Does Victron make a 12v to 24v boost converter?

Been down this rabbit hole myself when I was sorting out the charging setup for my van-based emergency backup system, so thought I'd share what I found — and see if anyone else has wrestled with this.

Short answer: Victron don't make a dedicated 12V→24V boost converter as a standalone product. Frustrating, I know.

What most people end up doing — myself included — is using a DC-DC charger instead. Victron's own Orion-Tr Smart range does the job brilliantly. I've got one stepping up from my alternator-fed 12V starter circuit into a 24V leisure bank. Works a treat, isolated version protects both batteries properly, and it plays nicely with the rest of my Victron kit via Bluetooth.

The alternative some folk go for is a non-isolated boost converter from cheaper brands — you'll find them on Amazon — but personally I wouldn't touch them for anything serious. Seen too many horror stories on here.

For those of you running 24V systems in trucks or campers and trying to charge whilst driving, the Orion-Tr is genuinely the cleanest solution I've come across. It's MPPT-aware when paired with a BMS too, which matters if you're on lithium — Fogstar Drift cells being a popular choice at the moment.

Anyone else running a mixed-voltage setup for EV charging prep or similar? I'm starting to think about whether a 24V bank even makes sense long-term as more 48V kit starts filtering down in price. Curious what others are doing.

Slightly tangential but relevant — has anyone actually run a 12v bank feeding a 24v system via a DC-DC booster on a boat? That's essentially what I'm weighing up for my narrowboat right now. The 24v inverter options are so much better but ripping out my existing 12v bank feels wasteful.

@AZY_Marine did you find any Victron Orion units that handle significant continuous loads, or are they more suited to trickle/charging duties? I've seen the Orion-Tr Smart range mentioned but the wattage caps seem quite modest for running anything serious off the 24v side.

Would a full bank replacement actually make more sense long-term?

@CornishBoater that's actually really relevant to what I'm trying to figure out for my shepherd's hut setup. I've got a 12v bank already installed and I'm wondering whether it's worth the conversion losses going through a boost converter rather than just adding more 12v kit. What kind of efficiency are you seeing across the DC-DC? And does the boost converter play nicely with the Victron MPPT on the 24v side, or does it confuse the charging logic? Genuinely unsure whether I should just bite the bullet and rebuild the whole bank at 24v from the start.

@SolarDoug curious what you're running in the shepherd's hut — I've got a tiny house setup and went 24v from the start specifically to avoid this kind of converter faff.

To actually answer the thread though — Victron don't do a standalone boost converter as such, but their Orion-Tr DC-DC range can step up voltage. Worth checking the specific models though, not all do 12→24v boost in the wattages you might need.

Honestly if you're planning a proper system, just commit to one voltage. Mixing banks via converters adds inefficiency and another potential failure point — last thing you want in an emergency backup scenario.

@CornishBoater — funny you should ask, because that's almost exactly what I stumbled into on my boat a couple of years back.

Long story short: yes, it works, but the efficiency losses add up nastier than you'd expect when you're already fighting against a boat's appetite for power. I ran a Victron Orion-TR 12/24-10 for a while bridging two banks, and while it did the job, watching it turn watts into heat was a slow heartbreak.

Ended up just rebuilding the 24v bank properly with Fogstar cells rather than keep bodging the conversion. Far happier now.

If you're serious about the setup long-term @CornishBoater, I'd honestly say plan the rebuild sooner rather than later — boats have a way of punishing "temporary" solutions for years. Ask me how I know. 😅