hosspowerinc
Member
I have a 2011 Sprinter that is getting 300ah of lithium batteries and a 315 watt solar panel with Victron controller. I am connecting to the alternator via a Victron Cyrix-Li ACR and it will be controlled by the 712 battery monitor to shut off charging when the batteries are below freezing and when they are roughly 80% charged. I imagine some will say that the alternator can't handle this but Ive seen several reports that the factory wiring can only support about 80 amps from the alternator and thus will act as a regulator to keep the batteries from cooking the alternator if they are low on charge.
My question relates to the starter battery and the lithium programming in the solar controller. Victron sells two different Cyrix models that will work, the CT and the Charge. The CT will connect when either of its terminals sees over 13.4V and the Charge will connect only when the input terminal sees 13.7V. My choice would be the CT as it has a built in Start Assist feature and also would help keep the starter battery charged via solar (the CT will connect when solar power is present) but Im not sure if the programming of the solar controller ( higher voltage and no trickle) will hurt the starter battery more than it will help, plus the different chemistry's mingling during the day when there is no load may be problematic.
I can easily add a manual bypass as a jump start option but in my previous van the solar charging on the starter battery was handy during periods of inactivity, though it had AGM house batteries and was straight forward. Thanks for any input.
My question relates to the starter battery and the lithium programming in the solar controller. Victron sells two different Cyrix models that will work, the CT and the Charge. The CT will connect when either of its terminals sees over 13.4V and the Charge will connect only when the input terminal sees 13.7V. My choice would be the CT as it has a built in Start Assist feature and also would help keep the starter battery charged via solar (the CT will connect when solar power is present) but Im not sure if the programming of the solar controller ( higher voltage and no trickle) will hurt the starter battery more than it will help, plus the different chemistry's mingling during the day when there is no load may be problematic.
I can easily add a manual bypass as a jump start option but in my previous van the solar charging on the starter battery was handy during periods of inactivity, though it had AGM house batteries and was straight forward. Thanks for any input.