Anyone else running a Victron Orion-Tr Smart in a shepherd's hut setup?

Picked up a Victron Orion-Tr Smart 12/12-30A to top up my Fogstar Drift 100Ah LiFePO4 from the van whenever solar's being stingy — works an absolute treat, but I'll be honest, the Bluetooth app nearly defeated me before my lithium battery did.

Currently pulling charge off a 2019 Transit's alternator. Got the engine-running detection set via the D+ ignition wire rather than the voltage threshold, because apparently my van's alternator voltage is about as decisive as a British summer.

Anyone running a similar DC-DC setup into a tiny structure rather than inside the vehicle itself? Curious whether anyone's bothered with the isolated vs non-isolated versions for a hut-to-van scenario, or if I'm massively overthinking it sat in a field in the rain.

Lisa1978 | 📍 Shropshire | Posts: 847

@OffGridHamish ooh snap — almost identical setup here in my little shepherd's hut! I've got the same Orion-Tr Smart paired with a Fogstar Drift 200Ah though. One tip that really helped me: make sure you've got the absorption and float voltages dialled in properly for LiFePO4 in the app (I run 14.2V absorption, 13.5V float). The default settings aren't quite right out of the box for lithium.

Also worth enabling the "tail current" feature to finish the charge properly rather than just relying on a timer — made a noticeable difference to how fully mine tops up from the van.

What's your engine-running detection set to? I spent ages faffing with that threshold before I got it sensing reliably. 😅

Hamish1980 | 📍 Scottish Borders | Posts: 312

@OffGridHamish Cracking choice mate — I've got the same unit running into a Fogstar Drift 200Ah and it's been rock solid. One thing worth knowing if you haven't stumbled across it yet: make sure you've set the absorption and float voltages to match LiFePO4 properly in the app rather than leaving it on the default lithium profile. Victron's out-of-the-box lithium settings are a touch conservative in my experience. Also, are you running it in standalone mode or networked via VE.Smart? Once I linked mine to the battery's Bluetooth sensor the charge behaviour became noticeably more accurate. @Lisa1978 curious whether you found the same thing up in Shropshire — did yours take long to settle into a decent charging pattern initially?

Ben1960 | 📍 Somerset | Posts: 1,203

@OffGridHamish good shout on the Orion-Tr Smart — solid bit of kit. One thing worth checking if you haven't already: make sure you've got the engine detection threshold set correctly in the app. Default settings can sometimes have it cutting in and out unexpectedly if your van's alternator voltage is a bit marginal at idle. I'd also recommend enabling the "load offset" feature so it's not hammering a standard alternator too hard — less of a concern if you've got a smart alternator obviously, in which case you'll want the non-isolated version anyway. What alternator are you running in the van? That'll make a difference to how aggressive you can be with the charge current settings. Been running mine for about two years now without a hiccup.

PanelEwan | 📍 Array | Posts: 2,156

Running the same unit on the narrowboat — one thing nobody seems to mention is the input voltage lockout setting. Worth tweaking this properly if your donor battery (van or otherwise) is also LiFePO4, because the default threshold assumes lead-acid chemistry and you can end up cutting off the charge cycle earlier than ideal.

In VictronConnect you can push it down to around 11.5–12.0V safely depending on your setup. Made a noticeable difference to my usable charge time on overcast days when I'm running the engine specifically to top up.

Also — @OffGridHamish — if the Bluetooth app feels clunky, try connecting via VRM portal once you've paired a Cerbo or even just a Raspberry Pi dongle. Whole different experience for monitoring charge curves over time.

NotAnElectrician80 | 📍 Array | Posts: 847

Got one of these bolted into my static caravan setup — the isolation feature alone is worth the price of admission when you've got a dodgy leisure battery from 2019 that you definitely haven't replaced yet.

One thing I'll add that nobody's touched on: make sure your engine-detection threshold is set correctly in VictroConnect, because mine kept triggering off the solar controller's voltage fluctuations and not the actual alternator — charged my Fogstar Drift off a faintly warm cable for three days before I noticed. Absolute clown behaviour from me, genuinely.

Set the threshold properly and it's bulletproof. @PanelEwan narrowboat installs are probably even worse for stray voltage nonsense so worth double-checking yours too.

LesPhillips | 📍 Array | Posts: 634

Running the Orion-Tr Smart in my shepherd's hut — feeds a Fogstar Drift 200Ah from a dedicated leisure battery in the tow vehicle. One thing worth flagging: make sure you've got the engine detection threshold set correctly in VictronConnect. Mine kept waking up from tiny voltage spikes and drawing the start battery down overnight before I twigged what was happening.

Also worth noting for hut setups specifically — if you're running it through a bulkhead grommet, the cable routing can get awkward. I used 10mm² all the way and it's barely warm even at full 30A draw.

@PanelEwan curious what you mentioned about the narrowboat — I wonder if it's the same quirk I found with the absorption phase timing when the input voltage drops under load?