Any DC-DC chargers other than renogy?
- Thread starter jimkav
- Start date
nickbokhoven
Active member
Redarc has been good for me. Lots of good press on the Sterlings on the forum,
Dodgedieselguy
New member
Go to ETrailer.com. They have a bunch of them.
cacaw
Well-known member
That's a pretty cool unit; I never knew there were any DC chargers that include AC input for battery charging via shore power and/or generator. $1,229 though! An alternative would be the KISAE DC-DC charger plus a KISAE combination inverter/charger for 120V battery-charging with a 12V-120V inverter in the same device.
A while back I was thinking that combining these two KISAE devices would be the cleanest electrical setup imaginable. The battery would only need connections to these two boxes and two distribution panels.
Boxster1971
2023 Sprinter 2500 144wb AWD
Looks like the Redarc Manager 30 is popular with the 4x4 Overlanders that don't often need an inverter. It is a sweet setup for that application.
a vote for the Victron, a great bit of kit that can now be programmed from your phone.
cacaw
Well-known member
Our motorhome's Kisae is limited to 50A and I wish it could be set to accept 100 amps like the Buckboost, but I wouldn't want to have to remember to change it back when I was done with fast charging. Seems like there's a trade-off to every type of charger.
I'd love to find a good all-in-one unit designed for campers. The Bluetti we have in our van comes close - it's only lacking a DC-DC charging system. The solar charging input accepts up to 10A and/or 60V maximum. The Victron Buckboost limits the voltage and amperage, but would it also boost the voltage to maximize the power within the 10A/60V parameters? The best workaround I can come up with is using an inverter to charge it with 120V.
For us in Europe many of the Aires in France and Italy that have shore power are limited to anything between 4-9Amps. Appreciate this has got nothing to do with DC to DC charging but the great thing about the new Victron system is that you can switch the draw to what ever level is appropriate rather than blow the site system!
cacaw
Well-known member
Is that the New Product: Orion-Tr Smart DC-DC charger ? Looks cool but it seems to be limited to about 30 amps on a 12V system. I'd like something programmable like that, but one that could handle the full alternator output depleted lithium batteries can accept.
Usually if you want to run high power levels, the approach is to use a dedicated aux alternator and external alternator controller - programmed to match the battery pack charge capability. This number can vary quite a bit, from ~ 500 watts for a single battleborn to ~ 5 kW for a larger Li pack.
If the goal is sub 1 kW, it might be easier to just buy a couple (of your desired brand) and parallel them.