Ben Okopnik wrote: > On Fri, Apr 03, 2009 at 02:53:24PM -0400, Jim wrote: > >> My charge controller has turned up it's toes. It wasn't a MPPT >> controller so I'm now off the fence about buying one. I have seen the >> Morning Star unit discussed here before. I'm leaning to the Morningstar >> SunSaver 15 Amp unit at about $230. I have two 95 watt panels. >> >> I also see that you can connect panels in series up to 75 volts or so >> and use this unit to charge a 12V bank. >> >> Two questions, does anyone have any other controllers they'd suggest I >> look at? >> > > I've got a BlueSky 2512i 25A regulator (should have bought the iX, darn > it. I missed the fact that only the iX has an auxiliary battery output; > I thought both of them did.) Other than that little basic bit, I just > love the thing: it's boosted my SP output significantly. Oh, and I got a > really good deal on it from a place in California: $189, if I recall > correctly. I saw one at a boat show a couple of months ago, where they > wanted $450 for it. > > >> And by hooking two panels in series I'd double the voltage and keep the >> max current lower than a parallel configuration. >> > > Actually, no - the current limit on those units only relates to output. > So, whether you convert, for example, (4 panels * 4A)@19v or (4 panels * > 19v)@4A, the output is still [email protected] (if I recall the nominal output > voltage correctly.) > > >> That means less loss >> in the wire. What I don't know is if one of the panels is blocked, will >> that hurt the output of the other panel? >> > > In series, yes, it would. > > > Hm, OK do these controllers have a separate connection for each solar panel? If not I fail to see how multiple panels would add energy to a battery. If I have two voltage sources, one at 20 volts and one at 15 volts and hook them in parallel, if there isn't a blocking diode some current will flow from the 20 V source to the 15 V source. If there is a blocking diode then the 15 V source will furnish no current to the circuit effectively making it useless. Is there something wrong with this logic?
Jim. _______________________________________________ Liveaboard mailing list [email protected] To adjust your membership settings over the web http://www.liveaboardnow.org/mailman/listinfo/liveaboard To subscribe send an email to [email protected] To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] The archives are at http://www.liveaboardnow.org/pipermail/liveaboard/ To search the archives http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] The Mailman Users Guide can be found here http://www.gnu.org/software/mailman/mailman-member/index.html
