DC-DC Charger vs Battery Isolator
If you are wiring a second battery bank off your vehicle alternator, you have probably run into two very different pieces of…
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Alternator and DC-DC
Charging lithium from your engine sounds simple, but wiring it wrong can smoke an alternator or leave your bank half full. This section is all about DC-DC chargers, also called B2B chargers, and how they let your vehicle safely feed a LiFePO4 house bank. We explain why lithium should not connect straight to the alternator, how to size and wire a DC-DC unit, what the ignition wire does, and how smart alternators change the picture. You will find honest comparisons of the popular units, troubleshooting for when nothing charges while driving, and marine engine-charging guidance for boats. If you drive to your campsites or motor between anchorages, this is where you make that charging path reliable.
Do You Need a DC-DC Charger for Lithium?
If you are switching to LiFePO4 and charging from your engine, the short answer is almost always yes. But "almost always" is…
Do You Need an Alternator Upgrade?
A guy in a van conversion forum was quoted $1,400 for a high output alternator before he had even installed his lithium…
How Many Amps From Your Alternator?
Every van builder eventually asks the same question: how many amps can I actually pull from my alternator to charge lithium batteries.…
How to Size a DC-DC Charger
Picking a DC-DC charger by guesswork is how people end up with a battery bank that never quite tops off on a…
Why You Can’t Wire Lithium to the Alternator
The idea of running a fat cable straight from your alternator to your lithium bank sounds appealingly simple, and it is exactly…
Renogy vs Victron DC-DC Chargers
If you have narrowed your alternator charging decision down to these two brands, you are already asking the right question. Renogy and…
Smart Alternators and Lithium Charging
If your rig has a smart alternator and you just added lithium batteries, you may have already noticed the charging behaves strangely.…
The DC-DC Ignition Wire, Explained
That thin little wire on your DC-DC charger labeled "ignition" or "IGN" causes more confusion than almost anything else in a lithium…