Swapped out my split charge relay for a Victron Orion-Tr Smart — worth the money or not?

So after two summers of the van sitting at campsites with a poorly charged leisure battery, I finally caved and replaced the old split charge relay with a Victron Orion-Tr Smart 12/12-30A isolated DC-DC charger. Fitted it last weekend in my 2018 Sprinter, wired it between the starter battery and a 200Ah lithium (LiFePO4) I put in last year. Total install time was probably three hours including routing the cables properly.

First impressions are genuinely good. The absorption and float stages are actually happening now rather than just dumping whatever voltage the alternator happens to be putting out. I've been watching it through the VictronConnect app and on a decent motorway run I'm seeing a solid 30A going in, which is roughly what it says on the tin. The old relay setup was lucky to push 15–18A in practice once you accounted for the voltage drop.

The bit I'm less sure about is the engine-detection side of things. I've got it set to detect the alternator via the voltage threshold rather than using a dedicated D+ wire, and it does sometimes take 30–40 seconds after starting before it kicks in. Not a massive deal but curious whether anyone's wired in the ignition sense wire instead and whether that's made things snappier.

Has anyone else made the same switch from a basic VSR or split charge relay? Did you notice a meaningful difference in how quickly your bank recovers on a driving day, particularly if you're on a lithium setup?

VitoAdventure | Posts: 847 | Location: Peak District

@HarryWalker Solid upgrade mate. The thing people often overlook with the Orion-Tr Smart is the engine detection threshold — worth double-checking your settings if you've got a modern Euro 6 engine. Some of them sit at a lower alternator voltage than older motors, so the Orion can sometimes be a bit hesitant to kick in. You can tweak the input voltage threshold in the VictronConnect app to sort it.

Also, are you running it in standalone or connected mode? I've got mine talking to a SmartSolar controller via Bluetooth networking, which means both charging sources coordinate properly rather than fighting each other. Makes a noticeable difference to overall charge efficiency.

What leisure battery are you running it into? Might be worth checking your charge profile matches the chemistry properly.

NeilBurns91 | Posts: 312 | Location: Array

Running the same unit into my shepherd's hut setup via a dedicated van that shuttles between sites. The Bluetooth monitoring alone justifies a chunk of the price — being able to see exactly what's going in from the alternator rather than guessing is genuinely useful.

One thing worth knowing: if you've got a modern Euro 6 engine with a smart alternator, the Orion-Tr Smart handles the variable voltage properly where a basic relay just gets confused and barely charges. That might actually explain your two summers of poor charging @HarryWalker — worth checking what alternator your van has.

The 30A version keeps my Fogstar lithium topped up on reasonable drives. Wouldn't go back to a relay personally.

JubileeClipHero5 | Posts: 312 | Location: Array

Done the same swap in my van build — night and day difference. The big win for me was the Bluetooth monitoring; being able to see charge current in real time whilst driving meant I actually understood what my alternator was doing for the first time.

One thing worth flagging @HarryWalker — if you've got a smart alternator (most post-2015 vehicles do), the Orion-Tr handles the variable voltage properly where a split charge relay just gets confused and barely charges at all. That's probably why your leisure battery was suffering before.

The 30A version kept my 200Ah Fogstar lithium happy on a decent motorway run. Set the absorption/float correctly in the app and leave it alone — it genuinely just works.

BatteryTim | Posts: 2,156 | Location: Array

Worth every penny, but one thing nobody's mentioned — make sure you've got the input voltage threshold set correctly for your alternator. Modern smart alternators drop voltage aggressively and the default settings on the Orion-Tr can mean it barely kicks in, or cuts out constantly. Had exactly this issue in my motorhome before I adjusted it via the VictronConnect app.

Also @NeilBurns91 — curious how you're running it to a shepherd's hut. That's a fixed install, not a vehicle. You're using it without the alternator input I assume? There are better options for that use case tbh.

Check your cable sizing too @HarryWalker. 30A unit needs proper wire gauge or you're just creating a bottleneck before the DC-DC converter even gets a chance to do its job.

VanJulie | Posts: 47 | Location: Array

Really interested in this thread — been eyeing up the Orion-Tr Smart for my narrowboat but wasn't sure if the isolated version was necessary or overkill for my setup. Does anyone know if the engine alternator being older (think it's a Beta Marine from the late 90s) would cause any issues? I've read something about smart alternators needing the DC-DC charger but wasn't sure if that applies to older non-smart alternators too, or whether a basic relay would actually be fine in that case?

@BatteryTim curious what your point was going to be — looks like your post got cut off!

CamperSam | Posts: 891 | Location: Array

@VanJulie don't "eye it up" forever like I did — I spent three years convincing myself the relay was "fine" whilst watching my battery die a slow, undignified death every August bank holiday. 🙄

One thing worth knowing: the Orion-Tr Smart really earns its keep if you've got LiFePO4 batteries. The absorption/float profiles actually respect the chemistry rather than just lobbing voltage at it like some kind of caveman.

Also — the Bluetooth monitoring via VictronConnect is genuinely useful, not just a gimmick. Sitting in a pub car park watching charge current on your phone feels ridiculous until you realise you actually care about it.

@BatteryTim is clearly about to say something important — someone let the man finish his sentence! 😄

BayFrank | Posts: 634 | Location: Array

Mine's been happily charging the garden office batteries via the van alternator for two seasons — the Bluetooth app alone is worth the premium, because watching voltage curves is apparently my personality now.