I have a partial off grid power arrangement, where my facility gets AC power for one or two days a week. I have two 115Ah deep cycle batteries wired in parallel to keep everything running, but I need a straightforward way to charge up the batteries when AC is present.
My initial thinking was to simply plug in a smart charger that would automatically come on when the AC was on, but after much research it sounds like three stage chargers can get stuck in the absorption stage (14+ volts) because of the load, and cook the batteries. I'd also need the system to kick back on and provide up to full current if I increase the load and start to pull down the batteries.
My current set-up uses a simple 15A solar charge controller wired to a 15A DC power supply (silly I know)...anyhow, that's not working, it's only providing around 5amp max...not sure why.
How can I keep my batteries in top condition! Am I just over thinking this, and will a $50 charger do the trick?
Bruce
My initial thinking was to simply plug in a smart charger that would automatically come on when the AC was on, but after much research it sounds like three stage chargers can get stuck in the absorption stage (14+ volts) because of the load, and cook the batteries. I'd also need the system to kick back on and provide up to full current if I increase the load and start to pull down the batteries.
My current set-up uses a simple 15A solar charge controller wired to a 15A DC power supply (silly I know)...anyhow, that's not working, it's only providing around 5amp max...not sure why.
How can I keep my batteries in top condition! Am I just over thinking this, and will a $50 charger do the trick?
Bruce
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