Charliexan
New Member
Hi. I am new to solar and I need your advice.
I had a solar setup in the van with a Solarfam 200w panel and a Lumiax 2010 controller.
As I am the most of the time stationary, I needed to make some changes and replace the lumiax charge controller with one that can charge both the “home” battery bank (2x110ah 12V AGM connected in parallel) and the Van battery.
It was not an easy task to find a MPPT controller that have the capability to charge two batteries, as the most of them could pump only 1Amp to the car battery. I was lucky and I found a PV Logic MPPT Pro charge controller that could work with my 200w panel and being able to charge the Car battery. That controller after the “Home” battery reaches 70% of the charge, then it shares the load on both “home” battery and “Car” battery. (I will attach images). That’s fantastic as I can charge fast also the car battery with more than 1Amp.
A 200w panel especially in winter time is not enough for my needs and I am tight in roof space of the van. I decided to order an extra 100w panel and wire it to the lumiax controller, as that was the only size that could fit on the roof.
Many YouTubers say in their videos that you can use charge controllers of different types and brands on the same battery. No one explained how I can connect them to my battery bank that is connected in parallel.
I asked some shops that sell solar panels and controllers and they said that I should add wires on the exact same places that my first controller was connected to the battery bank and just connect them to the lumiax controller that will drive the 100w panel. Is that correct ? Can I do that ?
Also I contacted via Email the PV Logic MPPT Pro manufacturer to ask about what profile should I choose and they do not have a specific AGM profile and they said to choose GEL profile. Also they said that it is not possible to connect a second controller in the same battery bank circuit.
Can you help me ?
Thank you all !
(Please have a look at the attached imaged to see also the charge profiles and my solar hardware).
Setup 1:
PV Logic MPPT Pro ( https://www.solartechnology.co.uk/product/15a-mppt--dual-battery-charge-controller/ )
Solarfam SZ-200-36M Mono 36Cells
Maximum Power (Pmax): 200W
Maximum Power Current (Imp): 8.2V
Maximum Power Voltage (Vpm): 24.38V
Open Circuit Voltage (Voc): 29.98V
Short Circuit Current (Isc): 8.7A
1480*670*30mm
Setup 2:
Lumiax MC2010BT https://www.lumiax.com/product/detail/162
Solarfam Shingle SZ-100-36M Mono 36Cells
Nominal Power: 100W
Maximum Power Current (Impp) 5.51A
Maximum Power Voltage (Vmpp 22.40V
Open-circuit Voltage (Voc) 21.45V
Working Temperature -40°C—+80°C
I had a solar setup in the van with a Solarfam 200w panel and a Lumiax 2010 controller.
As I am the most of the time stationary, I needed to make some changes and replace the lumiax charge controller with one that can charge both the “home” battery bank (2x110ah 12V AGM connected in parallel) and the Van battery.
It was not an easy task to find a MPPT controller that have the capability to charge two batteries, as the most of them could pump only 1Amp to the car battery. I was lucky and I found a PV Logic MPPT Pro charge controller that could work with my 200w panel and being able to charge the Car battery. That controller after the “Home” battery reaches 70% of the charge, then it shares the load on both “home” battery and “Car” battery. (I will attach images). That’s fantastic as I can charge fast also the car battery with more than 1Amp.
A 200w panel especially in winter time is not enough for my needs and I am tight in roof space of the van. I decided to order an extra 100w panel and wire it to the lumiax controller, as that was the only size that could fit on the roof.
Many YouTubers say in their videos that you can use charge controllers of different types and brands on the same battery. No one explained how I can connect them to my battery bank that is connected in parallel.
I asked some shops that sell solar panels and controllers and they said that I should add wires on the exact same places that my first controller was connected to the battery bank and just connect them to the lumiax controller that will drive the 100w panel. Is that correct ? Can I do that ?
Also I contacted via Email the PV Logic MPPT Pro manufacturer to ask about what profile should I choose and they do not have a specific AGM profile and they said to choose GEL profile. Also they said that it is not possible to connect a second controller in the same battery bank circuit.
Can you help me ?
Thank you all !
(Please have a look at the attached imaged to see also the charge profiles and my solar hardware).
Setup 1:
PV Logic MPPT Pro ( https://www.solartechnology.co.uk/product/15a-mppt--dual-battery-charge-controller/ )
Solarfam SZ-200-36M Mono 36Cells
Maximum Power (Pmax): 200W
Maximum Power Current (Imp): 8.2V
Maximum Power Voltage (Vpm): 24.38V
Open Circuit Voltage (Voc): 29.98V
Short Circuit Current (Isc): 8.7A
1480*670*30mm
Setup 2:
Lumiax MC2010BT https://www.lumiax.com/product/detail/162
Solarfam Shingle SZ-100-36M Mono 36Cells
Nominal Power: 100W
Maximum Power Current (Impp) 5.51A
Maximum Power Voltage (Vmpp 22.40V
Open-circuit Voltage (Voc) 21.45V
Working Temperature -40°C—+80°C
Attachments
Last edited:
