Charging 36V golf Cart battery bank with 3 12V panels

I have a 36V golf cart with 6 each 6V batteries, and have 3 12V solar panels.
Should I charge all the batteries together with a new 36V controller, or use 3 switches to break up the battery bank into 3 12V banks and charge them with 3 12V controllers?
If I use the panels in series, will the diodes support 36V, or should I change them?
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Comments

  • niel
    niel Solar Expert Posts: 10,300 ✭✭✭✭
    Re: Charging 36V golf Cart battery bank with 3 12V panels

    what controller is it that you already have?
  • BB.
    BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 33,431 admin
    Re: Charging 36V golf Cart battery bank with 3 12V panels

    If you can get a 36 volt MPPT type charge controller--I would suggest that. Or, possibly, a 36 volt PWM controller (if you can find one).

    Doing the switches and three charge controllers is an accident looking to happen.

    I cannot think of any reason that you would have to change diodes in the panels.

    -Bill
    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset
  • niel
    niel Solar Expert Posts: 10,300 ✭✭✭✭
    Re: Charging 36V golf Cart battery bank with 3 12V panels

    the tristar comes in a pwm that covers 12-48v and includes 36v.
    http://www.morningstarcorp.com/en/support/library/TriStar%20Datasheet%20English.pdf
  • Cariboocoot
    Cariboocoot Banned Posts: 17,615 ✭✭✭
    Re: Charging 36V golf Cart battery bank with 3 12V panels

    Treat them like one 36 Volt battery. Possible charge controller choice: http://store.solar-electric.com/trts12vochco.html
    (It can be programmed for 36 Volt via DIP switches.)
  • System2
    System2 Posts: 6,290 admin
    Re: Charging 36V golf Cart battery bank with 3 12V panels

    Thanks everybody, I will begin looking for a 36V controller. The panels that I am using are from Harbor Freight (I buy them on sale for $149 for 3 15W panels and a 12V controller).
    I figure that I can hook the 3 panels in series, and will have to use about 4 sets of panels.
  • BB.
    BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 33,431 admin
    Re: Charging 36V golf Cart battery bank with 3 12V panels

    See if you can measure the charging current from those panels... They don't seem to last that well or meet those rating over time.

    A mono/poly crystalline set of solar PV panels will be 1/2 the area (for same output) and should last you 20+ years.

    In general, you probably will need a lot more solar panels to be successful in getting "useful amounts" of solar energy into your golf cart.

    Look for roughly 5%-13% of the battery bank AH rating worth of rated charge current.
    • example: 225 AH * 43.5 volts charging * 1/0.77 solar derating * 0.10 = 1,271 watts of solar panels
    ~1,300 watts of solar panels would be a "useful amount" of solar panels to recharge the battery bank.

    If you have a minimum of 4 hours of sun 9 months of the year, the output of such an array would be:
    • 1,300 watts * 1/36 volts * 4 hours full sun * 0.77 system derating = 111 AH per day
    It would recharge your bank (from "dead") in ~two days.

    -Bill
    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset
  • zeuspaul
    zeuspaul Solar Expert Posts: 59 ✭✭✭✭
    Re: Charging 36V golf Cart battery bank with 3 12V panels
    The panels that I am using are from Harbor Freight

    I buy a lot from HF and get some really good deals. Before investing in too many more take a look at a larger panel. If you look at the cost per watt of a 135 watt panel available from our host you will find that it is less than the HF sale price and most likely of better quality. Larger panels also have less required connections further reducing the cost.

    Zeuspaul
  • niel
    niel Solar Expert Posts: 10,300 ✭✭✭✭
    Re: Charging 36V golf Cart battery bank with 3 12V panels
    zeuspaul wrote: »
    I buy a lot from HF and get some really good deals. Before investing in too many more take a look at a larger panel. If you look at the cost per watt of a 135 watt panel available from our host you will find that it is less than the HF sale price and most likely of better quality. Larger panels also have less required connections further reducing the cost.

