With RJ45 communication port featured, you can unlock monitoring features exclusively using the BT-2 Bluetooth Moduleand Renogy DC Home App, control and monitor the device remotely through your phone in real time. This is a great piece of kit that is very easy to wire up. Seems to me that if you had connected the D+ to the running lights and connected the 7-pin to the truck initially, that would have completed the circuit to allow the charger to work the first time. After flying back home, we were not ready to give up our new lifestyle yet, so we bought a minivan, converted it into a DIY minivan camper, and drove across Canada in search of beautiful campsites and stunning mountains to climb. However, these batteries cost about $900 each ! Eddie recommended the following gear, which we mostly bought from Northern Arizona Wind and Sun (highly recommended retailer!) To get 40A @ 13.6V (544W) youd need 47.3A @ 11.5V. She had one priority in regards to energy usage when we were starting our camper journey, which was, above all, she would prefer to not be reliant on using a generator, ever if possible. Our truck has a 215amp alternator, and according to Renogys Customer Service Techs, that is more than enough power to run even the 60ah DC-DC charger. We had the opportunity to test our setup yesterday. So, we really dont need more battery capacity just an alternate backup system to recharge the batteries when there is no sun for the solar setup OR there was to be some sort of problem with our solar setup (such as a malfunctioning solar controller, etc.). Hey guys, so I've been meaning to figure out how to properly have my alternator charge my house batteries. Those, Lets say your RV batteries are at 13.6V and your truck batteries are a little low, maybe at 12V. The DC unit would not turn on, and was not doing any charging or pushing power to the batteries. When connected with two batteries, it is vital to be able to isolate the two start and service batteries for charging safety. 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. DC-DC are used in 2 x battery systems where the starter battery charges the house battery to 100% in vehicles or boats. SUCCESS ! welcome to our little blog. What is its purpose? The idea is, the alternator on the your tow vehicle (or in the case of a van, or drivable RV) creates extra surplus power that can be used charge the house batteries of the camper. Managing and monitoring your energy easily and remotely in any scenario and situation. This multi-stage, multi-input battery charger can charge a service battery from a starting battery linked to an alternator or by utilizing solar panels connected directly to the unit. What will happen if the service battery is fully charged? renogy dc to dc battery charger 20a, 40a, 60a Victron has many versions available for 12, 24, and 48 Volts. Check out our UPDATED DC-DC charger review and installation video:https://youtu.be/6nAFz8mF7k8Happy New Year everyone!We took time off over the winter break . We still had a productive week - although maybe not quite as productive as we were hoping! Click here for prices on amazon.com victron orion tr smart dc to dc battery charger Get Started With Off-Grid Solar Power 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. Maximum System Voltage: 1500V DC (UL) Operating Temperature: -40F to 185F . 4. Please allow up to 1 to 2 business days for processing and 3 to 5 business days for shipping. If the Alt. Is it necessary to connect? Probably when youre towing, the truck battery voltage is higher hence its not happening. So we did just that and changed out our 50A breaker for a 60A breaker. Required fields are marked *. Thanks for the update. While your vehicle's alternator prioritizes your starting battery, this unit will allow your solar system to charge your service battery first! We thought, how about a section of hose ? step 11-b : make the run along the frame with the garden hose (two wire #4 cable) secure with plastic anchors which are bolted into the steel frame. Is it necessary to connect? Renogy 40A DC to DC Battery Charger ; Nominal Voltage: 12V: Rated Charge Current: 40A: Output: 500W: Idle Power Consumption: <0.4A: Input Voltage Range: 8V-16V: . Compatible with a multitude of alternator types, the DC-DC battery charger offers correct charging for AGM, Flooded, Gel, and Lithium batteries. My search stopped at the Renogy with the DCC50S, not Australian made but, because it was precisely what I wanted and at a sub $350 price (at the time). This side of the DC Charger is the Incoming power from the hose connector, the two #4 cables that run out of the camper, along the frame, and can be connected to