When connecting the charger and the battery, make sure the battery poles are clean when connecting the terminals, select a sufficient cross-section for the connection cable, tighten the nuts and bolts with proper torque as loose connections may cause overheating. Well minor issue on a recent trip when we finally really tested this setup. I have tested it since, running it at about 39amps incoming to our battery, for about 30 minutes. I also test out using an old Bogart SC2030 solar charge controller I have laying around for alternator charging. Totally demoralizing after a long 6-7 hour overall project effort. 3-phase MPPT Charging Technology Let me know if I can be of any more assistance. Most default dual battery systems support auxiliary battery charging through an isolator but commonly this does not allow for a full charge of the second battery bank. We decided to try a DC-DC charger from Renogy . We have room in our battery compartment for another battery, so this would be an easy modification. Renogy Dual Input DC-DC On Board MPPT Battery Charger with its built-in VSR allows vehicle owners to enjoy the benefits of fully charged deep cycle service batteries while reliably isolating it to the engine starting battery with one easy-to-install charging system. Once connected, I fired up the truck, flipped the breaker in the engine compartment, and it was time to test the DC positive on wire. I use a small fan to help it stop overheating. This one took a few more steps to complete after the fact than normal. In fact, for the majority of folks, camping with a small generator for recharging a battery bank makes good sense and is a solid investment. After 25ft of 4ga wire, the voltage would be down to 11.5V. It's the smart way to keep yourself fully charged and off-grid longer! Im calling Renogy Monday morning but hoping to figure it out sooner than later. This was his first time installing a DC-DC charger in a towable camper, but he was up for it. For even more flexibility, we added a portable 100 watt panel in the fall of 2018. Is it necessary to connect? welcome to our little blog. So added a 60A rated relay to cut off the PV input, controlled by the D+ (engine on) feed on my Sprinter W906, so can charge LiFePO4 batteries at 50A from ALT input (need appropriately sized cable from starter battery) when the engine is running. This is a popular option, especially for folks who might want to run an air conditioner off-grid (although youd likely need more than 2000 watt generator power). An external fuse is required for installation. We chose the 40amp charger, one because it was a little bit cheaper than the 60amp charger, but also, we wanted to play it safe with extra strain on our alternator in the case that we end up using it more than anticipated. Unfortunately, I was now back in Denver by this time, so having Eddie finish the job wasnt in the cards as he was still down in Arizona. Links to all products Cahn uses below. When the ignition turns on, it signals your charger that the alternator has engaged, which turns on the charger itself. For added safety to personnel, the DCC12 isolates the input from the output preventing incorrect voltage transmission. renogy dc to dc battery charger 20a, 40a, 60a Victron has many versions available for 12, 24, and 48 Volts. Renogy 40A DC-DC Charger 60 Amp Switchable Breaker 50 Amp Switchable Breaker Battery Terminal Fuse Holder (if not already on battery) 60 Amp Terminal Fuse 4 GA Cable 20 FT 100% Copper Booster Cables Anderson Type Connectors 4 GA Lugs and Heat Shrink Hydraulic Crimper Bernzomatic Torch Vamplier Electrician Scissors Uni-T Clamp-On Amp Meter Gender: Male. Offers Over-voltage Protection, Over-temperature Protection, and Reverse Polarity Protection to ensure the operation safety. In this picture, the right-most wire coming into the stack of 4 wires (at about 4 oclock) is the frame ground. This manual showed me the two connections points I needed to make on pages 245 thru 248, one for 70 amps of power going to my DC to DC charger located in the rear of the van and the other was a small 12v signal wire that is used to turn the DC charger on ONLY while the engine is running. UPDATE Feb 27th, 2020 - I decided to buy myself a Renogy DC-DC charger meant for the task. I went for a photon universe 200w solar panel since Renogy didnt have a comparable device available. However, since standard/traditional alternator has a fixed voltage when charging, while smart alternator has a controlled charging output based on operating conditions, it is required to connect the charger to the smart alternator through the Vehicle Ignition Port by the IGN Signal Wire comes with the package. SO this means, it will never enable unless we turn ON the breaker, under the hood of the truck. For the RV system, The generator ensures stable power supply to the starter battery, and uses the extra power of the starter battery to supply power to the house battery. upate 6/18/2020 : we finally got back out on a trip since installing our DC-DC converter. 