I am using the 12/300/120 inverter/charger on my boat. I understand that the engine alternator charging should have an isolator between house and starter battery. What would that look like and where should I look to find it.
Thanks to all.
This site is now in read-only archive mode. Please move all discussion, and create a new account at the new Victron Community site.
I am using the 12/300/120 inverter/charger on my boat. I understand that the engine alternator charging should have an isolator between house and starter battery. What would that look like and where should I look to find it.
Thanks to all.
The best isolation is a DC-DC charger. This allows the house battery to be properly charged even with different voltages and chemistries for starter and house batteries.
If both batteries are both lead-acid, many people use a relay to connect the two batteries while the alternator is producing power. But with a lithium house battery this may result in excessive charging current into the house battery or even discharging the house battery if the starter/alternator voltage is lower than the house battery.
Additional resources still need to be added for this topic
40 People are following this question.