    Zeuspaul

    although true enough about getting bigger and better pvs, he will need 3 of those pvs in series to charge a 36v battery array. deanet will need much more than those 3 15w pvs from hf as there is no way 45w of pvs will do it for those batteries. in fact those batteries, being over 200ah apiece, would mean you need at least around 12a to give around a 5% charge rate. many such golf cart batteries may even require the 10% rate of charge so you are talking quite a sum of $ to properly charge that 36v battery bank with solar. forget hf and at best what you already have from hf may be good enough as a maintainer for those batteries if they were already fully charged.
  • dwh
    dwh Solar Expert Posts: 1,341 ✭✭✭
    Re: Charging 36V golf Cart battery bank with 3 12V panels
    niel wrote: »
    he will need 3 of those pvs in series to charge a 36v battery array. deanet will need much more than those 3 15w pvs from hf as there is no way 45w of pvs will do it for those batteries.

    He said 1 kit of 3 in series x 4 kits (strings).

    Still, to the OP: Take a look at the solar section of http://2manytoyz.com to get some real world idea of the output of the HF kits.
  • oaklandpower
    oaklandpower Registered Users Posts: 11
    Re: Charging 36V golf Cart battery bank with 3 12V panels

    There are two other viable ways to go in charging a 36V pack -

    Charge as 3 12V packs with 3 pwm or buck type DCDC controllers - the advantage is getting better charge balance across each set of 2 batteries which improves battery life.

    Charge as 1 36V pack with a boost type DCDC controller - the advantage being using one larger panel instead of 3 small ones strung in series.

    Either of these options gets you away from dealing with 60-70V open circuit voltages if that's important to you.
  • bmet
    bmet Solar Expert Posts: 630 ✭✭
    Re: Charging 36V golf Cart battery bank with 3 12V panels

    Niel,

    What information about the CG batteries indicates if it needs a higher charge rate? I saw at Sams Club, the CG2 6V, 205AH. The $66 price tag seems hard to beat, but my original idea was to choose the PV first, then match the battery bank. From what you've posted, It sounds as i'd need to buy an additional panel and connect them in parallel to meet the charge rate.
    niel wrote: »
    ... in fact those batteries, being over 200ah apiece, would mean you need at least around 12a to give around a 5% charge rate. many such golf cart batteries may even require the 10% rate of charge....
  • niel
    niel Solar Expert Posts: 10,300 ✭✭✭✭
    Re: Charging 36V golf Cart battery bank with 3 12V panels

    batteries should at least charge minimally at a 5% rate and as i said many of the golf cart types require as much as a 10% rate of charge. you can contact the manufacturer for specifics. now the 135w pv is rated for 12v applications and you need 3 in series to go to 36v. the current from those 3 (imp rating) is 7.63a. if by some strange chance you get the full rated current this would be 7.63a/205ah=3.72% and this is far too low for good charging or mixing up the electrolyte.
  • bmet
    bmet Solar Expert Posts: 630 ✭✭
    Re: Charging 36V golf Cart battery bank with 3 12V panels
    niel wrote: »
    batteries should at least charge minimally at a 5% rate and as i said many of the golf cart types require as much as a 10% rate of charge. you can contact the manufacturer for specifics. now the 135w pv is rated for 12v applications and you need 3 in series to go to 36v. the current from those 3 (imp rating) is 7.63a. if by some strange chance you get the full rated current this would be 7.63a/205ah=3.72% and this is far too low for good charging or mixing up the electrolyte.

    Wiring the panels in parallel does not add the amps?
  • niel
    niel Solar Expert Posts: 10,300 ✭✭✭✭
    Re: Charging 36V golf Cart battery bank with 3 12V panels
    bmet wrote: »
    Wiring the panels in parallel does not add the amps?

    yes if one would be paralleling the pvs it would add the amps, but to get enough voltage from 12v pvs to charge a 36v battery bank requires the 3 pvs be in series and not parallel. to get more current at 36v you would need 6 of the kc135s in a series/parallel arrangement and would be 2 series strings of 3 paralleled to each other.
  • bmet
    bmet Solar Expert Posts: 630 ✭✭
    Re: Charging 36V golf Cart battery bank with 3 12V panels

    Sorry, my question about the CG batteries was not directed to the 36V topic, but the type of battery,CG-2, and as a starter set. I want to make sure to supply the minimum rated charge, hence the need to parallel.

