Charge Controller Discharge Current ?

[Bob_G]

Charge Controller Discharge Current ?

This is my second post with a basic question.

I will probably be buying the EPEVER 4210AN or the 4215BN charge controller.
One difference that was pointed out to me is that both the AN and BN support 40 Charge Current
but the BN only supports 20A Discharge Current.
AN BN
Charge
Current 40A 40A

Discharge
Current 40A 20A

I understand that the charge current refers to the max current from the controller to the batteries from the BATTERY terminals..

What is discharge current? What limitation does a 20A discharge current have vs 40A?
My guess is that the discharge current refers only to the LOAD terminals and is independent of the charge current.
I.E. the BN only supports a 20A load.

The BN seems to be the more "ruggedized" of the two with a solid cast aluminum body and heat sink vs the AN.
Any reason why the BN would have a lesser discharge current than the AN?
Otherwise they seem identical except for minor difference in their dimensions and the Max. PV open circuit voltage (150V for BN vs 100V
for AN).

Is this correct?

Any advice from someone that is familiar with these two models and their differences would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

[SolarRat]

I think they are referring to what the load terminals can handle? You may or may not be using the load terminals depending on what you are powering.

 

[kernel]

Charge current, obvious. Discharge would be into a load. The load control/lvd output from the battery to the control..... not so obvious.

 

[ghostwriter66]

Charge Controller Discharge Current ?

This is my second post with a basic question.

I will probably be buying the EPEVER 4210AN or the 4215BN charge controller.
One difference that was pointed out to me is that both the AN and BN support 40 Charge Current
but the BN only supports 20A Discharge Current.
AN BN
Charge
Current 40A 40A

Discharge
Current 40A 20A

I understand that the charge current refers to the max current from the controller to the batteries from the BATTERY terminals..

What is discharge current? What limitation does a 20A discharge current have vs 40A?
My guess is that the discharge current refers only to the LOAD terminals and is independent of the charge current.
I.E. the BN only supports a 20A load.

The BN seems to be the more "ruggedized" of the two with a solid cast aluminum body and heat sink vs the AN.
Any reason why the BN would have a lesser discharge current than the AN?
Otherwise they seem identical except for minor difference in their dimensions and the Max. PV open circuit voltage (150V for BN vs 100V
for AN).

Is this correct?

Any advice from someone that is familiar with these two models and their differences would be appreciated.

Thanks

From where i stand its a wierd choice you have to make .. The BNs are made to be bulletproof .. great heatsink ... in fact the whole damn think is a heatsink but you also really need an optional MT50 to program and monitor it correctly ..

The AN's can drop 40A in lieu of 20A into your battery bank - essentially charging them twice as fast -- the heat sink on it is not my favourite but so far we have not had any issues ... If they could have simply combined the AN and BN together they would have had a great product ...

BUT if I were you I would get the AN ... 2X the charge is nothing to balk at ..

Here are some more differences:
1. 4210A accept max 100V (Voc) PV input while the 4215BN can handle max 150V (Voc) Input.
2. 4210A 's upper case is plastic, 4215BN is all metal, heavy duty unit.
3. 4210A wire size is #6, 4215BN 's max wire is #4, however, #6 wire is enough for 40A unit.

 

[Bob_G]

Thanks for the clarification. It is not so obvious. Most references I found for discharge current referred to the battery and did not
mention it with respect to a SCC Load.
I don't plan on using the LOAD functionality.

Thanks

 

[Bob142]

The AN's can drop 40A in lieu of 20A into your battery bank - essentially charging them twice as fast -- the heat sink on it is not my favourite but so far we have not had any issues ... If they could have simply combined the AN and BN together they would have had a great product ...

BUT if I were you I would get the AN ... 2X the charge is nothing to balk at ..

They are both able to charge at 40A. The difference is in the max current out of the load terminals that typically are used to control lighting, relays, etc. They are not the same as the battery terminals of the SCC.

 

[ghostwriter66]

They are both able to charge at 40A. The difference is in the max current out of the load terminals that typically are used to control lighting, relays, etc. They are not the same as the battery terminals of the SCC.

THX ... I learn something new every day ... I am going to blame the 20A to the battery misinformation on the Chinese Help Desk guy that told us that (Im allowed to do that - LOL) ... SOOO in this case -- I would definitely go with the 4215BN with a MT50

 

[PfloydBham]

I have both a 3210an and a 4215bn SCC. The BN is attached to a travel system with Tesla S battery using WP's design from last year. I want to build a small lighting config for a very remote shelter. I have LED work spotlights that run between 10v and 30v. I want to combine 18650s into a 4s config which will charge to 16.8v at 100% with a single 100 watt panel. The panel has VOC around 18-20v. Can I use the "user defined" settings of the 3210AN to employ those charge parameters with 16v max and a small 4s BMS? Are there any problems with this? I am relatively new to solar, so please bear with me. Any comments are welcomed.
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