wildebus
Full Member
- Messages
- 6,371
I had a quick look at the Victron MPPT Controller configuration (easy to do as in their app you can create Demo versions of all the products to play around withRef the Dual battery charging thing. I am not convinced those are really any different to the controllers that have a "load" connection as well as the battery. With most reasonable ones you can configure the load to be active when the battery is at a certain level of when the PV input is present.
In fact, if you did use the "Load" as a secondary battery connection and set it to be in when the battery is above a certain level, then it could provide a trickle charge to the starter when on mains hookup with a charger? Think I might have to have a look at that?
I chose the SmartSolar 100/20 (that is the one I have for the testing) and as an example I can configure the load output to go on at say 13.3V and off at 12.8V (I chose those values as they would be same as a VSR on and off).
This means you could use the Load Output like that secondary battery output on the controllers that have that, but would would work on both Solar and EHU.
Pretty handy stuff actually and finally a use for the Load Output! Most non-Victron controllers don't have the same level of configurability but I think something similar should be possible?
As an aside, if that load/secondary battery output has a lower current limit then you would like, you could also use that output to switch a high-power relay on and off instead, so a way upgrade the power for under an extra fiver
The only downside on the Victron side is that they don't have a LOAD output on any new Solar Controllers bigger than the 100/20. However they do have a 'virtual' load signal so could be used with a relay as mentioned above, but does start to get more complicated