Hi guys has anyone fitted a B to B battery charger to their Adria motorhome " if so where did you mount the charger as I have heard they heat up a bit , not much room where the leisure batteries are under the seat at the door , so just looking for some guidance if anyone has fitted one of these, I'm looking at the Vitron isolated charger, thank in advance .
B To B charger
- Thread starter Trout bum
- Start date
I have a 2020 Matrix and was going to fit B2B charger but when my hab battery was down a bit I started the engine and was getting 50amps from the alternator which recharged it quickly. So do I still need a B2B any advice would be most welcome.
Jim
Ringleader
Throwing amps in is good, but only so far. The multi stage charging B2B will caress your battery, as well as charge it about 5 x faster than your split charge relay.
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I put mine under the seat, it’s in the thread bookmarked on my signature.
You already have one if you are getting 50amps out.
You should be able to trace the cables and find it to confirm.
andy63
Free Member
I dont agree with that statement..
If your split charge system wiring is substantial enough..and the alternator is capable enough there is no reason why you couldn't get high current flow through a split charge system..
In fact one of the reasons for fitting a battery to battery could well be to limit current flow and protect the alternator especially at low revs when the cooling may not be sufficient..
All this made more critical by installing lithium which will take a very high current for a more prolonged period than a lead acid bank.
Andy
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I agree that you could disagree.
Hymer generally do thick cable and good split charging systems. Never seen more than about 25amps out of mine hence why I think there will be a B2B on the system.
I could be wrong, only way is to find the B2B or lack of.
Tombola
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thats a good amount direct via your split charger.
andy63
Free Member
Sorry.. re reading my post its a bit blunt..I'm afraid I have little tact..and indeed you could be right and there may well be a battery to battery charger already installed..I agree that you could disagree.
Hymer generally do thick cable and good split charging systems. Never seen more than about 25amps out of mine hence why I think there will be a B2B on the system.
I could be wrong, only way is to find the B2B or lack of.
It's just your statement stood out when I read it..
I had a battery to battery installed and I had the split charge disabling relay wired so that I could activate it or disable it..
I wasn't doing this at high current loads but I played around with it for long enough to see that where the alternator voltage exceeded the output voltage of the battery to battery charger the split charge wiring did in fact provide a higher current to the leisure batteries than the battery to battery charger was doing when the split charge system was disabled.. if you follow that
Andy.
How will it charge my battery 5 times faster when my alternator is putting 50 amps in
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OP
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Trout bum
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Bit confusing now Most folks fulltiming seem to have fitted a BtB unit as most are wild camping and want batteries kept charged while driving, I take it vans have a split charger unit fitted as standard ? So I'm guessing when so many folk are installing a BtB it's a much better unit, it's just finding space to install it I can't put it under drivers seat I have the compressor for rear air bags there, also I'm thinking of fitting an inverter as well for off grid camping , to be honest I think it's going to be difficult to get booked on a site this year as there are more Motothomes and caravans than there has ever been due to staycation and folks not wanting to fly .
Most folks fulltiming seem to have fitted a BtB unit as most are wild camping and want batteries kept charged while driving, I take it vans have a split charger unit fitted as standard ? So I'm guessing when so many folk are installing a BtB it's a much better unit, it's just finding space to install it I can't put it under drivers seat I have the compressor for rear air bags there, also I'm thinking of fitting an inverter as well for off grid camping , to be honest I think it's going to be difficult to get booked on a site this year as there are more Motothomes and caravans than there has ever been due to staycation and folks not wanting to fly .
Lenny HB
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I see 44 amps on one of my Hymers when the Gel batteries were very low.I agree that you could disagree.
Hymer generally do thick cable and good split charging systems. Never seen more than about 25amps out of mine hence why I think there will be a B2B on the system.
I could be wrong, only way is to find the B2B or lack of.
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What is it you want the B2B charger to do? As it is just now On hook up or with engine running both batteries will be charging. Do you want to charge the cab battery from the hab assuming you have solar which only charges the hab battery? Battery Master would do the job in that case.
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Trout bum
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Due to a lot more motorhome and vans being on the road campsite are going to be difficult to get booked into, so I intend to do a lot more wild camping, so want leisure batterirs well topped up when I am travelling, with a BtB charger and an inverter will have all the power I need hopefully .
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I don't understand what you're want the B2B to do. Your alternator will already charge your leisure battery when travelling. Am I missing something?
Tombola
LIFE MEMBER
Hes looking for more ooomph,
for instance my alternator only charges mine at around 7 amps, adding the b2b gets me 37
Lenny HB
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Normal charging via a split charge relay is only 15 to 25 amps with a B2B you can get 50 amps plus.
Thanks. I didn't realise the Adria NE237 charging unit was limited in what it could do.
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Lenny HB
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The size of the wiring has a lot to do with the charging rate. Brit built vans often struggle to get 10 amps due to grossly under size wiring.
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Trout bum
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That seems very high ? for the Matrix standard split charge setup with a lead-acid type battery. If the charge current is actually 50A I would suspect you have a B2B fitted or a faulty battery/alternator ?.
What did you use to measure the charging current and where did you measure the 50A ? was it on the cable to the battery as there is a 50a fuse in that cable on my 2018 matrix.
Also do you have the 'Nordelectronnica 237' power supply box fitted as the split charge relay is built into the unit and the factory installed cables are 10mm and are fused in 3 places at 50A ( at the engine battery, at the interface with the habitation before it goes into the NE237 power unit ( behind the panel near the handbrake ) and the fuse I mentioned near the habitation battery.
The highest habitation battery charging current I got with the engine running ( alternator voltage 14.5v ) was around 12 amps with a fairly discharged battery and that current fell rapidly after a few minutes.
After fitting a B2B it now charges at 30A ( which is the max limit of the B2B ).
What did you use to measure the charging current and where did you measure the 50A ? was it on the cable to the battery as there is a 50a fuse in that cable on my 2018 matrix.
Also do you have the 'Nordelectronnica 237' power supply box fitted as the split charge relay is built into the unit and the factory installed cables are 10mm and are fused in 3 places at 50A ( at the engine battery, at the interface with the habitation before it goes into the NE237 power unit ( behind the panel near the handbrake ) and the fuse I mentioned near the habitation battery.
The highest habitation battery charging current I got with the engine running ( alternator voltage 14.5v ) was around 12 amps with a fairly discharged battery and that current fell rapidly after a few minutes.
After fitting a B2B it now charges at 30A ( which is the max limit of the B2B ).
I have a NE350 the alternator output is on the display above the fridge. I fitted a Victron smart shunt as well but it was a waste of money because the NE350 has its own shunt. Alternator output is 38amps even after using the hab battery for a short time. It goes to 50 amps if the batteries are flat
This is above the fridge
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- Mar 6, 2020
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- Adria matrix
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- 13 years
I have been unable to find the specifications for the NE350 but from the info I have been able to find on models later than the NE237 it would appear that the Nordellettronica systems have been beefed up considerably with a B2B incorporated along with a variety of switchable charging profiles in their power units as demanded by the move to intelligent alternators in euro 6d + motorhomes.
Looks like you have no worries on the charging issue.
The Victron smartshunt is still a very nice-to-have if not essential item for non-ehu motorhome use though.
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