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Post by bosco53 on Jul 16, 2017 16:49:38 GMT -8
Hello all,
I have a Renogy 100W panel and Wanderer charge controller connected to two 6V golf cart batteries in my 1980 Vanagon Westy. The setup has been awesome for many months. However, I spent the last week camping and everything was doing great until I drove from the central coast of California into Palm Springs where it was 114*. I didn't notice until the next day but my voltmeter was reading much lower than usual. Usually in direct sunlight my gauge reads 13V+ but it was staying around 12.4 to 12.6 and down much lower when my fridge would kick on. All very unusual. I did some diagnostic tests as per the Renogy videos and everything seems to be ok on it's own but I just can't seem to find out why the charge isn't getting to the batteries?
Any help is greatly appreciated!
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Post by spiderbob on Jul 17, 2017 6:58:10 GMT -8
Perhaps this is not your problem, but keep in mind that in or on "hot" days the panels will not be as efficient.
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Post by rabird on Jul 17, 2017 8:18:37 GMT -8
an 100w is approx 5A charger compared to 200ah of batteries so that is 2.5% charger, very low
if they get low from use or extra use it will take a long time to recover.
How has you batt use changed in the heat? added fan? ...
Wanderer Boost Voltage: Sealed: 14.4V; Flooded: 14.6V; Gel: 14.2V
To me a full battery based on the wanderer is for the battery to get to 14.6v and stay there 2hrs. (that's its logic)
Use may not allow this but that is what that controller considers full.
not enough watts, poor sun ext may not allow the batts to get full
Of course in high temps, temp compensation lowers the 14.6v somewhat and in cold it is higher.
I'd use the voltage in the early morning to determine my battery state of charge, before the sun shines without any load on the batt.
slowly using more power day after day than the sun can add back leads to lower and lower batt voltage.
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Post by johann on Jul 17, 2017 17:27:07 GMT -8
How many watts does that fridge consume. And most of all how many whr does the fridge consume in one day.
A 200ah battery bank should be charged with about 20 amps of power or four 100 watt solar panels. A 10 % charge rate is recommended, 15 % would be better and 5% is doable under circumstances without killing a battery.
But if your fridge is running while charging then your charge may go to the fridge and your battery will not charge properly if they charge at all...
Also to remember is, if you take 100 watts out of the battery, then you need about 125 watts to 150 watts to put it back into the battery since there are losses.
What kind of fridge do you have? volts? amps? inverter used ...yes or no.
A inverter alone will use power, even in idle. My el chepo 4000 watt inverter for example uses about 80 watts just in idle without load applied. Full sine wave inverters use less power than modified sine wave.
A 13.8 to 14.2 is a normal charge voltage for a battery, but if the battery has low voltage than your clamping voltage will be low also until the battery is starting to charge and the voltage goes up.
In other words, if the battery voltage is low, the boost voltage stays low also. Only a MPPT controller could give you a higher charge voltage while the battery voltage is low.
I hope I explained it good enough.
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Post by tattoo on Jul 19, 2017 7:51:05 GMT -8
A inverter alone will use power, even in idle. My el chepo 4000 watt inverter for example uses about 80 watts just in idle without load applied. Full sine wave inverters use less power than modified sine wave. I hope I explained it good enough. That's exactly why I bought a 500 watt inverter for just my fridge..... No need waisting power. I also have a 2000 watts inverter when I need to use a saw or things like that... |
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