Battery Combiners / Split Chargers

Battery Combiners offer a neat way to charge dual battery banks from any charge source, connected to either battery bank. The Victron Cyrix range are microprocessor controlled, which offers a significant advantage over standard split-charge relays.

Essentially, when one of the batteries is fully charged (according to the logic of the microprocessor), the battery banks are paralleled, allowing excess power to flow from the battery being charged to the second battery. This works in either direction, so a solar panel connected to the 'domestic' bank will send any excess power to the 'starter' battery. Conversely, when the alternator has charged the starter battery fully, the Cyrix allows excess power to flow through to the domestic bank.

When the voltage drops, indicating discharge, the connection between the two battery banks is removed - ensuring that power drawn from one bank doesn't affect the other. The Cyrix range also feature an emergency parallel function, and the microprocessor ensures that there is no false switching. With virtually no voltage loss, the output voltage from alternators or battery chargers doesn't need to be increased.