Victron Cyrix Li-CT 120 Amp Battery Charger Install

[@Chevytravelleruk]

Another great video and well done to Phil for maintaining his professional demeanour and explaining through Cooper's snoring.. I shall have to come and see you chaps early next year when I start my electrical revamp/studio project..

[@johnmandy]

Cooper snoring was the highlight 😜

[@katcankan7129]

Pleased that it's all started. Thanks to Phil for his basic sunnibg up. Have a nice weekend 😊

[@johnmandy]

You too Kat 👍🏼

[@lifesasprinter4409]

Good information, my old system was 6 Trojan 6v batteries in parallel and series, with a sterling battery to battery charger, lot of weight, but I never had any problems at all with power

[@Mister_G]

Excellent system - tried and tested!

[@lifebeyondbricks]

Glad the Vans all back up and running again. Great video.

[@Iveavan]

Them BMV's are an awesome bit of kit, Spunky was showing me what he can do on his the other day, definitely be buying one of those bud. 👌👍👍👍.

[@ianofsjkartwork]

Clever stuff glad you are back up working again John..... Thanks for sharing

[@randyputnam1056]

Great video and I’ll be setting up my boat this way. Simple question since I find myself going down the rabbit hole with Victron data and forums: To which ports on the back of the BMV 712 do I connect the Cyrix Li Ct wires?

[@Mickeyd-f4x]

Nice work as always 👌 glad you are sorted out now, Phil loves problem solving 👌

[@pa_maj.MARTINI-van-MAN]

My head hurts now lol. Great work you guys 👍

[@johnmandy]

Mine too 😜

[@martinfield1484]

Funny that I’ve just been watching the happy travellers do the same thing in there narrow boat good work done

[@FreedomStrider]

Thanks John - we're looking into Lithium for our setup, nearly identical to yours. Victron Smart Solar MPPT, 2x100Ah Relion Lithium, a BMV-712 and we were looking at how to charge them from the battery, this seems to be much cheaper than a lot of other DC-DC battery chargers. Quick question - does this work with Smart alternators? We have a 2014 Crafter, EURO 5 engine. I know split relays won't work, do you know if this would?

[@johnmandy]

It works fine with my smart alternator on my 2018 van 👍🏼

[@brynhope5544]

You need a battery to battery charger because your voltage will be too low for your lithium batteries. Just to note on the spec sheet from alpha batteries for these relion batteries the maximum charge current is 100 amps also the recommended charge voltage is 14.2v_14.6v reconnect voltage is at 15.2v and balancing voltage is 14.4v. So I would say get a b2b charger and adjust to the correct peramiters to prolong the life of these batteries. I hope this helps. I'm not saying what's you've done won't work it will but not has efficient has a b2b charger

[@PrimalMiltos]

My vehicle's alternator shows charging at 14.4-14.6V while I am driving. So that's ideal for LiFePO4, correct?

[@christopherburnham1612]

I am building my system soon,24v, 2x 160w panels a 30 amp fuse between controller and 2x 120 ah batteries a 300amp fuse between a 2500w inverter and batteries and I am putting on a regulator as well, just waiting for parts, thanks for your videos

[@johnmandy]

Why 24v? Is it a truck?

[@onemanandhiswhippet]

When the geek meets the gadget 👍😀🐾

[@adventureaways1534]

Hey that was us who asked on Instagram about the price, Shout out next time please John haha

[@johnmandy]

There you go, shoutout 👊🏻😜

[@mrdave4735]

hi John, Great vid again, but i'm confused with the b2b charging with euro 6 engines, didn't think you could just connect with a relay, or am i missing something? Sorry to ask but need to understand as i'm converting at the mo.

[@johnmandy]

As we explained in the video, the relay is computer controlled. It’s not just a vsr relay, there are many factors that come into effect to determine if the relay operates and then the computers built into the batteries control the charge rates via the alternator.

[@landytravels9427]

I’ve got a very similar, Victron based system, to you, with a Victron Mppt solar charger and BMV712 but into lead acid batteries. I also have the same Sargent unit. Did you disconnect the original split charge relay that is installed as part of the Sargent installation? Does the Sargent control panel flash when the engine is running to show that both engine and leisure batteries are being charged? The reason I ask is that I have a CTEK battery to battery charger which I was thinking of installing in much the same way as your Victron smart relay. I also have a Sterling battery maintainer fitted which trickle charges the vehicle battery from the leisure battery when they raise above 13.3v.

[@johnmandy]

Yes I disabled the Sargent charging when the engine is running, which does now mean I can run the electrics in the habitation area when the engine is running 👍🏼

[@PrimalMiltos]

Very useful video, thank you much!

[@Pugwash.]

Spooky, I've fitted the Cyrix-CT (non lithium) this week. The most difficult part of my installation was lay on my back routing that long cable because my van wasn't very clean underneath.

[@JohnlynHD]

Great video as always. I bought the same model from Sargent and asked them about Lithium batteries and was told that this power unit would not fully charge the batteries. I can't afford the cost of Lithium for my first van so I have gone with AGM. I have a 300 watt solar system with a vIctron MPPT. I was aware of the slow charging of an alternator and having watched numerous videos and came down in favour of a Ctek charging system. The electrics is the only part of this build I'm struggling with, hence the purchase of a Sargent system. Is there a difference between your install and a Ctek?

[@johnmandy]

A ctek charger is a battery to battery charger and it raises the voltage fed into it to produce a higher charge voltage for the leisure battery. This is therefore an inefficient way to produce power, just like using an inverter, however, for some vans a B2B charger is often the simplest way to get a charge to the leisure battery from the alternator.

[@JohnlynHD]

Thank you, got to get a grip of this.

