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klex82 avatar image
klex82 asked

Dcdc to mppt?

I'm doing a electric conversion on my boat, so ill have a large 30kw 48v bank for propulsion, and a smaller 8kw 12v bank for the rest on the boat.

The 48v bank charges from a victron multiplus2 48/5000/70, and I want to have a dcdc from 48v to 12v. But the Orion 48-12 isn't a dcdc charger, so I want to know if I can run a orion tr 48-12 to a mppt solar controller to charge the 12v

Both 48 and 12v are Lifepo4

charge controller compatibility
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3 Answers
kevgermany avatar image
kevgermany answered ·

You might get it to work with a 48/24 if such a beast exists. But the 48/12 definitely won't work, the input voltage will be too low.

I'm driving my boat on 48V. Single bank for both motor and house. Using three 48/12s for 12V loads. I think that if you manage correctly, a single bank will work fine. But I'm not in the water yet.

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klex82 avatar image
klex82 answered ·

Would I be able to use a orion smart dcdc charger 12/12 instead of mppt?

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kevgermany avatar image kevgermany ♦♦ commented ·

As in 48/12 into 12/12?

I guess yes, but it's a guess.

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dunnp avatar image
dunnp answered ·

FWIW - I am using an MPPT100/30 as a DCDC charger in my caravan fed from a 48V supply in the car. It is as a replacement for an Orion Smart 12/12/30 (that struggled with voltage drop on undersized cables). The 48V comes from a cheap 12-48V converter mounted in the car.

The setup works a treat and gets around all the problems with the Orion Smart - lack of current control, almost no monitoring, overheating and no VRM integration. The MPPT does everything - and much cheaper. And is a bonus extra solar input if needed.

The caution here - my MPPT is not directly connected to a battery - which can supply unlimited current. That could be risky for the MPPT as it scans for the MPP. My 12-48V converter acts as a current limiter and will never supply dangerous current because it has overload and short circuit protection built in.

I know Victron will frown on this - but it works.

Cheers

Phil

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kevgermany avatar image kevgermany ♦♦ commented ·
@Klex82 if you do this, input voltage must be 5V higher than whatever the battery is at the time you want charging to start. So with a 12V system, reckon on more than 19V input.
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dunnp avatar image dunnp kevgermany ♦♦ commented ·

Agreed. The original question was about charging a 12V battery from a 48V source, so this won't be an issue.

My main point is to NOT do this with a direct connection to a 48V battery on the MPPT's PV side; make sure there is some sort of current limiting device between the battery and MPPT's input.

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