Sliding solar system

The Enerdrive DCDC charger looks very interesting; will take up to 45V from solar panels; that's double the capacity of my CTEK 250S
 
Gotta say, I'm VERY impressed with it after a month of everyday use. More expensive than the CTEK, but you also get the ability to monitor V from all sources (solar, crank battery/alternator, aux battery) and A from solar, in the deal, as well as the bigger capacity (Does need to be protected, and can't be engine-bay mounted - Redarc or CTEK if you need this). And Enerdrive have excellent product support.
 
5 year warranty, Aussie Brisbane based company and they manufacture the DC2DC charger themselves (although they do not specifically state where). I wonder if it can handle a smart alternator; it's not stated on their website - I'm looking at stuff for a friend. I'll ask them via email.
 
Ah yeah, “asking for a friend” are you @Kevin? :poke:

Cheers

Bennie
 
Yep, a friend setting up a Renault camper van.
 
Kevin said:
5 year warranty, Aussie Brisbane based company and they manufacture the DC2DC charger themselves (although they do not specifically state where). I wonder if it can handle a smart alternator; it's not stated on their website - I'm looking at stuff for a friend. I'll ask them via email.
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@Kevin - yes, will handle a smart alternator. While I would say the worst part of the experience has been the manual, that really needs updating, they provide a wiring diagram for smart alternators. As long as you follow this, it should be fine. Do note that Enerdrive were recently acquired by Dometic, which seems like a very bad outcome, but the Enerdrive guys are all very upbeat, saying that it will not influence the quality of customer service, and will open up new markets......will wait and see. I believe manufacturing is in China now. Jump on the Enerdrive Unplugged FB page for a very active community with lots of input from Enerdrive techs.

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Davo said:
yes, will handle a smart alternator
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They confirmed via email - finally - but even then I had to wring it out of them!
Davo said:
Jump on the Enerdrive Unplugged FB page
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A lifetime career in IT means "computer says....... NO"! :)
I'm still interested in how to wire the Enerdrive up for a smart alternator so I'll do a little more research. The CTEK 250SE has an ignition sense wire for smart alternators that is connected to an ignition controlled circuit and not connected for "dumb" alternators.
 
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Yep - sounds like a very similar system to the CTEK. The ignition sense wire puts the unit into 'priority' mode when the ignition is switched on. This means that when the voltage from the smart alternator drops, the unit keeps the alternator as the source of power, rather than looking for the solar input or shutting down charging. Wiring diag has a bunch of notes about how to setup for smart alternator:
 
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