Anyone using 24 Volts or higher?

[John61CT]

Oh, and about keeping battery systems separate from each other - I give up. I thought keeping them separated was the point

You can, as long as you have sufficient charge sources for each.

Most people want to be able to make use of any charge source for House when it's available.

But pulling down Starter can leave you stranded.

So switches, either manual and automatic (ACR/VSR), can combine while charging and separate otherwise. Also allow for fully isolating or self-jumping when needed.

I guess I will have to look for some kind of course in electrical systems and study hard to grasp the basics.

Keep reading threads, read archives following posters you learn to trust, work on your Google-foo for new terms and acronyms. And ask questions when you get stuck!

An outlining note taking app that syncs across your screens and has full text search is better IMO than paper.

Evernote or WorkFlowy.

 

[highdesertranger]

you do want the two systems separate. except(there is always an except) when you want your vehicle to charge your house system while driving and if you were to accidently kill your starter battery you could jump it off your house bank.

as to why 12volt maybe you need to ask the auto manufacturers. highdesertranger

 

[DLTooley]

The charge controller should take care of compatibility issues. A MPPT controller is the way to do this. I'm not sure it makes sense to buy MPPT UNLESS you have a higher voltage system.

There are a number of electric bikes that run on 48v, but at the moment I think an inverter is probably still the way to go.

 

[Boyntonstu]

Good point. And alternator charging doesn't work unless the vehicle is 24v.

You can, as long as you have sufficient charge sources for each.

Most people want to be able to make use of any charge source for House when it's available.

But pulling down Starter can leave you stranded.

So switches, either manual and automatic (ACR/VSR),  can combine while charging and separate otherwise. Also allow for fully isolating or self-jumping when needed.

Keep reading threads,  read archives following posters you learn to trust,  work on your Google-foo for new terms and acronyms. And ask questions when you get stuck!

An outlining note taking app that syncs across your screens and has full text search is better IMO than paper.

Evernote or WorkFlowy.

[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]"So switches, either manual and automatic (ACR/VSR), can combine while charging and separate otherwise. Also allow for fully isolating or self-jumping when needed."   Amen. [/font]

 

[HumbleBeginnings]

You have the option of keeping them separate, and I think many do.

In my case, I'm going to connect them so my alternator will charge my house batteries while I'm driving.

 

[wayne49]

My experience from 1975-1979, GMC buses, 35 ft and 40ft, use 24v. There was a way to hook up to get 12v for a CB, without running wires back to one of the batteries.

I am not sure about any other manufacturers.

That 12,000 BTU 48v AC unit? From $4K.

 

[John61CT]

The charge controller should take care of compatibility issues.

Do you mean solar? Compatibility between what?

A MPPT controller is the way to do this. I'm not sure it makes sense to buy MPPT UNLESS you have a higher voltage system.

To do what?

MPPT is fine for 12V systems.

There are a number of electric bikes that run on 48v, but at the moment I think an inverter is probably still the way to go.

To do what?

One has nothing to do with the other.

 

[RVtrek]

That 12,000 BTU  48v AC unit? From $4K.

That's if you buy solar and everything from them.  I only need the unit itself, and that's about $2k.  Yes, it's still a lot, but I don't really care.  It's extremely efficient and quiet, and that's far more important to me.

 

[wayne49]

The $4K on the home page was stated as for the "basic unit".

Such a deal you got.

 

[DLTooley]

Do you mean solar? Compatibility between what?

>Compatibility between a high voltage solar setup and a 12v vehicle system

To do what?

>As I understand it, MPPT is the only way to step down from higher voltage to a 12v system, and its primary benefit.

MPPT is fine for 12V systems.

>At an additional cost.  There is some benefit to less than optimal charging conditions, but I haven't seen a good detailing of those benefits - albeit by definition in hard to quantify conditions.

To do what?

One has nothing to do with the other.

>No voltage conversion charging of an electric bike.  With the market maturing healthily, including the entry of Yamaha into the US market, I suspect this will one day be my biggest electric need.  But not yet.

 

[John61CT]

FYI it's very confusing putting everything inside the /QUOTE delimiters, also the greater than sign is for quoting the other, not your own text.

The whole purpose of any SC is to convert from varying panel input to regulated output, usually primarily recharging batteries, at whatever the voltage desired.

But that is all, panels only if you have say a 48V circuit for some specialized use and a standard 12V circuit, the SC is not involved between those circuits.

Both MPPT and PWM take higher panel volts and output lower volts, just that going **much** higher than say 21V, "nominal 12V", is wasted with PWM.

Also a waste usually to use nominal 12V panels with MPPT, more efficient when getting panel voltage up to say 40+V.

Output of either type can be 24, 36, 48, just that 12V is more common therefore cheaper as with all device categories.

Quality MPPT is now rarely much cheaper than quality PWM, and the former is where the market innovation is going.

There is **zero** benefit from suboptimal charging, oxymoron.

Charging an EV of any sort from your House bank system is a very exceptional and specialized use case, just like a DC powered aircon unit. So discussion involving such cases should not confuse the issues when more general normal House uses are being discussed, really deserve their own threads dedicated to that unusual use case stated up front.

Both also involve using a portable generator to be practical, rather than solar-only.