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450vdc plus standalone solar charge controllers?

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badatfarming

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I have been using Growatt SC48120-MPV stand alone charge controllers and they have performed adaquately. They have a max solar pv input voltage of 250v. I bought them in a special one time sale so I found them a good value at the time. It is nice that they have two separate PV string inputs are 250v each.

The new system I am setting up is 15kw of 270 watt panels and life would be made a lot easier with a higher input pv voltage, ideally 500v plus (up to 1000v). I do not use combined inverter/charge controller systems so am looking for any makes of stand alone charge controllers with that higher input voltages. I generally prefer cheaper chinese off brands. The system is very rural and I need full redundancy in every component anyway. I have had laughable experiences with even the top tier makers in terms of honoring warranties so I don't care about that at all.

There does not seem to be any easy way of searching by max input voltage so any pointers on brands/makes would be very helpful.

Looking for devices that can charge a 48v battery bus.
 
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While technically that Schneider device is made in china it is a comically terrible value but I appreciate the thought.
 
IPANDEE? seems to make hundreds of devices. I found only the galaxy series that does 430vdc input but only on 96v battery. Did you know any line or model specifically?

Sandi seems similar, 40+ devices. I was only able to find some that did 384v battery.
 
Wrong one lol
Well, I can't seem to find the one that I was looking for. If I do, I'll post later.
 
It's just like with separates in the audio world, you have to pay bucks for a pre-amp and amplifier separately whereas a receiver is a much better deal.
 
I'm not ready yet to give up on the idea that no one in china is making one of a reasonable value. The main difference is the mosfets I think and some board isolation issues, nothing that warrants a 3-5X premium.
 
badatfarming said:
I'm not ready yet to give up on the idea that no one in china is making one of a reasonable value. The main difference is the mosfets I think and some board isolation issues, nothing that warrants a 3-5X premium.
Click to expand...
Nothing says you have to use all the components on the AIO units that have 5-600v+ mppts. Just use them to charge your batteries from their MPPTS and ignore the inverter..
 
You could just buy a Growatt SPF-5000-ES and just use it for the charger. 450v solar max. And you also get a 240v AC 80A charger. Just ignore the fact that it's also an inverter. lol
 
cs1234 said:
Nothing says you have to use all the components on the AIO units that have 5-600v+ mppts. Just use them to charge your batteries from their MPPTS and ignore the inverter..
Click to expand...
Get out of my mind. lol
 
I found the SRNE hf4850u80-h which can take 500vdc pv input and also includes a 120v inverter for ~$600 . I guess I can physically disable the inverter somehow, just seems like an unecessary pain. The large downside is the parasitic power consumed by the inverter.
 
badatfarming said:
I found the SRNE hf4850u80-h which can take 500vdc pv input and also includes a 120v inverter for ~$600 . I guess I can physically disable the inverter somehow, just seems like an unecessary pain. The large downside is the parasitic power consumed by the inverter.
Click to expand...

Sure, but the money you save vs buying a high end separate can probably get you more batteries and panels extra and you'll still come out ahead, assuming space isn't an issue.
 
badatfarming said:
I found the SRNE hf4850u80-h which can take 500vdc pv input and also includes a 120v inverter for ~$600 . I guess I can physically disable the inverter somehow, just seems like an unecessary pain. The large downside is the parasitic power consumed by the inverter.
Click to expand...
Most AIO's solar chargers will run with the inverter turned off.
 
timselectric said:
Most AIO's solar chargers will run with the inverter turned off.
Click to expand...
That's cool.. especially if they still give you the display showing the incoming watts. Find one that's cheap with built in DC ARC fault and you're really getting a deal!
 
Not sure about the screen on others. But mine is only on when inverter is on.
 
I am not going to be using 1 of these but 4 or 5 of them. There are a few issues I care about. Inverters/charges break at an extraordinarily higher rate than pure chargers in my experience, the idle power consumption, and heat. An inverter/charger generates a lot more heat when the sun isn't shining, I am in the desert so heat is a big issue.

I believe the Growatt SPF-5000-ES mentioned uses something like 64 watts idle, times 4 that's an 256 watts idle for nothing. The SC48120-MPV charger uses 40 total watt hours idle *per day* when sun isn't shining.

I think the Growatt inverter has a "standby" power mode which reduces idle consumption but I will need to research it. I know on the victron this reduces the frequency down to like 1hz which cuts idle consumption a bunch but not down to anything like the standalone charger.
 
It draws nothing if turned off.
But, the solar charger still works on its own.
 
eg4 6500 or sol-ark? eg4 makes an 8000w also, not sure about more powerful. i don't need that much.
i do plan on getting another eg4 6500 for 240v split phase eventually...if i ever get and EV.
 
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