All-in-One House Battery Charging

[akhummer]

Does anyone make an single plug-n-play component that does everything in terms of lifepo4 charging? Meaning, plug in your solar array, your vehicle’s alternator, and possibly ac shore power and let the unit do its thing? Is there an automatic charge controller that does all that? Then, have a single output that would connect to a fused dc power distribution block of the user’s choice. There seems to be a number of multi-component systems that do this but use a lot of space to accomplish it. This would be for a 200-300 amp system of “house” batteries for a custom camper dc only system.
Thanks.

 

[john61ct]

No. It would just be a collection of those separate components jammed into one box anyway.

Each needs to be selected and sized for that use case anyway.

With solar controllers, enough ampacity for a 40' roof full of panels costs 10x what you need for just a couple.

Some people don't want any solar at all

Why pay $400 for a high amp shore charger if you only need a small $150 one?

In fact having a too powerful one will wreck your genset, same with DC-DC sizing, needs to be sized not to burn out your alternator.

There are some that include a small not great SC, but you're better off getting a much more efficient and featureful dedicated unit.

Same with inverters, big and PSW is much more costly than small or MSW. . .

 

[greengreer]

We just installed a renogy dc to dc charger with mppt. No solar panels yet for us so can't comment on how well that functions.
It's 50 amps (600w) of alternator or solar, so that seems like plenty for our truck camper setup.
It senses when the alternator is charging to turn the unit on so that's all automatic and very easy to wire. Just hook up to the batteries on both ends with the appropriate fuses. There's also an optional ign signal wire if your vehicle has a 'smart' alternator.

Probably as close as your gonna get to an all in one unit that I know of.

 

[MobileCabin]

Look at the Redarc Manager 30:

The Manager30

Boasting 30 amps of power output, The Manager30 is a state-of-the-art battery management system designed to charge and maintain auxiliary batteries by incorporating AC, DC and solar inputs.

redarcelectronics.com

Sent from my KFKAWI using Tapatalk

 

[emulous74]

If you want to include electric distribution into the fold Redarc's RedVision Vehicle Management System includes the BMS Manager 30. Otherwise Redarc's BMS Manager 30 does everything you are asking.

 

[LanceMagnum]

Redarc manger 30 works well for me for this exact use case - there are trade-offs of course but I'm happy with the footprint for all it does. I have it mounted in the cargo area of my jeep outboard of the roll bar:



Control panel:



I'd say the biggest trade-off is in the solar input, it only supports 12v panels (max 32v and 520 watts) and multiple panels need to be wired in parallel.

It does not have bluetooth so there's no app to check on it but overall I'm very happy with the unit.

 

[akhummer]

Thanks for the leads, I’m working to determine what my maximum loads will be some extra capacity built into the system.

 

[akhummer]

Redarc manger 30 works well for me for this exact use case - there are trade-offs of course but I'm happy with the footprint for all it does. I have it mounted in the cargo area of my jeep outboard of the roll bar:

View attachment 641044

Control panel:

View attachment 641045

I'd say the biggest trade-off is in the solar input, it only supports 12v panels (max 32v and 520 watts) and multiple panels need to be wired in parallel.

It does not have bluetooth so there's no app to check on it but overall I'm very happy with the unit.

I think this is going to work for me. I don’t plan on an inverter to run ac loads and carry Honda 2200 watt generator for charging redundancy. Also looks like it would support a larger 400 amp bank if I go that big.
Thanks.

 

[bajaphile]

I've been interested on these DC-DC chargers, but am confused on what they are for? I am obviously missing something.

30-40 years ago, I simply wired in an isolator to charge my batteries when the alternator was running, and separate when no charging source. Now I've been running the Blue Seas ACR, which is the same thing but a little smarter for almost 10 years. Works well with solar (w/ charge controller) and alternator.

What advantages do these Redarc units provide? Is it for if you're using a LiFePO4 in the camper and a standard flooded in the truck? I guess they'd have different charging profiles. If you're using flooded in the camper and flooded starter battery, is there a reason to use?

 

[OllieChristopher]

I've been interested on these DC-DC chargers, but am confused on what they are for? I am obviously missing something.

A lot of the newer vehicles have charging systems that are run off the ECU that measure temperature, volts, amps, etc. This regulates the voltage and amps in such a way that an extra house battery will not be able to charge properly. So the DC to DC systems were created to totally isolate the starter and house battery. The house battery is charged directly from the DC battery charge port instead of the alternator.

The disadvantage of this system is the charge times are very slow. If you go with the CTEK and Smart Pass then the charge times are comparable to the old school relay. IMHO this is an expensive option:

140A Off Road Bundle

The 140A OFF ROAD CHARGING SYSTEM PACKAGE is the ultimate off-road battery charger and 12V power system for your 4WD, camper trailer, overlanding vehicle or RV. CTEK combined the CTEK D250SA Smart Charger and a CTEK SMARTPASS 120 Complete Management Unit to give batteries the ultimate...

smartercharger.com

 

[john61ct]

DC-DC chargers generally (not addressing nor recommending that Redarc)

accomplish three related goals. None are just for alternators, and implemented properly lead to not only more precise (healthier for the LFP bank) but **faster** charge cycles.

First off, matching the desired charge profile of the target battery rather than accepting whatever the alternator+regulator puts out.

Really needs to be adjustable, not just a few canned choices but user-custom.

Properly regulated stages, dropping to lower Float voltage once the bank is Full (pertains more to lead than LFP)

This precision is not just safer, but results in much longer bank lifespan, obviously alone justifies the cost when spending thousands on LFP cells.

Second, compensating for voltage drop when the target bank is a long way from the charge source. DCDC goes at the bank, converts whatever widely varying input and outputs precise voltage desired.

Third, for LFP only, throttles the current pulled, prevents the bank overloading / overheating / burning out the alternator+regulator especially electronic components.

It is true that replacing the stock alternator + regulator can get the same results, converting to fancy regulators that can adjust power output, amps not just volts to match temperature conditions, override when all HP is required for propulsion etc

but usually that is not even an option for most modern production land vehicles.

 

[john61ct]

All the above use cases have little to do with separating House from the Starter battery

although most DC-DC chargers do include VSR/ACR functionality, the placement / wiring really is a higher level design issue.

Where space is truly limited and you are designing in redundancy for mission critical cases, the stock Starter batt can often simply be eliminated these days, use LFP throughout

 

[REDARC_Ryan]

It does not have bluetooth so there's no app to check on it but overall I'm very happy with the unit.

You can purchase the RedVision Monitor separately to utilize Bluetooth function.

RedVision Display Unit

Looking to add a second display unit to your REDARC RedVision TVMS? The DISP4300-RC is now available and also suitable as a replacement display screen. Shop here.

redarcelectronics.com

 

[dpike]

i spent about a year looking for what would suit me best for need, space, and simplicity. i finally installed a Victron Orion-Tr (to boost voltage for lifepo4 charging) to a West Mountain Radio Epic Powergate which charges the lifepo4 battery box and powers the fridge. i added a dedicated charge port to a Powerwerx battery box and it all works great. rewired most of my dc connectors for anderson plugs to simplify everything. the epic powergate is an impressive little box that works as a solar controller, charger and automatically switches power from vehicle power to battery power when the vehicle (or switch in my case) is shut down. i currently have a 40 ah bioenno battery which should run the fridge for about 70hrs before needed to be recharged. i didn't really need (or want) advanced battery monitoring so i mounted one of THESE with a lv alarm on the powerwerx box and it gives me a pretty decent idea of the batterys state.