    I fall into the category of going with the 135W cap for shipping costs.
  • oaklandpower
    oaklandpower Registered Users Posts: 11
    Re: Charging 36V golf Cart battery bank with 3 12V panels

    Question about a couple of posts about minimum charging rates: Is this really relevant for a continuous charging setup on a golf cart? I think the motivation for a minimum charge rate is a reasonable recharge time and less time spent in a partially charged state. Is there any other technical reason for a minimum charge rate? Thanks.
  • Cariboocoot
    Cariboocoot Banned Posts: 17,615 ✭✭✭
    Re: Charging 36V golf Cart battery bank with 3 12V panels
    Question about a couple of posts about minimum charging rates: Is this really relevant for a continuous charging setup on a golf cart? I think the motivation for a minimum charge rate is a reasonable recharge time and less time spent in a partially charged state. Is there any other technical reason for a minimum charge rate? Thanks.

    Yes, it is really necessary. It "gets the chemical action going", so to speak; reduces sulphation and re-mixes the electrolyte.

    There have been many solar set-ups installed using the old "a small panel will recharge a big battery eventually" theory. They all fail. Getting a minimum charge rate (actually hitting a minimum peak rate) is key to "re-energizing" the chemical mix. Neil alluded to some batteries needing an even higher rate; these are usually the "tall case" types known as L16. Due to the physical design, they need even more activity inside to achieve a good mix (preventing electrolyte stratification).

    Lest anyone wonder, this is a tried-and-proven "rule of thumb". It is the battery manufacturer's recommendations that should be followed in any specific case.
  • BB.
    BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 33,431 admin
    Re: Charging 36V golf Cart battery bank with 3 12V panels

    For a standalone charger--What I have seen here is that 5% is about the minimum functional charge rate for a flooded cell battery--has been recommended by several vendors for equalization current. Also, seems to be a good minimum for getting electrolyte stirred (mix stratified electrolyte).

    Also, if you assume that a battery can have a 1% rate of self discharge (typically the big forklift batteries in old age)... And assume that you have 4 hours per day average--A 5% rate of charge over 4 hours (of full sun equivalent) will not even keep up with a 1% rate of discharge over 24 hours (6% rate of charge @ 4 hours to keep up). So--for old flooded cell/forklift batteries, you run out of charging power before the battery capacity has failed for the application when you have low rates of charge.

    Other vendors have recommended (Surrette) has recommended 10% as a minimum rate of charge. And Trojan for their "tall cased" batteries recommends 10% to get the electrolyte churning to prevent stratification of the electrolyte. (as I remember--I can try going through Google to pull the documentation/threads where this was discussed).

    And then there is what you talked about--getting the battery quickly above the ~75% state of charge to spend as little time in the (below 75%) sulfate crystallization zone.

    AGM's have much less self discharge and they don't have stratification issues--So they can probably live better at the lower rates of charge.

    There is the issue that if you pump more than ~13% rate of charge into a lead acid battery--they can overheat. Remote Battery Temperature Sensor (and for large forklift with "fast charge" capabilities, they have cooling fans).

    Does this make sense?

    -Bill
    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset
  • oaklandpower
    oaklandpower Registered Users Posts: 11
    Re: Charging 36V golf Cart battery bank with 3 12V panels
    Yes, it is really necessary. It "gets the chemical action going", so to speak; reduces sulphation and re-mixes the electrolyte.

    Is electrolyte stratification the key issue? I was trying to find reference in battery specs and found one for Sun Extender AGMs - they recommend a 0.2C rate for repetitive deep cycling, but don't give a reason. The one that jumps out though is slower recharging means longer dwell time at partial charge state or higher risk of incomplete charging. Any good references for this? Thanks.
  • oaklandpower
    oaklandpower Registered Users Posts: 11
    Re: Charging 36V golf Cart battery bank with 3 12V panels
    Also, if you assume that a battery can have a 1% rate of self discharge (typically the big forklift batteries in old age)... And assume that you have 4 hours per day average--A 5% rate of charge over 4 hours (of full sun equivalent) will not even keep up with a 1% rate of discharge over 24 hours (6% rate of charge @ 4 hours to keep up).

    I think the 1% self-discharge is per day, right?
  • BB.
    BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 33,431 admin
    Re: Charging 36V golf Cart battery bank with 3 12V panels

    Batteries tend to be less efficient at higher charge/discharge rates (Peukert).

    With solar panels, we have a bit of an issue in that there are only so many hours of sun in a day to do the recharging--So higher charging currents for shorter periods of time are necessary, especially during winter (unlike batteries that have utility power for recharging).

