Hey! Just a heads up but we got our first shipment in for the new Victron Orion XS 50A DC DC Chargers: shop.explorist.life/shop/all-products/victron-orion-xs-1212-50-dc-dc-charger-non-isolated And here is the wiring kit for it: shop.explorist.life/shop/all-products/victron-orion-xs-12-12-50-dc-to-dc-charger-wiring-kit/ Dual Orion XS wiring kit coming soon. Orion 30A to Orion 50A retrofit coming soon. Stay tuned to our social media for the announcement for those. NOTE: I'm sending this everybody on the waiting list at the same time as well as a social media blast; and there are a lot more on the waiting list than I have available as of today and these WILL SELL OUT, But... since we have gotten our first shipment, that gives me confidence that we will have more in a timely manner; which means that we will be taking backorders. This means that if we sell out, you can pre-purchase for our next shipment and we will fulfil those IN THE ORDER THEY ARE RECEIVED, so time is still of the essence if you want one. So, when will the next shipment of these arrive? Our current best estimate is April 26th for the next small shipment, and then by early June, we anticipate having enough to fulfill ALL orders. I will not be sending out waiting list emails for these. If you want to get 'on the list'; purchase one (or two) on backorder and we will send them out as we get them in: shop.explorist.life/shop/all-products/victron-orion-xs-1212-50-dc-dc-charger-non-isolated
Awesome info! Do you recommend a fuse or a breaker as shown in the diagram at min 3:40? I would like to use a breaker but I’ll wait for your feedback. Thanks
G'day Nate.. Be interesting to do a video on the XS to see if you can get charge from solar to the starter battery ,or if you would have to go through Cerbo gx relay or use multiplus trickle charger option? I did upgrade to the victron XS to complement all my Victron gear but was a little disappointed unlike the renogy 50amp DCDC charger which has solar input which will also charge the starter battery from its mppt once house battery is full. It's nice to know you can charge your tow vehicle batteries through solar via a Dcdc or solar reg. Not sure the victron 100/30 or 100/20 can charge the starter batteries? Maybe through the load output on the 100/20 ?
Hi from the freezing north of England! Great summary 👍 When updating, please mention the in-built cable clamp as Victron imply the ‘connectors’ need this unusual mechanical security for longevity. I found the lack of VE.smart network an unwelcome surprise. I’m having to incorporate a separate low temperature disconnect unit to protect my lifepo4 battery. Hopefully they will have a firmware upgrade before next winter!
Glad that was helpful! Our audience is now a near-even split between USA and everywhere else, so we will be including metric measurement conversions going forward.
Hello, Love you work and much appreciated. Looking at this video I belive there is an error in the wiring diagram (3:41). It seems the positive wires as shown are reversed (IN vs OUT). The Orion XS wiring kit diagram on your store shows correct wiring.
I love how you explain all of this stuff. I’m confused about my Ford Transit charging system. How do I know if I can add a 30 amp charge controller to my starter battery?
With the 12/12/50 non isolated, can I use this on a boat and is so how do I earth/ground being the boat doesn’t have a Chasis for grounding the negative bus bar?? Thank you 🤔🧐🙏🙏🙏
Only one terminal because it's a non-isolated unit. Our wiring kit for this component includes the proper combiner block (junction stud) for a permanently installed solution: shop.explorist.life/shop/all-products/victron-orion-xs-12-12-50-dc-to-dc-charger-wiring-kit/?attribute_wire-lentgh=30ft
This is an excellent video; very professionally done. I own a 2020 Leisure Travel Van on a Mercedes Benz sprinter chassis. I would like to install 2 Orion XS DC-DC chargers. The chargers would be mounted under the passenger seat which would be just a few feet from the chassis (starting) battery. According to your wiring kit for a dual installation, you recommend 2 awg wire and a 150 amp circuit breaker. For my situation, can I use a smaller awg (6 or 4) and what would be a sufficient breaker between the chassis (starting) battery and the Orion XS? Thanks.
Can you see any reason to connect the Orion XS to my CerboGX if my setup is Truck/5th Wheel? I'll never be able to see power input while driving, but I guess I could have my wife monitor it via the phone app.
I’m installing a 50A dc-dc charger on a truck camper. The wire will be installed inside an engine bay and covered in split loom conduit. What is your recommendation for wire in this install?
I have a 4awg just under 25ft with a RedArc charger at 30a. I think based on this I could terminal block that cable and add a Victron 12/12 18amp charger when I want a faster on road charge. I really don’t want to rerun that cable for a larger size.
I have been waiting for something like this for a year. I was thinking of using an Anderson connector between my pickup truck and travel trailer. Would I run a positive and negative cable « to and from » the starter battery and positive and negative to the Orion from the Anderson? Would I also need to run a negative from the Orion to trailer chassis? Txs😊
If I am putting this in a fifth wheel. I plan on a dedicated positive run from a solenoid in the engine compartment. The negative I plan on grounding to the truck frame. Any reason to really run that negative all the way back to the battery?
