question

joe avatar image
joe asked

Charge Controller Selection

What solar charger do I need to charge 3 batteries each 12v 200ah (36v 600ah). And what solar power do I need to connect to it?


I have a 3600 watts inverter to connect to it.

MPPT Controllers
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4 Answers
wkirby avatar image
wkirby answered ·

Hello Joe.
We need some clarification on your battery configuration. You said that you'll have 3x 12V 200Ah batteries, but if you connect them in parallel they will make 12V 600Ah or in series for 36V 200Ah, you will not get 36V 600Ah.
We need to be sure of what your system Voltage will be before offering advice.

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joe avatar image joe commented ·

My inverter takes 36v


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joe avatar image joe commented ·

The inverter needs 36v but the batteries are each 12v 200ah - making it 36v

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mukwaya avatar image mukwaya commented ·

Hello wkirby, my batteries are connected in series for to produce 36V 200Ah

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wkirby avatar image
wkirby answered ·

OK, so for a 36V system you can use certain MPPT charge controllers. Only the 150V and 250V versions can charge 36V DC system Voltages.
I forgot to ask you how big your PV array will be. The smallest one you can use is the MPPT 150/35 which will allow for ~1.2KW array.
Buy the most powerful MPPT charger that you can afford so that it will be easy to expand the PV array in the future.

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JohnC avatar image
JohnC answered ·

Hi Joe. Yeh, I would have asked the same 36V question too. It's not seen so often, but if that's the kit you have..

Sure it calculates out to 200Ah @ 36V, and I'd typically 'design' for 10% of that (ie a 20A cc), but you can go higher, depending on the batts. Makers recommendations useful there, but the days are always too short, so often gets exceeded, albeit briefly in most people's cases. Most Pb's will self-limit anyway by virtue of V.

The smallest cc that Victron has that can do 36V, appears to be the 150/35, so 35A, a little more than you need, but still a pretty good match.

For panels, using a likely default Vabs of 43.2V, and @20A only = 864W. So 1000W of pv would be nice, even more. The /35 has a nominal max of 1500W. The 150/ gives you a little flexibility stringing them, but don't buy 5 or 7, cos you'll be left with a spare.

Beaten, yeh, but I'll leave it up..

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joe avatar image joe commented ·

Thx, let me try to work with the 1500w

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mukwaya avatar image
mukwaya answered ·

8f0e36cb-4762-4a12-b833-effc69b2830a.jpgWhat solar charge controller do I need to charge 3 batteries each 12v 200ah connected in series to produce 200ah from 36v battery park source?

And what solar power do I need to connect to it?

I have a Tripp Lite 3600W 36V DC to AC Inverter as seen in the image.

.


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