CTEK D250S or D250S Dual - Which do I need for this situation

Submitted: Friday, Feb 11, 2011 at 21:16
ThreadID: 84284 Views:4650 Replies:3 FollowUps:0
This Thread has been Archived
I will have a cranking battery 'under the bonnet', and then a battery (well 2 wired together actually but will act like 1) in the camper unit on the ute to run fridge/acc etc.

I have a 120W solar fold-out kit. The Solar will never be used when the vehicle is running.

Can I simply add the solar input to the same terminal on the D250S as the main battery (ie. supply from alternator), or do I really need to get the D250S Dual.

My plan would be to just connect the solar via anderson plug when 'at camp'.

Is seems the D250S Dual is really designed for when charge is being received from both the alternator and solar at the same time- is that right?

Tim



Back Expand Un-Read 0 Moderator

Reply By: Member - Boeing (PER) - Friday, Feb 11, 2011 at 21:58

Friday, Feb 11, 2011 at 21:58
Hi Tim, have you asked the retailer where you seek to purchase either CTEK unit?
Or had a look on the website applicable.


Cheers


Mark
AnswerID: 445130

Reply By: Member - John and Val - Saturday, Feb 12, 2011 at 13:20

Saturday, Feb 12, 2011 at 13:20
Tim,

The D250S Dual would be ideal for your purposes, as it provides proper MPPT management for the solar panels. The non-Dual one does not do this. Both versions provide dc-dc charging from the alternator, which is to be recommended, but the Dual provides the extra functionality.

You should NOT simply connect your panels in place of the alternator when stationary, as you must have at least some simple solar controller to avoid overcharging your batteries. Further, the dc-dc charging ability of the non-dual will get very confused!

The D250S Dual is the way to go.

Cheers

John
J and V
"Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted."
- Albert Einstein

Lifetime Member
My Profile  My Blog  Send Message

AnswerID: 445160

Reply By: AlbyNSW - Saturday, Feb 12, 2011 at 18:25

Saturday, Feb 12, 2011 at 18:25
Not a technical answer to your question but they are both the same price so why not just get the Dual????
AnswerID: 445194

Sponsored Links