Hi Everyone,
I want to move to a 24 volt battery bank setup from 12 volt. One of the things i have to now consider is a battery charger that will 3 stage and equalize the battery bank of 8- rolls S 550's 6 volts connected in 24 volt in series /parallel. I am off grid and use of a a honda generator (2000 inverter) as my source of A/C. I read somewhere I should have a charger capable of at least 10% of ah S550's at 20 ah rate, which is 428ah. This means a charger of 40 amps.
Can I get thoughts of the forum on what I need to augment my solar panels over low sun days and keep my batteries topped up with a generator by suggesting a 24 volt charger and it's application. Do I really need 40amp?
Thanks,
Jim
Hi
Since you are moving to 24 volts from 12 volt, you'll need a new inverter, and ANY of the new inverters will easily handle the 40 amp charge rate you specified, and a Honda EU2000i will handle this easily.
I live in a village in Southern Baja California, the entire village (over 60 homes) are all totally solar powered, so LOTS of experience here with what works and what doesn't. The most common inverter now is the Outback, but the MAGNUM inverters have made a nice showing too. Especially their models that will provide 240v. REALLY slick as the new Digital Inverter Air Conditioners are gaining favor, since they are very thrifty on power, but most require 240v. We have unilaterally abandoned Xantrex/Schneider due to their repair policy and our remote location.
The solar charge controllers in use here are a mix of the old Trace C40's (gradually dieing off), early MPPT systems went with the Outback MX-60's, but since I installed my CLASSIC here, and showed everyone the ease of use and performance, I don't think anybody has installed an Outback since! Everyone raves about the Classic, and it's the charge controller of choice.
I use a similar battery setup as your goal, using 2 parallel strings of 4 batteries for a total of 416 AH using Golf Cart batteries (readily available at COSTCO down here!!!). Solar panels are 6 SolarWorld 255w units, and I am amazed at what I can run with this system.
Good luck, hope this helps.
-Kevin K7ZS
I moved this to a more appropriate board.
Tom
Jweslock, please tell us about your loads so we can comment on your whole system and not just a charger.. also where are you sited, that has a lot to do with your array sizing.
For a stand alone charger I have used a 40A but 12v Xantrex Truecharge and was /still am happy with its performance, it almost ran on my Honda Eu1000i gen set...
I also have an OmniCharge 30 A / 24V but that is a bit small for you.
hth
Quote from: Jweslock on May 17, 2015, 10:29:30 AM
Do I really need 40amp?
No, you can probably get by with 30 amps... but a lot depends on your loads. As 'k7zs' pointed out, you will need a new inverter. Make sure to buy an inverter/charger and your problem will be solved.
--vtMaps