    Trojan recommends a fairly nominal charging voltage of 2.35 volts per cell until the last 95-100% and finish at 2.45 to 2.7 volts per cell (at 10-13% * C rate of charge as the current limit) until the battery hits around 90% state of charge. (page 12 of this PDF for flooded cell profile).
    Flooded/wet batteries will gas (bubble) towards the end of charge to ensure the electrolyte is properly mixed

    "Dave Sparks" here has recommended tracking arrays because they not only collect more energy, the extend the charging time too is really good for battery life (if I understand correctly).

    Also, from Dave's experience, he has said several times here that (in his opinion/experience) high charge rates are hard on battery life:
    1200 / 10% / 3.5 = 34.3 amps AC

    This is the maximum charge amps that you should set the XW to.
    Unless you have very big generator your probably fine. Remember you can and should charge at a lower rate if you want more than 10 years on this battery! Just because Surrette says this is fine remember they are in the business of selling batteries. Batteries like the slow charge of a solar day and their life will be shorten by fast generator charges. Good Luck!

    But remember Dave also is an advocate of having the battery in a fairly narrow range of state of charge for long life too:
    I learned this strategy from Dave Surrette (Rolls) in the late 70's. Pretty much the bible on how I design my systems for off-grid.

    Assume that the system will never reach more than a 90% state of charge.

    Try not to go below 50% SOC, ever! Complete absorption over 90% of the year.

    Use the energy stored from 70% to 90% SOC for your daily cycles.
    Save the energy from 50% SOC to 70% SOC for aging to get long battery life.

    I know Surettes has changed their recommendations over the years but I also know they are in the business of selling batteries! If you do the above you will get 10 to 15 years on their batteries with decent maintenance. ...

    -Bill
    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset
  • oaklandpower
    oaklandpower Registered Users Posts: 11
    Re: Charging 36V golf Cart battery bank with 3 12V panels

    Thanks for the replies Marc and Bill. Good ref matl Bill. With regard to this thread I want to propose that the use profile for a solar-assisted golf cart is different from a stationary PV system in a couple of ways:

    - Electrolyte is stirred by natural sloshing during operation
    - Any solar input just serves to reduce DoD
    - It can sit on a grid charger all night anyway

    I believe when you consider these points smaller solar input and even very low charge rates become more practical.
  • Blackcherry04
    Blackcherry04 Solar Expert Posts: 2,490 ✭✭✭
    Re: Charging 36V golf Cart battery bank with 3 12V panels

    I am a newbie here so, I hope this does not step on anyone's toes. I am a houseboater and have been for 40 years, I got my first Inverter/ Charger in 1992. I have always had 6 v Golf Cart Batteries. I am on my 3rd set of them and currently have 1000 hr @ 12v. On my dock are is 26 boats with the same setup's. These boats are used 30 + weekends a year, so I do have a lot of history about them how the banks react, how long they last and problems that have occurred and how they are charged. All the Inverters are 2500 / 3000 watt with 125/150 amp chargers. The battery banks are between 800 ah and 1200 ah.

    All in all they have worked very well. Battery life has been between 6-8 years without many issues, unless they were not watered on a regular basis.

    Most boats leave out on a Friday evening and return on Sunday to grid power for a full 3 stage charge. During the time they are out they are mostly receive a Bulk charge 3-6 times over the weekend. While most will use the 50% discharge floor, many are pulled to 10.5 V and the inverter will drop out ( usually because a house size refrigerator will try to start or someone leaves a large draw on overnight ). Most generators are 12.5/15/20 kw and it's not economical to try to use the absorption phase charging, so they shut down after the bulk charge is finished. Since they leave the grid at 100% charge, from then on they only receive back to the 80-85 % range till returned to the grid , so were only playing with a 35% range in a Boat that is as large as a small home. ( 18x80 ft )

    Battery's, I guess I have seen them all, Trojan T105, Deka, Interstate, Werrker, Exide, and probably a no name I can't remember. While the Trojans are a " Better " by some opinions ( based on adv re-charges ) they have proved to be no better than any of the others. They all gas and they all show a deformity in the cases after a year of use. If cost means anything a $70.00 vs $150.00 has not shown to be a factor. I do realize the cost can be the chemistry of the Lead / antimony mix in the plates. Most all of the 6 V Golf Cart battery's will weigh between 68 and 70 Lbs and 200 ah or so. Sam's Club $70.00 ( Exide )seems to do well, GC2-H, 525 Min @25Amps, 155 Min @75Amps to 5.25 volts, 245Ah @20Amps, 68 Lbs;

