Does anyone know if there is a way to connect a 12V load "equally" to two
batterys in a 24V series system?
I.e. I'm planning my conversion from 32V to 24V. If I have two 12V batterys
(two 12V sets) for my main house system (engines, alternators, inverter on
this as a 24V load) Is there a way to load both 12V sets as a common load
for my 12V needs?
Hope I asked this right.
Thanks
John,
I also converted Island Eagle from 32 to 24, so I have a good idea of the
pain you about to experience :-)
However on the particular subject of drawing a 12 volt load from a 24 volt
battery bank, contrary to other posts there is in fact a way to do exactly
this.
First, a quick review of batteries: to get 24 volts, we run two 12 volt
batteries in series (which is actually two sets of six 2-volt cells in
series). Now, while it would be possible to just tap 12 volts of bank, this
would be a Bad Thing (tm) because the lower bank would always be at a lower
state of charge.
What you need is a way to equalize the charge between the lower bank (the one
you are drawing 12 volt loads out of) and the upper bank (the one which has
no 12 volt load). The good news is that such a device exists and is called a
"Battery Equalizer" (not to be confused with "battery equalization"). I used
one from Vanner (see
http://www.vanner.com/htm/pro_01.htm?series_sku=3195361503151112&a=a&pt=3 ).
No connection, etc., just a satisfied customer.
One very important point is that this is not a "Converter". A converter feeds
all of the load through a stepdown process and is inherently inefficient.
Plus, you need a converter which can handle your highest load. When you are
using an equalizer, the load is drawn from the batteries and the equalizer is
essentially the charges, so you can get by with an equalizes which handles
the average load.
Click here for the schematic of my house bank setup:
http://www.islandeagle.net/systems/schematics/House%20Battery.pdf
Scott Welch
www.islandeagle.net
"The person who makes no mistakes usually doesn't make anything"
"John Boy \"Waka Waka\"" <jsclipper@earthlink.net> writes:
>Does anyone know if there is a way to connect a 12V load "equally" to two
>batterys in a 24V series system?
>
>I.e. I'm planning my conversion from 32V to 24V. If I have two 12V batterys
>(two 12V sets) for my main house system (engines, alternators, inverter on
>this as a 24V load) Is there a way to load both 12V sets as a common load
>for my 12V needs?
>Hope I asked this right.
>Thanks
John,
I also converted Island Eagle from 32 to 24, so I have a good idea of the
pain you about to experience :-)
However on the particular subject of drawing a 12 volt load from a 24 volt
battery bank, contrary to other posts there is in fact a way to do exactly
this.
First, a quick review of batteries: to get 24 volts, we run two 12 volt
batteries in series (which is actually two sets of six 2-volt cells in
series). Now, while it would be possible to just tap 12 volts of bank, this
would be a Bad Thing (tm) because the lower bank would always be at a lower
state of charge.
What you need is a way to equalize the charge between the lower bank (the one
you are drawing 12 volt loads out of) and the upper bank (the one which has
no 12 volt load). The good news is that such a device exists and is called a
"Battery Equalizer" (not to be confused with "battery equalization"). I used
one from Vanner (see
http://www.vanner.com/htm/pro_01.htm?series_sku=3195361503151112&a=a&pt=3 ).
No connection, etc., just a satisfied customer.
One very important point is that this is not a "Converter". A converter feeds
all of the load through a stepdown process and is inherently inefficient.
Plus, you need a converter which can handle your highest load. When you are
using an equalizer, the load is drawn from the batteries and the equalizer is
essentially the charges, so you can get by with an equalizes which handles
the average load.
Click here for the schematic of my house bank setup:
http://www.islandeagle.net/systems/schematics/House%20Battery.pdf
Scott Welch
www.islandeagle.net
"The person who makes no mistakes usually doesn't make anything"