the Truck-side Anderson Connector plug. For additional safety, it isolates the input from the output preventing incorrect voltage transmission. Featuring a 3-stage battery charger and multiple electronic protections, owners can feel confident that their batteries are being charged optimally and automatically. SW5 switch is the selection switch for switching between lead-acid batteries and lithium batteries. These six charging voltages meet the requirements of lithium batteries and lead-acid batteries in order to provide more charging options. This was puzzling to me, since it would seem that a 40amp DC charger wouldnt draw more than 40amps. Featured with Remote Temperature Sensor Port, the Voyager can measure the temperature at the battery in real-time and uses this data for very accurate temperature compensation for both too high or low battery temperature, and thus adjust charging voltage to assure stable and constant charging to the battery. SW5 switch is the selection switch for switching between lead-acid batteries and lithium batteries. step 13 : old lucky 13 ! Is it necessary? Renogy's DC to DC MPPT on-board Battery Charger is designed to give you options! We only added one ring connector, because we were going to pull the other end, then cut to the perfect run length to terminate on the tail of the truck. Question: can I use a smaller gauge wire like a an 18 gauge wire instead of a hes y 4 g cable? The charger is overheating in Scotland in Mid winter and where the charger sits its about 15c and it has plenty of air. Be careful not to over-torque the terminals on the DCDC as over-torquing may cause irreparable damage (Do not exceed 16 N-m / 3.3 ft-lb). So I chopped the alligator clips, and these wires had an impossibly small #20 wire. A DC-DC charger is, by its nature, going to limit how many amps it tries to pull from the source. On the negative, only the two negative marker wires where cut, as well as the negative tiny wire to the TPMS. Starts out fine when I run engine and turn on lights. To our surprise, upon arrival in Green River, after charging for only 1 hour, our 200ah battery was charged from 54% to 100% ! The manufacturer knows their product better than anyone else. This can be configured to do just that. Get about 46A (40 from DC-DC and 6A from 7-pin. A typical installation of a DC-DC charger. If you have any questions regarding this product, please, 2.65 X 1.38 X 0.55 in (67.3 X 35 X 14 mm), SBPVW (Self build panel vans with windows) on Mar 23rd 2021, 12V 20A DC to DC On-Board Battery Charger, DCC50S 12V 50A DC-DC On-Board Battery Charger with MPPT(New Version), 12V 40A DC to DC On-Board Battery Charger, 12V 60A DC to DC On-Board Battery Charger, 12V 100Ah Lithium Iron Phosphate Battery w/ Bluetooth, RBC3050D1S Fuse Installation Instructions, Monitoring Screen for DC-DC MPPT Battery Charger Series manual, Alternator Input Voltage : Traditional Alternator: 13.2-16VDC Smart Alternator (Euro 6): 12-16VDC, Operating Temperature Range : -31F~149F / -35C~65C, Dimensions : 9.6 x 5.7 x 3.0 in / 244 x145 x77 mm, Communication Port:RJ45 (RS485 Protocol), Operating Temperature Range: -4F~113F / -20C~45C, Dimension: 2.76 x 4.33 x 1.25 inch / 70 x 110 x 31.8 mm. Please note the D+ Ignition Cable is not included. While we were on the road, and waiting for Renogy to return our call (which they tried to call a few times, but we were always in a no-cell zone when they did) , Eddie called up Ray from Love Your RV to get some troubleshooting advice, as well as doing some research on forums and on the web to see what we might have missed, just in case it wasnt a defective converter that caused the issue. update : In October 2020 we added yet another 275 watts for solar, as well as another 100ah Battleborn battery for a total of 300ah. Please allow up to 1 to 2 business days for processing and 3 to 5 business days for shipping. Step 2 : contact Eddie ! 04-23-2021, 10:00 PM. Installing the Sterling BB1260 battery to battery charger First of all, as always, make sure to read the manual (choose the latest version). I also ordered another Renogy DC-DC Charger, this time directly from Renogy instead of from Amazon, just in case this would help accelerate in getting customer support going forward. hi Steve, thanks for reading my post. For our style of camping, having only solar power, we are covered for about 90% of the time. The key components of a solar van installation are: Solar panels: Solar panels come in two main types: monocrystalline and polycrystalline. They take the voltage and current of the input and transform it to a usable voltage/current for the output. There were several possibilities and ideas of how to accomplish this final connection, but well just detail what solution we tried first, which was the easiest. 