The guys have an old 43-watt panel mounted to the family cabin, for keeping a 300AH (3x100AH) 12V lead-acid deep cycle marine battery bank topped off. This is at a remote location in northern WI, and the cabin can go for months with no-one visiting it.
When in-use, the cabin is primarily powered by a generator. The cabin's power is then fed via 40A charger (StatPower TrueCharge 40+amp multi-stage battery charger) to the 300AH backup battery bank, so that the batteries can power the fridge and etc. at night, when the generator is off.
The old solar controller was probably an 8-10 amp PWM, which doesn't seem to be working. (Don't know if it ever was... Plus, that setup had originally came off an RV, so I don't think it has much else in the way of grounds or fusing, either.)
The guys, and other people using the cabin, would prefer to not have to manually switch between feeds. Thus, if ordering a replacement controller, I'm concerned about the potential for feeding from that 40A charger. Do I need to order a 40A+ controller, or can I stick with a smaller controller with backfeed protection? I presume, at a bare-minimum, an added fuse between the controller and batteries would also be wise; but then that might need to be 40A+, as well? (And if 40A bleeds into the solar setup, are those wires and everything else capable of handling it? Or should there not really be reason for that 40A to be trying to travel through the solar end of things?) Or might there be something simple--like a blocking diode or automatic switch or something--which could perhaps be added, to help insure against this?
I understand some basics, but this situation is totally beyond my experience, and I want to try to keep the setup as safe as possible.
Thanks for your help!
(P.S. As a secondary question, the guys also have a small automotive-type non-controlled amorphous solar panel connected to the generator's battery 24/7, as a trickle charger. On paper, that should be 6 watts, 15V, .4A, and not "require" a controller; however, when the guys checked, it seems to be kicking out much higher voltage; even over 20V... Thoughts on safety--and battery health--if leaving this hooked up to that generator battery, all the time? Should I get them a different trickle charger, with a controller? Any concerns a small controller might get damaged, if left hooked up when generator is started?)
When in-use, the cabin is primarily powered by a generator. The cabin's power is then fed via 40A charger (StatPower TrueCharge 40+amp multi-stage battery charger) to the 300AH backup battery bank, so that the batteries can power the fridge and etc. at night, when the generator is off.
The old solar controller was probably an 8-10 amp PWM, which doesn't seem to be working. (Don't know if it ever was... Plus, that setup had originally came off an RV, so I don't think it has much else in the way of grounds or fusing, either.)
The guys, and other people using the cabin, would prefer to not have to manually switch between feeds. Thus, if ordering a replacement controller, I'm concerned about the potential for feeding from that 40A charger. Do I need to order a 40A+ controller, or can I stick with a smaller controller with backfeed protection? I presume, at a bare-minimum, an added fuse between the controller and batteries would also be wise; but then that might need to be 40A+, as well? (And if 40A bleeds into the solar setup, are those wires and everything else capable of handling it? Or should there not really be reason for that 40A to be trying to travel through the solar end of things?) Or might there be something simple--like a blocking diode or automatic switch or something--which could perhaps be added, to help insure against this?
I understand some basics, but this situation is totally beyond my experience, and I want to try to keep the setup as safe as possible.
Thanks for your help!
(P.S. As a secondary question, the guys also have a small automotive-type non-controlled amorphous solar panel connected to the generator's battery 24/7, as a trickle charger. On paper, that should be 6 watts, 15V, .4A, and not "require" a controller; however, when the guys checked, it seems to be kicking out much higher voltage; even over 20V... Thoughts on safety--and battery health--if leaving this hooked up to that generator battery, all the time? Should I get them a different trickle charger, with a controller? Any concerns a small controller might get damaged, if left hooked up when generator is started?)
