Hello,
I currently have a 400Ah lithium battery bank in my van, made up of Battle Born 12V 100Ah batteries. I was recently given two Victron 12V 180Ah batteries, and I’m hoping to integrate them into my existing system.
My plan is to keep the Battle Borns as my primary bank and set up the two Victron batteries as a separate bank in a different location (due to space constraints). I envision this second bank acting as an "overflow" system:
Charging: When my primary Battle Born bank is fully charged, the excess power from my solar, alternator, or inverter would start charging the secondary Victron bank. I’m thinking of wiring the new battery bank off my main 12V DC positive and negative busbars.
Discharging: The secondary Victron bank would then supply power back to the primary Battle Born bank only when the primary bank needs to be recharged. This way, the Victron bank would function similarly to an additional charging source (like solar or alternator) for the primary bank.
I’m seeking advice on how to set this up or whether it’s feasible with my current equipment. Could I use a Victron Orion DC-DC charger to achieve this? Would I need two of them—one for each direction of charging? Are there any specific components or configurations you’d recommend to make this work effectively? Any other way you would achieve integrating the two new batteries into the system? Or is this just a crazy idea?
Thank you for your help!