MPPT and PWM controller charge one battery. See what happens...

[@markbrettnell3503]

I have 5-275watt pannels on my rv. I was going to put them in parallel onto 1 controller but decided to keep 2 on 1 controller and 3 on another. The reason being is that the 2 are on front slop of the trailer and the 3 are on the flat. This way you do get more potential power as the sun moves through the day. Plus if a couple are shaded, they won't drag the whole system down. It is something that I have seen in real time. Even the 2 on the slop will get sun before the other 3 and thus start charging sooner. Plus different controllers work better in different weather conditions then others. That way you can optimize your power input no matter the conditions and better keep the power flowing 👍

[@Flyingscot22]

I have 2 x 120w and 2 x 100w panel's both pairs on separate charge controllers. Mppt and PWM. I found during the winter it charged the battery faster

[@goofykl9]

You have answered a question I had in mind for some time now - thanks.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Glad to help. Thanks

[@bellie888]

Excellent experiment, I was wondering about this since I have many odd solar charge controllers and odd panels I have collected over the years and I want to use them together. Thanks.

[@TimeSurfer206]

Seperate inputs for differing panels is the only way to fly.

[@david78212]

I have 3 controllers, 2 for my house battery bank and one for my starter battery. It’s easier than a dc-dc charge system considering that all 3 panels are on different sides of the boat and it would be crazy wiring to get them altogether into one controller. I got informed, by someone who I believe is pretty knowledgeable, that it’s easier to run smaller charge controllers and more efficient and reliable than running one big one, plus smaller charge controllers are cheaper than bigger ones, I bought 2 Victrons and 1 Renogy for less money than 1 big one and the necessary wiring plus the dc-dc charger and all the wiring… it just made more sense for what I was doing. They are MPPT and PWM and work fine for what they are doing, but it’s two separate battery banks for two different uses. Strings of solar panels on a house roof with possible shading issues is much easier for a controller to deal with when they are separated rather then dealing with the loss of power from a string that is connected to it.

[@judo-rob5197]

I like your enthusiasm. I also like that you are an experimenter. You should though make yourself better cables and connectors. Always play safe.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Yeah, this is only for short term testing and the alligator clips are very handy. From time to time I loose one ;)

[@f1badude]

I’m so glad you do these experiments! Very helpful!

[@johnhill3507]

Great video Great channel I love your enthusiasm. I also like that you try things that I am too TIMID or FRIGHTENED to try you are an experimenter. Keep up the LEADERSHIP

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Thanks John. Yes, I'm definitely an experimenter 😊

[@bobfoulke4875]

Andy, I so enjoy your videos. I learn something with each one. Thank You

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

You are very welcome

[@praveenjain6025]

👍👌sir you Are great as I also done same job of expementation from last 3yr ago with almost same observation

[@mcdaryllleno2902]

This stimulated my mind for our thesis.

[@tronor5]

I think the idea with multiple mppt charge controller is the better one because of the different voltage output of both solar areas ! At different times of the day!

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

I think so too and elaborate on this in the next video again.

[@grahamepigney8565]

Multiple MPPT controllers might be the way to go as an MPPT controller will start charging earlier provided they were getting enough charge from the panels in the string. MPPT controllers usually beat PWM controllers in shaded conditions. An analysis of putting strings of differently shaded panels through a single MPPT controller vs using a MPPT controller for each string would be very useful. Cracking videos, full of useful info and not TOO techie.

[@raddastronaut]

Yes it does work. I use 2 pwms on a car battery because I have a mom and a poly crystalline cell. So they each need a volatage regulator. Once the voltage is regulated it does not matter how it’s done. Only thing is just Make sure you’re not overcharging the battery.

[@georgerusu8423]

hello...but if pwm and mppt are connected to the same solar panels and the same batteries...is there any problem if I use loadout from pwm?

[@mansoorsiddique4843]

I have two hybrid solar power inverters (with their own built-in MPPT charge controllers), connected to their separate solar panel arrays (each of 4000W capacity), I was wondering if I can connect these 2 inverters to a common LiFePO4 48V battery bank (4 server rack batteries connected in parallel). Will it lead to any feedback effect causing damage to the inverters? I sometimes also use the grid supply for charging the batteries on overcast days. Please advise. Regards

[@johnswift1736]

I was considering the same with 3 x 235w x 27v panels to 24v batteries. Just using pwn charge controllers. Not havingvto use MPPT.

