Bob B wrote:
This is the solar charger setup I am considering. I keep going back and forth between this setup and a MPPT.
What kind of solar panels are you using? What is their open circuit voltage? Is it programmable for any battery type? I have wet cell right now, but may go to a bigger bank of AGM later. Thanks
Hi Bob
I like the setup, completely configurable to whatever settings your batteries call for, one of the very few I found that I could set high enough. Programmable from the battery monitor.
Cons: Have dual Interstate 6v wet cells, Interstate calls for 15.4v absorption for several hours, and 15.6v for Equalize for a couple hours. I find if I use more then say 20 or 30A overnight, by late in the day it has come up to 15.3, but not for the suggested time frame. If I understand it correctly, I'm not getting a full charge into the batteries and only get to 15.6 if I limit discharge to only 5 or so amps during the night, like in the driveway at home. Going to try adding another panel next year so it gets up to 98% where it'll hit the 15.3v while there is still enough sunlight to do some good. Don't know that this is controller specific, but it's what I've run into.
The Bogart controller has no true equalization, just a pseudo one where it'll go into the higher voltage for a specified time frame on it's own, no manual control on it.
You of course do not get the charging benefit of mppt.
Grape 160W Mono 36 cell, voc = 22.2 V, vmpp 18.5 V
I was going back and forth between this setup and the Bluesky 3000i.
