Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

two controllers

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • two controllers

    Hi. I have an exsisting system of 240 watts of panels feeding through a 20 amp controller, I wish to add another 120 watt panel to run through a seperate controller but feeding the same bank of batterys. I like the idea of two seperate system in case of a failure but will there be a problem feeding one set of batterys ? Will the seperate controllers still work seperatly or will they confuse each other ?

  • #2
    I'm assuming you have PWMs since this is a small system.

    As long as the 2 controllers are the same make and model there generally isn't much concern. They may end up in a master/slave combination if charge voltages are set slightly different but with PWM this only affects things when the batteries are fully charged and doesn't harm anything. It could extend the life of the batteries by cutting down the float (pulse) amperage to that supplied only by the master controller when fully charged.

    WWW

    Comment


    • #3
      Hi I have a Projecta 20 Anp controller and plan to buy the same model for the second set of panels, there a 3 stage controller but I have no idea if they are PWMs or not. Thanks for your advice and information

      S
      Originally posted by Wy_White_Wolf View Post
      I'm assuming you have PWMs since this is a small system.

      As long as the 2 controllers are the same make and model there generally isn't much concern. They may end up in a master/slave combination if charge voltages are set slightly different but with PWM this only affects things when the batteries are fully charged and doesn't harm anything. It could extend the life of the batteries by cutting down the float (pulse) amperage to that supplied only by the master controller when fully charged.

      WWW

      Comment


      • #4
        They are almost certainly PWM, since they don't bill themselves as a premium MPPT controller

        having 2 of them feed a battery bank should be fine, as long as you are within acceptable limits of the batteries (charging between 5-15% of battery capacity, depending on mfg's instructions) So a 200ah battery charging at 20A would be 10% of capacity, just fine. Too little of charge and the electrolyte never bubbles which is needed to de-stratify it, too much charge overheats the battery.
        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

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by Mike90250 View Post
          They are almost certainly PWM, since they don't bill themselves as a premium MPPT controller

          having 2 of them feed a battery bank should be fine, as long as you are within acceptable limits of the batteries (charging between 5-15% of battery capacity, depending on mfg's instructions) So a 200ah battery charging at 20A would be 10% of capacity, just fine. Too little of charge and the electrolyte never bubbles which is needed to de-stratify it, too much charge overheats the battery.
          Thanks for the help, I have a basic knowledge of solar systems so its great to have a forum like this to get advice

          Comment

          Working...
          X