I just called Renogy and asked if I could run their 20 amp DC to DC charger in half power mode (10 amp), on 24 ft long 10 awg input wires. ?The guy said yes. ?I also asked what happens if there's too much voltage drop on the input wires due to small wire sizes, and would the charger catch fire or something bad like that. ?He said the charger would just shut off.
In the past when this question was asked the renogy rep said you can't do that, or maybe it wasn't recommended. ?I don't recall the exact wording. ?I was expecting to have to push harder for an answer and maybe get the question referred to the R&D group. ?But nope, the guy just said yes.?
The guy answering my questions was consulting tables for max current on various wire sizes and voltage drop, so he knew a bit about electronics. ?But he didn't consult anyone in the R&D department or already know the answer from prior consultations. ?So I don't know if his answer is completely reliable.
But assuming this answer is valid, that means you can just cut the power wires coming out of the Bargman cable, connect the vehicle side to the inputs to the renogy charger, and the other side to the outputs of the renogy charger, and the problems of battery drain, blown fuse, and alternator damage will not happen. ?You also need to set the jumper wire on the charger to set half power mode.
That's not enough power to run the fridge on DC mode, so you still have to exclude that. ?But at least you don't have to run the extra set of larger gauge wires.
