Equipt 101: National Luna DC-DC Charger Comparison

Video Transcript

Hi, this is Paul with Equipt Expedition Outfitters, and we get a few questions about the National Luna NLDC products available and what are the differences. We have two models here: the NLDC25 and the NLDC40. What are the differences between the two units?

First of all, let's talk about their similarities. Both of them are DC to DC charging systems that will isolate vehicle batteries as well as charge. They both have solar controllers in them, MPPT controllers in them. Both of them mount up about the same way, and they look very much the same. One is a little bit bigger than the other, of course. They also connect to a lot of the same things: batteries connect the same, solar connects the same. Both of them can use the NLDC M2 display the same in the vehicle, so a lot of the activities as well as the functionality of the units are absolutely the same.

But what are the differences? Okay, well, first of all, that we know right out of the gun, one is a 25 amp system and one is a 40 amp system. One is a little bit more robust than the other. What they also have in here is the solar controllers. This one is a 25 amp solar controller and a 40 amp solar controller. The 25 amp solar controller can go up to 375 watts of output, and the 40 amp controller can go up to 600 watts of output.

The other difference between the two is that the 40 amp version has an auxiliary DC input on it. So if you wanted to add something of a DC nature other than the vehicle's electrical system, such as a generator and DC output, wind generation, or whatever you might have as far as a DC input that's not part of the vehicle, this one can manage that as well.

What makes the difference? What do you want? Does more make sense? The answer comes down to it depends. It depends on what you're planning on doing. If you plan on putting a whale of a lot of solar onto your vehicle, well, it might be a good idea to go with the 40 amp version versus this one. Most folks in an SUV will be running somewhere between 100 and 200 watts of power on solar. The 25 amp version would be plenty for what you're doing. Then if you're going to a bigger rig, sprinters where you're putting two, three, four panels on the roof and getting up into that higher solar output, or you have multiple batteries that you want to deal with, the 40 amp might be the way to go on that one because you have a higher 600 watt capacity on that 40 amp version.

But when it really comes down to it, to me, in my personal preference on this, is what type of battery you plan on using in the system. Both systems are set up to use just about any battery that we have in our automotive world, whether it's a wet, a gel, an AGM, lithium, LiFePO4. Both of them will handle all of those capabilities. But where the 40 amp shines is that the lithium batteries can absorb a higher amperage input than the standard or AGM batteries that most of us are using in our auxiliary battery systems. An AGM battery is designed to absorb somewhere between 20 and 25 amps as a maximum, whereas the lithium batteries can absorb a higher rate of charge.

Now, what that means is that they will charge faster. It doesn't mean that this one won't charge it, but you get an added advantage of charging quicker with the 40 amp version. Well, how much quicker? That is also a necessary thing to talk about here. Depending on how much your average drive is or what your solar input is, or what those things might be, this system is going to be fine. It will charge the lithium battery in a matter of a couple of hours. This one will charge it in under a couple of hours; it just charges at a quicker rate.

So how do you travel? Are you a couple-hour guy? Are you a four-hour guy? Are you a three-hour guy? Are you a stay at one place for a long time? All of those things figure into which one makes the best sense for you. I hope this gave a little bit of input on what the differences are. If you do have any more questions, please reach out to us anytime you'd like to. We're at equiptone.com. Again, I'm Paul, I appreciate your time.