Two MPPT solar regulators in parallel - manual settings

[jestronix]

Hi guys, i know your not meant to parallel regulators that are not designed for it, but what about a reg with lots of manual settings, can you trick it? I should be able to create a manual master based on charge volts keeping one behind the other.

[Mike90250]

I do it all day long. Anyone with a large battery bank has to have 2 or more charge controllers.
even different brands work well together - IF you configure them properly

[jestronix]

when you say configure ? what have you done with yours ? how did you make them happy ?

[Mike90250]

I have a Tristar MPPT-60 and a Classic 200. Both are configured to a custom charge voltage via factory software, Very easy to do, once you have all the cables and software installed on the windows computer Midday it's very easy to dial in the Classic in both Absorb and Float settings. Set the Absorb time to about the same 2 hours on each, I adjust the classic so that both controllers have a proportionate amount of charge running through each,
You must know what you are doing, if you just try stuffing settings in at random, you get to buy new batteries,

[inetdog]

What you do want to avoid, however, is connecting more than one CC or GTI to the same set of panels. Each device must have its own dedicated subset of your total panel count.

[Wy_White_Wolf]

Hi guys, i know your not meant to parallel regulators that are not designed for it, but what about a reg with lots of manual settings, can you trick it? I should be able to create a manual master based on charge volts keeping one behind the other.

As long as each MPPT is fed by it's own array no problem. It's when you try feeding 2 MPPTs with a single array that there are problems.

WWW

[Living Large]

To emphasize - you don't actually "parallel" the charge controllers. You parallel the outputs only. I contacted Midnight Solar once, and the tech support was sure to make this clear to me when I used the terminology "parallel".

[Sunking]

I do it all day long. Anyone with a large battery bank has to have 2 or more charge controllers.
even different brands work well together - IF you configure them properly

Mike I assume you mean you have two separate panel arrays, each with its own controller charging a common battery right? If correct I agree you can use two of any charge controllers you want be it MPPT or PWM.

[Mike90250]

Mike I assume you mean you have two separate panel arrays, each with its own controller charging a common battery right? If correct I agree you can use two of any charge controllers you want be it MPPT or PWM.

Yes, a 2000 ah battery bank needs 200ah of charging and there are no single controllers for that. So you would use about 4 PV arrays, each feeding it's own Controller and the controllers all connect to the battery bank (in parallel) But the PV panels are split to 4 arrays, each feeding 1 controller.

[Sunking]

Yes, a 2000 ah battery bank needs 200ah of charging and there are no single controllers for that. So you would use about 4 PV arrays, each feeding it's own Controller and the controllers all connect to the battery bank (in parallel) But the PV panels are split to 4 arrays, each feeding 1 controller.

FWIW I knew what you meant, I asked a question I already knew the answer too. It was a leading question. But not certain if that is what the OP meant.