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scottgazelle asked

Orion Smart CD-DC chargers in parallel

I have 2 Victron SmartLithium batteries (330AH each) and this winter added a third Orion Smart 12V|12V-30A Isolated charger. The DC-DC chargers are connected in parallel. Initially, I was getting ~80-85 amps when through the system (monitored via Lynx Smart BMS). But now I am only getting <50amps, regardless of the level of charge on the batteries, and one of the three chargers immediately displays output voltage at the absorption level (14.20V) and goes straight to absorption mode. I have the most recent version of the firmware on all devices and have checked and rechecked all connections. The only change to the system was the addition of solar, controlled by a SmartSolar MPPT 150/60, which seems to be working fine. However the change to strange charger behavior happened immediately after the installation of solar - and it persists even if I turn the MPPT controller off. All work was done by a licensed and experienced installer.

Any thoughts would be very much appreciated - it is taking way too long to charge my batteries!


Orion DC-DC Converters not smart
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2 Answers
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kevgermany answered ·

Need to check the battery settings on the MPPT and Orions. Please post screen shots of all.

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scottgazelle answered ·

Thanks. I have done that - they are all set the same, to the factory default setting for Victron Li batteries. I have also tried raising the absorption voltage on the Orions to 14.4 (from 14.2 at default) and no difference. It seems whatever the setting the charger immediately goes to that voltage and into absorption. I can also add that the Orions are connected in parallel and all of the cables to each of the chargers are exactly the same length. They all connect to the same bar and then to the batteries. And - nothing on the connections or chargers was changed when the solar was added and the charger behavior changed.

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