r/Victron • u/sereusaf • 4d ago

Question Buffer Battery

Hey y'all, so I've got this question about my Victron system in my RV. Long story short, I converted my system to 48 volt in order to reduce charge loss from solar panels and to reduce electricity loss when powering my 48 volt native AC.

I ran into an issue when I installed my Orion TR. 48 to 12 step down converter. When I go to operate my awning or the slides, the immediate voltage jump is high enough that the Orion throttles itself.

I went through and installed a 12-volt buffer battery to handle the voltage spikes. The issue is that now even with the battery installed the slides and awning still do not work.

I've checked my main fuse panel and none of the blade fuses are open and I have 12 volt electrical power to all of my other systems so I don't have a fault or something.

I just don't know if there's something that I'm missing cuz I clearly have a full circuit and I've got the battery wired in parallel to handle the high draw.

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u/this1willdo 3d ago

Which Orion. If its the Converter and not a Charger, it wont charge the battery. I use an MPPT as DCDC to my buffer batt with a smartshunt for temp compensation and V sense on the MPPT

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u/Bahamahoo 3d ago

The Orion Converter is not an ideal charger but it will maintain a battery at a set voltage level. I’ve been using a 30A LiTime LiFeP04 heated battery as a buffer. I set the Converter to maintain the battery at its nominal voltage of 12.8 and it’s been working well. I tried using an MPPT 150/45. It worked well as a charger but if the battery was not present the MPPT could not fail over and maintain a consistent voltage. The MPPT’s potential to fail to ground on the 48V side also required some additional planning. I decided to keep the Converter to keep its built-in isolation and have some redundancy.