Second battery with one solar panel

alwaysared

alwaysared

Full Member

Messages
717
Hi All,

I was thinking about fitting a second leisure battery on my van in time for the New Year meet, I currently have 1 x 130ah battery (new in July 2018) and 1 x 130w solar panel with a Voltronic 165 controller. Will I be okay to just connect a second battery or do I need to get a second solar panel and controller?
Any help or advice is appreciated.

Regards,
Del
 
Last edited:
Just parallel them up Del.

We run perfectly well on two 135 Ah batteries, 150W panel and a PVM controller.


Cheers

H
 
I'm sure the technical wizards will come up with far more helpful info but I just wanted to say that I have pretty much the same setup you're suggesting... 2 x 130ah batteries and a 130W solar panel with a single solar controller. The solar is 7 years old now but I replaced the original single 110ah battery for the 2 x 130ah last year and it all works really well for me :)
 
You can connect in parallel no problem, red in on one battery and black out on the other
 
I have a 140w flexi solar panel that fine in the summer with driving around but in the winter like today in sunny Hampshire, (it was sunny today), I got about 5amps max charge, that's according to my Power Analyzer Monitor / Volt Tester & Watt Meter, so if I fitted a second battery I would consider a second panel, I'm thinking of it for just the system I have now. You can always try yours with 2 batteries and see first though; It all depends on how much driving around and how much parked up you do. Only 1 x 80amp gel fitted here. I wonder what others are getting out of their solar panels this time of year.
 
chas142 said:
I have a 140w flexi solar panel that fine in the summer with driving around but in the winter like today in sunny Hampshire, (it was sunny today), I got about 5amps max charge, that's according to my Power Analyzer Monitor / Volt Tester & Watt Meter, so if I fitted a second battery I would consider a second panel, I'm thinking of it for just the system I have now. You can always try yours with 2 batteries and see first though; It all depends on how much driving around and how much parked up you do. Only 1 x 80amp gel fitted here. I wonder what others are getting out of their solar panels this time of year.
Click to expand...
Very little at this time of year, better if its a sunny day but not enough for my compressor fridge and diesel heater plus all the phones, tablets, watches and lights
 
nabsim said:
Very little at this time of year, better if its a sunny day but not enough for my compressor fridge and diesel heater plus all the phones, tablets, watches and lights
Click to expand...
I expected that would be the answer I would get, not much, I was hoping to get about 15amp a day to try and run a 12volt 5 amp dehumidifier for 3 hours a day, I've set the timer down to one hour a day now.
 
Best this month is about 6.5A from 400W but I am quite a few hundred miles north of you. Solar harvesting is from 9AM to 2PM where I am mostly parked so I kind of ignore Solar in the winter.
 
chas142 said:
I expected that would be the answer I would get, not much, I was hoping to get about 15amp a day to try and run a 12volt 5 amp dehumidifier for 3 hours a day, I've set the timer down to one hour a day now.
Click to expand...
It would need to be sunny all day for me to get that now, in the summer I have batteries full by lunch although I doubt I would be using diesel heater then, fridge is 45 amps a day, worth it but not got it sussed for toping up yet
 
TE="wildebus, post: 71968, member: 173"]Best this month is about 6.5A from 400W but I am quite a few hundred miles north of you. Solar harvesting is from 9AM to 2PM where I am mostly parked so I kind of ignore Solar in the winter.[/QUOTE]
Yes I get a bit longer light down here, I expect on a cloudy day for that 5 amps to be halved, at least, I will see what the meter says over the next few days.
 
nabsim said:
It would need to be sunny all day for me to get that now, in the summer I have batteries full by lunch although I doubt I would be using diesel heater then, fridge is 45 amps a day, worth it but not got it sussed for toping up yet
Click to expand...
Never had a problem in the summer, well only this year when the fridge gave up in June, had to use the electric cold box, not as efficient as your fridge. What size solar are you using?
 
chas142 said:
Never had a problem in the summer, well only this year when the fridge gave up in June, had to use the electric cold box, not as efficient as your fridge. What size solar are you using?
Click to expand...
I have 300w solar and Votronic mppt controller
 
Been out checking mine again today, cloudy hear today and getting about the same as yesterday, 5-6 watts 0.5 amp. Been able to open the windows again today so didn't need the dehumidifier, so put a bit back in the battery and musty smell gone inside.
 
The reply starts a new post too but it quotes the one you're replying to :)
 
Well my Votronic B2B arrived today, I bought it from Photonics Universe as I got a discount from C&CC. RoadPro did give me a code that should have worked for C&CC members but it wouldn’t accept it. Saved £16 anyway so just need to get back to van to fit it now and see how that helps.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who viewed this discussion (Total:0)

Back
Top