Dumb question maybe?

biged
biged Registered Users Posts: 7 ✭
in Solar Beginners Corner #1
If I have 2 - 12v batterys. Can I hook them up both, in series and parallel,but in between the series wiring connect a blocking diode So that I could charge in 24v (the series wires w/diode) Then use the paralell wiring to run my equipment in 12v?





I know I should be able to figure this out but I probably out thinking myself.


Thanks ed
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  • niel
    niel Solar Expert Posts: 10,300 ✭✭✭✭
    #2
    Re: Dumb question maybe?

    simply
    no. they can't be series and parallel at the same time. if you are able to do this with a working real life setup then let us know.
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  • Cariboocoot
    Cariboocoot Banned Posts: 17,615 ✭✭✭
    #3
    Re: Dumb question maybe?

    Didn't we just do this one? :roll:

    http://forum.solar-electric.com/showthread.php?t=7616
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  • niel
    niel Solar Expert Posts: 10,300 ✭✭✭✭
    #4
    Re: Dumb question maybe?

    sigh. yes.:roll::roll::cry:
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  • icarus
    icarus Solar Expert Posts: 5,436 ✭✭✭✭
    #5
    Re: Dumb question maybe?

    Yea, but it was dumber when I asked it!

    Seriously, there is no such thing as a dumb question.

    That said, It would be nice if people would do a basic search of the forum for both recently asked questions and frequently asked (and answered) questions.

    Tony
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  • Cariboocoot
    Cariboocoot Banned Posts: 17,615 ✭✭✭
    #6
    Re: Dumb question maybe?
    icarus wrote: »
    Yea, but it was dumber when I asked it!

    Seriously, there is no such thing as a dumb question.

    That said, It would be nice if people would do a basic search of the forum for both recently asked questions and frequently asked (and answered) questions.

    Tony

    As in look at the FAQ section. :p

    It is human nature to take the short-cut to the answer; ask someone!
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  • russ
    russ Solar Expert Posts: 593 ✭✭
    #7
    Re: Dumb question maybe?

    To me a dumb question is the one a single person keeps asking over and over - some people do that.

    Another dumb question is the one asked before thinking.
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  • Cariboocoot
    Cariboocoot Banned Posts: 17,615 ✭✭✭
    #8
    Re: Dumb question maybe?

    I hope biged doesn't think we're insulting. Just pointing out that other people have thought along the same lines. If so many people ask the question, it can't possibly be dumb! :D

    The thing that trips people up on this is the fact that there has to be a 'return path' for current; it isn't just branching off positive connections and isolating them with diodes. One wire does not a circuit make! :p
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  • Kamala
    Kamala Solar Expert Posts: 452 ✭✭
    #9
    Re: Dumb question maybe?

    And it depends on who is listening. The first post (five back includes link by 'Coot) prefaced the proposition by saying something like "just thinking aloud."

    This can be done. But what is the cost in terms of (arbitrary order)

    1. Blood. Perhaps all you carry.
    2. Time. Ultimately limited, but we can never know to what degree.
    3. Tears. See #1.
    4. Sweat. Same as perseverance.
    5. Money. Accounting for all of the above.

    Anyway, the suggested scenario cannot be realized by the use of diodes. But a couple of switches or relays can make a bank of 4 batteries operate as either series for charging or parallel for discharging.

    DO NOT DO THIS! It is a thought experiment.

    It might even be accomplished with a (perhaps yet undesigned) high current DC multiplexer :confused: The only chance for any kind of "hands off" or "automatic" behavior.

    I will "edit" this post to shoe the switch plan (which, to insure safety, requires a something similar to a "nuclear launch" protocol regarding how the switches are manipulated.

    Kamala
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  • Cariboocoot
    Cariboocoot Banned Posts: 17,615 ✭✭✭
    #10
    Re: Dumb question maybe?

    The big "K" is right; technically it is possible to mechanically switch-out from a series to a parallel connection on batteries. Somewhere out there is probably a switch or relay set-up capable of doing it all at once complete with on-off-on contacts to avoid any possibility of arcing.

    But ...

    Once the batteries are reconfigured in parallel you lose the power source for the inverter and everything shuts down. We're all too ... Lazy? Greedy? Power-mad? ... to put up with a loss of AC while we wait for our batteries to recharge! :p
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