I have a pretty good campervan set up (UK, BTW) and have more power than I can use during the summer months.
I’d like to use the excess power from the campervan solar to charge an AX200MAX during the day, then take the AC200MAX indoors and use that to power the kettle, electric oven etc. If this works in the medium term to drop the electric bills then I’d think about installing dedicated solar panels to charger it.
Currently have 410w solar panel with a 30a Victron Orian MPPT and dual 30a Victron DcDC chargers (one of which is on permanently and the other on a switch)
Question
Is it feasible to split the solar cable from the panels to the MPPT BEFORE going into the MPPT and use that method to charge the AC200MAX - so use a Y splitter on MC4 connectors.
Is it feasible to use the second DcDc charger to charger the AC200MAX directly, assuming the correcting input connector was fitter - possibly the aviation socket?
TIA
Andrew (Llanvair is the name of the Welsh village I live in!)
No, you cannot connect your PV array to 2 solar chargers simultaneously. An solar charger needs to be alone on the PV line in order to correctly apply the MPPT algorithm and determine the midpoint between volts and amps that allows you to get the maximum power from the panels. Two MPPT algorithms working together on the same line would conflict with each other.
Probably yes, but please state your DC/DC converter details to better confirm your situation. You will likely connect it to the PV input of your AC200MAX.
That’s great thanks. I think I confused my question. I wasn’t going to connect both streams, just split the cable using a Y splitter and plug in/out the relevant split as required. Make sense?
The DcDC is a Victron Orion 3
30a. That has inputs from the vehicle alternator (185a alternator in my van) and outputs to the bus bars then to the LiPo4 leisure battery. I was thinking I could take that 30a straight into the Bluetti
If you connect just 1 MPPT charger at a time (Victron Orion or AC200MAX) that’s fine. With that configuration eventually connecting the two of them together will not result in a damage but in a large inefficiency so that’s safe in case of mistakes.
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About the DC/DC please note that the only relevant unit is voltage, if your DC/DC has 24 or 48 volt nominal output it’s safe to connect it to the PV input of AC200MAX by setting “DC Input Source” to “Others” (that will disable the internal MPPT).
The same apply to the PV array, you should make sure to not go over 145 V on the AC200MAX PV input and you should set “DC Input Source” to “PV” (this will allow the internal MPPT to more efficiently absorb energy from the panels).
If you forget to set “DC Input Source”, that’s fine and will not result in a damage.
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Please also consider current directions, if your batteries and DC/DC output and AC200MAX PV input are together on the bus it would be possible for the batteries to discharge against the AC200MAX while the DC/DC will be idle.