Victron Solar Controller

Author
Discussion

NorcyUK

Original Poster:

32 posts

112 months

Wednesday 1st May
quotequote all
Hi,
I am in the middle of converting a transit van into a campervan. I have purchased a Victron Orion-Tr Smart 12/12-18A DC-DC Isolated Charger kit and would like to add some solar charging in as well.
Am I able to add a Victron Energy SmartSolar 75/15 MPPT kit straight to my existing set up? And would it trickle charge my starter battery once the leisure battery is fully charged?
Links to the kits are below:

DC to DC Kit:
https://www.wiredcampers.co.uk/collections/12v-spl...

Solar Kit:
https://www.wiredcampers.co.uk/collections/solar-p...

Thanks!

Scrump

22,928 posts

165 months

Wednesday 1st May
quotequote all
That solar controller only seems to charge a single battery bank.

NorcyUK

Original Poster:

32 posts

112 months

Wednesday 1st May
quotequote all
Now I’ve looked into it further, it seems that I am wrong. Looks like I would need the CTEK D250SE to be able to do this. I haven’t installed any of the DC to DC kit yet, so may be a case of returning everything and starting from scratch with a CTEK!

Scrump

22,928 posts

165 months

Thursday 2nd May
quotequote all
I have a ctek d250 which I now only use as a dc to dc charger. It is limited to quite low input voltage from solar panels, so I had to buy a seperate mppt solar controller (with leisure and starter battery outputs) for my new larger solar panel.

Harv-surrey

51 posts

195 months

Saturday 4th May
quotequote all
Stick with the victron kit over the ctek for better efficiency in my view.
Like the post above I added a seperate solar controller I then went for a victron dc-dc.
There is a sloution for a trickle charger from your lesiure system back to your vehicle battery and this is what I use.

https://www.roadpro.co.uk/product/02e02-battery-ma...

Don't forget to add a victron shunt to your system.

Victron also gives you the oppotunity to add monitoring via a Rasberry Pi and if you have internet in the van you can remote monitor everything.

I have added ruvi temp sensors in my fridge , van interior and 1 under the van for environmental info.

See pic for what you can do with victron.

DLicence

10 posts

68 months

Sunday 5th May
quotequote all
On a side note, make sure you install the Orion on the flame retardant surface (not carpet) placed upright with plenty of space above and below. Even the smaller 18a version you have gets incredibly hot. It does say all this in the manual but most of the time that’s skipped. I’ve seen so many that are placed flat..

TwinKam

3,157 posts

102 months

Sunday 5th May
quotequote all
DLicence said:
On a side note, make sure you install the Orion on the flame retardant surface (not carpet) placed upright with plenty of space above and below. Even the smaller 18a version you have gets incredibly hot. It does say all this in the manual but most of the time that’s skipped. I’ve seen so many that are placed flat..
Isn't the stipulation about upright orientation only to ensure IP43 on the terminals?...

DLicence

10 posts

68 months

Saturday 18th May
quotequote all
TwinKam said:
Isn't the stipulation about upright orientation only to ensure IP43 on the terminals?...
No it’s not, it’s to enable convection through the heatsink (instead of rising up through the device itself). They get hot enough that you can’t touch them…

It’s covered in the manual and on victron forums (have a search for victron Orion overheating)