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For charging a 24v bank (bow thruster) from the 12v starter bank I’m looking at the Orion-Tr 12/24-15A (360W). But now I have to choose between isolated and non-isolated. Am I correct that the isolation is about the ground wire? But what if both my banks have their negatives connected (via the hull) already? Does it matter for the Orion?
if both your banks are already tied to the hull, then it just means you won't be able to "use" the isolation feature on an isolated power supply. It will still work fine as a power supply.
The non isolated has a fixed, non adjustable voltage too low for charging (lead ?) Batteries healthily. Better go with the adjustable, isolated device set to 13,8V plus depending on application
It seems like the manual says it has an adaptive 3 stage charging algorithm. Am I missing something? Page 2 https://www.victronenergy.com/upload/documents/Orion-Tr_DC-DC_Smart_Charger_Non-Isolated/Orion-Tr_DC-DC_Smart_Charger_Non-Isolated-en.pdf
Why go the isolated if you don’t require the feature. Its $75 extra.
All the smart ones have a fully programmable output. You can Even demo them in VictronConnect.
As for the charging YT, I assume you are using optima spiral cells. They state no current limit for many applications
https://www.optimabatteries.com/support
Thanks for the replies. So I will go for the ‘isolated’ version, although it wil not be isolated :)
The application will be: charging a 24v bank consisting out of two YellowTops (75Ah) in series from the starter-bank. Charging will only happen when the 12v starter-bank is being charged by alternator or shore-power.
Any opinions on the max. current of 15 amps for these YT’s? Is 20% of Ah.
https://www.optimabatteries.com/en-us/support/charging/charging-tips
They dont mind. I would be more concerned about topping them up properly. I assume bow thrusters will be used for mooring and then you shut off the engine and therefor charger right after. So they are not fully topped up and stay like that till when ever you go out the next time. Thats kill a battery 101. I would add a 50 W solar panel, the tiniest 75/10 Solarcharger and let both battery sets charging at all times.Thats cheaper than replacing even one of them batteries.
In my car I am keeping the battery alive for close to 2 years already after she started to struggle one winter day. During daytime she cranks harder than even a new battery.
@ripper Thanks; good advice!
Actually, I do have solar on the roof so that will be fine. Didn't mention this to not overcomplicate the topic but probably should have mentioned this. Also, in my country, most harbours have shore-power, so that will also take care of hopefully a long life for the YT's.
Strangely enough most suppliers only carry the isolated version but I learned about the non-isolated version from profiles to choose from in the charger. That made me wonder, hence this topic.