Do I have to run NEG from battery to back of my truck (then to RV) or can I save a few $$ and just get ground from the truck frame at the back of the truck (using only ~3-4 feet of NEG cable) ?
i couldnt get Ancor 4AWG wire to fit with a square ferrule. Not close actually. And without a ferrule just gets wire strands splaying everywhere. Are hex ferrules the key?
I am wanting to use 24v server rack batteries. Can I use the new 50am charger? Or do I need a 12-24 or 24-12 30amp victron charger. I’m having a hard time finding why there is a 12-24 and 24-12 versions and which one I would need.
A befriended camper conversion company had the chance to test this unit with "real-life" cable lengths of 6m and wire sizes of 16mm2 and 25mm2. Unfortunately, using ferrules, you cannot fit either size into the corresponding connections. If you use heavy pin crimp connectors, you cannot fit the cover. If you want to use two ground connects going to either battery, you need to use an external busbar, as there is no way to fit two heavy pin crimp connectors into the Orion XS. The advertised software integration is no award winner either. There is a 0.5V voltage drop between the starter battery reading and the control reading at the Orion XS. This causes the charge current to drop continually way below the advertised mark. All in all a very disappointing result - I had high hopes for this unit, as it did away with the excessive heat and subsequent weight.
@@EXPLORISTlife Hi Nate, of course you will engineer a custom wiring kit to cope with this. You've done this many times. 😊👍 Unfortunately, anyone not in the North America region will not get the benefit of your hardware. One should not really have to custom fit some hack to connect basic wiring. Here in Europe, I can opt for a 50A Votronic unit. 🤷♂ Love your videos, stay safe! 🚐☁🍀
Just the video I needed, thanks. I plan to upgrade to lithium on my 2001 Leisure Travel camper van and plan to use Orion XS as a replacement of existing OEM battery isolator. I understand fuse on starter battery, but where do I put fuse on coach batteries if I don’t use Lynx ? It would have to be at output of the Orion correct?
@@EXPLORISTlife I’m sorry, but one last question. I’m planning to mount Orion XS in location of old battery isolator in engine bay. Is installing in engine bay a problem? The coach battery compartment is a very small, slide-out tray with barely room for the 2 coach batteries. Besides lack of install location, the battery tray has some exposure to dirt and moisture. Thank you again for your help. I’m looking forward to make the move to lithium.
@voyagerman22 The Orion should not be installed in the engine compartment, no. Should be in a dryer, cleaner, cooler environment as close to the house batteries as possible.
At the end of your video you explain about the effect of 10% voltage drop and that the orion will take in 770 watts at 14.4 volts which equates to 53amps. This does not make sense as the max inut current is 50 amps. It cannot take 53 amps in, can it? or 770 watts in? What it means is you will loose 10% of the possible output.
If only there were a place where you could get the proper wire size sent to you instead of having to play guess-work games on what wire sizes would work... 🤷♂️🙂 shop.explorist.life
How do you explain the discrepancy from what you say vs what the manual says? In the Victron manual, 6awg recommended for a 15ft run, with 4awg recommended for a 15-30ft run.
Certainly! Wire choices is what we will be covering over the next 7-10 weeks on this channel in the academy; so if you watch all of those videos and take notes; you'll have a lot better understanding and some additional insight on how we size wires for various components; ESPECIALLY when we are forced into a scenario that goes against manufacturers recommendation.
Hello. I am considering an Orion XS DC charger for my boat. I have an epoch 480AH lithium battery for the house bank and 2 group 31 flooded batteries for the engine bank. I have not seen any settings in the Orion for charging lithium batteries. Am I missing something? Does the Orion support DVCC charging? Thanks!
On your site, I’m seeing Anderson connectors for either 6gauge wiring, or 2gauge, not 4. Using 4gauge should work, but if a specific situation really called for 2gauge, how would you recommend handling the transition from a longish run of 2ga from the started battery, through an Anderson, to the Orion, then stepping down to 4ga right at the end?
Hi Nate, Some electronics are designed to run optimally at 13.8 VDC, rather than the 12.8 we see from a fully charged battery. Can the new Orion XS be configured for use as a boost converter between a 12 VDC battery and 13.8 VDC equipment?
I have a F-250 Powerstroke and the Orion will be up forward in my Airstream. They will be connected via Anderson connections. On the F-250 side can I ground at the back of the vehicle on the frame? Instead of running another lead to the negative of the battery? I thought using negative on a vehicle battery was reserved for winches and welders when current draw is extremely high...
We recommend running both the positive and negative all the way to the starter battery for best performance. You're already under there running one wire and it doesn't take any more effort to do two wires, so may as well do it right the first time so you don't have to do it twice. 50A is still a pretty big load.
Hello, nice job , i have a question, I installed 12/12 30 amp victron dc to dc to my van at it gave me 25 amp before but now it gives me 12/to 13 amp for 100amp lifepo4 battery to charge , do you any idea why it doesn’t charge with at least 25 amp. Thanks
This will need deeper troubleshooting. If you've purchased your DC DC charger from us at shop.explorist.life and you want us to take a closer look, reach out at shop.explorist.life/support. If you've decided to give your business to a different victron dealer, reach out to them for support on that.
