My Van DC–DC Charger Change: Renogy to Two Victron Orions

Why I Bought the Renogy First

I first bought and tried a Renogy 60A DC–DC charger because it was less expensive than the two Victron Orion chargers.

Replacement charger

Victron Orion-Tr Smart 12/12-30 Charger

This isolated DC-to-DC charger transfers charging power between 12-volt battery systems. The Orion-Tr Smart 12/12-30 model includes Bluetooth access to its settings.

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Former charger — replaced

Renogy 12V 60A DC-to-DC Charger

This DC-to-DC charger transfers charging power between 12-volt battery systems. Its enclosure provides separate input and output terminals for the two sides of the charging circuit.

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What Happened

The Renogy burned out at the input terminals connected to the vehicle battery. I replaced it with two Victron Orion DC–DC chargers.

What the DC–DC Charger Does

A DC–DC charger manages charging from the vehicle electrical system into the house batteries.

The Ford Transit retains its original starter battery. The two Lossigy house batteries supply the living-area system.

How This Fits the Whole Electrical System

Vehicle charging sits alongside roof solar through the SmartSolar MPPT controller and AC charging through the MultiPlus. These are the three charging routes described in the main hub.

For battery readings during a drive, note the active sources and running loads. The battery-monitoring guide explains how to interpret those measurements, and the battery guide covers house storage.

The Charger Change at a Glance

Technical References

• Victron technical documentation