12V 40A DC to DC On-Board Battery Charger. The Renogy is $130 less. This design method can well prevent the starting battery from being over-discharged during the charging process. This is stated in the manual but can easily be overlooked, so the cable and fuse size chart is a good reference point. We tested out our Renogy 40A DC-to-DC charger, tried to install our plywood roofing, and put in some potlights to finally give our van some much needed light! There is possibly some extra demand and wear that this will put on your alternator, especially if used when not driving. I then bought a wirthco battery doctor, but then found out that is not really designed for deep cycle batteries. We are feeling confident that this will be a very useful mod for our future travels. 480 watts solar, more than will fit on your small compact roof. It allows me to charge my batteries with proper multi-stage charging by both my alternator AND solar panels. The D+ Ignition cable is capable of identifying whether the generator is started, to prevent over-discharge of the starting battery and protect the generator. 4. This 20A DC to DC Charger is designed to charge secondary batteries while driving using the primary battery connected to the alternator. The large terminal screw bolts are far too short for large cables and is a struggle to get the cables screwed down, All you need to fix this problem are longer terminal screw bolts. If the battery charger is connected to the starting battery and solar panels at the same time, the maximum input current will be 15A for each; if the battery charger only connects one of the two DC inputs, the maximum input current will be 30A. 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. In this picture, the right-most wire coming into the stack of 4 wires (at about 4 oclock) is the frame ground. 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. Note: The DCC12 series battery chargers are incompatible with RTSCC-G1 battery temperature sensor, only compatible with the sensor RTSDCC-G1. 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. I had seen Ray over at Love Your RV do this upgrade on his 5th wheel, so we were hoping to do the same. Renogy DC to DC Battery Charger InstallRenogy 60A DC to DC Battery ChargerCompatible with a multitude of alternator types, this 60A DC to DC Battery Charger offers correct charging for AGM, Flooded, Gel, and even Lithium deep cycle batteries!Featuring a 3-stage battery charger and multiple electronic protections, owners can feel confident that their batteries are being charged optimally and automatically.Easily install the compact yet sturdy DCDC 40A on various applications such as: RVs, commercial vehicles, boats, yachts and many more!Edit Post2019 Sprinter Van Lesson 10,103 - Sourcing 12v PowerHere are few lessons learned from making a connection to the upfitter lugs under the drivers seat to get 12v power from the engine/aux batteries, it seems like there is zero info about the entire process out there so here goes. Of course, this step got repeated a few times on the cabling on the Truck and inside the camper, just showing his current method. We just played phone tag, then email tag (with brief, non-answers to my questions). Nowadays, they are getting cheaper and more reliable. 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). Renogy DC-DC On-Board Battery Charger is designed to charge service batteries from a starting battery linked to an alternator or by utilizing solar panels connected directly to the unit, offering multiple charging options and ensuring your battery stay fully charged. Gender: Male. Below are the supplies I used to wire this in:Renogy DC-DC Battery Charger with MPPT: https://amzn.to/3lkLr96(they sell out quick but are back in stock quickly as well)4 Gauge 25 feet red wire: https://amzn.to/2YE7VIyThe conduit shielding: https://amzn.to/3hCbFSg4 Gauge black wire: https://amzn.to/32wdoC7Wire stripper: https://amzn.to/2YFbwpATerminal Lug pack: https://amzn.to/3b1exFQHammer crimp: https://amzn.to/32zW8fEMarine style terminal kit: https://amzn.to/3hx1DSzMarine style terminal fuse mountsSingle Fuse: https://amzn.to/3hxp5idDouble Fuse: https://amzn.to/3lu3Hx560a fuse: https://amzn.to/3aY0l0l80a fuse: https://amzn.to/3llO8XU (get 75a instead if they have it) This wire is included with the charger. As I mentioned if its a 40 amp charger ampacity doubles. Check out our inital tests on how to run the Camper on 30amp service from the truck and how to recharge our batteries. 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