[@markluxton3402]

What about the really cheap charge controllers that come with hardware store small PV panels? My dad has two different 12V panels both with the very cheap controllers for FLA batteries. He has connected them both to one battery using both controllers. I was quite surprised that one can use multiple charge controllers that don't interfere with each other. I thought that connecting two charge controllers together would make each think there was a full charge; but this works, I think because both chargers are going by resistance not the voltage/current, yes??? The really cheap charge controllers seem more like voltage regulators, so I am wondering if it is still OK to connect these type of controllers together?? In the case of my fathers cabin setup, I would have connected the two panels in parallel and used one charge controller....however the panels are different, so the way Dad wired it, may actually be the best???

[@mikeriverajr4447]

Great Video. Something i have pondered what about this same thing in reverse . . .for example to charger contorllers hooked up to the same string???

[@MiniLuv-1984]

Yes, I've been thinking about using individual MPPT controllers per PV panel charging the one battery array.

[@psygnale]

So I’m not the only one who wants to cobble together a “Ghetto Enphase”. Good to know.

[@MiniLuv-1984]

@@psygnale :) Its for my camper trailer with sometimes 3, 4 or 5 panels, so I need the flexibility to just plug in. An mppt for each just makes it plug and play.

[@focalfusion]

I'm wondering of I can use an anderson connecter y splitter to combine 100w coming from my cigarette socket with say 200 w of solar going into my input of an ecoflow delta pro to get either or both charging.

[@vansal1]

ciao, perché non tagli gli alberi alti e ne pianti di bassi?

[@pwellens37]

The maximum voltage of the PWM controller is 50V so if you put two 60 cell panels in series you will smoke your controller. Having shaded and unshaded panels in Parallel will not make a significant difference to the combined output on a PWM controller as the input voltage to the PWM controller is pulled down to the same voltage as the battery charging voltage. The difference between an MPPT controller and PWM is quite small if you are only using one solar panel. Because the charging voltage is similar to the mppt point of the panel. If you have higher voltages and panels in series then the MPPT controller will perform far better than a PWM. But if one panel is in shade, a PWM with two panels in Parallel, will perform better than a MPPT with two panels in series..

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

I had not considered the PWM for my garage. I know they have only very low input voltage and can handle panels in parallel. For the Off-Grid-Garage, I will only use MPPTs. I explain this in the video tomorrow.

[@jsmythib]

Very nice to see the test. Can we try out a 500watt grid tie, plugged into the output of another inverter?(drops idea in hat) :) I have an old 500w grid tie...I think I can enhance my new 1.6kw off grid system by simply plugging it into the output of the inverter from my new system.

[@evil17]

I had this same idea, to be able to utilise a 5kw single phase grid tie , & I also have a 10kw 3phase grid tie inverter with good panels,rails, etc. I was thinking that u could use a smaller inverter to trigger the grid tie’s and use this to charge batteries as well as on demand power. Cheers

[@Poszukujac-raju]

Super video :) Thank you for it. I have problem with setup. In my situation I have 3z110w connected in serial to mppt controller, on other side of my house is 4x55w connected in parallel and serial ( controller take just 50v ) problem is, the controller with the 4 panels not charging at all, first on is mppt volt sol30, the other is my inverter volt 1000s ( with mppt ) any idea why is not charging ? When I turn of the one which is working the other start to work …

[@akhtarnizami8666]

Very informative and motivated video. . I am Nizami from Pakistan.

[@franciscoquipipa5713]

Hello, Can we run 2 charge controller from the same solar panel (array) ?

[@jorjimaco5331]

I did the same experiment. I have 2 mppt controllers for my panels. Volts stay the same, amps double, works perfectly. I use Victron

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Victron is the best, I guess after all my testing with different controllers. Do they communicate with each other or are you control them separately through the app?

[@jorjimaco5331]

@@OffGridGarageAustralia I set everything the same on the solar controllers. The only thing different is the panels. In 2 hours my batteries are done, there’s a Victron system that converts 48v to 12v even better!

[@golddetector01]

I use this setup for a backup at night-time to heat my greenhouse with a 1200w heater and to keep the batteries charged above 50% I'm using a 19V laptop charger connected to the PWM controller on a timer when I think the batteries are going to be about 50% first light when the charger is working from the solar panels I set the timer to turn off roughly about the same time I have tried a wind turbine but they are not always reliable and need a lot more configuration.

[@Exentrick_stardust]

Thats great.. you are.. so..humble !!!!

[@jasonminae]

How about two different charge controllers of different amperage and from two different manufacturers?

[@TimeSurfer206]

Should still work. As long as the the output settings are the same, and the controllers inputs aren't exceeded.

[@ScinnerNo1]

That must be the same for regular 230V chargers, right?

[@peterrock2838]

Excellent video! How about several charge controllers, several panel arrays, and several separate battery banks...? Can the charge controllers charge different battery banks simultaneously (same voltage batteries)?

