WHAT CIRCUIT PROTECTION & CABLE SIZE DO I NEED FOR A DCDC CHARGER?

Any device that takes power from a battery must have circuit protection on the positive connection to the battery.  The circuit protection protects the cable from excess current being drawn, and protects the entire system from a short circuit event in the case of a damaged cable. 

 

Failure to install appropriate circuit protection that is rated higher than the current draw of the appliance, but is lower than the rating of the cable, may result in damaged components, melted cables, or (worse) a fire event that could destroy a vehicle.

 

The table below outlines the required circuit protection and appropriate cable size for both current carrying capacity and minimal voltage drop (under 3%) for each DCDC model.  

 

CIRCUIT PROTECTION & CABLE SIZE FOR MINIMAL VOLTAGE DROP (UNDER 3%) Starting Battery to DCDC - Cable length (meters) & required cable size - B&S CIRCUIT PROTECTION Midi fuse or Manual Reset Circuit Breaker
Brand Model SKU Input Voltage Charge 0-3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 INPUT SIZE (A) OUTPUT SIZE (A)
Current
Reduced input current due to solar priority   15A 8 8 8 6 6 6 4 4 4 4 Calculated based on cable size
20A 8 8 6 4 4 4 4 4 4 4
VICTRON Orion-TR Smart ORI122436140 12V 15A 8 8 8 6 6 6 4 4 4 4 30 20
REDARC Core BCDCN1225 12V 25A 8 6 6 4 4 4 4 4 2 2 40
REDARC Alpha BCDC12025B 12V 25A 8 6 6 4 4 4 4 4 2 2 40
REDARC Classic BCDC1225D 12V 25A 8 6 6 4 4 4 4 4 2 2 40
REDARC Manager BMS1230S3 12V 30A 6 6 4 4 4 4 2 2 2 2 50 40
VICTRON Orion-TR Smart ORI121236120 12V 30A 6 6 4 4 4 4 2 2 2 2 50 40
VICTRON Orion-TR ORI121236140 12V 30A 6 6 4 4 4 4 2 2 2 2 50 40
REDARC Core BCDCN1240 12V 40A 6 4 4 4 2 2 2 2 0 0 60
REDARC Classic BCDC1240D 12V 40A 6 4 4 4 2 2 2 2 0 0 60
REDARC Alpha BCDC12050B 12V 50A 6 4 4 2 2 2 0 0 0 0 60
REDARC Classic BCDC1250D 12V 50A 6 4 4 2 2 2 0 0 0 0 60
REDARC Alpha BMS12050-AU 12V 50A 6 4 4 2 2 2 0 0 0 0 60
ENERDRIVE   EN3DC40+ 12V 50A 6 4 4 2 2 2 0 0 0 0 70 60
VICTRON Orion XS ORI121217040 12V 50A 6 4 4 2 2 2 0 0 0 0 60
REDARC Alpha BMS12075-AU 12V 75A 4 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 100
REDARC Alpha BMS12100-AU 12V 100A 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 120
VICTRON Orion-TR Smart ORI242440140 24V 17A 6mm 6mm 8 8 6 6 6 6 4 4 50 30
ENERDRIVE   EN3DC3024 24V 30A 4 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 70 40