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Post by Admin on Aug 25, 2018 12:10:58 GMT -8
Hello All, We want to thank you for your participation on the Renogy Forum. Due to some restructuring measures, this old forum will be locked and we will be transitioning to the new forum located at. This forum will be permanently locked September 3, 2018 however, it will remain viewable since it is still a useful resource. Any new questions can be posted on the new forum, which will have have a bigger Renogy participation footprint. We apologize for any inconveniences, but hope to see you on the new forum. All the best! -Renogy Team
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Post by Admin on Dec 20, 2016 17:01:34 GMT -8
Hello. I live in North Texas/Dallas area so our temps don't get very low. High 40s is generally the lowest (not uncommon to have a few very cold nights. Was 86 degrees on Wed,but 38 degrees last night...crazy). I have a very small greenhouse 4x6x8. My idea was to install a 50 watt solar panel (renogy) with a 12v battery, a power inverter, charge controller, and run a small 2 quart crockpot on low filled with water for apprx 8-10 hours per night to keep the greenhouse a little warmer inside than outside. Well, the first night (Friday night) I turned it on at 8 pm and the battery was down to 55% 11.9v at 10:30 -- and I shut it all off. Ugh. Plan fail. My new plan is to run a scentsy warmer with a 25 watt bulb instead. I'm not a math person (writer by trade). This is what I've calculated by piecing things together across the web and with my Backwoods Home Magazines/Countryside/Mother Earth News: 50 watt panel charges at apprx 3 amps per hour 25 watt bulb uses apprx 2.0 amps per hour In the winter, I get probably 5-6 hours of peak sunlight (in summer, more like 9-10?) = apprx 15-18 amps per day charged If I run the bulb for 8-10 hours per night, I'll use 16-20 amps per night Sooo, do I need another 50 watt solar panel or another 12v battery? Assuming my calculations are correct? Right now my battery is at 55%, 11.9v...I'm guessing it's going to take about 7 days of sunny days to fully charge it again? I disconnected (for a few minutes) the panel from the charger and the charger from the battery then reconnected all in order to reset the charger and get rid of the E1 error code. Everything seems good now. The charge controller is super cheapo (came with the panel). I can only see the charging panel icon if I look at it from a top down position. I can see the battery and load icons if I look directly at it. Strange. Anyway...it seems to be operational at the moment. I don't think the panel was charging today until I disconnected and reset the charge controller though. So, I think I lost Sat and Sun of recharging. Am I making any sense? I guess what I'm asking is do I need another battery or 50 watt panel to do what I need to do (25 watt bulb, 8-10 hours per night, 6-7 nights per week during the winter)? And -- will it take about 7 days of 5-6 hours peak sunlight to recharge my 55% 11.9v battery (current reading)? Thank you for any help. Hello, I believe there may be a couple of issues with your calculations. 9-10 peak solar hours is way more than any state gets in the US. California being one of the sunniest states averages around 5 peak solar hours. That is not including sunrise and sunset so those calculations may be what is throwing things off. Please call us at 800-330-8678. one of our techs can resize the system for you and reccomend something that might be moreefficient.
