vic008
Active member
Getting very keen on move to lithium. 34' keelboat, 340w solar, new Vetus 27hp (puts out up to 30a steady, rated 75amp) marinas seldom. Shpuld I also fit a balmar regulator to her.? Havent decided on the b2b yet
Lithium, need Balmar reulator?
- Thread starter vic008
- Start date
arcot
Member
Battery to battery charger acts as regulator
Poecheng
Well-known member
There are others much more knowledgeable (and there is more to it than regulators, as you no doubt know) but from what I have gleaned.....
I believe the Balmar regulator has lagged behind the times in terms of Lithium management and that Wakespeed or Zeus are the places to go.
I believe the Balmar regulator has lagged behind the times in terms of Lithium management and that Wakespeed or Zeus are the places to go.
geem
Well-known member
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You don't need a different regulator. You need to wire your alternator so it only charges the engine start battery then use a Victron XS b2b charger from the engine battery to the lithium house bank. This b2b is programmable to give up to 50A output. You would probably be best setting it at about 50% of the rating of your alternator so as not to overheat the alternator. Charging lithium directly from alternators is not straightforward and best avoided
Pete7
Well-known member
That's a decent amount of solar and on our 31ft yacht we managed a good mix of gas and electric cooking with 340w before increasing to the current 700w. So electric kettle, toaster and single induction hob all very useable with a 2kW inverter and halved our gas usage. Generally we were self sufficient from late March to early October with the occasional hour of engine charging during inclement weather. We have the old Victron DC>DC charger from the engine start battery to the LFP bank (220Ah).
I did price up the extras for a larger alternator, belt kit to take the load and external regulator etc and baulked at the total. The 30A DC>DC charger will do just nicely thank you.