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momahmoud avatar image
momahmoud asked

Orion Smart 12/12-30 Current Limiter

Hello, how is Orion Smart 12/12-30 deals with a 120A coming from engine alternator, it doesn't have current limiter same as Buck-Boost Victron units.

Orion DC-DC Converters not smart
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2 Answers
Justin Cook avatar image
Justin Cook answered ·

@MoMahmoud, the Orion Smart 12/12-30 does not connect to your alternator; it connects to your start battery on one side and your "house" or "aux" battery on the other.

As an aside, it's worth noting that your 120A alternator is virtually never actually putting out 120A; if you ran it at full output all the time it would burn up in a matter of hours.

In any case, however, the alternator is charging your start battery at whatever amperage the start battery needs, and the Orion pulls current off the top of the start battery (while it's charging) and sends it to your aux battery at 30A max; the increasing resistance (as it reaches full charge) of your start battery acts as its own current limiter.

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cookinwitdiesel avatar image
cookinwitdiesel answered ·

Take a trailer use-case - I have 10awg wire to the 12v+ pin on my 7-pin harness and a 30amp fuse in the fuse box for the truck. Although my Orion-TR Smart 12/24-15 should only pull 30amps from the truck I burned 2 fuses in a row. Clearly more current is being pulled. Is there a practical/simple way I can limit the current drawn by the Orion to 25-28a to stop from blowing fuses?

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