Thanks for that, I wondered what the difference was. Not sure if I actually read the instructions or if it was just pure luck, but despite being tempted to ground it locally, I wired my fridge to/from the load terminals of our A series Tracer, as shown in your diagram. It works a treat, and I can monitor how much power the fridge is using independently of everything else.
These are the panels I got as recommended http://www.lensunsolar.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=249 Electrical Information: Peak power: 100W Solar cell efficiency: 17-18% Maximum power voltage: 18V Maximum power current: 5.56A Open circuit voltage: 21.24V Short circuit current: 6.11A Power allowance range: +/-3% Maximum system voltage: 500V Values at standard test conditions: Air Mass - AM1.5, Irradiance - 1000W/m2, Cell Temperature - 25°C Material Information: Laminated for weather resistance Laminated with aluminium+ ETFE + Silicon cell + EVA + Tedlar Solar cells: Monocrystalline Dimensions: 1245 x 550 x 2.5mm Net Weight: 2.71kg Back sheet: Aluminium J-Box: IP 65 rated
I think I recorded these in early summer running a CR50 with one 100W panel. Midday sun: Panel output: 14.4V 4.6A (66W) Battery Input: 13.4V 1.4A (18.7W) Fridge Input: 13.4V 3.5A (46.9W) Still bright but sun went behind a thick cloud. Panel Output: 14.1V 0.9A (12.7W) Battery Input: 12.9V -2.5A (-32.2W) Fridge Input: 12.9V 3.2A (41.3A) Notice how low the current was without direct sunlight. I replaced the CR50 with a CRX50 because it was a getting old and staying on for longer and longer.
Very similar spec to the Eco-Worthy panels, they look the same too and might even be from the same manufacturer?
That’s interesting; my CR50 is four years old and has probably had something like 5 months in use, not what I would call old. When it’s hot it runs virtually continuously only modulating as the temperature drops in the evening so it’s taking around 3 amps out of the battery all day. It’s also interesting to see how little power comes out of the panel in midday sun, and if it’s cloudy… Maybe I’m just expecting too much from the panels and many of the sites I use are at least partly shaded by trees and I pay more attention to the view than where the panels face. But I still think they should perform better than they apparently do and I’ll continue to investigate what might be wrong.
Rub it in why don’t you. Just wait till tomorrow when the sun comes out mine will be producing nearly a whole amp, maybe, and I’ll try the bulb test.
That picture was from about 5 miles north of the Isle of Wight. Mind you we often see the Island covered in mystical clouds when its sunny on the mainland. It must be the inhabitants of East Cowes.
Mine was about 5 years old and was doing much the same. ‘Old’ being relative. I think the coolant fluid was very slowly leaking away. I briefly investigated getting the coolant topped up again but couldn’t find anyone who would touch it. I read somewhere that if you disconnect the battery while the panels are still producing power it can cause the controller to switch to 24V. I don’t know if there is any truth in this and can’t remember what controller they were referring to, but it might be worth checking when you do your bulb test.
Nice. Parked my van in the sunshine this morning until about 11.30. Nice and sunny, and the battery voltage has gone up to 12.9v, but at no point did I see the PV amps on the controller read anything other than 0.0 I’m perplexed.
My controller is an Eco Worthy 20A 12V/24V MPPT, http://www.eco-worthy.com/catalog/worthy-mppt-solar-charge-controller-12v24v-p-182.html It doesn’t automatically detect the battery voltage and it has to be reset if the battery is disconnected - but it is set to 12v. I believe if you disconnect the battery while the panels are still producing power it can damage the controller, some controllers are protected against this but I don’t think the Eco Worthy is – but I could be wrong.
On the epever don't trust the current read out. Only the voltage. For some reason the epever controllers don't display current propelry
Oh fair enough! That’s a bit rubbish though, isn’t it? I have to admit from what I’ve seen of the ecoworthy one, the display looks better, and at least gives a current reading to more than 1 decimal place! I’ve driven the van to work today as it’s going to be a lovely blue sky day, and parked it in the middle of the yard. No excuses for shadows now! It was reading battery charge of 13v when I parked it, so let see how that goes. Thanks Matt
