I am thinking of useing two charge controllers in my system would I need one of these on each controller or would one tell me what I need to know.
1373852
My guess is you will need one meter for each controller. I'm thinking the controller is serial linked (probably RS232) to the remote meter and does NOT use IP protocol. There doesn't appear to be any way to assign a unique identifier to a individual controller. So, if a number of controllers were connected to a common buss shared with the meter, the meter would NOT be able to sort out which controller was sending what.
1373853
I have not tried this and wonder why you want to unless you have too much power for one. They do make a controllers that works up to sixty amps. I don't know how you want to wire this. Using separate panels is the only thing I can guess. I use my meter every day to read the total amps going to my batteries and the voltage at any given time. The lights on the front of the controller tell you most things about the system but not the voltage or the current. The voltage tells you how close you are to a full charge. If you have two sets of panels you would need two controllers with two meters. Hope this helps. I have not tried this and wonder why you want to unless you have too much power for one. They do make a controllers that works up to sixty amps. I don't know how you want to wire this. Using separate panels is the only thing I can guess. I use my meter every day to read the total amps going to my batteries and the voltage at any given time. The lights on the front of the controller tell you most things about the system but not the voltage or the current. The voltage tells you how close you are to a full charge. If you have two sets of panels you would need two controllers with two meters.... » Read More I have not tried this and wonder why you want to unless you have too much power for one. They do make a controllers that works up to sixty amps. I don't know how you want to wire this. Using separate panels is the only thing I can guess. I use my meter every day to read the total amps going to my batteries and the voltage at any given time. The lights on the front of the controller tell you most things about the system but not the voltage or the current. The voltage tells you how close you are to a full charge. If you have two sets of panels you would need two controllers with two meters. Hope this helps. « Show Less
1373854
You need two. There's only one port on the remote display, and it's not very intelligent anyway.
1284672
You can charge one or two at a time. I often charge only one ps3 controller on it.
1182517
You are going to need sufficient cord length and appropriate connectors for each application. If you are wanting to charge two separate items simultaneously, obviously you will require two separate cables with the appropriate connectors. File that under Common Sense 101. ;-) How many accessory cords and connectors did you receive with the 2 bank Battery Tender? If you received two, you may not need any. If you only received one set and wish to charge two items at the same time, you are going to need another set!
1051501
Yes, but the answer is not as simple as connecting the batteries in parallel. Because each battery has slightly different capacity and internal resistance, over time, you will get uneven charges between them. The charge controller will stop charging once one of the batteries gets full, leaving the other not-fully changed. The result is reduced capacity, that is, you will not get twice the capacity of individual battery. The solution is to insert battery balancer between controller and batteries. See this wiki page. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battery_balancing
99420
No. You do not need a charge controller until you exceed 15watts of power. The discharge protection is a simple diode that prevents the battery from draining back out to the pane at night. But because of that diode, DO NOT START THE CAR WITH THE PANEL STILL CONNECTED TO THE BATTERY! You will destroy the diode and weaken the panel's charging ability.
2097494
You do need a charge controller. That is important so as not to overcharge and damage your batteries. They sell those separately unless you see it specifically mentioned in a package deal which is sometimes the case.
1316171
no, a charge controller must be between solar collector and the battery. The charge time depends on solar intensity, and duration.
887419
I would advise against running it in a two batteries to one panel setup. If one battery went bad it could/will cause the loss of the other battery. The charging controller in this unit is meant to work in a one to one relationship to a single battery. Properly wired it could possibly work as a temporary solution. Is it advised? No. Eventually there will be a massive failure when one battery in the circuit has problems and an overcharge hits the remaining good battery. I would suggest a Battery Tender 022-0165-DL-WH. This is a dual battery charger but is not solar powered.
827820
yes I don't see why it would not work, you should use a charge controller to prevent overcharging
2188087
Nothing it just stays charged until you are ready for it. I do it all the time. I leave one of my 2 plugged in to the station at all times that way when I need a controller that works I can swap them out and continue play like nothing ever happened.
2129614
It will depend on how you plan to connect it to the charge controller and what the total amount of watts of panel you are connecting. So no, but you would need to check.
581642
You can charge one or two controllers at the same. Doesn't take too long to fully charge one or two controllers
608528
To be honest, I don't know exactly. Once you notice less performance or faster loss of power I would replace them. I usually have 2 anyway, so you are always ready, when one is charging.
2169010
this charge controler will work for a 24 volt system. that being said, you did not state what you are doing with it. i would assume you are charging batteries with your solar panels and that you intend to get a lot more in the future. if this is all the panels you are going to use with this controller, it is way more than you need. since you are a first timer, i would urge you to consult with someone in your world that knows solar and electrical hook ups. do this and save a bunch of time and money, and your safety. best of luck!
433009
You can do either of the two. You can charge one single battery, or charge two batteries simultaneously. It does not matter at all.
1758233
Hi Barb. It worked for me to connect 2 strips to the same power source and control them with the same controller. I haven't tried with 3 strips yet.
1771955
I have 40 amps of power so I have 2 controllers tied parallel to my batteries. Yes, you can use two separate solar arrays connected to two controllers. Just make sure that your solar panels stay under 30 amps per controller.