than it's maximum rating. If it reaches it's maximum rating, it will turn off.

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cztexas avatar image cztexas commented ·

Thank you for your response. While what I want to know is IP43 have two working states: Power Supply and Charging. You can manually change it in Victron Connect App. But is there anyway that we can let IP43 switch it automatically (like detecting there is load connecting the system)?

Since you have been using this, how do you like this charger? comparing with other popular ones like progressive dynamics?

Thank you!


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kevgermany avatar image kevgermany ♦♦ cztexas commented ·
Effectively it does this in charger mode. Once battery is charged, it just supplies a lower voltage, keeping the battery charged. When a load is applied, as soon as the battery voltage drops, it will switch back to charging at the charging voltages.

Switching is controlled by rebulk offset setting in the battery settings expert mode.


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marcve avatar image marcve cztexas commented ·
When there is load on the batteries, the charger will continue to produce power, and assist the batteries as a parallel power supply. So it does work as a power supply in conjunction with your batteries. If you set it to charger, it only works as charger, and can be used without batteries. I do like the charger. Had 4 agm batteries connected to it for over three years, and they were still 100%. So I can only say, the charge curves and trickle charge of this charger is excelent
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marcve answered ·

P.s. If there is load on the batteries, the voltage drops. This gives the charger the trigger to start charging "bulk", which is essentially a power supply parallel to your batteries.

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cztexas answered ·

Thank you!

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