48v battery bank charged by 12 v panel controller

1 Posts

Jun 19, 2011 11:25 am

hey Everyone, obvious Newbie here.
I have 4 Kyocera 400 w panel system, still in the box.
I also have 4 Deka 92AH 12v AGM batteries, that are supposed to be hooked up to a cotec S1500 48v inverter.
The charge controller that I have is a Sunsaver Duo controller, that is supposed to be able to charge two separate battery banks in the same time.
The limitation is 12 v input on the controller, however I have two of the controllers, so theoretically I could charge all four batteries individually.
My question is:
Can I charge the 48 v battery bank (if I hook it up in series), with the Sunsaver duo (12v) charge controllers??
I have double (post and screw type stud) terminals on the batteries, so I am thinking I could use the posts to get the series hook up and in the same time I could set up individual 12v charging coming from the controller on the screw type studs.

I got the obvious answer, get a 48 v controller, however my geographical location makes it difficult to get parts, such as that, so I am keeping that as my last resort.

Any input I most welcome.

Tom M

462 Posts

Jun 20, 2011 09:25 am

Re: 48v battery bank charged by 12 v panel controller

Peter, check here at Alte for a DC to DC converter. There are several that go from 12 v to 48 v....just wire the battery/controller outputs to the converter and you should be all set...be sure check current outputs or draw from inverter for whatever appliances you plan to use to be sure converter can handle the load....

« Last Edit: Jun 22, 2011 02:02 pm by Tom Mayrand »

Thomas Anderson

99 Posts

Jun 20, 2011 03:45 pm

Re: 48v battery bank charged by 12 v panel controller

Your geographical location prevents you from getting small packages shipped from a web-based merchant?

I don't know anything about the Sunsaver Duo, but so long as they do not share a common negative between the two sides, then it should be possible to charge each individual battery while they are also connected in series.� But I can't stress this enough... the two sides must be isolated, otherwise there will be a voltage across the shared part and it will probably blow out your charger.� I did this for a short time -- I have 6 4v batteries in a 24v bank, and I used a dual 12v charger on each half.� It worked OK, but I upgraded to a 24v charger when I had the chance.

I'm not sure the 12-48v DC-DC converter suggested will be useful since the amps delivered will be paltry.� Although a 92AH battery bank is pretty small, you want to push at least 10A to it.� Most likely, your Sunsaver only puts out 10A @12VDC on each side, which is only 2.5A @ 48VDC.� If you sent this @12VDC to each battery individually, it would be sufficient, but just one leg of one charger to the whole bank @48VDC wouldn't cut it.�

Your best bet is a 48v capable charge controller such as the Outback Flexmax 60: http://www.altestore.com/store/Charge-Controllers/Solar-Charge-Controllers/MPPT-Solar-Charge-Controllers/Outback-Solar-Charge-Controllers-MPPT/Outback-Flexmax-60-Solar-Charge-Controller/p6875/

Then you can connect your panels in series and your batteries in series and connect the leads of each to your charge controller and it'll just work.

« Last Edit: Jun 20, 2011 03:48 pm by Thomas Anderson »

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48v battery bank charged by 12 v panel controller

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