[@marklawrence64]

Sorry John, me again 😊, does the lead acid version (Cyrix-ct) also connect to the BMV 712 do you know? Thanks Mate 👍🏽

[@johnmandy]

It should work exactly the same, the BMV would control the charge based on the % just like we show in this video.

[@frenchysvanlife]

What would you guys advise installing in my build... a vsr or a battery to battery charger as I want an extra way to put charge in my leisure batteries as well as solar....I remember seeing Ash Pollard have problems with his vsr and ended up with his batters fizzing?

[@johnmandy]

A good quality vsr is good, but if you’re vehicle has a smart alternator then your options are limited to B2B really

[@frenchysvanlife]

Gadget John on tour it’s a 2009 Mercedes Sprinter so not sure if they had the smart alternators fitted by then. I’ll have to check

[@marklawrence64]

What size is your negative/earth cable John? 50mm2 also? Cheers

[@johnmandy]

Yes, all negatives linking the batteries to the shunt, shiny to van chassis and to inverter are all 50mm2 then 16mm to fuse box for low amp items.

[@greggil3454]

Great Video ? just wondering if recommended charging current for lead Acid is 20-30% of battery capacity how come the battery can charge at 100Amp if the charge should be at 30% what makes it more lest 30Amps max ? It works but how :)

[@johnmandy]

The beauty of using Victron is they way they setup their charger profiles. Choose the profile for your battery type and it does the job without a problem.

[@greggil3454]

@@johnmandy can you setup max charge in the software then ? or it is done automatically ? just this solution is really economical so it too good to be true :)

[@tonysummers2334]

Can you show some pictures from or share your VRM Portal so we can see the difference in Leisure Battery charging voltage and current (while driving) pre and post install?

[@johnmandy]

Not really, as I don’t have the old data due to resetting all modules to factory and since then the van hasn’t been used much as we’re packing up the house ready to move out. Keep an eye on future videos for more updates.

[@tonysummers2334]

@@johnmandy That's a shame, perhaps next time you use the van you could get some voltages across the leisure batteries whilst driving.

[@johnmandy]

That isn’t possible, the bms is built into the batteries, I use the bmv to monitor my power usage but the readings it shows are not what you’re asking for.

[@tonysummers2334]

@@johnmandy do you not have an RPI running Venus or a Venus GX? Best "Gadget" there is!

[@johnmandy]

Nooooooo, it might be the gadgets van but so far I’ve not seen the need to add those options to the van.

[@ian_morg]

Hi guys, I've got a 110ah sealed lead acid leisure battery which I've had for about a year but it's had light use since then, I've got another brand new identical battery which I am thinking of connecting up to the existing one. Is that ok do you think or is it not advised as both of them are not new? Thanks 😎👍🏻

[@johnmandy]

That will be perfectly fine Ian 👍🏼

[@craigdolan8590]

Where did you get that fuse holder from please?

[@christopherburnham1612]

Ok, have all the stuff , I will do that, it was built in 1982, so I will have to look at the charging systems to the lesure batteries, think it will have a relay on it perhaps

[@MHUK-Matt]

When do we start smashing plates? That was all Greek to me.. However, I'm sure itll be an excellent point of reference if I ever decide to fit lithium batteries which I believe I should.. Thank you both ✌👽🤣

[@johnmandy]

If you don’t have lithium you get the Cyrix ct 120a version and the rest is the same.

[@stotas2]

Do you have a temp sensor on your alternator

[@johnmandy]

Yep, alternator is fully monitored 👍🏼

[@mange2]

Just to get it straight in my head John, with a 2 battery set up, The charge and load should be on the same positive pole on say one battery 1, but then all the negatives connect to battery 2. This then ties the batteries together as one. ?

[@johnmandy]

Yep, just as shown in the video mate 👍🏼

[@christopherburnham1612]

Have a poptop, not much room and a 24v system is more efficient, ?

[@johnmandy]

24v is really pointless in a van that everything is made for 12v. So my advice is go with a standard that everyone uses.

[@meeeeeebojo]

I wish i was a GADGET GEEK 😎👍

[@christopherburnham1612]

Can you see anything wrong with my system John?

[@roypledger77]

So could you get away with this system and not bother with solar John ? Obviously you’d have to run the engine to charge but if you was travelling a lot would you really need solar ? Thanks 😊

[@johnmandy]

Yes, if you had enough battery capacity to store what you needed between driving then you could be fine without solar.

[@TheMarkGgr]

Cooper snoring away.. 😆

[@robertdodds4172]

Can you tell me we’re you’ve got the 50mm pos and neg from..I’m struggling to find a store to buy it from. Thank you

[@johnmandy]

I made them myself, links to the cable are on our website.

[@maddavvid2339]

all beyond me boys

[@krispinktattoostudio1916]

All this electric stuff confuses me. I was going to just order a split charger kit.

[@johnmandy]

That would work too, just make sure it’s the right one for your batteries

[@krispinktattoostudio1916]

What's good for what....

[@rogerstarkey5390]

@@johnmandy I'm an (ex) copier tech. I just realised I REALLY miss the "Geeking out"! ☹️ Good news, I understood what Phil was saying!

[@christopherburnham1612]

Using a 40 amp mppt eppever charger

[@baselm4770]

No disrespect but I was snoring along with cooper

[@johnmandy]

It’s certainly not a topic that everyone finds interesting 😜

[@baselm4770]

Gadget John on tour I didn’t mean any offence if it was relevant to me it would be helpful I just found when cooper started snoring to be quite funny, I do enjoy your videos, my apologies

[@johnmandy]

Oh no apology needed, it was finding coopers snoring funny too, but only noticed when I was editing the video 😜

[@alliejr]

Doh!