Victron Orion XS 50a settings

[blackrose]

What are the recommended battery settings on this device when charging lithium batteries from an alternator via a sealed lead/acid buffer battery. 

 

I've got the input current set at 35A but looking at the output battery voltage settings the other day while going along the river I decided to reduce absorption voltage from 14.2v to 14v to avoid overcharging the lithiums. Should I reduce it further down to 13.8v?

 

I limit my MPPT to 13.8v to avoid overcharging. It switches itself off when the batteries reach that voltage, so my thinking is that I should be doing the same with the Orion. The difference is that the Orion would just keep the output voltage at 13.8v not switch off.

 

At this time of year the domestic batteries are fully charged before I set off, so perhaps I should just disable charging from the Orion?

 

What do other people using these B2B devices to charge lithium batteries from their alternators set them at?

 

Edited August 1 by blackrose

[PeterF]

The Orion XS will go to float, so you could set that quite low, say 13.3V, but the default duration is 2 hours. You can enable expert mode and reduce this but the minimum is 1 hour, bizarrely there is no 0 figure for hours. You could try adaptive absorption which varies absorption time based on battery voltage at start up of the Orion, but minimum is 30 minutes.

 

If you are using the BMV 712 relay to tur  the MPPT off based on SOC you can do the same with the remote on/off connection on the Orion.  I can not remember if you had this or I am confusing you with another member. Apologies if I am misrembering.

 

[GUMPY]

I'll just leave this here!!!

 

 

 

[Jen-in-Wellies]

1 hour ago, blackrose said:

At this time of year the domestic batteries are fully charged before I set off, so perhaps I should just disable charging from the Orion?

This time of year, I leave mine switched off. In my case, with a toggle switch wired across the hi-lo terminals, replacing the loop of wire it comes with, rather than via the app. No point in it doing anything when solar more than supplies usage. I switch it on in Spring/Autumn when cruising and if the solar needs a boost. Engine charge while stationary to suplement occasional cruising in winter, when solar is negligable. Settings are the same as solar. Victron LiFePO4 defaults. 

[blackrose]

Thanks

1 hour ago, PeterF said:

If you are using the BMV 712 relay to tur  the MPPT off based on SOC you can do the same with the remote on/off connection on the Orion.  I can not remember if you had this or I am confusing you with another member. Apologies if I am misrembering.

 

 

Yes I'm using my BMV battery monitor relay to switch off solar when it reaches 13.8v. I use battery voltage rather than SoC. It switches the MPPT back on again when voltage drops below 13.2v.

 

But I have a cable connecting the BMV to the MPPT. How would I do the same thing with the Orion without a cable connection?

[PeterF]

Are you using the relay to send a 12V signal to the remote H contact on the MPPT or just using the relay as a switch beteeen the H/L contacts instead of the wire loop. As far as I am aware the Orion works the same, so you either need to connect the 12V switched signal to the H connection or wire between H/L and remove the wire loop.

 

Section 3.9 in the manual.

 

https://www.victronenergy.com/media/pg/Orion_XS_12-12-50A_DC-DC_battery_charger/en/installation.html#UUID-bda15f87-aff9-bbe3-0214-5a660bbbfc84

[blackrose]

13 hours ago, PeterF said:

Are you using the relay to send a 12V signal to the remote H contact on the MPPT or just using the relay as a switch beteeen the H/L contacts instead of the wire loop. 

 

I don't think it's either of those? The cable from the BMV goes into the VE Direct port on the MPPT.

 

 

But since I'm already using the BMV relay connections for this, how could I use them to connect to the Orion?

Edited August 2 by blackrose

[PeterF]

You are using one of the MPPTs without the remote H/L connections. I am not familiar with the on/off cabling via the VE Direct port on this type, just via the H/L remote connections. I do not know how to wire a system if it is trying to use both types simultaneously. It might be in some of the Victron schematics or ask on the Victron community.