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Anyone installed an Orion converter for 12v stuff? Im looking at a 20amp version. These seem somewhat new... dont recall them being on the market last time I looked into converters. They are running around $55-$75 retail for the 20 or 25amp models. Not sure what the major difference is between the two pictured other than the smaller one being sealed looking.

https://www.victronenergy.com/dc-dc-con ... #downloads

The smaller model you show looks like the one that Willie (SAV) is using for their 230GE Ignition Conversion kit.

https://swissarmyvehicles.com/puch-gwag ... swiss-army

I have not installed a Victron as of yet.

I don't think you can go wrong, Victron has a long standing
reputation of solid engineering -- based in the Netherlands.

I don't know where these units are manufactured, but they
would be designed by the Dutch and I would expect good
design margin e.g. built in reliability. The smaller unit you
show is convection cooled and is IP67 which makes it Dust
and fairly water prof.

In my case I went with REDARC out of Australia, as I have
Solar and a 24V alternator inputs charging a LiFePO4 Aug battery.
The REDARC was just a better match for my setup. I wouldn't
hesitate to use Victron if I had a straight 24/12 conversion.

The smaller sealed unit in the original post represents the 10a/20a units. The larger unit pictured is the 70a unit with a thermal switch and fan.

Victron is manufactured in India. I've recently replaced the no-name converter that I was using to supply 12v to the EZ Power Steering and a couple of minor accessories with the Victron Energy Orion IP20 24/12-Volt 70 amp unit. So far so good...

I've used Victron in the past and have been happy with the quality. I have the isolated DC-DC 20 amp converter ready to install in the Pinz once the weather warms a bit and expect it to last just like the other Victron components. Hard to beat the price for what you're getting.

Thanks. The larger one also comes in a 25amp version but its shorter than the 70. I think I'll go for the sealed unit. REDARC is great stuff but not for low budgets!

Was also looking at Eaton. This looks very commercial. https://www.eaton.com/Eaton/ProductsSer ... htm#tabs-1

The smaller Eaton (Surepower) units seem to be well made. I have them in both my 710M and 230GE. A bit pricey but very stable. Made in China though.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/114416713771?h ... Sw7OZfZWnH

I use the 25 amp charger to run a 12V subsystem for the electrical power steering.
I did not want to rely on the converter to deliver max amperage so I installed a 5Ah motorcycle battery together with all additional components behind the passenger seat.
The 100A relais is needed to disconnect the ground side of the 12V subsystem when ignition is off; I had the phenomenon of -12V showing in the subsys.

Hi,

I've got a Victron 24-12V 20A Smart to charge my LiFePo 12V Batterie.
The Smart Series can be adjusted and customized with several different charging curves (Lead, AGM, LiFePo) which makes it quite interessting for me.
I also had a normal 24/12V Orion (not smart) this one worked without any issues, but I couldn't adjust the 12V Output to over 14V meeting the need of the LiFePo.
And I also had a 30A but I thought that may be a bit too much for the alternator.
To connect it, I used a relais so it doesn't empy the car batteries.

Disadvantage of the Smart-Series is the size compared to the normal ones since it's much bigger.

20A to 30A



20A and Victron Solar Charger (75/10 MPPT) installed.



Greetings
Simon

How is it on radio noise? Some converters make a lot of RFI and interfere with two-way and AM radios.

The isolated ground Victron converter I have is supposed to work well with sensitive electronics, but I can't say for sure, as it's not even hooked up yet!

I'm back at this again but for a different application this time.

Ron, do you think the 70A version would be effective as a 12v (lead acid) battery charger as well, instead of just supplying power to devices? The difference from my initial post's intention is I'm going to create a 12v system onboard with its own full size battery to power a heavy amp-draw 12v device. I'm assuming this would supplement the 12v battery in the same way a 70A alternator would or am I forgetting something?

I'm not sure how to best activate it and when to. On with ignition? The large 12v load will rarely be needed, but the 12v battery needs to be ready all the time. Also which Redarc device would do a similar task? This needs to be highly reliable and robust. The cost is less of an issue with this application.

There is a significant difference between a Converter (DC/DC) and a charger.
There are DC/DC chargers e.g. REDARC and others. Here I am assuming by
converter you are referring to a device to drive a load DIRECTLY and can that
also charge a battery -- no.

The converters control loop senses the output and drives that output to a specific
Voltage -- providing the necessary current to maintain that voltage.

A charger has several different output profiles varying both current and voltage
depending upon the "State of Charge" of the Battery and is different for different
chemistries; these are "Stages" and most chemistry types initiate the charge cycle
with Constant Current e.g. 10A, this current will be maintained until a specific
voltage is reached at the Battery (different voltage for different chemistries).
Once that voltage is reached the mode of the charger changes to a constant driven
Voltage (and again different for different chemistries) and is held there until a specific
battery current is reached (a low value) then a 3'rd Stage is entered this may "Float"
or some more sophisticated chargers is a short stage before the final Float stage. For
LiFePO4 batteries Float is not a trickle charge as per Lead Acid.

So.....using a converter to charge a battery has several problems. First it's bad
for the internal cells of the battery, wont get the proper charging. When you connect
a converter to a battery it is a constant voltage source, essentially skipping Stage 1,
if the Battery is low and needs a lot of charging, the battery will essentially hog all it
can out of the charger causing it to go into current limit, which is bad for the charger
and not a controlled charge for the battery. If it survives that (doesn't blow a fuse) then
the terminal voltage eventually reached at the battery may not be the proper voltage
for that chemistry, and for a LiFePO4 (LFP) it really wants to go open circuit as the final
Stage -- no trickle charge but monitoring the output.

Gezzzz --- that was long winded

Not knowing what your load is, sounds like it's pretty beefy. For most auxiliary applications,
except for Antarctica, I'd suggest LFP batteries. They are EXPENSIVE, but will outlive Lead-Acid
or AGM, half the weight with the same A-Hr rating, and a key factor is the output voltage will
sag far less than Lead-acid (lower internal resistance), important for loads that are voltage
sensitive. At the same rating I find these LFP's to be a far better power source than Lead-Acid
by at least 2X. One potential negative is they do not work well at freezing temp.

Last year I had it with my 4 Yellow Tops in my 710K and switched them out for a Battleborn
100 A-hr battery, charging via a REDARC dual-input multi-state charger BCDC1225D. Sources
from either the Alternator or roof Solar. A huge reduction in weight, and enough freed up space
to toss in a ARB compressor.
Just some initial feed-back, hope this helps.

Thanks for the reply but what's the difference between using something like the above 70amp dc-dc convertor on a regular lead-acid battery, and an alternator?

Also, isn't the main issue with larger loads on lithium is the inability to supply much over 100amps? If I have to operate a small winch and electric pump then Im well over 100 amps at medium to heavier loads.

I may be misunderstanding your desired usage. But, simply put, a
converter does not make a charger. It provides power to a finite
bounded load, a battery is not well bounded per se.

Victron Energy makes damn good stuff, but their converters adhere
to the same principles.

OK a winch, so under peak instantaneous load a few hundred amps.
That does imply a good old lead-acid, Yellow Group 34 is 750CCA.

FYI only, some LFP's can supply a fair amount of instantaneous current
if it is designed to do so. There's a big dependence on the BMS controller
built in. Under overload conditions it could "Open circuit" the battery
to protect it, so it gets complicated. Typically they are good for a 2C
short term discharge e.g. a 100 A-hr LFP could source 200A for 10's of
seconds or 1C discharge until discharged. So running a winch, hmmm,
not the intended usage

IMHO, feed that Aux lead-acid with a charger. Pick one that won't
over tax your alternator.