The socket runs off the spare terminals you have on the controller. It can be turned on or off by the two buttons on the rhs below the screen. I like to use these Sutars sockets as they are robust and rated to 16amps. The shower itself is a cheap plug in jobbie exactly the same as this one. I had to replace the pump this summer which was more than the shower cost, but we needed it Not bad tbh as we have had 4 years use out of it. The lead and hose are long enough to position on either side of the bus...job done And finally here's a link to a trip where we were using the shower plugged into the bay. http://thelatebay.com/index.php?threads/chip-the-all-american-bus.30973/page-7
It’s a Waeco CR50 fridge. Waeco claim 1.4 Ah/h at +25°C ambient temperature, 1.7 Ah/h at +32°C. Most of this summer has been above 25°C, the temperature inside the bus has easily exceeded 32°C and during the day the fridge has been working virtually nonstop. 1.2 amp might be on the low side but probably an average over 24 hours.
I’ve done some testing today, not a cloud in the sky and I had the panels directly facing the sun, it’s not going to get better than this. Until 10:30 the controller was ‘snoozing’, battery was 12.4v, then the controller went to ‘bulk’ and the voltage increased to 13.0v and 0.9amp. It stayed more or less the same all day, same battery volts and the amps from about 0.7 to 0.9. At 13:30 I disconnected one panel and the amps dropped to 0.6. Open circuit voltage from the disconnected panel was 18.7. I tried the same with the other panel but the controller went into ‘snoozing’ mode, the disconnected panel was 19.3v. At 17:30 with the sun still on the panels but at an angle and low in the sky the controller went into ‘snoozing’ mode. Conclusions: The controller snoozes even more than I do. One panel is slightly better than the other. Even with both panels connected the controller output is not even close to be able to run the fridge. The controller isn’t even providing enough volts to fully charge the battery. Note: There was no load on the battery except a volt meter, the Propex and a couple of small LEDs in the fridge and a USB socket. The radio memory and alarm are supplied from the starter battery. @mikedjames you seem to know about these things. What do you think is wrong, the panels, the controller or both?
I wondered about the battery too, it is six years old but I’d have thought the controller should attempt to push as many amps as possible into the battery and it’s obviously not doing that. At least the controller is the cheapest and easiest part to change but I’m not exactly happy to have to renew it after just a few months. I won’t replace it with another Eco-Worthy that for sure.
Hook it up to the starter battery and see if that makes a difference Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk
Get the one as already mentioned earlier. That’s cheaper than a battery to start with. From memory your suppose to connect battery to controller then the panels and the reverse when removing battery etc. I have a fuse between panel & controller & controller & battery so it makes it easier to disconnect, just remove the fuse.
I’m leaning towards the Epever Tracer 2210AN. I don’t need it to charge the starter battery as well, I want everything it can give for the leisure battery.
Disconnecting the battery from the controller while the panels are generating power can damage the controller. I don’t know why or how, but many sites warn against doing so. Adding a fuse between the panels and the controller is a good idea. We have two horizontally mounted 100W panels and an Epever Tracer. They’re more than capable of keeping our Waeco CRX50 going on a hot day. After running the fridge over night, the panels then top the battery up again in just 2-3 hours of morning sunshine (about double that when cloudy). I’ve disconnected the split charge relay as we don’t need it now. If you like gizmos, then the MT50 is a nice addition.
I would have thought two 100w panels should keep up with that, also surprised at the fridge running non stop. I don't have a fridge but a Waeco CFX 35 cool-box, from memory that draws just under 0.5Ah, when it was really hot above 30°C in France this summer it didn't run all the time, brought itself down to temperature and stopped. I was seeing some bigger input numbers in the French sun 3A to 4A. I've been happy so far with my controller which I believe is the same one as you are using. Oh and I have a 65 battery and that has been sufficient to keep up with the cool-box (dont have anything else fitted that draws from it).
Thanks for the info re the shower, most helpful, would probably work in the cockpit of our boat when/if we get one.
Since we’re using this thread for general solar questions.... It appears I may have messed up slightly in my assumption about location of fuses when I wired up a 12v cigarette lighter socket to the Load output terminals of my regulator. Having now actually looked at the manual, the fuse should go in the negative. Never come across this so automatically put it in the positive. I’ll rewire it of course now I know, but firstly, why negative? And secondly, will I have damaged anything? Eek.
Following this thread with interest as i`ll probably bite the bullet next year I`ve never fitted a fuse on the negative side either ?? Seems a bit odd but there must be a good reason , any ideas @mikedjames ??
That’s not bad from one 100w panel, if it’s two panels it’s pretty poor but probably par for the course from what I’m reading. I guess the laboratory rating of the panels is grossly over what they can provide in the real world.
Another point i`ve noticed from the wiring diagram @scrooge95 is that the `load` (hopefully CRX fridge on mine ??) wires directly into the unit whereas i`d expect it go into the leisure battery via a fuse ?? I`ve no intention of running an inverter so the leisure battery will power negligible items such as phone chargers LED lights but the main draw will be from the fridge and occasional Propex use ... I`m hoping a single 100w panel will be enough ??
I don’t see how the wrong fuse position could damage the controller but the Tracer A series controllers (your pic) are common positive, the later AN series are common negative; I wonder where the fuse is on those?
