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greyghost avatar image
greyghost asked

DC-DC Charger ‘downstream’ of a Cyrix-ct?

I have two AGM bow thruster batteries which, due to their distance from charging sources (alternator or Multiplus 3000), are not receiving the voltage required for a full charge. These batteries are served by a dedicated Cyrix-ct. I would like to place an Orion-Tr Smart DC-DC Charger near these batteries to ensure they get properly charged whenever the alternator is running or the Multiplus is charging.


If I insert the Orion between the existing cables and the thruster batteries, I’m guessing the Cyrix-ct will not ‘see’ the minimum 2V required to close and the Orion will not turn on.


If I remove the Cyrix-ct, the Orion could be charging the bow thruster batteries in the absence of a charge source, potentially draining the house batteries.


I know there is an on-off switch, but would prefer the operation to be automatic.


Can you recommend a method whereby I can simultaneously take advantage of the Orion to boost charging voltage, and have it automatically activate only when a charging source is active?


Cheers,

Doug

orion-tr smart
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2 Answers
Justin Cook avatar image
Justin Cook answered ·

Hi Doug @greyghost, the Orion-Tr Smart has a user-configurable "engine running detection" system, which is simply a programmable voltage-based on/off switch. To ensure that it only turns on and starts charging when there is a charge source active, you simply need to set the "on" voltage accordingly - for instance, say, 13.6v, and off at, say, 13.2v (all dependent on your particular charging system parameters). This way, you simply leave the remote bridge installed (with the jumper wire in place), leaving the Orion in "automatic" mode, and it will turn on and start charging when it senses your defined voltage threshold on its input, and it will turn off when the input voltage falls below your defined voltage threshold.

If I understand your system description correctly, it looks like you could replace your Cyrix with the Orion-Tr Smart entirely and have the added benefit of programmable voltage thresholds rather than the Cyrix's preset voltage thresholds.

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greyghost answered ·

Hi Justin. I missed that piece about its programmable on/off capability in the manual. I'll go back and read it again. That could certainly work. Thanks!

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Justin Cook avatar image Justin Cook ♦♦ commented ·

@greyghost the actual documentation in the manual is a little light, but the functionality is covered in the second paragraph on Pg 1 of the manual.

To get a feel for it, you can always download the VictronConnect app and use the "demo library" to load a sample Orion-Tr Smart so that you can see the programming process of the engine running/shutdown process; be advised that in some cases demo products may show certain settings that aren't yet available in real products (ie, pending a future FW update) but the engine running/shutdown voltage settings are all there in the real thing, I can personally confirm.

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