A question on the comment about the battery?being only at ~85% SOC following a day of driving.? The alternator output at $13.4V is equivalent to the float charge voltage provided by either the 120VAC charger or solar charger and the purpose of float cycle is to keep a constant voltage on the battery to maintain full charge w/o overcharging.? My thinking was/is that the battery?would maintain it level of charge while driving if fully charged.? Can you help me understand why the SOC would drop tp 85% when driving?? There are trips where I am 3or 4 days off grid and would like to start at full SOC.? Maybe a battery disconnect for the house battery makes sense if departing with fully charged house battery.
On Fri, Aug 6, 2021 at 8:05 PM Michael Diehr <md03@...> wrote:
The basic answer is "yes" - solar charge controllers (SCCs), and other chargers, including ones that run off 120VAC (such as the Magnetek, or a newer charger) as well as just the van's 12VDC alternator, can coexist happily. ??
In some cases you may encounter difficulties, but they are generally not dangerous: the more common issue would be that you end up with a slight undercharge. ?
As an example, my SCC wants to charge the house battery to 14.6V.? But while driving, the house and starter batteries are connected by the relay so both are connected to the alternator.? The alternator runs at a lower voltage (closer to 13.8V). ? At the end of a long day driving, the house battery may be only ~85% charged.? Not perfect, but good enough.
On Aug 6, 2021, at 7:18 PM, W. Li via <wli98122@...> wrote:
Mike:
Can a solar controller be left connected to the coach battery when the house AC charger is active? My plan is to have a portable solar panel for occasional use when away from AC, which I would disconnect and store when it is not needed. I think it can be done, but would appreciate your input Thanks in advance
