astropuppy
Advanced Member
Any ideas or pictures on where to mount a Victron Orion-Tr Smart DC-DC Charger in a dual battery hawk shell? It appears larger than the BLUE SEA 7611 its replacing.
Don't know what type of batteries or AH capacity of your dual setup are, but If you are using two AGMs, for instance, with an 200 AH capacity, you may be able to save space and weight and see increased efficiency using one 100AH Battleborn LiFe4PO. It will fit into the battery locker of the tower, where you probably now have your dual battery setup. In the same space you could install the Victron Orion-Tr Smart DC-DC Charger, which will work with a lithium battery. You can see a photo of something similar to this at:astropuppy said:Any ideas or pictures on where to mount a Victron Orion-Tr Smart DC-DC Charger in a dual battery hawk shell? It appears larger than the BLUE SEA 7611 its replacing.
OK, got it. Sounds like a dual AGM setup, maybe 150AH total battery capacity with a Blue Seas in between the start battery and camper house batteries. You'll only effectively get about 75AH (50% battery capacity) of run time on your AGMs before needing to recharge. One 100AH lithium batt will provide the full 90-100% of battery capacity before needing to recharge, without hurting the battery - more than doubling your effective AH capacity; it is also a more effective solution when using solar to charge. When you eventually upgrade to the lithium LiFe4 PO and install your B2B charger, you can bypass it by simply leaving the Blue Seas in place and disconnect its fuse, instead of installing Andersen connectors. It's not likely you will be swapping back and forth between AGMs and Lithium on any kind of regular basis, so If you ever want to use the AGMs again you can just switch off the B2B charger and put the fuse back into the Blue Seas. The Blue Seas isn't recommended with Lithium batteries. Good luck with the project.astropuppy said:This is a 2020 Hawk; batteries are whatever came with it. Plan is to wait a couple years before converting to LiFePO4.
I may just put in Anderson Plugs on either side of the Blue Sea so I can patch in the Victron Orion when needed. During the summer, the stock Solar works wonderfully; In winter not so much. 100 watt aux solar panel helps a lot; but effectively turning the truck into a generator sounds better.
With Anderson's bypassing the Blue Sea I may be able to plug in one of my hobby charges, they all have a pb mode.
ri-f said:OK, got it. Sounds like a dual AGM setup, maybe 150AH total battery capacity with a Blue Seas in between the start battery and camper house batteries. You'll only effectively get about 75AH (50% battery capacity) of run time on your AGMs before needing to recharge. One 100AH lithium batt will provide the full 90-100% of battery capacity before needing to recharge, without hurting the battery - more than doubling your effective AH capacity; it is also a more effective solution when using solar to charge. When you eventually upgrade to the lithium LiFe4 PO and install your B2B charger, you can bypass it by simply leaving the Blue Seas in place and disconnect its fuse, instead of installing Andersen connectors. It's not likely you will be swapping back and forth between AGMs and Lithium on any kind of regular basis, so If you ever want to use the AGMs again you can just switch off the B2B charger and put the fuse back into the Blue Seas. The Blue Seas isn't recommended with Lithium batteries. Good luck with the project.
Wallowa, thanks for your kind comments. I'm sure you'll be very happy with the AGM to Lithium swap you are planning..Wallowa said:Ri-f,
First, very impressed with your sailing adventures and your build..not false praise at all.
I also am going from two AGMs to a single 100AH BB battery in June...but you said this would 'double your effective AH capacity'? From 75AH [50%] to even 100AH [100% discharge] is 25 AHs more, or did I miss something?
The fuse you refer to with the ACR [7611] is the thermal breaker fuse? Or is there a fuse within the 7611? I believe the plan on my build is to remove the 7611.
Any thought of heat from DC/DC charger in battery box with Li battery?
Thanks...Phil
Phil, we have a Hawk shell with left-side rear battery box in the lower part of the tower. But regardless of where your battery box is located, I still believe that you will not have an issue with heat dissapation if you have a well designed B2B charger that has a little room around it, that is, some air to breath. Even a modest amount of space around it would work. Also you could put a vent in the space you are going to install it in if you were overly concerned. Inside cabin temps in the height of summer are unlikely to get higher than the mid-90's F and the B2B charger is good to go, even in the low 100's F. Check the specs on your B2B charger to be sure.Wallowa said:Rich,
Your Hawk for some reason [front dinette?] has a different battery box configuration than my '16 Hawk [side dinette]....there would be nowhere to truly vent the box in my Hawk although there is a small vent...it is a vertical box with a neoprene seal on lid in RF corner under dinette seat......did not know that Li batteries have less of a voltage drop at lower end of power range...I was also told that they charge quicker than AGMs....all in all LiFePo4 batteries sound like a wise choice...
Phil
Ah, didn't know that. Unfortunate. In that case, maybe the Victron Orion B2B charger wouldn't be the best option for installation in a space that had very limited air flow and couldn't dissipate heat well enough to avoid shutting down. The vent and fan is a good workaround, Vic. It's parasitic draw is probably minuscule. Tradeoffs are just inevitable. The Sterling B2B charger, from my experience, seemingly, isn't as temperamental as the Orion in small enclosures and hot weather. It will shut down if overheated, too, but maybe it doesn't get as hot as quickly as the Orion. It also has a built-in fan to dissipate heat through large vents, which is I suppose is similar in principle to what you did to compensate, by adding the 45 cfm. It's surprising because otherwise, Victron makes excellent equipment. Do you think that this was a design flaw?Vic Harder said:Rich/Phil, the Victron Orion B2B charger gets very hot. It self regulates and limits charging to avoid heat death. I have mine vented with a 45 cfm fan to keep that from happening.
Maybe. Mine has a dumb 120A alternator using 4 AWG, but the Sterling 1230 b2b is designed to never exceed 30 amps output. It typically starts out around 25 amps and drops over time with its 4-stage charger profile. It's a slower charge rate, but it gets the job done. Probably easier on the components and maybe why I don't experience excessive heat buildup. Are you running a very high-output alternator?Vic Harder said:One thought, maybe my Orion gets hot because my truck has a "dumb" alternator, and 2g wiring, so it has to dump excess voltage down. If the Orion is upping the voltage lost over long wiring runs on skinny wires from "smart" alternator, then it might not get as hot?