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Mr Urga avatar image
Mr Urga asked

Wiring advice on my simple campervan setup

Hi all

I'm planning on installing a leisure battery system to my 2012 Vw T5.1. I've decided to go down the LIFePo4 route and have bought a Tn Power 84Ah battery ,Victron Orion-Tr Smart 12/12-30 dc to dc charger and a Victron IP65 Blue smart charger.

My understanding of leisure battery systems comes from older setups,so please bear with me.

I'm planning on running a 16mm fused + feed to the leisure battery under the drivers seat. It will also be earthed here at a factory earthing stud. I also plan to run my 240v feed to here to power the IP65 charger. The Tr smart charger will then be wired to + on the leisure battery (also fused) and then grounded to the same stud as the leisure battery. I'm not sure I fully understand the remote on/off switch's function as a ignition on override? I had planned in stalling a simple low voltage switch here so I can leave the leisure battery unconnected in cold temperatures. I would then activate the charger only when the ambient temp is above freezing.

Is it as simple as connecting the IP65 charger directly to the leisure battery ? I know that this will charger my leisure battery up when hooked up,but will it damge the dc to dc charger in any way? Also when I am hooked up will the IP65 charge up my starter battery, via the Tr smart ,after the leisure is fully charged?

Apologies for the muddled thinking in the above,but things seem to have gotten way more complicated lately

Regards

David

campervan
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1 Answer
JohnC avatar image
JohnC answered ·

Hi David.

Not so much 'muddled', just a little unclear as to your aims. Thoughts..

The Orion is a one-way device. So if set up to charge the leisure batt, cannot return charge to the 'starter' batt.

Two chargers into the leisure batt shouldn't be an issue, but you may find with two, controlling the V applied to a Li batt might become a little more 'vague'. In practice, shouldn't be both together anyway?

Perhaps you could look upon your IP65 unit as a replacement for your alternator-charger when parked up. So then you'd apply it to the start batt, and transfer across with the Orion..

The danger there with the Orion being larger capacity than the IP65, is that it may drain the start batt if you're using the leisure batt heavily.

Of course depends which way you want the Orion to feed. If from leisure > start, then your alternator gets orphaned from the leisure batt..

Me getting muddled now. For chewing over.. :)



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