I mean… this channel is indeed funded through product sales on our store. But I’m also tired of people buying their products from our competitors and then coming to us for personalized support when their dealers don’t support their customers on the products they sell them. But in the event that the viewer actually purchased from us but didn’t reach out via the proper support channel for support, it points them in the right direction.
So I have a question. Hopefully someone can help me here in the comments or even explorist life themselves, I have a tool trailer that because of this page I went with mainly victron. I have a 2000 multiplus and I want to run remote switches, one at each door, next to my regular light switches. Can I just run them in parallel? I’m assuming this is a dry set of contacts but wanted to be sure
I wonder if you could help me figure something out, I've researched on the internet and get multiple different answers. I bought 3/100ah lifepo4 batteries 12v, have 3/100w solar panels with 4 more panels in storage for springtime installation, I was told a 20a control charger was needed, would a 40 amp be better.
Hey, @jamelcampbell4984! I appreciate you taking the time to ask your question, but unfortunately, I don't have enough info about your specific question to provide an accurate answer, but here is a playlist that, if you watch all of the videos start-to-finish (and take notes 😉), you'll have a REALLY good idea of how to design a solar array: th-cam.com/video/Jkbs84sBHsg/w-d-xo.html&list=PLmvhcyi4n0TV9pi83rFTv3ZuMT_S1xIZt Alternatively, I have some of my most common solar array setups pre-built here: shop.explorist.life/product-category/all-products/camper-wiring-kits/solar-charging-wiring-kits/
Why buy a non-isolated charger when you still have to have a negative wire to the other battery? That's what it looks like in all the drawings I have seen. I thought the whole point with non-isolated was that you only needed 1 long wire, and the negative just gets grounded to the chassis.
You 'could' send all of the negatives to the chassis, but in my experience, using the chassis as 'the' current carrying conductor (wire) can give unreliable performance. A wire to a lug to a busbar or other electrical connector is always going to give the most consistant performance, in my experience.
Hey! Just a heads up but we got our first shipment in for the new Victron Orion XS 50A DC DC Chargers: shop.explorist.life/shop/all-products/victron-orion-xs-1212-50-dc-dc-charger-non-isolated And here is the wiring kit for it: shop.explorist.life/shop/all-products/victron-orion-xs-12-12-50-dc-to-dc-charger-wiring-kit/ Dual Orion XS wiring kit coming soon. Orion 30A to Orion 50A retrofit coming soon. Stay tuned to our social media for the announcement for those. NOTE: I'm sending this everybody on the waiting list at the same time as well as a social media blast; and there are a lot more on the waiting list than I have available as of today and these WILL SELL OUT, But... since we have gotten our first shipment, that gives me confidence that we will have more in a timely manner; which means that we will be taking backorders. This means that if we sell out, you can pre-purchase for our next shipment and we will fulfil those IN THE ORDER THEY ARE RECEIVED, so time is still of the essence if you want one. So, when will the next shipment of these arrive? Our current best estimate is April 26th for the next small shipment, and then by early June, we anticipate having enough to fulfill ALL orders. I will not be sending out waiting list emails for these. If you want to get 'on the list'; purchase one (or two) on backorder and we will send them out as we get them in: shop.explorist.life/shop/all-products/victron-orion-xs-1212-50-dc-dc-charger-non-isolated
I recently found your site and am loving the videos. I am planning two anderson type(or similar) connectors in line to the camper. How do these affect voltage drop? I will check back weekly for a link to the 12-12 50 as I don't see it currently listed in your store. Thanks.
Hey! Just a heads up but we got our first shipment in for the new Victron Orion XS 50A DC DC Chargers: shop.explorist.life/shop/all-products/victron-orion-xs-1212-50-dc-dc-charger-non-isolated And here is the wiring kit for it: shop.explorist.life/shop/all-products/victron-orion-xs-12-12-50-dc-to-dc-charger-wiring-kit/ Dual Orion XS wiring kit coming soon. Orion 30A to Orion 50A retrofit coming soon. Stay tuned to our social media for the announcement for those. NOTE: I'm sending this everybody on the waiting list at the same time as well as a social media blast; and there are a lot more on the waiting list than I have available as of today and these WILL SELL OUT, But... since we have gotten our first shipment, that gives me confidence that we will have more in a timely manner; which means that we will be taking backorders. This means that if we sell out, you can pre-purchase for our next shipment and we will fulfil those IN THE ORDER THEY ARE RECEIVED, so time is still of the essence if you want one. So, when will the next shipment of these arrive? Our current best estimate is April 26th for the next small shipment, and then by early June, we anticipate having enough to fulfill ALL orders. I will not be sending out waiting list emails for these. If you want to get 'on the list'; purchase one (or two) on backorder and we will send them out as we get them in: shop.explorist.life/shop/all-products/victron-orion-xs-1212-50-dc-dc-charger-non-isolated
I think I’ve asked this question before on your channel, but I don’t remember getting an answer. When wiring from a truck to a tow vehicle through a seven way tow plug, you only have 10 gauge wire for the charge wire in there. so does it make any sense to use bigger wire than 10 gauge from the alternator back to the tow plug and then from the end of the seven way inside the trailer to the Orion?? or just use 10 gauge the whole way????