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Well, the battery banks need to be in parallel, so yeah, it can.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Well, the battery banks need to be in parallel, so yeah, it can.

[@mygadgetzhaiqal7410]

Hi, i believe the concept will work. BUt it may easily damage the battery due to different charging algorithm.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

As long as the battery is not overcharged, the battery does not care wehre the power comes from. So setting the max voltage correctly in both controllers is key. The algorithm does not matter: one controller will just stop charging earlier as the other one, if they are different.

[@mygadgetzhaiqal7410]

@@OffGridGarageAustralia Different controller supply power to the battery at the same time, will affect the battery judgment of the controller to charge the battery.

[@jussikankinen9409]

How windmill charger work then

[@markumark1]

​@@mygadgetzhaiqal7410 Are you sure about this? Does a battery decide or care where the power comes from? Isn't it the charge controller controlling the battery, and not the battery controlling which source is providing power?

[@1212CRMD]

How is it going as of up to this date? Thanks!!!

[@MegaCyrik]

Thanks for your video. Love it. I have a question.. what happens, say, if you have a large battery bank. Say 30k watt. And you connect not one, but two 4000watt inverters.. and hook them up to the same 220 system.. can you then run a utility that uses 6000watt and each inverter share the load of the 3000watt each? A 8000watt inverter costs as much as 3-4 4000watt inverters... So... I wonder.

[@ahgiealejo8639]

There's a lot of question on this type of experiment. I just like to ask if you did a follow-up video on this? in long run what happened to your setup? are both still working perfectly? or one failed due to mismatch of floating voltage?

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

This was just an experiment I was keen to do. I have now 2 MPPT SC in parallel working perfectly fine with my large battery. They have the same settings. I also had them running with different settings for a while to test and this also works perfectly fine. The controller with the lower settings will turn off first though so you loose this energy form its solar. The other controller keeps charging until it hits the set parameters. There is no problem with having different charge controllers and even different settings charging the same battery as long as all parameters of the SCC are within the safe specs of the battery.

[@jamess1787]

Would the shaded panels produce 0 power in reference to the higher voltage panels? Don't know anything about solar, but know more comes from a device with marginally higher voltage then one with lower voltage.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

A shaded panel still produces power and contributes to the overall power production. I'll make a separate video about this topic as it is too complex for just this section here.

[@salvothegermanshepherd4399]

Thanks for sharing this.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

My pleasure!

[@PeterMilanovski]

You couldn't be an electrician until you have melted a cheap Chinese alligator clip or two LoL. Excellent experiment, some MPPT charge controllers are slow to respond, my cheap Chinese MPPT charge controller board is really fast...

[@chhindz]

Is the 14.4 volt too high for lithium battery.

[@leon9357]

I want to charge my battery with one mppt controller but want to get output from the battery with the hep of one pwm controller. I mean, i connect the two controllers with one battery but at the same time I don't connect the pv with the pwm controller. And I want to use the pwm controller to get dc output. Will it work? The mppt is 30A or 50A and the pwm is 20A rating. Battery is single 12V.

[@PeteShepherd-DJ11]

What happens if one connects the load from the mppt and pmw controller in series..?

[@Believe30]

But can you use a pwm that does not have a lithium setting with a controller that has lithium setting?

[@panospapadimitriou3498]

this one is spicy....... i bought a 30w panel and a 30a cheap pwm .for car batt charging BUt ...... is it possible that i cant WAKE up my cheap upgraded pwm because 1.5 amp of the 30w solar panel is too low for its 30a mosfets and other insides ? . . . cant find a video of powering them to see when they opperate and my power supply stuck ocean 1,5 month now!!! i m not so charged please help... i ordered a 10a controler too.. might keep the 30a one for spare big panels!!! controler cant find solar.. multimeter says i have 21v comming and 1.5a

[@prasadaithal8438]

can in connect mppt charge controller output to pwm solar inverter so that I can manage cost ?

[@james10739]

I do like that setup for testing and charging with the switch and banana plugs

[@james10739]

Or xt60 one I just made the comment before you got to it

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Yes that would be possible too. The banana plugs have the advantage I can just use alligator clips to quickly connect anything for a test.

[@grahamjones6712]

Are your panels different voltages? Eg if your 2 40w panels are 12v and your 220w panel is 24v you series the 2 40w panels then pararrel them with the 220w 24v panel.this is how youd get the most power out of them. If they were all in parellel your 24v 220w panel would be reduced to the 12v so youd only get half the potential wattage put of it.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

The 2x 40W panels have 22V, the larger 220W panel has 37Voc. This is on purpose to do experiments with these panels and different charge controller.

