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Post by vandweller on Aug 9, 2015 10:06:04 GMT -8
I just purchased the Renogy 100 Watts 12 Volts Monocrystalline Solar Starter Kit with the 30A PWM Charge Controller. I live in my conversion van full-time and have basically learned everything as I've gone along and am not a electrical guru. I need some reassurance/answers here.
I have a 1,000 watt inverter connected to my two 6v Trojan T-105 batteries run in series. All I really want from the solar panel is to charge them during the day when there is sun (I've put hundreds of unnecessary hours on my generator charging the batteries before getting this system). I also want to be able to use the inverter on sunny days and not drain the batteries since the solar should provide the power (right?)...
It seems to be working thus far. Granted I live in Arizona and its monsoon season so the past two days since I've installed it there hasn't been much sun. But my batteries were really low before I installed the panel (like 11.3) and two days later with minimal sun and me not using the inverter or 12v receptacles at all, they are at 11.9. I'm just confused by the settings. I didn't "set" anything. Just installed it and that's it. I kind of want a "set it and forget it" mode. The red light on the far right of the charge controller stays on all the time.
The first two green lights are on right now. The third light is not illuminated. The red light on the FAR right is continuously and worries me. Am I doing something wrong? I saw the "dawn to dusk" setting in the manual, but that makes little sense to me. Why would you do set it that way...as it implicate the panel is only active at night?
Sorry for the dumb questions in advance.
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Post by jsb2000 on Aug 9, 2015 18:19:02 GMT -8
Hi vandweller. Glad that you took the plunge and decided to go solar. Welcome! I'll try to go through your comments and provide what reassurance/answers I can. All I really want from the solar panel is to charge them during the day when there is sun (I've put hundreds of unnecessary hours on my generator charging the batteries before getting this system). I also want to be able to use the inverter on sunny days and not drain the batteries since the solar should provide the power (right?)... Yes, it will charge the batteries when there is sun. The charge controller will provide as much power as it can to charge the batteries when there is sun. But whether or not it will be enough to charge the batteries depends on how much sun you're getting and how much you're drawing from the batteries with the inverter and anything else connected to the batteries. Think of it like a water bucket. Fill the bucket faster than you're draining it and the water level will increase. Drain more than you're filling it and the bucket will empty. If the bucket is full and the hose you're filling the bucket with can keep up with what you're draining from the bucket...then the level remains full. Hope that analogy makes sense. The red light on the FAR right is continuously and worries me. Am I doing something wrong? I saw the "dawn to dusk" setting in the manual, but that makes little sense to me. Why would you do set it that way...as it implicate the panel is only active at night? No, you aren't doing anything wrong. I think you misunderstand the meaning of the light on the right. The red light on the far right only shows whether the controller is sending power to the load terminals (the rightmost ones on the bottom of the controller). It has nothing to do with when the controller is sending power to the batteries from the solar panels. Say you have a set of lights that you want to come on when the sun goes down and to only stay on for a certain number of hours and then shut off. You connect those lights to the load terminals and set the controller to the appropriate setting. If the controller senses that the battery has drained too low, it will cut the lights off early to prevent excess drain/damage to the battery and restore it again when the batteries are recharged to a safe level. As to why there's a dawn to dusk setting...who knows? Different strokes for different folks, I guess. Maybe someone wants to power a simple light to tell them when the sun's up. Or they only want a light on in the shop during the day when employees are there. Better to have the option than not, in my opinion. |
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Post by Admin on Aug 10, 2015 15:28:05 GMT -8
Hello Vanderweller,
Jsb2000 explained it wonderfully thank you sir. The amount of time it will take for this solar panel to charge your battery bank will depend on the sunlight hours and the loads you have connected. From all the information you have given me it seems like the system is working properly. The red light on the far right will continuously be on so this should not worry you.
O.C
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Post by vandweller on Sept 7, 2015 7:27:39 GMT -8
Thanks for all the info guys. So I took my first trip in the van with solar and it was awesome. But the night before I got home, things started acting funny. The solar system all of a sudden stopped charging the batteries. For some reason my computer that I always plug into the inverter seemed to QUICKLY drain the batteries (far faster than normal), then the next day no charge was getting to the batteries so they have been discharged for a few days (orange light on controller; loud beeping from my inverter). Did the charge controller give out? I admit my batteries have not been taken care of well since I've had them for two years, as I was a newbie to that too (using them when not charged; leaving them discharged for weeks, not watering, etc.). I plan to replace my batteries with two new Trojan T-105re's. But I've read a few reviews which people had similar issues with this particular charge controller. Would it be best to upgrade? Any advice would be great. Thanks.
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Post by peggy on Sept 7, 2015 8:03:48 GMT -8
here is some advive. we use 3 renogy 100 watt monocrystalline panels. 1 40 amp renogy tracer mppt. we started out knowing that we wanted to upgrade.
we started out with one solar panel, and 1 solar powered electric fencer charge controller.
we ran the generator once in july. otherwise its all been with the current set up. we use a 1000 watt inverter also. we bought a deep cycle marine battery from wal mart for $102.00,why not there guaranteed for 2 years. we are also using 3 car batteries.
we are kinda in the same situation. except we live in a tiny house. as long as you upgrade you shouldn't have any issues with power use. one exception we have lp fridge.
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Post by vandweller on Sept 7, 2015 12:17:44 GMT -8
I also just noticed when the sun is out bright, the orange light turns green. But as soon as cloud cover hits, orange again. Its just not getting voltage to the batteries...? I saw some cheap mppt charge controller on Ebay for $60, but it gets strong reviews. Made in China, but shipped from Cali. www.ebay.com/itm/LCD-40A-12V-24V-MPPT-Solar-Panel-Regulator-Charge-Controller-USB-Three-Timer-KJ-/201216057827There are both 30A and 40A models. But I definitely need to replace my batteries. Living in the desert, the conditions to keep batteries healthy are not great as it is, particularly when they are inside a van where it can get VERY hot in the daytime. But I left the batteries discharged for weeks sometimes; didn't start watering them until six months into heavy usage. Maybe its the batteries and not the charge controller? I don't know. Its all an on-the-fly learning experience!  |
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Post by Admin on Sept 8, 2015 13:50:02 GMT -8
Hello Vandweller,
It looks like the issue can either be the charge controller or the batteries. Can you please call us at (909) 517-3598 so we can troubleshoot the charge controller and make sure your solar system is working properly.
O.C
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