Larger wire is required. We have a wiring kit for this component: shop.explorist.life/shop/all-products/victron-orion-xs-12-12-50-dc-to-dc-charger-wiring-kit/
Question with the truck running and it set to charging my mode. Can you still use the battery to power things while the car is running and charging the liFePO4 battery?
Feel free to do whatever you want. I’ll teach what is allowed by code and standard and what I’ll support in our tech support inbox in our store. It’s easy to limit yourself to 4% when you don’t have customers. Sorta armchair quarterbacking the situation there, Gary.
Thanks for the great, highly educational videos. I have really enjoyed learning from all of them as I have done various lithium and solar upgrades these last couple of years. Do you have a video that talks about what to do in the case where the RV manufacturer assumed lead acid vs Lithium and used a battery joiner solenoid for house battery charging off the altenator? Even though my 2023 Newmar New Aire came from the factory with 640 Ah of Lithionics batteries (with a later factory upgrade of a 3rd Lithionics bringing the total up to 960 Ah) they still used an old-school Xantrex solar controller (that cannot spell Lithium and they now have a service bulletin/recall out for well over 100 vehicles) and battery joiner solenoids. I have already ditched the nicad/lead-acid solar controller for a Victron SmartSolar MPPT myself thanks to your videos, but I still don't like that the rig uses a solenoid for alternator charging vs DC to DC charger(s). I'd still like to use the solenoid for combining batteries for a boost if needed when starting the rig, but I feel like I should rewire in a new Orion XS (or a couple) for altenator charging. That said, I need to deal with the solenoid, no? My previous rig, a Tiffin Wayfarer also had a solenoid, but putting a BIM in its place was a simple remove and replace exercise. But, had I gone with a DC to DC charger there, I would have had the same question as I do with this new DP, no? Thanks!
Could they have released this version of the Orion @ 50A to conveniently fit below the 60A CCP1 in Ford Transits? The Transit CCP1 fuse is notoriously hard to change so im a little nervous to follow your advice of a 60A fuse downstream of that.
This is good news. I have been researching chargers for my caravan. I have a Victron mppt controller fitted. Will the 50amp charger work with solar controller?
in my short Microcamper the 4' run from my starter into the charger will be 4awg copper, but okay to use existing 8awg copper OUT of the charger to the house lithium for a 7' run?
Hey! Just a heads up but we got our first shipment in for the new Victron Orion XS 50A DC DC Chargers: shop.explorist.life/shop/all-products/victron-orion-xs-1212-50-dc-dc-charger-non-isolated
And here is the wiring kit for it: shop.explorist.life/shop/all-products/victron-orion-xs-12-12-50-dc-to-dc-charger-wiring-kit/
Dual Orion XS wiring kit coming soon. Orion 30A to Orion 50A retrofit coming soon. Stay tuned to our social media for the announcement for those.
NOTE: I'm sending this everybody on the waiting list at the same time as well as a social media blast; and there are a lot more on the waiting list than I have available as of today and these WILL SELL OUT, But... since we have gotten our first shipment, that gives me confidence that we will have more in a timely manner; which means that we will be taking backorders. This means that if we sell out, you can pre-purchase for our next shipment and we will fulfil those IN THE ORDER THEY ARE RECEIVED, so time is still of the essence if you want one.
So, when will the next shipment of these arrive? Our current best estimate is April 26th for the next small shipment, and then by early June, we anticipate having enough to fulfill ALL orders.
I will not be sending out waiting list emails for these. If you want to get 'on the list'; purchase one (or two) on backorder and we will send them out as we get them in: shop.explorist.life/shop/all-products/victron-orion-xs-1212-50-dc-dc-charger-non-isolated
Awesome info!
Do you recommend a fuse or a breaker as shown in the diagram at min 3:40?
I would like to use a breaker but I’ll wait for your feedback.
Thanks
G'day Nate.. Be interesting to do a video on the XS to see if you can get charge from solar to the starter battery ,or if you would have to go through Cerbo gx relay or use multiplus trickle charger option?
I did upgrade to the victron XS to complement all my Victron gear but was a little disappointed unlike the renogy 50amp DCDC charger which has solar input which will also charge the starter battery from its mppt once house battery is full. It's nice to know you can charge your tow vehicle batteries through solar via a Dcdc or solar reg. Not sure the victron 100/30 or 100/20 can charge the starter batteries?
Maybe through the load output on the 100/20 ?
Great explanation, although I'm curious how the distance calculation varies if you're using chassis for the negative.
I was wondering the same question for non-isolated.
