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richardab1967 avatar image
richardab1967 asked

Efoy fuel cell with dc to dc charger

I have an older model Efoy fuel cell going in a campervan which can charge a lead battery directly up to about 14.2v and 4amps. It cannot charge lithium (The newer models can).

If i were to upgrade to lifepo4 house battery, could i charge the vehicles lead starter battery with the fuel cell and then use a victron orion dc to dc charger to charge a lifepo4 leisure battery.

My thinking is thats exactly what an altenator does when charging a lifepo4 via an orion. Any idea if this idea will work?

Cheers

orion dc-dc
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kevgermany avatar image kevgermany ♦♦ commented ·
Should work. All the Orion needs is a stable input of the correct voltage. How are you going to avoid depleting the starter battery?
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richardab1967 avatar image richardab1967 kevgermany ♦♦ commented ·
Doesnt the Orion stop drawing from the starter battery when alternator/engine is switched off? ie. when voltage drops back to normal. Was hoping that it would work the same when fuel cell is off.
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kevgermany avatar image kevgermany ♦♦ richardab1967 commented ·
It's under engine detection in the manual (which you can download from the product page on victronenergy.com). Yes, it will, but you will have to set the detection voltages. It's not clear to me if your fuel cell will have output in the right range.

There's also manual control available, so if you switch the fuel cell manually, you could integrate with that.


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richardab1967 avatar image richardab1967 kevgermany ♦♦ commented ·
Thanks thats useful thinking. I guess i can get an orion and have a play with the settings using my old agm leisure battery in the same setup before committing to lifepo4. Cheers
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1 Answer
Matthias Lange - DE avatar image
Matthias Lange - DE answered ·

What makes the Efoy incompatible to lithium?

14.2V is totally fine for most lithium batteries.

Most "drop-in" Lithium batteries with internal BMS will automatically block charging if they are full, to cold or if there is a problem with a cell.

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richardab1967 avatar image richardab1967 commented ·
Actually i am only going on what they say in their technical literature. I also contacted them to check……they tried to sell me a new one that charges lithium, so perhaps i am suspicious!
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