Solar to charge leisure battery and van battery?

Ched

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I'm looking to fit a 400 watt 40 volt panel and I was thinking of a Victron SmartSolar mppt 100V 20 amp controller as I can mount it out of the way and then see the voltages/current via bluetooth. I would prefer not have the controller and wires on display. Not a 'smart' alternator vehicle (2009 Ducato) and both batteries will be lead acid.

The question is what is the best way to top up the van battery when the leisure battery is full? Could I use a split charge relay in reverse (ie when leisure battery is at 13.8V then van battery gets some charge)?

Any ideas?
Thanks
 
Your battery should hit 14.4v and after standing with solar or engine off will drop to 12.7, if you use a votronic regulater there is a 1amp take off to the strter battery, im running 2 90ah lead acids and a votroning 250 with 200w solar, only time i require a engine run or mains is nov/dec sometimes.
votronic regulator.png
vetronic.png
 
Ched said:
I'm looking to fit a 400 watt 40 volt panel and I was thinking of a Victron SmartSolar mppt 100V 20 amp controller as I can mount it out of the way and then see the voltages/current via bluetooth. I would prefer not have the controller and wires on display. Not a 'smart' alternator vehicle (2009 Ducato) and both batteries will be lead acid.
Click to expand...
#1. If you have a 12V Leisure Battery System, the 100/20 is the wrong controller. It will support a maximum of 290W so is too small to make full use of a 400W panel. you should look at the 100/30.
Ched said:
The question is what is the best way to top up the van battery when the leisure battery is full? Could I use a split charge relay in reverse (ie when leisure battery is at 13.8V then van battery gets some charge)?
Click to expand...
#2. assuming a 12V system .... You could use a VSR which will activate at around 13.8V. What is your current split-charge setup?

My own preference would be the AMT12-2 Battery Maintainer that monitors both the Starter and Leisure Batteries and will work automatically.
There are other options such as a Solar Controller with a trickle charge feature but they are flawed in that the charge rate is very small (averages under 0.5A an hour and if you have a parasitic load that is often not enough) and they will only work with solar charging, so come winter and your van is maybe in storage with EHU hookup you won't be maintaining the Starter Battery.
Another option will be a physical cable connection you have to remember to plug in and remove each time to avoid blowing fuses. Way too much of a faff for me but some like the physical and mental challenge it offers :)

Ched said:
Any ideas?
Thanks
Click to expand...
 
When on mains charger i have a switch which opens a 200ah relay linking all the batteries up, also handy for a jump start.
 
My van has an NDS Sun controller which was original fit by the converter. It's a brand that is rarely mentioned on these hallowed pages yet it fully charges both leisure and starter batteries but with priority to the LBs. 6yrs old now and, well, it just works.
 
Another vote for the Ablemail AMT 12-2, but with even more 'idiot proof'/'fit and forget' features. David @wildebus fitted an Ablemail ABB-07 for me, so that I can see the voltages of both the Leisure and Vehicle batteries on my phone, plus a switch to enable the [almost] constant feed of surplus energy from the LB to the VB [for 9 seconds in every 10 seconds].

Steve
 
number14 said:
My van has an NDS Sun controller which was original fit by the converter. It's a brand that is rarely mentioned on these hallowed pages yet it fully charges both leisure and starter batteries but with priority to the LBs. 6yrs old now and, well, it just works.
Click to expand...
Here you go.
nds sun a.jpg
nds sun b.jpg
 
My system has evolved over the years of owning van, so might not be what you would use on a fresh system. When the van is in storage, which is undercover, the engine battery is plugged in to a solar panel which keeps it topped up. When away and parked up for longer periods I got a Voltronic battery maintainer cheap secondhand off eBay, this keeps the vehicle battery a volt or two below leisure battery, so in effect passes excess solar to the vehicle battery, this connects via a switch so is only used when needed, as it could possibly drain the leisure battery in poor solar conditions.
 
colinm said:
My system has evolved over the years of owning van, so might not be what you would use on a fresh system. When the van is in storage, which is undercover, the engine battery is plugged in to a solar panel which keeps it topped up. When away and parked up for longer periods I got a Voltronic battery maintainer cheap secondhand off eBay, this keeps the vehicle battery a volt or two below leisure battery, so in effect passes excess solar to the vehicle battery, this connects via a switch so is only used when needed, as it could possibly drain the leisure battery in poor solar conditions.
Click to expand...
No it wont as the split is inside the unit with a diode to stop back flow, so in effect the batteries never see each other, but i would have a smart charger connected to the batts if possable, 5/10 amp numax or the like and a link switch to starter & habs.
 
wildebus said:
#1. If you have a 12V Leisure Battery System, the 100/20 is the wrong controller. It will support a maximum of 290W so is too small to make full use of a 400W panel. you should look at the 100/30.