Hi from the freezing north of England! Great summary 👍
When updating, please mention the in-built cable clamp as Victron imply the ‘connectors’ need this unusual mechanical security for longevity.
I found the lack of VE.smart network an unwelcome surprise. I’m having to incorporate a separate low temperature disconnect unit to protect my lifepo4 battery. Hopefully they will have a firmware upgrade before next winter!
Thank you for putting in the conversion sizes (mm², etc)😊. Not many people do that. Very informative, as ever!
Glad that was helpful! Our audience is now a near-even split between USA and everywhere else, so we will be including metric measurement conversions going forward.
Excellent!! Thank you!! I was preparing myself to have to upgrade wiring. Phew! What a relief!
Clear and concise, thank you!
Hello, Love you work and much appreciated. Looking at this video I belive there is an error in the wiring diagram (3:41). It seems the positive wires as shown are reversed (IN vs OUT). The Orion XS wiring kit diagram on your store shows correct wiring.
Error on the video, fixed in the kit, yes.
I love how you explain all of this stuff. I’m confused about my Ford Transit charging system. How do I know if I can add a 30 amp charge controller to my starter battery?
How about if I want to double up and use 2 for 100amp total?
With the 12/12/50 non isolated, can I use this on a boat and is so how do I earth/ground being the boat doesn’t have a Chasis for grounding the negative bus bar?? Thank you 🤔🧐🙏🙏🙏
Why only one negative terminal? And where do we get a good combiner block like you show to combine the two negative leads?
Only one terminal because it's a non-isolated unit. Our wiring kit for this component includes the proper combiner block (junction stud) for a permanently installed solution: shop.explorist.life/shop/all-products/victron-orion-xs-12-12-50-dc-to-dc-charger-wiring-kit/?attribute_wire-lentgh=30ft
Is it safe to use the vehicle frame as a common round for the neg running on the tow vehicle portion if going to a trailer?
What about if you try to combine two 50 amp victron chargers?
This is an excellent video; very professionally done. I own a 2020 Leisure Travel Van on a Mercedes Benz sprinter chassis. I would like to install 2 Orion XS DC-DC chargers. The chargers would be mounted under the passenger seat which would be just a few feet from the chassis (starting) battery. According to your wiring kit for a dual installation, you recommend 2 awg wire and a 150 amp circuit breaker. For my situation, can I use a smaller awg (6 or 4) and what would be a sufficient breaker between the chassis (starting) battery and the Orion XS? Thanks.
If you want to stray from our recommendation, you’ll need to do your own calculations.
Hi, in your wiring arrangement to connect the XS, would the Lynx be grounded to the chassis? Thanks
Thanks, Good information
Can you see any reason to connect the Orion XS to my CerboGX if my setup is Truck/5th Wheel? I'll never be able to see power input while driving, but I guess I could have my wife monitor it via the phone app.
I’m installing a 50A dc-dc charger on a truck camper. The wire will be installed inside an engine bay and covered in split loom conduit. What is your recommendation for wire in this install?
I have a 4awg just under 25ft with a RedArc charger at 30a. I think based on this I could terminal block that cable and add a Victron 12/12 18amp charger when I want a faster on road charge. I really don’t want to rerun that cable for a larger size.
I've got that 12/12=18 victron and once it gets to operating temp Im lucky to get 10A out of it. Proceed with caution, or a very good cooling.
I have been waiting for something like this for a year. I was thinking of using an Anderson connector between my pickup truck and travel trailer. Would I run a positive and negative cable « to and from » the starter battery and positive and negative to the Orion from the Anderson? Would I also need to run a negative from the Orion to trailer chassis? Txs😊
If I am putting this in a fifth wheel. I plan on a dedicated positive run from a solenoid in the engine compartment. The negative I plan on grounding to the truck frame. Any reason to really run that negative all the way back to the battery?
Do I have to run NEG from battery to back of my truck (then to RV) or can I save a few $$ and just get ground from the truck frame at the back of the truck (using only ~3-4 feet of NEG cable) ?
i couldnt get Ancor 4AWG wire to fit with a square ferrule. Not close actually. And without a ferrule just gets wire strands splaying everywhere. Are hex ferrules the key?
No ferrules + the 4ga wire in our kits + a steady hand = success 👍
I am wanting to use 24v server rack batteries. Can I use the new 50am charger? Or do I need a 12-24 or 24-12 30amp victron charger. I’m having a hard time finding why there is a 12-24 and 24-12 versions and which one I would need.
A befriended camper conversion company had the chance to test this unit with "real-life" cable lengths of 6m and wire sizes of 16mm2 and 25mm2. Unfortunately, using ferrules, you cannot fit either size into the corresponding connections. If you use heavy pin crimp connectors, you cannot fit the cover. If you want to use two ground connects going to either battery, you need to use an external busbar, as there is no way to fit two heavy pin crimp connectors into the Orion XS.
The advertised software integration is no award winner either. There is a 0.5V voltage drop between the starter battery reading and the control reading at the Orion XS. This causes the charge current to drop continually way below the advertised mark.
