Leaderboard

Yes, I'm talking to ivent. Their prices on line are ex GST. Currently $280 incl (pick up).

You definitely cannot charge any LA as fast as Li. You may be thinking that you can only charge so fast because of your alternator capacity, therefore it makes no difference - that's not correct either, because LA will push back on the current far far sooner than the Li will. Eg, the Li will continue to accept 100amps up to 95% capacity. While the LA will probably be down to 15amps at 95% capacity so your charge time is considerably longer to reach the same capacity. If you have a 100ah alternator and a 100ah LFP battery, you can pretty much gaurantee that after 1hour the battery w

Use a splitter to charge the lithium and have it connected to the start as well. And use a cheap dc/dc from the Li to top off your start battery. You've already got the mc612, it's not what I would recommend for a greenfields installation but it's an investment you can leverage. Obs you need to set the right specs. Connect your current solar controller to your new Li and set it up for whatever Li charge specs you are happy with.

Lithiums don't need dc/dc. But that is one of many options. I would recommend against dc/dc for lithium. One of the main benefits of lithium is the fast charge rate and you lose that with dc/dc. You raise valid issues but there's other ways to skin the cat... The MC612 can't measure current. It limits the output and that's it. I run my stock alternator at max output for a couple of hours and have never had any problems. The reality is you cannot charge two different chemistries (incl lead carbon) with one charging source. Their will always be a compromise.

I have one of these for the anchor winch and a backup start battery. The equalization applies if you are using it as a standby battery. It would sit on float for 6 months and then undertake a equalization charge. You're using it as a cycle battery. They don't provide a termination current but it's safe to assume 1amp. Charge to 14.7 volts at a max current of 20a when the current drops to 1amp switch to a float charge of 13.8v I don't float charge mine, I just switch off and let the battery sit. It's usually 12.9v after 2 weeks in winter. During summer it's generally