[@grahamjones6712]

@@OffGridGarageAustralia so if you series your 2 22v panels you get 44v then parallel them with your 37v panel you will lose. (1-37/44)=16% of the power of your 40w panels. The alternative is putting them all in series or parallel but that way is even worse as youd lose an even bigger % of power coming from your 220w panel.

[@grahamjones6712]

Or you can use 2 differnet mppt controllers 1 with the 2 40w panels another with the 220w panel like i think youve been doing in this video? The 2 charge controlers match charging votages then the amps are added together with the charge contepllers in pararrel with the battery

[@engreensharishabarisolarplant]

I have connected two Hybrids Solar inverter of 5KVA in parallelly. For each inverter 15 numbers of PV modules (285 watts each), 3 in series and 5 in parallelly. Both of the inverters are connected with 12 V,165Ah batteries (4 in series). It seems load is not powered by solar source. Can I connect two MPPT charge Controller parallelly with the system? can you help me Mr. Andy.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

You can parallel solar charge controllers to the same battery but not to the same solar panels. So each solar charge controller needs to have its own solar panel arrays it gets the energy from.

[@engreensharishabarisolarplant]

@@OffGridGarageAustralia Thanks a lot for your suggestion.

[@GiuseppeTamo]

Subscribed. You are a very nice person. Thank you very much for informations my friend.

[@laughingmedication8193]

Hi, just wondering is it possible for lifepo4 with bms? mixing mppt and pwm with one battery?

[@zummerzetwoodsman1067]

Problem watching, when you move your camera on your bench you get a strobing effect from your led lights

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

I'll run them from DC eventually.

[@gumpgroce1]

Thank you for the information

[@kuil8700]

hi two pwm charge going to same battery will work efficiently?

[@mikeunum]

Be aware of following things. Oxidation on the cabels brings up the connection resistor. Then when you have both types of controller active you have have these jumps based on the resistor on the oxidated connectors. In german it is named: aufschaukeln. That is BAD at all.

[@RoddyPerry]

Hi! I love your videos! Keep them coming! Quick question. I see that you are connecting to the MPPT CC with a bluetooth app and dongle. Could you please share those details on your website and may be make a quick video about them? Also I see that the link from your website takes me to the Aliexpress "version 1.1" of this MPPT, is that the one you have? EDIT: Actually I don't think I see the MPPT on your website. And the Bluetooth dongle looks very similar used in the Renogy CC. EDIT 2: I think I found the MPPT on Aliexpress under the name "50A MC2450N10 SRNE MPPT..." It would be amazing if this thing worked as advertised for this price, even if it delivers 25A. It would be great if you could test if this little thing can push 50A ;-)

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

The BT dongle came with the controller and I only ordered the 20A version as I didn't need more. I have now sent it back for a refund, the app shows very different values to what the amperemeter shows. I follow this up in one of the next videos. I would not recommend buying them. The Epever Tracer series seems the far better alternative and is only slightly more expensive.

[@TimeSurfer206]

@@OffGridGarageAustralia Before you blame the controllers too much, I found this on the web: "Most DC clamp meters are not accurate at anything less than about 10 amperes." For that, I still use my benchtop Fluke.

[@jamest.5001]

The only issue with multiple charge controllers, is they need their own solar panel/s with two mppt controllers connected to a single panel, or array, it screws up the tracking! They fight each other!

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Absolutely! You cannot connect different controllers to the same panel(s)!

[@arandomfox999]

The issue with PWM is they typically do not regulate their output to preserve the longevity of your batteries when it comes to temperature which is very important for sealed lead acids.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

They actually do, there is a setting in almost every SCC to compensate for temperature. However most SCC don't have an external temperature sensor or you have to buy one separately.

[@electro_solar]

Great video!

[@jamesbsa6450]

I am just beginner, and have a Q on my setup. Is it possible (or wise/unwise) to series connect the output of two 12v PWMs to produce 24v? My assumption is use a PWM per 12v panel. I am designing a 24v 2.5kWh LiFePo4 8s with 250A BMS and have to use an existing 12v 2000w inverter, trying to figure out ways to do this.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

A PCM? Are you trying to confuse me with that? 😜 You definitely cannot use a 12V inverter on a 24V battery. You need to either reconfigure your 8 batteries into a 4s2p configuration and run this as a 12V system or you need another inverter.

[@jamesbsa6450]

@@OffGridGarageAustralia sorry, PWM. I will likely upgrade to a 24v inverter, but also toying the idea of a DC to DC converter. But seems those are too costly for so many amps. Can output of two PWMs be chained in series?

