Solar controller/bilge pump and heater connections

[steveeasy]

Hi,
While I’m sat broken down on A66 halfway to boat in Oban I thought I’d ask some advice.

I’m just fitting a second house battery and a Victron smart charger for my trip in May( if I get recovered by then!!!)

I’d like to charge both batteries from my 50 watt solar panel via the Renogy wanderer controller. Can I connect positive wire to 1 house battery and negative to second house battery neg terminal ?
Can I do same for 12 v heater and bilge pump. Want to draw from both batteries .
Would have been easier to just have 1 170 amp battery but space dictated I needed two separate batteries.
Both house batteries have small additional terminals to use.

Advice appreciated.
Steveeasy

 

[steveeasy]

Well I’ll never use AA ever again. 5 hours and eventually get towed 15 miles and dropped in a services. Told a handful of trucks will load and unload my car overnight to get 100 miles. Not exactly how they sell it to you. How times have changed. All to avoid drivers having to adea to driving regulations.

Steveeasy

 

[William_H]

Yes you can take the heater and bilge pump from either positive terminal of the 2 paralleled batteries. Like wise you can take the negative from either of the 2 paralleled batteries. All this assuming you hard wire the batteries to one another to add the capacity.
The trick of pos to one and negative to the other is actually advocated for high current loads to equalise loads on the battery. I don't imagine that would be a concern for your smaller loads. 12v heater might be a concern if high wattage but then battery discharge would be the biggest concern. Of course at some time you will find one battery dieing at it will be desirable to iosolate the batteries to compare performance of each. This will be tricky with load wires taken from bioth batteries. ol'will

 

[[70521]]

Well I’ll never use AA ever again. 5 hours and eventually get towed 15 miles and dropped in a services. Told a handful of trucks will load and unload my car overnight to get 100 miles. Not exactly how they sell it to you. How times have changed. All to avoid drivers having to adea to driving regulations.

Steveeasy

I bet you are pleased that you were not headed for Plockton. It takes even longer up there on a Bank Holiday weekend.

 

[steveeasy]

I bet you are pleased that you were not headed for Plockton. It takes even longer up there on a Bank holiday.

I could only get better surely. That’s one bad business model picking up stranded people and dropping them in random places with no real idea what might come next. Think I’ll upgrade to the platinum door next!!.

Steveeasy

 

[steveeasy]

Yes you can take the heater and bilge pump from either positive terminal of the 2 paralleled batteries. Like wise you can take the negative from either of the 2 paralleled batteries. All this assuming you hard wire the batteries to one another to add the capacity.
The trick of pos to one and negative to the other is actually advocated for high current loads to equalise loads on the battery. I don't imagine that would be a concern for your smaller loads. 12v heater might be a concern if high wattage but then battery discharge would be the biggest concern. Of course at some time you will find one battery dieing at it will be desirable to iosolate the batteries to compare performance of each. This will be tricky with load wires taken from bioth batteries. ol'will

Thanks for the reply, much appreciated. What about the Renogy 10 amp charge controller. I’d like both batteries to recieved a charge to maintain them whilst away.
Steveeasy

 

[William_H]

With the batteries hard wired in parallel it is just like a single battery. I don't know the charge controller but it would appear to be a MPPT type controller which will give you the best charge. However of course charge is limited by size of panel and sunshine hitting it.(angle to the sun) The latter is mostly a variable quantity but obviously every bit helps so should be fine. ol'will