Hi,
I currently have 2 x Solara SM 225 M (68W each, I think) connected to a Votronic MPP 350 Duo Digital to charge two seperate battery banks (starter & house) in my motor boat. Rather small sized, I know :/
Hence, I recently purchased 2 x Jackery SolarSaga 100W foldable solar panels to start the upgrading process. Thanks to this forum, I now know that I should not mix these 2 strings connected to one single solar charger (see here and here e.g.) So my plan is to buy an additional Victron MPPT charger for the 2 Jackery panels and then to run both strings seperately:
- String 1: Solara + Votronic --> Starter + House Battery Bank (the latter especially for storage to keep batteries at healthy levels)
- String 2: Jackery + Victron --> House Battery Bank only (the larger consumer, especially when anchoring)
Questions:
- Would you agree with this plan overall? Anything I forgot to consider?
- The Solara panels are quite old and will need to be replace relatively soon. But even if I were to get identical Jackery panels, would the Victron solar charger even be able to charge 2 seperate battery banks? All Victron solar chargers only come with one output terminal which makes charging two separate banks rather tricky, especially if these are comprised of different battery types. So I am well advised to run seperate solar chargers anyway, correct?
- Both battery banks are being charged by the same Victron IP22 landline charger (has 2 seperate output terminals). Can I track both solar charging and landline charging in the same app and/ or does it make sense to add an additonal Victron "smart" device for the overall power monitoring? Asking both the Solara panels and the Votronic charger are rather old. So I'm already planning for the day that these two will need replacement as well and I'm keen to learn more about the wider Victron ecosystem and what might makes sense for me to consider.
Thanks in advance,
Mike