How is possible?

[DumnMad]

Brilliant work Skipmac.

Educational

This thread should be a sticky

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by DumnMad

Brilliant work Skipmac.

Educational

This thread should be a sticky

Well it isn't fixed yet so I may not be on the right track at all. This may turn out to be a total bust.

[squaw999]

It seems, i have resolved problems. This summer, i installed fuse between battery + terminal and controler-there was bad contact. Bad contact was also between - of solar panels and wire lead to the controller. According to my ameter logic, becouse of bad fuse contact, contllorer receive misleading info that battery is full and shut down amp from panels. Anyway, thank you for usefull sugestions-i learned very much

[StuM]

Originally Posted by squaw999

It seems, i have resolved problems. This summer, i installed fuse between battery + terminal and controler-there was bad contact. Bad contact was also between - of solar panels and wire lead to the controller. According to my ameter logic, becouse of bad fuse contact, contllorer receive misleading info that battery is full and shut down amp from panels. Anyway, thank you for usefull sugestions-i learned very much

Great news. Thanks for letting us know the outcome!

[jkindredpdx]

I just had a similar problem where the isolator between the controller and the battery banks prevented the controller from reading the battery levels resulting in zero output from the controller despite current from panels. I removed the isolator, connected my controller to the house bank only, and the problem was fixed. Can anyone recommend how to properly connect the controller to both battery banks?

[svlamorocha]

Originally Posted by jkindredpdx

I just had a similar problem where the isolator between the controller and the battery banks prevented the controller from reading the battery levels resulting in zero output from the controller despite current from panels. I removed the isolator, connected my controller to the house bank only, and the problem was fixed. Can anyone recommend how to properly connect the controller to both battery banks?

One common approach entails using a Voltage Sensitive Relay that will connect both battery banks when the voltage of the battery that takes the charge directly exceeds X volts, with X greater than 13 volts. This is only good for lead acid batteries. You still need to define which of the two batteries will be connected to the charge sources all thr time. I am with Mainesail when he advocates for connecting all charge sources to the bigger (house) bank, with only a fuse and battery monitor shunt between the charge source and the battery.

[john61ct]

With any charge source, you should put its output directly to the bank posts, usually the House bank which gets deep cycled.

Then secondary batts like Starters get their charge via combiner / VSR / ACR or an Echo Charger.

Ideally with minimal voltage drop, measure to check.

[Kolchac]

Hi guys, I’m glad you solved the problem, but let me share my knowledge, as an electrical engineer, with you, which could be helpful for this topic in future.
1. Usually, 99%, “100W” is not 100W. I measured several panels (10+) “100W” at latitude 41deg. at 2PM, - max, what I measured in the short socket – 6A. Connected to battery – max 2 – 3A.
I understood the manufacturer takes short current and multiply with max voltage (17v), to get “100W” just to make it more attractive to you.
2. Solar controller usually has two outputs: one – to battery, another - direct. I wouldn’t use “direct” to connect to any device, only through a battery.
3. Solar controller usually has 1 input. You can connect as many panels as you wish in parallel without any additional diodes. The solar panel is a matrix of photo-diodes itself, so you may consider it as a big diode. You can connect them sequentially as well. So, you want to increase voltage – connect sequentially (V + V), you want to increase amperage – parallel (A + A).
4. When you charge batteries, you can connect them parallel, but do not keep them this way over night – they will discharge each other.
5. How to troubleshoot a device, like fridge, autopilot, etc. When the device is active, measure voltage on battery and on a device. If the difference is big – 1 – clean contacts, 2 – increase wire cross-section. Remember – 90% electrical troubleshooting – contacts.

[john61ct]

Couple nitpicks

Originally Posted by Kolchac

“100W” is not 100W.

All depends on conditions. Very bright and cold, 90° angle, can get full rated output.

Yes average when flat can be half, especially far from the equator in winter.

> Solar controller usually has two outputs: one – to battery, another - direct. I wouldn’t use “direct” to connect to any device, only through a battery.

Depends on the SC. Limited amps, but if you want LVD functionality it's free and can work very well to turn off the non-essential consumers.


> When you charge batteries, you can connect them parallel, but do not keep them this way over night – they will discharge each other.

Most House banks comprise parallel strings, no problem as long as implemented properly.

[Kolchac]

Hi John, thank you for your response. I’m new in this forum, and tried to reply to everybody who is interested in this, did not mean only you, I just pressed closest “reply” button.
With respect, I know how to test the solar panels. So panels what I tested cannot give more than 6 A short on latitude 41 deg., Maybe in Florida I would give another 300 mA. You, probably, have better luck to have 6-7 A charging current (at the best conditions). Could you please give me a model or vendor who makes such panels? I would be glad to change 3 mine to this one, if it is not $2,000, or bigger than 2'X4'.
About “direct” output. If you connect (as an example of this post) a fridge, which takes 1A, and you have solar, which gives 3A, it, probably will not work because first 100-200 ms the fridge, as any electrical motor will consume 5A+, and the output would be locked by a protection circuit, - the fridge will be off – the circuit – restored – fridge – on again, 5A+ - circuit locked, and so on. I thought it was a problem described here originally. Furthermore, a battery is a very big and good condenser, which kills disturbance on a power line. As an example – you do not want to run your car with disconnected battery.
Hope it would help, Thanks

[john61ct]

SC will not power up without a battery.

Load output draws from battery when panel input is not enough.

As I said, depends on the SC how many amps supported total and also what consumer types.

Cheap SCs may only support resistive loads.

My point is a blanket statement is too general.

Same with testing panel output relative to ratings, depends on many variables, full wattage is rare but does happen.