Thanks Mathew,
I'm reading the same thing from every user/operator manual I've been able to download off the net.
It seems that complex multistage chargers do get confused and malfunction in the presence of other chargers/charging sources trying to also charge the same batteries.
Sensing temperatures and voltages and the use of complex algorithms/logic seem to improve charger performance and battery life but at the cost of tolerating other hardware trying to do the same thing at the same time. Would that be a reasonable and fair summation?
So... How to get the various charge sources to play nice. I still want a holistic and smart single box solution however.
In the mean time, using available off the shelf hardware, I'm thinking that a shore power AC charger teamed up with one of those communist Chinese combination solar/wind regulator/chargers might be a viable but rather pathetic one-or-the-other solution.
James.
--- In electricboats@yahoogroups.com, Matthew Geier <matthew@...> wrote:
>
> Just check the specs of your various items of equipment. My main charger
> actually has note saying NOT to run it in parallel with any other
> charging device (they mention solar), as it monitors the battery bank
> pretty well ALL the time. I was advised that if I wanted to also do
> solar charging to put a disconnect switch to remove the 240v charger
> from the battery circuit first.
>
> My charger has a particularly complex 'float' algorithm - it doesn't
> leave the battery on trickle charge all the time, it actually turns off
> completely and monitors the terminal voltage, only giving a 'gentle' top
> up as required. It also maintains some sort of long cycle timer and so
> doesn't always do an 'equalise' charge, with out looking at the manual,
> I can't remember what that cycle was - although given the infrequent use
> I make of my boat, every trip gets a full equalise charge cycle.
>
> The upshot it, my charger would get confused and possibly even
> damaged, if it was in parallel with a solar or wind charge controller.
>
> I would imagine that Solar/Wind charge controllers are more likely to
> cope with being paralleled, as having multiple power sources is more
> common in the 'renewable' energy world, where as my main battery charger
> is firmly in the 'grid connected' world.
>
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