Having a correctly installed Dc-to-Dc charging system in either your caravan or vehicle will guarantee the charging system is kept under a managed limit.
As lithium becomes more and more popular among the 4wd and caravan industry, people are realising the added benefits of light weight, more energy dense lithium battery systems. Keeping these cells and BMS happy with regulated charge will ensure the life expectancy is achieved. No BMS disconnects and 100% state of charge is reached. A key feature to note here is alternator loading. Most modern factory fitted alternators produce their best power at 1500-2000 rpm. This is cruising RPM for most vehicles. The cooling of the alternator is done by an internal fan so as it heats up under load (i.e., a big lithium battery running from it with no regulator/ Dc charger) the stress can derate the output and failure is imminent. I have seen this on many occasions and now even more so with the onset of lithium. Running a controlled charge rate based on both your alternators output and the systems battery bank will keep things running cool, efficient and you won’t have a failed alternator or flat starter battery.
Bigger is not always better here.
An example here would be two Dc-to-Dc chargers running from a factory alternator. If one is a 25amp Dc charger and the other a 50amp Dc charger the actual load input before the Dc charger is higher. Roughly 30 amps for the 25amp Dc charger and up to 60 amps on the 50amp Dc charger. That’s 90 amps right there under bulk charge conditions. And, the bigger the battery bank the longer it will take to charge so you need to design the system accordingly.
We specialise in the field of Dc-to-Dc charging and guarantee you get the charge rates from the system we design.