All in all a very disappointing result - I had high hopes for this unit, as it did away with the excessive heat and subsequent weight.
We will be testing and releasing wiring kits and support so that none of that should be an issue. Stay tuned! 👍🙏
@@EXPLORISTlife Hi Nate, of course you will engineer a custom wiring kit to cope with this. You've done this many times. 😊👍
Unfortunately, anyone not in the North America region will not get the benefit of your hardware. One should not really have to custom fit some hack to connect basic wiring.
Here in Europe, I can opt for a 50A Votronic unit. 🤷♂
Love your videos, stay safe! 🚐☁🍀
@gonefilming2020 We ship worldwide! 😉👍
@@EXPLORISTlife Of course you do. 😁
Just the video I needed, thanks. I plan to upgrade to lithium on my 2001 Leisure Travel camper van and plan to use Orion XS as a replacement of existing OEM battery isolator. I understand fuse on starter battery, but where do I put fuse on coach batteries if I don’t use Lynx ? It would have to be at output of the Orion correct?
Fuse as close to the battery as possible.
@@EXPLORISTlife thank you, but just to clarify, I’d have two 60A fuses, one at the starter and the other at the coach batteries.
Correct
@@EXPLORISTlife I’m sorry, but one last question. I’m planning to mount Orion XS in location of old battery isolator in engine bay. Is installing in engine bay a problem? The coach battery compartment is a very small, slide-out tray with barely room for the 2 coach batteries. Besides lack of install location, the battery tray has some exposure to dirt and moisture. Thank you again for your help. I’m looking forward to make the move to lithium.
@voyagerman22 The Orion should not be installed in the engine compartment, no. Should be in a dryer, cleaner, cooler environment as close to the house batteries as possible.
At the end of your video you explain about the effect of 10% voltage drop and that the orion will take in 770 watts at 14.4 volts which equates to 53amps. This does not make sense as the max inut current is 50 amps. It cannot take 53 amps in, can it? or 770 watts in? What it means is you will loose 10% of the possible output.
I have two 12v bats in series. Can I run a 12/12 dc-dc charger on each battery?
if plus wire is copper 25mm2 can negative be aluminium 30mm2, got 20meters alu
If only there were a place where you could get the proper wire size sent to you instead of having to play guess-work games on what wire sizes would work... 🤷♂️🙂 shop.explorist.life
How do you explain the discrepancy from what you say vs what the manual says? In the Victron manual, 6awg recommended for a 15ft run, with 4awg recommended for a 15-30ft run.
Certainly! Wire choices is what we will be covering over the next 7-10 weeks on this channel in the academy; so if you watch all of those videos and take notes; you'll have a lot better understanding and some additional insight on how we size wires for various components; ESPECIALLY when we are forced into a scenario that goes against manufacturers recommendation.
Link to academy where videos will be uploaded. New videos every Sunday: th-cam.com/play/PLmvhcyi4n0TWdoT6YNzBha-x7W_mH306i.html
Hello. I am considering an Orion XS DC charger for my boat. I have an epoch 480AH lithium battery for the house bank and 2 group 31 flooded batteries for the engine bank. I have not seen any settings in the Orion for charging lithium batteries. Am I missing something? Does the Orion support DVCC charging? Thanks!
On your site, I’m seeing Anderson connectors for either 6gauge wiring, or 2gauge, not 4. Using 4gauge should work, but if a specific situation really called for 2gauge, how would you recommend handling the transition from a longish run of 2ga from the started battery, through an Anderson, to the Orion, then stepping down to 4ga right at the end?
I would end up handling that on a case by case basis in our tech support email as I imagine that will be a pretty rare situation.
Hi Nate, Some electronics are designed to run optimally at 13.8 VDC, rather than the 12.8 we see from a fully charged battery. Can the new Orion XS be configured for use as a boost converter between a 12 VDC battery and 13.8 VDC equipment?
It can indeed be used as a power supply w/ a programmable output voltage.
@@EXPLORISTlife , Great news!
Can two be paralleled in Power Supply mode?
Any idea when the isolated 50 amp version might be available from Orion?
There is no ETA on that one.
I have a F-250 Powerstroke and the Orion will be up forward in my Airstream. They will be connected via Anderson connections. On the F-250 side can I ground at the back of the vehicle on the frame? Instead of running another lead to the negative of the battery? I thought using negative on a vehicle battery was reserved for winches and welders when current draw is extremely high...
We recommend running both the positive and negative all the way to the starter battery for best performance. You're already under there running one wire and it doesn't take any more effort to do two wires, so may as well do it right the first time so you don't have to do it twice. 50A is still a pretty big load.
Hello, nice job , i have a question, I installed 12/12 30 amp victron dc to dc to my van at it gave me 25 amp before but now it gives me 12/to 13 amp for 100amp lifepo4 battery to charge , do you any idea why it doesn’t charge with at least 25 amp. Thanks
This will need deeper troubleshooting. If you've purchased your DC DC charger from us at shop.explorist.life and you want us to take a closer look, reach out at shop.explorist.life/support.