12V 20A DC to DC On-Board Battery Charger. step 9 : terminate the positive and negative #4 wires with the Anderson connector ends, add Anderson plug and rubber boot. A RedArc 1240D can do 40 Amps. Well after having this fitted for just over 2 weeks I can honestly say how easy it was to fit. If you get that working let me know so I can post an update. Luckily Eddie had a fancy pneumatic ring crimper, perfect for this #4 wire size. Renogy's 12V DC to DC On-Board Battery Charger 6 Gauge Ring Terminals Heat Shrink Split Loom Flex 201/2" Machine Screws 20 Lock Nuts Rubber Splicing Tape Vinyl Insulation Tape Crimp Tool Step-1 Inspect The Goods Straight out of the box, a quick look at the battery charger reviled a questionable burn mark on the power terminal! The DC-DC battery charger adopts the design of the DIP switch and it provides 6 charging voltage settings through five gears. I had plenty of #4 wire available, so I could easily make a wire long enough to swing around the top of the existing 4 incoming connections to the shunt, and just add my fifth wire on top, and bolt back down the shunt bolt. With multi-stage charging and multi-chemistry We still had a productive week - although maybe not quite as productive as we were hoping! On the negative, only the two negative marker wires where cut, as well as the negative tiny wire to the TPMS. When connecting the charger and the battery, make sure the battery poles are clean when connecting the terminals, select a sufficient cross-section for the connection cable, tighten the nuts and bolts with proper torque as loose connections may cause overheating. Is it necessary to connect? Installing a Renogy 12V 40amp DC to DC Battery Charger on a Travel Trailer. Next look back into this cavity and you'll see the disconnect tap, it has a red button on it, depress the button and pull the plug off the post, its tough to reach but relativity easy to pull off. Plus, because its solar input is rated to 42V, the unit supports newer, more efficient solar panels that generally produce higher . This Renogy DC-DC On-Board Battery Charger with MPPT was specially die-cast aluminum designed for efficient and ZERO dB noiseless heat dissipation. We thought, how about a section of hose ? 18-16AWG copper cable recommended. Probably when youre towing, the truck battery voltage is higher hence its not happening. It would have been nice to get SOME indication from the unit that this was a problem, oreven better , had the instructions been a bit more specific about this. Things are starting to come together, but we still have a looooong way to go in this build.Now, time to get some painting done and get the insulation covered with our new, beautiful 1/4\" Maple wall and ceiling panels!________________We are a couple of full-time travel dreamers who decided to pack up our lives to explore the world - and then 2020 happened. Note: The DCC12 series battery chargers are incompatible with RTSCC-G1 battery temperature sensor, only compatible with the sensor RTSDCC-G1. The DCC12 Series battery chargers are the most effective way to charge your auxiliary or house batteries from the alternator/starter battery. Since we had plans to head down to Arizona in late April 2020, I hit up Eddie Glonek of Mobile Homestead Solar Services to see if he was available to do this install for us. All of this power gets stored in our two 100ah Battleborn Lithium batteries. Considering which equipment to buy I downloaded instruction manuals from various manufacturers and found Renogy was the most straightforward to understand so I bought from them an ac-dc charger, a lithium battery, the dc-dc DCC50S with a BT2 and a 1000w inverter. The compact and robust design makes it suitable for all conditions. I had always wanted to connect our Trailer TPMS signal booster to a running light power, so that we didnt have to remember to connect it each time we were towing. 2. just something to consider. High-Powered 550W Monocrystalline Solar Panel . 