2 chargers

Re: 2 chargers

Welcome to the forum Roland!

My first suggestion would be read all about batteries:

http://www.windsun.com/Batteries/Battery_FAQ.htm
http://www.batteryfaq.org/
http://batteryuniversity.com/

After you read the above, you will conclude that Lead Acid Batteries do not work for off grid power.

In reality, they actually to work surprisingly well--It is just there are a dozen ways to kill a lead acid battery bank. Over charging, under charging, charging with too little current, charging with too much current, not adding enough distilled water, adding too much distilled water, too small of battery bank, too large of battery bank, not keeping connections clean, cleaning too much and getting baking soda inside cells, too cold of battery will not output as much energy (but last longer), too hot of battery will output more energy but not last as long...

What it comes down to with battery chargers and your bank--Monitor battery voltage with a good volt meter, monitor the specific gravity with a hydrometer and log temperature corrected specific gravity (once a week to once a month). Monitor electrolyte level (using too much water--needing to refill once a month or more often--probably over charging; not needing to add water every--Probably under charging).

In general, if the charge controllers are all probably wired and configured, you can run charger in parallel. Batteries care "mostly" about the charging voltage (bulk/absorb/float). They also care about current--Around 13% maximum charging current is not a problem. If you have 20-25% charging current, you can overheat the battery bank (good charge controllers will have a remote battery temperature sensor--Hot batteries need lower charging voltages).

So--It all comes down to specifics... What is the Battery bank Voltage/AH rating/Battery type (AGM, flooded cell, etc.).

What is the size of your solar array and Iota chargers. What is the voltage set points for the chargers. How much discharging do you do on your battery bank (daily, almost never, etc.)...

So, read about the batteries. Measure the battery bank voltage (resting, charging, discharging). Measure the specific gravity of each cell (and log). Then figure out were to go from there (more/less charging, perhaps reconfigure chargers if cables are too long/too small of diameter, etc.).

-Bill