If you've decided to give your business to a different victron dealer, reach out to them for support on that.
@@EXPLORISTlifebro 😂 this is just a shill to buy your products...
I mean… this channel is indeed funded through product sales on our store. But I’m also tired of people buying their products from our competitors and then coming to us for personalized support when their dealers don’t support their customers on the products they sell them.
But in the event that the viewer actually purchased from us but didn’t reach out via the proper support channel for support, it points them in the right direction.
@@EXPLORISTlife i guess that makes sense sorry
So I have a question. Hopefully someone can help me here in the comments or even explorist life themselves, I have a tool trailer that because of this page I went with mainly victron. I have a 2000 multiplus and I want to run remote switches, one at each door, next to my regular light switches. Can I just run them in parallel? I’m assuming this is a dry set of contacts but wanted to be sure
Any copper 4/6 wire or would it be better to use tinned marine grade? Thanks!
Given you aren’t in a boat, the wire we include in our shop would be best: shop.explorist.life
I wonder if you could help me figure something out, I've researched on the internet and get multiple different answers.
I bought 3/100ah lifepo4 batteries 12v, have 3/100w solar panels with 4 more panels in storage for springtime installation, I was told a 20a control charger was needed, would a 40 amp be better.
Hey, @jamelcampbell4984! I appreciate you taking the time to ask your question, but unfortunately, I don't have enough info about your specific question to provide an accurate answer, but here is a playlist that, if you watch all of the videos start-to-finish (and take notes 😉), you'll have a REALLY good idea of how to design a solar array: th-cam.com/video/Jkbs84sBHsg/w-d-xo.html&list=PLmvhcyi4n0TV9pi83rFTv3ZuMT_S1xIZt
Alternatively, I have some of my most common solar array setups pre-built here: shop.explorist.life/product-category/all-products/camper-wiring-kits/solar-charging-wiring-kits/
Hello
My alternator is a small 55 amp.
Is it possible to connect, are you the new one?? To DC to my DC
Thank you
This DCDC charger is configurable in output, but that is a pretty small alternator, so you would want to probably keep it under 20A. In my opinion.
Hi is possible to put this 2x Charger 50A ,I put big Alternator 280A
Yep! We will have wiring kits and diagrams available for this soon.
How to wire to alternator please Plese
You don’t wire it to alternator. Wire it to starter battery so as to protect health of starter battery when charging.
Why buy a non-isolated charger when you still have to have a negative wire to the other battery?
That's what it looks like in all the drawings I have seen.
I thought the whole point with non-isolated was that you only needed 1 long wire, and the negative just gets grounded to the chassis.
You 'could' send all of the negatives to the chassis, but in my experience, using the chassis as 'the' current carrying conductor (wire) can give unreliable performance. A wire to a lug to a busbar or other electrical connector is always going to give the most consistant performance, in my experience.
alternator printer van 2023 work ok ?
Yes no problem at all. It can support nearly double that
@@PresidentBust where we buy this one
Hey! Just a heads up but we got our first shipment in for the new Victron Orion XS 50A DC DC Chargers: shop.explorist.life/shop/all-products/victron-orion-xs-1212-50-dc-dc-charger-non-isolated
And here is the wiring kit for it: shop.explorist.life/shop/all-products/victron-orion-xs-12-12-50-dc-to-dc-charger-wiring-kit/
Dual Orion XS wiring kit coming soon. Orion 30A to Orion 50A retrofit coming soon. Stay tuned to our social media for the announcement for those.
NOTE: I'm sending this everybody on the waiting list at the same time as well as a social media blast; and there are a lot more on the waiting list than I have available as of today and these WILL SELL OUT, But... since we have gotten our first shipment, that gives me confidence that we will have more in a timely manner; which means that we will be taking backorders. This means that if we sell out, you can pre-purchase for our next shipment and we will fulfil those IN THE ORDER THEY ARE RECEIVED, so time is still of the essence if you want one.
So, when will the next shipment of these arrive? Our current best estimate is April 26th for the next small shipment, and then by early June, we anticipate having enough to fulfill ALL orders.
I will not be sending out waiting list emails for these. If you want to get 'on the list'; purchase one (or two) on backorder and we will send them out as we get them in: shop.explorist.life/shop/all-products/victron-orion-xs-1212-50-dc-dc-charger-non-isolated
Hi is the Orion xs available as isolated? Thanks Chris
Hey, refer back to the previous video, it's not available as isolated yet, but will be released later
@@DylanRaubenheimer38that's the first I've heard of an isolated version. Do you have any more info?
@@chachi5975 th-cam.com/video/ByhIxhA-x8M/w-d-xo.htmlsi=aqtfo7dGkd7CIEoK
4/6 AWG and 60 amp fuse
Thanks 😊
Telt me how much current is actually flowing in the negative wire while it’s charging 50amps, gotta be close to zero amps?