    Aging:

    The first thing you notice is the standing voltage, when new you will see 12.9v or so with out a load when the charger is taken off. After a hour it will drop to 12.7v - 12.8v. As they age you'll see they will drop past to 12.5v so. As you put a small load on them they go to around 12.2v You'll start to notice where you used to get 6 hr before a recharge, that will drop 3-4 or so. Since we are only using 35-40% you can see it becomes un-economical to charge them at $6-$8.00 a hour for Generator gas.

    Battery Bank Setup

    Do not cube them tight together, I use 2x2 wood strips between them. Using buss bars is not a good idea. They look good , but as the battery's age and the cases deform you cannot get them off and will tilt the battery and the batteries will push and pull the terminals. When the battery's charge or Equalize they get very hot., by leaving the 2 " space they can dissipate the heat quicker and will have less gassing and water use. ( I have one more reason to have them loose and cabled, I'll tell you below )

    Cabling

    Don't be cheap. On my size I use 4/0 on all of it. It may be over kill, but Heat is a killer. Always use Ring terminals that fit the bolts the lugs have. Don't try a 3/8" terminal on a 5/16 bolt, you'll not get good contact and the size of the contact will be lower AMP capacity that the cable. Always crimp with a swage type crimpers, if you don't have them ($250.00 +) take your cables to someone who does. You can drill and solder after they are crimped if you like, it might be overkill. Always use a Heat shink with the adhesive inside and cover as much of the Terminal as you can. You'll have lots less corrosion and longer time between maintenance on them.

    I cut my cables at least 3 " longer than you need. The reason for this and having the batteries loose is so I can " Burp" them. I have noticed that batteries in a fixed location not subject to shaking like in a car will retain a Hydrogen bubble between the plates. I can't tell you of this will get you longer life, but it has to help their output and may with their life. I will take the battery case and rock it back and forth a couple times, you will hear it release the hydrogen. If you cannot shake them, take a small rubber mallet and tap lightly on the case and you'll hear it. I can buy two starting batteries at the same time and put one in a car and one in a boat, the one in the car lasts 6 years and the same one will only last 2 in the boat. My opinion is it has something to do with the hydrogen build up.

    Observations

    I have tried bringing in the + and - cable from the inverter into the + and - parallel buses on the same end and opposite ends of the bank. ( cross charging ) I find no difference in the two. What I have found is that the first 2 battery's in the string take all the abuse. They will wear out quicker, take more water and are always hotter when charging. When I install a new bank I number all the batteries every two months I will shuffle the bank. I move the 1 & 2 battery to the back of the bank and slide the 2 & 3 to the front, etc. This way in a year they all get a chance to be the first two in the string. I feel this will extend their life, how much ?? who knows if it does.

    This is opinion, if your's differs you may be right.
  • BB.
    BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 33,431 admin
    Re: Charging 36V golf Cart battery bank with 3 12V panels

    FBC4,

    Great post. Always good to hear from people with lots of experience.

    Oakland,

    Solar assisted charging for a golf cart really does not have any minimum power/current requirements.

    From one point of view, having panels supply power when driving reduces battery draw (and charging losses) as well that low current is more efficient at charging and less hard on the batteries.

    So, any real time charging on a golf cart is all good.

    From an engineering rule of thumb--things within a factor of 2 are almost the same, and things more than 10x larger in size--you can ignore the smaller.

    So for am assisted golf cart the example here falls between 1/10 and 1/2... So can be a worth while project.

    -Bill
    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset
  • Blackcherry04
    Blackcherry04 Solar Expert Posts: 2,490 ✭✭✭
    Re: Charging 36V golf Cart battery bank with 3 12V panels

    Thank You BB, All I learned is from trial and error and weeding out the problems of mine and 26 of my closest friends, they'll call anyone at midnight that will work for a beer.

    The best investment I ever made is a Clamp on type AC/DC Amp Meter it will do everything you need to trouble shoot all you have to do. It's a bit pricey $239, use to be $139. It's a True RMS for inverter output and it's small and can be used in tight spots. It has 2 DC amp ranges 200 A and 40 A all you need for panels and Inverter DC work. It works on all voltages AC/DC with probes. It also does Frequency, This important with a generator and inverter output.