#2. assuming a 12V system .... You could use a VSR which will activate at around 13.8V. What is your current split-charge setup?

My own preference would be the AMT12-2 Battery Maintainer that monitors both the Starter and Leisure Batteries and will work automatically.
There are other options such as a Solar Controller with a trickle charge feature but they are flawed in that the charge rate is very small (averages under 0.5A an hour and if you have a parasitic load that is often not enough) and they will only work with solar charging, so come winter and your van is maybe in storage with EHU hookup you won't be maintaining the Starter Battery.
Another option will be a physical cable connection you have to remember to plug in and remove each time to avoid blowing fuses. Way too much of a faff for me but some like the physical and mental challenge it offers :)
Click to expand...
Cheers, good point about the 100/20 - I had assumed it was input parameters - oops. The 100/30 does seem to be the one to go for, thanks.
VSR might be the easy option.
Current split charge is a bit of an unknown as we haven't actually picked up the van (2009 Trigano Tribute) and they are just replacing the charge/fuse system as it went pop when testing! I'm just trying to get everything organised as we want to go to the Malvern show and I won't have that much time to get solar installed, plus reverse camera, new double din android stereo plus tv, usb etc..... We had been due to pick it up last Sat so lots to do and short on time :)

Cheers for your help.
 
We get wi discount with bms in gloster my 50 100 Bluetooth = £ 150. 2 month ago.. my first victron 100 / 30 was £ 200

Not found a switching system yet that I like. From lipo to wet battery. But I ihave 2 panels on roof . Van battery just on end of life, so will need to sort by winter. Fit and forget is what I would like.
 
Ched said:
Cheers, good point about the 100/20 - I had assumed it was input parameters - oops. The 100/30 does seem to be the one to go for, thanks.
Click to expand...
Just for info for anyone reading this thread...
The Victron naming convention is:
Voltage, e.g. 100, is the maximum panel voltage presented. It is important never to exceed that.
Current, e.g 20, is the maximum current output to the batteries. If you generate more than the quoted maximum, the extra is discarded but no damage occurs.
The Power rating is the current x the max charge voltage, which is generally 14.7V for a 12V Lead Battery. Which is how you get a quoted 290W on a 100/20 (maybe it should be 294W?).
If you had a Lithium setup, the charge voltage would be 14.2V and the max power would drop to 184W.

Ched said:
VSR might be the easy option.
Current split charge is a bit of an unknown as we haven't actually picked up the van (2009 Trigano Tribute) and they are just replacing the charge/fuse system as it went pop when testing! I'm just trying to get everything organised as we want to go to the Malvern show and I won't have that much time to get solar installed, plus reverse camera, new double din android stereo plus tv, usb etc..... We had been due to pick it up last Sat so lots to do and short on time :)

Cheers for your help.
Click to expand...
 
colinm said:
The Voltronic unit takes power from wherever it finds it, if there's no solar and the leisure battery has a higher charge than the engine battery it will drain the leisure battery, for us, for most of the year that's not a problem.
Click to expand...
New one to me, cant see how as diode protected, mine has never done so, maybe wildbus can show some light on this.
Just a reminder, if you have disconnected the les batts without pulling the fuse on the votronic then it will be damaged.
You can disconect the feed to the starter battery with no problems.
 
Last edited:
trevskoda said:
New one to me, cant see how as diode protected, mine has never done so, maybe wildbus can show some light on this.
Just a reminder, if you have disconnected the les batts without pulling the fuse on the votronic then it will be damaged.
You can disconect the feed to the starter battery with no problems.
Click to expand...
It's a Voltronic battery maintainer, not a solar regulator.
 
wildebus said:
Just for info for anyone reading this thread...
The Victron naming convention is:
Voltage, e.g. 100, is the maximum panel voltage presented. It is important never to exceed that.
Current, e.g 20, is the maximum current output to the batteries. If you generate more than the quoted maximum, the extra is discarded but no damage occurs.
The Power rating is the current x the max charge voltage, which is generally 14.7V for a 12V Lead Battery. Which is how you get a quoted 290W on a 100/20 (maybe it should be 294W?).
If you had a Lithium setup, the charge voltage would be 14.2V and the max power would drop to 184W.
Click to expand...
Should the Lithium max power not be 284W, David? I think it's a typo :ROFLMAO:

Steve
 
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