house batteries using water with solar charger November 26, 2007, 11:58:31 pm Yahoo Message Number: 86370Hello,I have a solar panel with a 2003 Heliotrope rv30se controller. The solar charger applies 14.2+ volts for hours during the day. This voltage causes the batteries to use quite a bit of water. Since I am connected to shorepower fulltime, can I pull the 10A solar panel fuse without harming anything? With the fuse pulled, the batteries only see converter voltage. Interestingly, the voltage display on the solar controller jumps around up to 15+ volts with the fuse removed.Larry
Re: house batteries using water with solar charger Reply #1 – November 27, 2007, 07:31:16 am Yahoo Message Number: 86373Yes, if you are connected to shore power full time, you SHOULD disconnect the solar from the batteries. 14.2 V will boil off the water fairly quickly. No harm will come from pulling the fuse.My guess is the high reading on the panel is because that meter is reading the output voltage of the solar system while disconnected from the battery (in other words, useless information). This would be normal and no worry.You should get a separate digital meter and measure the battery voltage with the solar panel disconnected. If it is 13.2 or less, the batteries will consume almost no water.-Dave '06 MB, Indianapolis
Re: house batteries using water with solar charger Reply #2 – November 27, 2007, 11:11:41 am Yahoo Message Number: 86380Larry, Get a digital multi-meter, they don't cost much, and check the voltage at the battery terminals to see what's really happening. I suspect the problem is more your converter than your solar system. Generally speaking, the voltage display on a solar charge controller will be fairly accurate, within a tenth of a volt or two. Depending on temperature, 14.2 is high for "floating" or maintaining a battery bank, but I think it would take awhile to "boil off" water at this voltage. Now, if you're plugged into shore power a lot, and have the stock converter that came with your LD . . . then that will boil off water much faster.bumper
Re: house batteries using water with solar charger Reply #3 – November 28, 2007, 11:10:31 pm Yahoo Message Number: 86483Quote Larry,Get a digital multi-meter, they don't cost much, and check the voltage at the battery terminals to see what's really happening. I suspect the problem is more your converter than your solar system.Quote Generally speaking, the voltage display on a solar charge controller will be fairly accurate, within a tenth of a volt or two. Depending on temperature, 14.2 is high for "floating" or maintaining a battery bank, but I think it would take awhile to "boil off" water at this voltage. Now, if you're plugged into shore power a lot, and have the stock converter that came with your LD . . . then that will boil off water much faster.Quote bumper Thanks for the reply. I get 13.8v at the house batteries with the solar panel fuse removed which is typically what my original equipment LD converter provides. I will now see how water usage changes. Before I pulled the fuse, I was adding water once a week to at least one cell. This is my second controller; the original LD controller was providing 15+ volts during the day and was really causing battery water loss.LarryQuote From: mchlfnd To: lifewithalazydazerv@yahoogroups.com Sent: Monday, November 26, 2007 9:58 PM Subject: [LD] house batteries using water with solar chargerHello,I have a solar panel with a 2003 Heliotrope rv30se controller. The solar charger applies 14.2+ volts for hours during the day. This voltage causes the batteries to use quite a bit of water. Since I am Quote connected to shorepower fulltime, can I pull the 10A solar panel fuse without harming anything? With the fuse pulled, the batteries only see Quote converter voltage. Interestingly, the voltage display on the solar controller jumps around up to 15+ volts with the fuse removed.Larry[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]