Jose Da Silva wrote:

>>> How is that a benefit when turning it off saves 10uA drain on a large
>>> lead acid battery?  It takes over 11 years at 10uA to amount to 1
>>> amp-hour.
>> 
>> Seriously, it is more ethestically pleasing to me that way.  
> 
> Reading the suggestion of powering the circuit via the battery only...
> has anyone thought about... How do you turn on the charge circuit if the
> battery is dead? 

Yes, I also think it makes more sense to power the charge controller from
the charging source rather than from the to be charged battery. 

OTOH, if you want to double-source it, you could add a deep-discharge
warning to your PIC (in several levels maybe); this way it would not only
be a charge controller, but starting to become a battery management system.

Gerhard
-- 
http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive
View/change your membership options at
http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist