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certainly is @garygiles1963... with time i'm sure the price will come down to something more affordable but i wont be going back to a wet cell anytime soon
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Intervolt DCC Pro DC DC split charge system
- Thread starter StarCruiser
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I bought one from oz. £245 including shipping but I expect the customs chaps will open the box
So how much did the import duty, VAT and handling charge come to then @alexander ? And how long did you have to wait for it to arrive?
Looks like the exchange rate may have been better by a small amount on the initial purchase. I’d have matched that and delivered in 2 day’s max, had you asked.
Still, I’m not bitter…
Fuses are noted in the handbook (I think) and should protect your cables. 30A at or as near to the batteries as possible. Cable I would go with 10mm though a minimum of 6mm is specified I believe.
Still, I’m not bitter…
Fuses are noted in the handbook (I think) and should protect your cables. 30A at or as near to the batteries as possible. Cable I would go with 10mm though a minimum of 6mm is specified I believe.
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I'm in the UK a short time so prefer to be Independant so book direction I'm in control.
yes the manual says close to the batteries. I was thinking 30Amp, but I saw a thread some where with someone putting huge fuses in, might as well have used nails. Couldn't think why they had such large rated fuses.
yes the manual says close to the batteries. I was thinking 30Amp, but I saw a thread some where with someone putting huge fuses in, might as well have used nails. Couldn't think why they had such large rated fuses.
Depends on the cable size Alex. I’ve used far larger cable without fusing until I get to the DCC where I’ve fused down to 30A.
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SC, I mentioned the InterVolt to a friend yesterday who is currently doing a campervan conversion.
He suggested these were Battery to Battery and not a good idea, he then sent a link to this.
Am I right in thinking the InterVolt is not a simple B2B solution?
He suggested these were Battery to Battery and not a good idea, he then sent a link to this.
Am I right in thinking the InterVolt is not a simple B2B solution?
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Just had a read of that - sounds like they are putting B2B chargers down ... whilst selling their own and calling it something else. I just had a quick look at the ctek documentation and their charge voltage is 14.4volts too.
Lorin
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The article linked to is full of inaccuracies and has clearly been written by someone with little/no understanding of B2B chargers and/or an ‘agenda’ to generate customers for their ‘solution’.
I’ve not read the article yet so can’t comment, but all I can say is that these units are designed from the ground up to deliver 25A all day long from a vehicle starting battery (which is of course being charged by the alternator) under the bonnet in Australian heat and Intervolt couldn’t make enough of them at this time last year to meet demand. They have a configurable ignition sense which either starts them with the ignition after a short delay or on sensing charging voltage if they are fitted remotely in a caravan or trailer.
Your friend could always contact Intervolt as they are incredibly helpful. I’m sure they would want to know about the article if they don’t already.
I’d have to ask the question, if not charging from one battery to another, as has been done by split charge relays for many years, how do they think the leisure battery is going to be charged (aside from solar or fitting a separate alternator which would work but isn’t done for many reasons).
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I think they are inferring it's an Alternator to Battery charging system ... which is essentially the same thing. It';s a little hard to make sense of the waffle.
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I did suspect that too but my knowledge of these things isn't that good hence the question here.
Sounds like the InterVolt one is streets ahead of what those guys are waffling on about.
Ok, I’ve read it now.
I have to say they seem to be referring to both the unit they say is unsuitable and the one they say is better as a B2B despite saying the latter is taken from the alternator, which, as we know, and Grant has mentioned, is practically the same thing. Or is it?
When we are talking 1/10ths of a volt, any drop in this matters, which is what they are talking about in the early stages. The thing is, older alternators (I’ll come to newer ECU ones in a minute) sense the voltage at the battery terminal with a fused voltage sense wire which feeds straight back into the regulator inside the alternator. This eliminates the voltage drop in the alternator charging lead (the big one) by bumping the voltage up a bit at the alternator output terminal to compensate. They then go on to say the more up to date bit of kit doesn’t care what voltage it has going in to it, so this neatly contradicts this point they have made.
The article has a fair amount of correct information in it but it’s presented in a jumbled way, rather like one of Les Dawson’s piano pieces.
To clarify.
The Intervolt IS one of the more up to date, better pieces of kit they describe towards the end. It takes a variable voltage on its input terminals (within range) and gives the correct voltage at its output terminals to charge the leisure battery. This voltage is user selectable to suit the connected battery (not Lithium as this type uses far more sophisticated charging) and has three stages for an AGM not the two they describe. The DCC Pro also has a setting for ECU controlled alternators as found on later cars which vary or even cut the voltage they send to the vehicle battery to decrease load on the engine in favour of increased efficiency (in the lab).
In short, once set up, whatever voltage you apply to the DCC when in the ‘on’ mode, you will get what the leisure battery needs on the output. The solar connection is also pretty smart, charging either the leisure battery or both depending on the ‘on/off’ state of the DCC.
I think reading through the fog in this article, they are actually endorsing items like the DCC Pro.
I have to say they seem to be referring to both the unit they say is unsuitable and the one they say is better as a B2B despite saying the latter is taken from the alternator, which, as we know, and Grant has mentioned, is practically the same thing. Or is it?
When we are talking 1/10ths of a volt, any drop in this matters, which is what they are talking about in the early stages. The thing is, older alternators (I’ll come to newer ECU ones in a minute) sense the voltage at the battery terminal with a fused voltage sense wire which feeds straight back into the regulator inside the alternator. This eliminates the voltage drop in the alternator charging lead (the big one) by bumping the voltage up a bit at the alternator output terminal to compensate. They then go on to say the more up to date bit of kit doesn’t care what voltage it has going in to it, so this neatly contradicts this point they have made.
The article has a fair amount of correct information in it but it’s presented in a jumbled way, rather like one of Les Dawson’s piano pieces.
To clarify.
The Intervolt IS one of the more up to date, better pieces of kit they describe towards the end. It takes a variable voltage on its input terminals (within range) and gives the correct voltage at its output terminals to charge the leisure battery. This voltage is user selectable to suit the connected battery (not Lithium as this type uses far more sophisticated charging) and has three stages for an AGM not the two they describe. The DCC Pro also has a setting for ECU controlled alternators as found on later cars which vary or even cut the voltage they send to the vehicle battery to decrease load on the engine in favour of increased efficiency (in the lab).
In short, once set up, whatever voltage you apply to the DCC when in the ‘on’ mode, you will get what the leisure battery needs on the output. The solar connection is also pretty smart, charging either the leisure battery or both depending on the ‘on/off’ state of the DCC.
I think reading through the fog in this article, they are actually endorsing items like the DCC Pro.
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Just one small note on that Rich. Lithium batteries are actually much more simple to charge than other chemistries. It's just a set voltage at a regulated current (usually very high) and charging until that voltage is reached. Charging then stops all together, no float, no equalising etc. Depending on the exact chemistry it's usually about 4.1 volts per cell.
It's a mystery to me why there isn't more support for lithium charging, the only thing I can think of is that all of their hardware and algorithms are just made to suit lead batteries and they haven't had suitable motivation to research or address this properly.
It's a mystery to me why there isn't more support for lithium charging, the only thing I can think of is that all of their hardware and algorithms are just made to suit lead batteries and they haven't had suitable motivation to research or address this properly.
It’s temperature control I believe Grant combined with what you say. Lithium batteries for leisure use are fairly new to the leisure market and they’ve not got a charger set up to cope with the high currents possible I guess. I cannot get over the size of the Redarc charger that Rosy has, it’s about half the size of a briefcase.
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I haven't heard much about them over heating when used as sensible charging currents up to .5c. Which for a typical leisure battery of 100ah is 50 amps of charging. That would make for a pretty chunky thing. I think the red arc one Rosy has is around the 25amp mark.
... We just have to wait for the market to catch up I guess or have a very diy solution to it.
... We just have to wait for the market to catch up I guess or have a very diy solution to it.
The problem I see is that the currents available can be huge and if not handled correctly can cause them to spontaneously combust with no means of putting them out. Charge or discharge wrong and thus could result. I think if I had one I’d want it somewhere I could easily remove it and disconnect it if it caught fire. Nope, on second thoughts, I don’t need to go any better than lead acid at the minute.
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The fire and explosions depends very much on the chemistry of the lithium. With the phone batteries and laptops exploding given them all a bad name.
If you have the time this very long post which is often repetitive is the best source of information i've found around lithium batteries. They are becoming much more common on boats where safety is paramount.
https://marinehowto.com/lifepo4-batteries-on-boats/
There is a video on there with this description:
"I think this video done by Sinopoly can sum up the safety of LFP technology. Those crazy Chinese guys shot, burned, shorted and cooked these cells. Please do notattempt this stuff at home. Take note that a single 60Ah 3.2V cell can throw in excess of 1800A of current into a dead short. WOW! None of the testers got acid burns, were blinded or went home with holes in their clothes."
I've been doing alot of research to put a large (at least 200ah) of lithium into my camp trailer. How to charge it at least 60 amps has been bit of a challenge. Ideally i'd like to be able to charge it at around the 100amp mark.
If you have the time this very long post which is often repetitive is the best source of information i've found around lithium batteries. They are becoming much more common on boats where safety is paramount.
https://marinehowto.com/lifepo4-batteries-on-boats/
There is a video on there with this description:
"I think this video done by Sinopoly can sum up the safety of LFP technology. Those crazy Chinese guys shot, burned, shorted and cooked these cells. Please do notattempt this stuff at home. Take note that a single 60Ah 3.2V cell can throw in excess of 1800A of current into a dead short. WOW! None of the testers got acid burns, were blinded or went home with holes in their clothes."
I've been doing alot of research to put a large (at least 200ah) of lithium into my camp trailer. How to charge it at least 60 amps has been bit of a challenge. Ideally i'd like to be able to charge it at around the 100amp mark.
