How many regulators can I add to a battery bank?

[cliffdale]

I have 330Ah of batteries, (3*110).
Already fitted is a solar regulator for 100w panel. This panel is fixed and is in use all the time.

I am adding a tow generator and regulator, (regulator number 2).

Also being added is a further 200w solar panels but I plan to feed them through a separate regulator than the 100w panel, (regulator number 3). These panels will be used only when needed, mainly stored in the cabin but brought out and plugged in when at anchor or at sea.

Will one regulator switch off the others, or is it ok to have 3 separate systems?
Thanks
Cliff

 

[nimbusgb]

If they were all simple voltage mode regulators then you'd get away with it but with any sort of intelligence ( solar controller, towed gennie? ) I guess you are just going to end up with less than optimal charging.

 

[noelex]

3 or more is fine, they don't normally have any conflict problems.
BTW you will probably have another two for your battery charger and alternator.

 

[cliffdale]

3 or more is fine, they don't normally have any conflict problems.
BTW you will probably have another two for your battery charger and alternator.

Never thought of that!
I have a petrol genny for emergencies that connects to shore power charger.

Long passage coming up this year hence the need for power.

Cliff

 

[nigel1]

Like Noelex says, I don't think will be much of a conflict. I have wind geny, solar is being installed later this month, then there is the alternator and the battery charger.
I was advised to set the set point of the wind geny regulator to just a smidge above the set point of the solar MPPT controller. The wind geny has dump resistors fitted, and this was to avoid solar output being sent to the resistors.
I think about the only time there will be slight conflict is when the batteries are close to fully charged, and at that point, its not much of an issue

 

[VicS]

I was advised to set the set point of the wind geny regulator to just a smidge above the set point of the solar MPPT controller. The wind geny has dump resistors fitted, and this was to avoid solar output being sent to the resistors.

Would that in fact happen. Could be a major problem there if the main alternator output was dumped though the wind genny shunt !

 

[sailinglegend420]

........I have wind geny, solar is being installed later this month, then there is the alternator and the battery charger............

With both solar panels and a wind generator a single regulator with a wind and a solar input should be used. If two different regulators are feeding the same battery bank one can get confused by the other and may switch off too early. This is a particular problem in the initial “Boost” stage of charging where batteries will take all the charge they can get. Regulators all work in slightly different ways, but in principle they are programmed to reach a maximum voltage for a set time and then drop down to a float voltage. With wind generators there is not a constant source of power to allow the regulator to stabilise itself. Often there is a huge surge in available current from wind gusts, and then their charge may drop. The wind controller will then still see the high voltage coming from the solar panel controller so it will switch to float. When the wind rises there may be a built-in delay before the wind controller attempts to charge again and so the cycle continues. The wind generator may be the charge source that could potentially be providing the highest charging capability, but much of the time it has switched itself off so its energy is being wasted.

One option recommended by several Wind Generator manufacturers is not to have a wind regulator but manually control the charging. Find a safe way to tie off the blades when you leave the boat, because this is one of the few times when your batteries will get to 100%. When your solar says it's in "float mode" the batteries may still only be 90-95% charged.

 

[nigel1]

Geny blades will be secured when the boat is unattended. I was originally going to use the Blue Sky 3024 iL controller with "Duo" function which would be used to control both solar and wind.
When I spoke to the Blue Sky distributor in the UK, they advised keeping the original wind geny regulator.
I have a D400 geny. The regulator is set to dump at 14.8 volts. There are two dump resistors connected to the regulator. I was under the impression that voltages over the set point are dumped.
The regulator which I have as supplied with the D400 is the same type used by the Aerogen.
The instructions have this to say about the regulator

The regulator is designed to sense and limit the output voltage of a D400 generator to 14.0 – 14.2 volts (12V
models) or 28.0 – 28.4 volts (24V models) and thus prevent batteries becoming over charged. It includes a
voltage monitoring / PWM circuit, a Power Mosfet, and two Schottky Blocking Diodes, which allows the
D400 generator to charge two batteries totally independent of each other, therefore making it ideal for
separate charging of engine starting and domestic batteries. The battery with the lowest terminal voltage
will be charged first, then when both batteries become fully charged the D400 generator’s output is
automatically diverted to the dump resistors. This does two things: it stops the batteries over-charging; and
it keeps the generator always on load.

Once the solar panels are installed, I'll be keeping a close eye on whats happening. I've installed circuit breakers on the charging sources, so will be easy to say shut down the solar, and see what the wind geny is doing.
At least I wont have to worry about charge conflicts at night.

 

[wotayottie]

I have 330Ah of batteries, (3*110).
Already fitted is a solar regulator for 100w panel. This panel is fixed and is in use all the time.

I am adding a tow generator and regulator, (regulator number 2).

Also being added is a further 200w solar panels but I plan to feed them through a separate regulator than the 100w panel, (regulator number 3). These panels will be used only when needed, mainly stored in the cabin but brought out and plugged in when at anchor or at sea.

Will one regulator switch off the others, or is it ok to have 3 separate systems?
Thanks
Cliff

All this is to run the underwater neons isnt it? And the jacuzi.

You need to talk to the regulator makers. It depends on how each oine works.