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charging a battery bank with both PWN and MPPT charge controllers

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  • charging a battery bank with both PWN and MPPT charge controllers

    Okay so my current setup has 2 sets of different panels. one set comprises of 2 250 watt panels and the other set comprises of 2 145 watt panels. the first set is connected to an MPPT charge controller and the second set is connected to a PWN charge controller. both charge controllers are connected to my battery bank separately.

    Is there anything wrong with this setup as in would there be a problem with the batteries being charged from different type and make of charge controllers??

  • #2
    (I'll quote myself from another reply)

    Originally posted by Mike90250 View Post
    Any panels that will be shaded, should be wired in parallel.

    If your panels are 18-20V nominal (max power) you can use PWM controllers to charge a 12V system. Most small panels are in this range.

    Larger panels could be 19V or 29V or 49V or 65V, depending what was being built that day. More than 19V panels (not looking at the Voc spec, just the V Max Power spec) you will benefit from using a MPPT controller.
    You can "generally" safely connect several charging sources to a single set of batteries, and all will be fine. Sometimes brand x just will not play well with brand y and you have to change something to make it work.
    Powerfab top of pole PV mount (2) | Listeroid 6/1 w/st5 gen head | XW6048 inverter/chgr | Iota 48V/15A charger | Morningstar 60A MPPT | 48V, 800A NiFe Battery (in series)| 15, Evergreen 205w "12V" PV array on pole | Midnight ePanel | Grundfos 10 SO5-9 with 3 wire Franklin Electric motor (1/2hp 240V 1ph ) on a timer for 3 hr noontime run - Runs off PV ||
    || Midnight Classic 200 | 10, Evergreen 200w in a 160VOC array ||
    || VEC1093 12V Charger | Maha C401 aa/aaa Charger | SureSine | Sunsaver MPPT 15A

    solar: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Solar
    gen: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Lister

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    • #3
      Originally posted by Mike90250 View Post
      (I'll quote myself from another reply)



      You can "generally" safely connect several charging sources to a single set of batteries, and all will be fine. Sometimes brand x just will not play well with brand y and you have to change something to make it work.
      what do you mean by change something to make it work??

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      • #4
        Originally posted by fopoku2k2 View Post
        what do you mean by change something to make it work??
        That would be for higher end charge controllers that the charge voltage parimeters can be adjusted.

        The biggest problem you may have would be the PWM controller never going in float mode (flashing when the battery is charged). That may happen because the MPPT in float mode may not let the voltage drop enough for the PWM to kick on. That really wouldn't hurt anything as the batteries would already be charged and you wouldn't need the power from both arrays.

        One could have a problem of the PWM kicking the MPPT out of bulk or absorbtion charging early. But I think for that to happen one would have to setup the PWM on a much larger array then the MPPT controller.

        WWW

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        • #5
          Originally posted by Wy_White_Wolf View Post
          That would be for higher end charge controllers that the charge voltage parimeters can be adjusted.

          The biggest problem you may have would be the PWM controller never going in float mode (flashing when the battery is charged). That may happen because the MPPT in float mode may not let the voltage drop enough for the PWM to kick on. That really wouldn't hurt anything as the batteries would already be charged and you wouldn't need the power from both arrays.

          One could have a problem of the PWM kicking the MPPT out of bulk or absorbtion charging early. But I think for that to happen one would have to setup the PWM on a much larger array then the MPPT controller.

          WWW
          oooh ok. great thanks

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          • #6
            Originally posted by fopoku2k2 View Post
            oooh ok. great thanks
            Another way to explain the issue is that if you have two charge controllers on the same battery bank it is best they have very similar charging logic and voltage settings. If they are too different they will fight each other and can either fail to properly charge the batteries or over-charge them.

            Unfortunately there are many different panels sizes and charge controllers (at many different prices) to chose from which can be confusing. It is best if they are of similar wattage size and charging capabilities. Mixing items that are very different (and cheap) usually does not end up with happy results.

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