Smart dual battery charger or solar regulator

Ben,

There is no such animal as a "dual battery charger"

Battery chargers will charge however many batteries you have connected, it will just take a bit longer, if two or more are parallelled together.

Solar battery Chargers?
Yes there are solar battery chargers around, but they are only suitable for charging very small batteries as they only produce a small current.

Battery chargers suitable for automotive batteries come in various sizes and types with an accordingly high price tag.

The better battery chargers are multi-stage in that they will detect the condition of your battery, usually provide a bulk charge until the battery is nearing full charge, then swap to a float charge to reach and maintain a full charge. These multi-stage chargers also detect potential sulfation of the plates and apply a "conditional" charge to break down the deposits from the plates.

One of the better chargers are the CTEK range and a good all round model IMO is the XS 7000 a 7 amp charger, suitable for batteries from 14 - 225 Amp Hour rating.

Expect to pay around $300 for these though.

Charging via a regulated Solar Panel is different a different kettle of fish, than a "solar battery charger" and it depends on the rating of the solar panel (40, 80, 100 watt) as to how long it will take to charge a battery , how flat it is and what current load is applied to that battery.

Perhaps if you explain what you wish to achieve, some knowledgeable people on the forum can advise you better.

Bill.

Hi Ben

To answer your question.

NO ! You can't connect an alternator to a solar regulator. Most solar regulators short out the panel to control the charge. You can just imagine what will happen when the regulator tries to short out a 100A alternator.

Just stick to heavy cable and a good battery isolator.

Regards

Derek.

Aren't all CTEKs 240V to 12V, ie mains powered? This is not what I want.

Yes, I was thinking about a solar regulator - Morningstar etc., that has ability to charge a battery.

What I want is a smart charger that will charge a second battery without the loses from a standard dual battery system - VSR etc.

ben-gv3
Exactly what you are looking for is available at www.ranox.com.au
it is a controlled(3 stage)regulated supply to your second battery,not cheap at $350 but It is on my shopping list.

Geoff.

Ben

Geoff is on the money. The latest RanOx booster can be used without any external switching. It can detect whether the alternator is charging or not and does not charge if the alternator is not operating. If you e-mail Alan (link on his site) he may send you a PDF copy of the operating manual.

"I'm not sure about Solar Reg on the starter battery as it might confuse the alternator or stuff something else up." You are correct here. A solar regulator will give a higher output voltage than your alternator (after the first 20 minutes) and this will mean some of your panels output will feed the vehicle battery system - no point using a solar panel to supplement the alternator.

PeterD