I've bought a panel that I want to connect to some batteries . My issue is I have 2 x 38Ah batteries and 2 x 65Ah batteries. I know it's not good to wire up batteries with differant Ah ratings. But could I connect 1 solar panel to 2 solar controllers then have 1 for the 38Ah batteries and 1 for the 65Ah batteries?
Question about solar power
- Thread starter bearC
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The problem with any lead acid batteries used in parallel is one faulty battery can discharge them all. The blocking diode
is designed so a number of batteries can be charged from the same source, but if one battery is discharged it will not discharge the others, but it also means each is used independently, which may not be what you want.
As a lead acid discharges it forms sulphur on the plates, as time passes this gets harder and harder, so the aim is every couple of months to ensure every battery is fully recharged, this takes time, and if a battery is in constant use, there are not enough sun light hours in the day to fully recharge it.
So having one battery only charged and not used, in a rotor, can allow them to fully re-charge, but narrow boat users would look for shore power once a month so charge over night as well.
All the batteries can go in parallel if non are faulty, the problem is if one has a fault it can drag the others down. Today we tend to use lithium batteries which don't have the problem of slow charge times.
is designed so a number of batteries can be charged from the same source, but if one battery is discharged it will not discharge the others, but it also means each is used independently, which may not be what you want.As a lead acid discharges it forms sulphur on the plates, as time passes this gets harder and harder, so the aim is every couple of months to ensure every battery is fully recharged, this takes time, and if a battery is in constant use, there are not enough sun light hours in the day to fully recharge it.
So having one battery only charged and not used, in a rotor, can allow them to fully re-charge, but narrow boat users would look for shore power once a month so charge over night as well.
All the batteries can go in parallel if non are faulty, the problem is if one has a fault it can drag the others down. Today we tend to use lithium batteries which don't have the problem of slow charge times.
No, don’t do that. Connecting a single panel to multiple controllers in parallel is going to be a mess.
Personally I wouldn’t be too concerned about putting multiple batteries of the same voltage and same chemistry - and ideally the same age - in parallel. You need to make sure they have the same state of charge when you first connect them, so one doesn’t discharge vigorously into the other - and them keep them connected. Are your existing pairs of batteries used together in parallel?
Does anyone make a controller that’s designed for multiple independent batteries? That would be the ideal solution.
Im pretty sure they would of been . I think they were battery back up for a fire alarm P.A system
Which is invariably 24V so used in series
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