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kevinryser avatar image
kevinryser asked

Orion 18a + SmartShunt

Hello,

I've just installed my Orion Tr Smart 18a (isolated) to help charging my van leisure battery when driving during the winter months and I was wondering if it would be possible to see the input in the SmartShunt?

At the moment the Orion is wired to the van battery, and to the leisure battery so I'm guessing it's normal I can't see the input on the SmartShunt?

I noticed as well that I soon as I started the van, the leisure battery bumped to 14.7v (default AGM settings for the Orion) and my MPPT solar stopped charging the battery. Is it normal? (Battery was about 85% full). Or is the 14.7v to high for my AGM battery which is getting a bit old?

The battery is 12v AGM (2x 6v in serie: https://discoverbattery.com/products/search/evgc6a-a-m8)

Thanks for the help!

Best,

Kevin

SmartShuntorion-tr smart
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3 Answers
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kevgermany answered ·

Set Orion and MPPT to the same charge settings. 14.7V absorption is too high for most AGM batteries. If one charger is set higher than the other, the one with the lower setting will cut out as soon as it sees the battery at its voltage setting.

If the system is wired correctly, the Orion charge will show. The neg for the Orion must go to the system side of the shunt, not the battery side. There must be no other connection except the shunt to the battery you're monitoring.

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kevinryser answered ·

Hi @kevgermany , thanks for your quick reply! I've looked at my MPPT settings and changed the Orion to match, both are setup with
- Absorption: 14.4v
- Float: 13.8v

And the SmartShunt has "Charged voltage" set as 13.6v (-0.2v from float value of chargers, as mentioned in the doc).

Is it correct?

And of course I need to wire the Orion to the SmartShunt... I've wired straight to battery at first!

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kevgermany answered ·

With solar charging, the usual fully charged setting in the shunt is a little below absorption voltage. It's because of the variable charge rates due to clouds. Normally increase charge detection time and reduce the tail current setting as well. You need to tune to suit local conditions.

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