18-16AWG copper cable recommended. Step 1 :be sure that we have an alternator in our 2017 Ford F-150 that can handle the extra power that we are trying to send over to the camper. This controller supports Gel, AGM, Flooded, and Lithium battery, but please make sure to set the correct battery type once it is installed. Please note the temperature sensor is not included and it cannot use with Lithium batteries. What types of battery does the charger support? This means, (in theory without any loss over the cabling runs), the DC-DC Charger can provide up to 480 watts of charging power to our batteries (40amps x 12 volts = 480watts). We looked at the instructions a few more times, even searched for a more recently updated version of the instructions as a pdf (in case ours were out of date). In short, Id suggest youre probably better off with a higher rated. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); im out at Hartman Rocks, just outside of Gunnison, CO. If you have any questions regarding this product, please submit a case. Managing and monitoring your energy easily and remotely in any scenario and situation. Below is a proud Eddie, and his new Load side Anderson connector. Compatible with a multitude of alternator types, the DC-DC battery charger offers correct charging for AGM, Flooded, Gel, and even Lithium deep cycle batteries! The VSR also ensures reliable isolation between the starting battery and service battery, avoiding charging interference. Its a great MPPT Solar controller/DC to DC battery charger. 480 watts solar, more than will fit on your small compact roof. 1. +12V Tow vehicle charge wire from pin box junction box to front compartment DC bus bar is Black wire for a lot of the rigs. May give you a start on finding it. Comes with sturdy compact design, this Renogy DC-DC On-Board Battery Charger with MPPT can be safely and easily connected to any 12-volt system and allows safe operation in any position or portable devices without the worry of incorrect connections or sparks. What is its purpose? If you have any questions regarding this product, please submit a case ! But the unit would NOT power up at all. Why do we need Smart DC-DC chargers? 50A DC DC Board Battery Charger with MPPT Renogy 20/40/60A DC to DC Battery Charger Rover 20/30/40/60/100 Amp MPPT Charge Controller Rover Elite 20/40A MPPT Solar Charge Controller 40A Set w Holder ANL Fuse, 40 amp (40A ANL Fuse Set w/Fuse) Renogy One All-in-One Smart Panel System Energy Monitoring ; Nominal System Voltage : 12V DC : 12V DC What is the D+ Ignition cable? This 20A DC to DC Charger is designed to charge secondary batteries while driving using the primary battery connected to the alternator. Everything was connected up and it just works. Biases to solar power when it is available. The LC wire can automatically adjust the charging current to prevent excessive charging current from damaging the house battery. What type of alternator is this on-board battery charger compatible with? - 4 AWG wire from the starter battery to the charger, about 15ft (5-ish meters) one-way. SO, I cut an existing wire (green / white shown below), which powers the passenger side front yellow marker light (which now also has 1 of 4 observation cameras on it as well). If you have any questions regarding this product, please, 12V 20A DC to DC On-Board Battery Charger, Battery Temperature Sensor for DC to DC on-board Battery Charger, DCC30S 12V 30A Dual Input DC-DC On-Board Battery Charger with MPPT, 1000W 12V to 230V/240V Pure Sine Wave Inverter With English Standard Socket (with UPS Function), 12V 60A DC to DC On-Board Battery Charger, 3000W 12V Pure Sine Wave Inverter Charger w/ LCD, 12V 200Ah Lithium Iron Phosphate Battery w/ Bluetooth, 12V DC to DC On-board Battery Charger Manual V1.2. and charging drops to 6A then back up to 46A every few seconds. Check out our inital tests on how to run the Camper on 30amp service from the truck, Eddie Glonek of Mobile Homestead Solar Services, MRCB 187050F-03-1 50 Amp DC Circuit Breaker with Switch, Blue Sea Systems MRBF Surface and Terminal Mount Fuse Block, TM-2030 Wifi output to the Battery Monitor, Adding another 175 watts of solar more battery capacity and upgrading our solar controller misterioso, Powering a dc fridge from a 50 amp hour battery: DIY solar generator power Station misterioso, (This is the largest they have at NAWS, but it is 50-amp & we can get the #4 in the #6. I put the question out to Matt of the awesome adventurousway.com, why do you need a fuse on battery and a circuit breaker both? Ive tried connecting the D+ directly to TT battery but same thing. Opened up the hood of the truck and flipped the breaker to ON which means we were sending power from the truck battery to the DC Charger. 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