    Extech 380941

    http://www.bellnw.com/manufacturer/extech/380941.htm

    I have seen this same meter with other names on it and cheaper, all made in China I am sure.
  • Blackcherry04
    Blackcherry04 Solar Expert Posts: 2,490 ✭✭✭
    Re: Charging 36V golf Cart battery bank with 3 12V panels
    Thank You BB, All I learned is from trial and error and weeding out the problems of mine and 26 of my closest friends, they'll call anyone at midnight that will work for a beer.

    The best investment I ever made is a Clamp on type AC/DC Amp Meter it will do everything you need to trouble shoot all you have to do. It's a bit pricey $239, use to be $139. It's a True RMS for inverter output and it's small and can be used in tight spots. It has 2 DC amp ranges 200 A and 40 A all you need for panels and Inverter DC work. It works on all voltages AC/DC with probes. It also does Frequency, This important with a generator and inverter output.

    Extech 380941

    http://www.bellnw.com/manufacturer/extech/380941.htm

    I have seen this same meter with other names on it and cheaper, all made in China I am sure.
    Here is the same meter with a different name and much cheaper, $167 look around.

    http://www.marinco.com/product/clamp-volt-meter

    http://www.amazon.com/Ancor-702070-Marine-Grade-Electrical/dp/B000NHZY4W
  • zpphoto
    zpphoto Registered Users Posts: 5
    Re: Charging 36V golf Cart battery bank with 3 12V panels

    I just purchased the TriStar 45 / Morningstar Corporation, and I'm looking through the manual to set it to a 36 volt system, but the manual only has settings for 12/24/48 volt settings, nothing for 36. I have a golfcart and want to do the same thing, but how do I setup this thing for 36volts? There is an "automatic" slection as well when setting the voltage, should I use that? The manual says the automatic settting works just fine, but suggest to try and use an actual setting for best results. I hope I don't have to return this unit...
  • Cariboocoot
    Cariboocoot Banned Posts: 17,615 ✭✭✭
    Re: Charging 36V golf Cart battery bank with 3 12V panels
    zpphoto wrote: »
    I just purchased the TriStar 45 / Morningstar Corporation, and I'm looking through the manual to set it to a 36 volt system, but the manual only has settings for 12/24/48 volt settings, nothing for 36. I have a golfcart and want to do the same thing, but how do I setup this thing for 36volts? There is an "automatic" slection as well when setting the voltage, should I use that? The manual says the automatic settting works just fine, but suggest to try and use an actual setting for best results. I hope I don't have to return this unit...

    Welcome to the forum.

    The manual stays away from the 36 Volt setting because it can't be done with the DIP switches. You have to use the RS-232 interface with a computer and Morningstar's software. I am not certain about that because I've never done it; only extrapolating from the controller's specs which say it can do 36 Volts and the lack of support info in the manual.

    Morningstar is pretty good with tech support; you can contact them directly with your question and I'm sure they'll walk you through it.
  • BB.
    BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 33,431 admin
    Re: Charging 36V golf Cart battery bank with 3 12V panels

    I am not sure--But programing the controller to a "non-standard" voltage, you probably have to purchase the computer interface and set it with a PC.

    Also, there are two MS TS families... The PWM and (new) MPPT solar charge controller--They may have different programming requirements.

    You may have to call tech support for MorningStar (or your retailer) to get the details for that particular unit.

    -Bill
    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset
  • zpphoto
    zpphoto Registered Users Posts: 5
    Re: Charging 36V golf Cart battery bank with 3 12V panels

    Thank's for your reply, I'm glad to be a new member. I've learned alot from this site so far, and have gotten to this sticking point. I know I can't take the word as gospel on here, but I saw this thread and purchased the unit thinking it would work. I have contacted them and am awaiting a response from them. I downloaded their software and attempted to go through the config wizzard, but I didn't see anything in there. I just was asking here if anyone has already done this and could point me in the right direction. I'll probabl call them tomorrow if I don't hear back from them and see what they say. They might even be able to send me a config file to load on the unit, or just tell me to use the auto setting. Once I find out I'll be happy to report back what I find to help others since I've learned alot by people posts here.

    Thanks