I recently found your site and am loving the videos. I am planning two anderson type(or similar) connectors in line to the camper. How do these affect voltage drop? I will check back weekly for a link to the 12-12 50 as I don't see it currently listed in your store. Thanks.
Hey! Just a heads up but we got our first shipment in for the new Victron Orion XS 50A DC DC Chargers: shop.explorist.life/shop/all-products/victron-orion-xs-1212-50-dc-dc-charger-non-isolated
And here is the wiring kit for it: shop.explorist.life/shop/all-products/victron-orion-xs-12-12-50-dc-to-dc-charger-wiring-kit/
Dual Orion XS wiring kit coming soon. Orion 30A to Orion 50A retrofit coming soon. Stay tuned to our social media for the announcement for those.
NOTE: I'm sending this everybody on the waiting list at the same time as well as a social media blast; and there are a lot more on the waiting list than I have available as of today and these WILL SELL OUT, But... since we have gotten our first shipment, that gives me confidence that we will have more in a timely manner; which means that we will be taking backorders. This means that if we sell out, you can pre-purchase for our next shipment and we will fulfil those IN THE ORDER THEY ARE RECEIVED, so time is still of the essence if you want one.
So, when will the next shipment of these arrive? Our current best estimate is April 26th for the next small shipment, and then by early June, we anticipate having enough to fulfill ALL orders.
I will not be sending out waiting list emails for these. If you want to get 'on the list'; purchase one (or two) on backorder and we will send them out as we get them in: shop.explorist.life/shop/all-products/victron-orion-xs-1212-50-dc-dc-charger-non-isolated
I think I’ve asked this question before on your channel, but I don’t remember getting an answer. When wiring from a truck to a tow vehicle through a seven way tow plug, you only have 10 gauge wire for the charge wire in there. so does it make any sense to use bigger wire than 10 gauge from the alternator back to the tow plug and then from the end of the seven way inside the trailer to the Orion?? or just use 10 gauge the whole way????
Larger wire is required. We have a wiring kit for this component: shop.explorist.life/shop/all-products/victron-orion-xs-12-12-50-dc-to-dc-charger-wiring-kit/
Question with the truck running and it set to charging my mode. Can you still use the battery to power things while the car is running and charging the liFePO4 battery?
Yep!
But, Ferrule or not to ferrule, That is the question.
I just got my hands on a US early release and will be making the plan for the wiring kits later this week where I'll figure that out.
10% is a hell of a voltage drop, personally I'd try to no go above 3-4%
Feel free to do whatever you want. I’ll teach what is allowed by code and standard and what I’ll support in our tech support inbox in our store. It’s easy to limit yourself to 4% when you don’t have customers. Sorta armchair quarterbacking the situation there, Gary.
Thanks for the great, highly educational videos. I have really enjoyed learning from all of them as I have done various lithium and solar upgrades these last couple of years. Do you have a video that talks about what to do in the case where the RV manufacturer assumed lead acid vs Lithium and used a battery joiner solenoid for house battery charging off the altenator?
Even though my 2023 Newmar New Aire came from the factory with 640 Ah of Lithionics batteries (with a later factory upgrade of a 3rd Lithionics bringing the total up to 960 Ah) they still used an old-school Xantrex solar controller (that cannot spell Lithium and they now have a service bulletin/recall out for well over 100 vehicles) and battery joiner solenoids. I have already ditched the nicad/lead-acid solar controller for a Victron SmartSolar MPPT myself thanks to your videos, but I still don't like that the rig uses a solenoid for alternator charging vs DC to DC charger(s). I'd still like to use the solenoid for combining batteries for a boost if needed when starting the rig, but I feel like I should rewire in a new Orion XS (or a couple) for altenator charging. That said, I need to deal with the solenoid, no?
My previous rig, a Tiffin Wayfarer also had a solenoid, but putting a BIM in its place was a simple remove and replace exercise. But, had I gone with a DC to DC charger there, I would have had the same question as I do with this new DP, no?
Thanks!
Could they have released this version of the Orion @ 50A to conveniently fit below the 60A CCP1 in Ford Transits? The Transit CCP1 fuse is notoriously hard to change so im a little nervous to follow your advice of a 60A fuse downstream of that.
Is it possible to charge more than one 12 volt Li battery with this DC-DC charger at the same time? I will have 4 100amp 12 Li batteries to charge.
I love your videos! as soon as I find the perfect van, I will buy a kit from you!
is it me or is out and in backwards here?
Guessing this unit still does not connect to the Cerbo GX?
It has a ve. Direct port.
This is good news. I have been researching chargers for my caravan. I have a Victron mppt controller fitted. Will the 50amp charger work with solar controller?
Yes you can charge from multiple sources. You can create a network in the app so the two chargers will communicate with each other.
Yes👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
Hi will this be ok on none smart alternator
Yes
in my short Microcamper the 4' run from my starter into the charger will be 4awg copper, but okay to use existing 8awg copper OUT of the charger to the house lithium for a 7' run?
We recommend, and our kits include, 4awg wire for the entire charging circuit.