Boat electrics - solar controller

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  • 18 Sep 2012 17:32
    Reply # 1075665 on 1075616
    Gary,
    I have a nominal 150W of solar panels ( though I never see that much output in practice) and two Trojan T105 6v batteries in series (very good, and about 200AH), with a 20A controller and fuse linking them. That charging circuit doesn't go through the battery isolating switch, it is "always on".

    Quite separately, the alternator, and the output from the battery to the 600W inverter and to the power distribution board (15A circuit breakers) are connected to the battery through the isolating switch. 

    The windlass, the major power user, is connected to the isolating switch via a 135A circuit breaker.

    Thus, there is no interaction between the solar controller and the rest of the system, and the controller only needs to be sized for the amount of panels you have.
  • 18 Sep 2012 16:43
    Message # 1075616
    Deleted user
    I'm wondering if the JRA brains trust can answer a question about solar controllers. 
    I'm planning on a 12V system, 100W solar panels, 2 x 100Ah batteries and the total lighting load would be around 10A (all LED's) - make it 15A when the laptop is charging. So I figure a 20A controller would be fine.

    However, if I add a 500W inverter to the circuit (for intermittent use), which could draw 40+ Amps, it would overwhelm the output of the controller.
    Is it such a big deal for the inverter to bypass the controller and wire directly to the battery (with fuse)? Or do I need to pony up for a larger capacity controller?
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