[@freshia2008]

Sir it means both charge controller's can work as a parallel to charge one battery at the same time, and there is no problem at all ?

[@jussikankinen9409]

Yes, chargers measure battery % resistance or impedance not voltages, out put is voltages for human seeing

[@olaatoyebi1946]

If I have 6 12V batteries connected in parallel, can I connect a charge controller to each battery so that one has a total of 6 individual charge controllers ? Also can one use an PWM controller for this?

[@TimeSurfer206]

I would not recommend that. What will happen then is individual batteries will receive different levels of charge and discharge, affecting their life cycles in comparison to the others. The necessity of making sure you use same make model capacity and age of battery is because, if there is one weak battery in the bank, all the other batteries are going to be draining themselves to charge it. Thus discharging themselves, and depleting their own charge/discharge cycle lifespan. In parallel, if all goes well, when one battery charges, they all charge exactly alike, and last for the same length of time..

[@heroesandzeros7802]

Using multiple charge controllers would solve the problem of 1 panel being shaded taking out the whole array.

[@jamest.5001]

It probably wouldn't be really worth it, but a mppt per panel would be most effiecent, in some cases,

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

That would be the ideal solution for a 12V or 24V battery. With a 48V that's not possible anymore, the solar voltage would not be enough. You need at least two modules in series...

[@askostadinov]

I think it depends on particular design of charge controller. It could be made charge controller that is capable of charging 48V battery from 12V solar panel. Why they don't make such thing is may be for cost or efficiency reason.

[@jamest.5001]

@@askostadinov there is a couple boost charge controllers, but not many, and most are small, used for charging golfcarts and ebikes from 12/24v panels

[@Cowardlyduck]

You've just described micro inverters and the reason why they are beneficial. Yes they work better, they are just more costly.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

It's on off-grid-system.

[@chuckziska988]

Agreed. Cost - and also you split the benefit of mediocre sunshine. Controllers might not start output at all if they can’t combine voltage of more panels during shady times. Everything is a compromise.

[@sadaqathussain6553]

What about amperes of different charge controller. When two of them are connected to one and same battery, the parallel connection of charge controllers would add up amperes. Say, if each one charger was charging at 20 amperes, now both of them would be charging at 20+20=40 amperes. Would it not be harmful for battery?

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

That depends on your battery size. It needs to be big enough to take these 40A from your example. If it can't, you need to upgrade your battery or limit the power output of the charge controllers to suit your battery size and type.

[@wisalahmad1867]

The bad thing for this controller is no load output terminals :( I am thinking to use another controller for load output from battery

[@laughingmedication8193]

u can use srne with Bluetooth

[@llambo]

In one frame you have two toy guns hanging on the wall, what are they? They look really cool!

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

My kid's old water pistols. Got heaps of stuff here in my 'studio'.

[@BajanAlan]

I wonder if it would work if u charger 24v battery

[@Willbkool]

It should if the charge controller can output 24v.

[@BajanAlan]

@@Willbkool I have no idea what I was thinking when I wrote that comment

[@Willbkool]

@@BajanAlan Haha We all have those moments.

[@roseymalino9855]

Could this horsing around start a chain reaction which ultimately wipes out humanity?

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Possible!

[@rendark419]

Das sieht ja schrecklich aus, das mit dem Kabel! ;-) Bitte auf den Querschnitt der Kabel achten. Währe sehr schade wen deine Garage abfackelt! Grüße aus Jülich.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

It was only a 20A test with 1mm cable. I was expecting it...

[@GoatZilla]

2 chargers 1 battery

[@elektron2kim666]

The amps can pile up on the battery this way in my opinion.

[@ronaksoni2729]

Just cut the trees buddy 😂

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Arghhh, 🤦‍♂️

[@Lods_Ekim]

Good Day Sir. I Hope you can help me atleast to have 1pc 100 watts solar panel. 😔😔😔 Godbless sir.

[@Lods_Ekim]

I brought 65Ah Battery to light up my house but my solar panel is only 50watts. I hope you can help me. I lost my job due to pandemic. It hard to get job now here in Philippines, i work now in construction but i can afford to buy additional solar panel. I hope you can help me sir. Godbless & more power to your channel sir.

[@jawshua100]

Make it happen then,,,, thks

[@basscurrie]

Cut the tops of your trees let more sun in

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

I would never do this. They are 40m high and home for a lot of birds.

[@mvpRaph]

Lol ... I wonder why you have +1k subs but only 50-60 likes on your videos

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Good question, hahaha.

[@offgridwanabe]

Just run them at their limit and use a combiner box. When the amperage is at max sometimes one CC will shut off the other as it gets the wrong voltage reading.