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Post by Admin on Dec 20, 2016 16:52:03 GMT -8
we are new to the solar world, and are living off the grid and piecing together our system. We were gifted 7 - 100watt panels and so that was our starting point. we have 4 - 35ah 12volt batteries (12v system), and a 1000watt pure sine inverter. So with this 12volt system, we have burnt through a few charge controllers, I assume because we went the cheap route and bought a $30 20amp cc. I was looking at several formulas but want to be sure I get the appropriate sized charge controller. Do I need a 50 or 60amp controller? Any guidance would be appreciated. Aloha! Hello, Our 60 amp commander will be able to take up to 800 watts while charging a 12 volt battery but they would have to be in a series parallel connection and that would be an issue with an odd amount of panels like 7. Please contact our tech team at 800-330-8678 and we can discuss how you would like to wire that. what controller options you have, and what would be most efficient and still fit your application
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Post by Admin on Dec 20, 2016 16:48:42 GMT -8
I see that it comes with a small ring connected to a wire. Where does this ring attach to? Brandon, Is this with the commander controller? if it is for the commander controller there should be a ground screw the ring terminal would connect to. If you have any questions please call our techs at 800-330-8678
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Post by Admin on Dec 20, 2016 16:47:05 GMT -8
Hi, I have a 100w panel, on the back there is the back box with wiring and two black cylinders inside that seem to act like fuses. These blew up the other day and I am wondering if anybody can tell me anything about these cylinders and if there are replacements available so I can get my panel running again. I connected a volt meter to the two outgoing terminals (the wires going to the charger) to see what it read. It read 20V. I am not sure if this is high or low. But when I tried to connect the panel in parallel to two other 100w panels thing went poorly. The wires got very hot and there were sparks. Any information on how these panels and cylinders work, why there seem to be three outgoing terminals inside this black box and only two wires to the charger, and any advice on if this panel is repairable would be tremendously appreciated? Are there replacement parts I could solder in place of the damaged ones? Thank you so much in advance!! I really want to understand these systems. Hello, The Diode model is 10ASQ050 and if you have any questions regarding the installation please call our techs at 800-330-8678
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Post by Admin on Dec 20, 2016 16:42:51 GMT -8
Hello Rabird, I am sorry the wanderer is not working the way it should. Could you try and hold the button down for ten seconds then as quickly as possible release the button and press it again. This should start the blinking to change the battery type. If you have any questions please call us at 1800-330-8678
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Post by Admin on Sept 29, 2016 12:03:15 GMT -8
Hello Griffinkip,
You are able to use multiple sources to charge a single battery bank without the batteries being affected in any way. We do not have a charge controller that can accept an AC input for additional charging. Although, there are products called inverter chargers that have a similar function to what you are referring to.
Best regards,
CMAX
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Post by Admin on Aug 23, 2016 13:41:38 GMT -8
Hello mrh,
I don't believe we have a controller with that model number. Would that be a go power controller? At a glance it would appear that your battery is low and the controller is disabling the load in an attempt to make sure the battery is not over discharged. If this is the go power controller i would contact them though so they can verify and help troubleshoot that controller more effectively. Sorry i couldn't be of more assistance. -A.L.
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Post by Admin on Aug 23, 2016 13:38:33 GMT -8
Hello kk7gv, The MC4 connectors we carry can only take a 10 or 12 gauge wire. The 8 gauge would be too thick for those connectors. The adventurer can take a 4AWG wire but if your using a 4AWG it will be very tight fit. -A.L.
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Post by Admin on Aug 23, 2016 13:35:17 GMT -8
Hello,
As Ross mentioned you want the controller closer to the batteries then panels. Having voltage drop between the controller and battery will change the voltage your battery charges at and could damage them over time. -A.L.
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Post by Admin on Aug 23, 2016 13:33:20 GMT -8
Hello revytiger,
It does sound like your batteries are getting to low overnight. if you know what the draw is for the fridge we could calculate roughly how many panels you would need and what size battery so your system can run safely through the night. Please call us at 800-330-8678 and we could help size that system for you!
-A.L.
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Post by Admin on Aug 23, 2016 12:55:53 GMT -8
Crimping would be fine. Making a soldered connection would make sure the connection is more secure. As long as the lumpage is not excessive and its a clean solder there should be no issue. -A.L.
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Post by Admin on Aug 23, 2016 12:51:53 GMT -8
Hello Manuel, AS Jsb mentioned it really depends on where you are at geographically. You can call our techs at 800-330-8678 and we can give you a better idea. Just for reference though the 100 watt panel produces around 5 amps in an hour under optimum conditions so you should be generating roughly 20amps in an hour from four panels. -A.L.
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Post by Admin on Aug 23, 2016 11:26:34 GMT -8
Hello, I would agree with what JSB said. If you go with more capacity and don't increase the charge you might be draining more from the battery then you would like. -A.L.
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Post by Admin on Aug 23, 2016 10:34:05 GMT -8
Hello All, Like JSB mentioned. The panels do not NEED to be grounded to function. Now some areas and applications will require the system to be grounded for permit and legal use. feel free to call our tech support at 800-330-8678 and we could go over the grounding if it is confusing. -A.L.
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