Apollo T80 Never ever happy

Philter
Philter Registered Users, Users Awaiting Email Confirmation Posts: 2
Never happy from day 1. Changed mother board, still never worked  properly. With full sun, batteries at full charge
(48v off grid, 16 ,6v golf cart 225Ah) mid day on flood charge. Charge from panels is available but the Apollo takes load from batteries instead of increasing power to maintain full charge even with a very minimal draw or  very very little.
worked this way from day one also with NO real help from company support 
?? Has anyone found a way out of this situation without buying a different brand charge controller 

Comments

  • Estragon
    Estragon Registered Users Posts: 4,496 ✭✭✭✭✭
    What is the string Vmp of your panels?

    Is there a "rebulk" or similar voltage setting, and if so, what is it set to?

    What is the float voltage set to?

    What is the bank voltage when this is happening?

    It may be quite normal for the CC to let voltage drop from absorb voltage to float or rebulk after completing a charge cycle.
    Off-grid.  
    Main daytime system ~4kw panels into 2xMNClassic150 370ah 48v bank 2xOutback 3548 inverter 120v + 240v autotransformer
    Night system ~1kw panels into 1xMNClassic150 700ah 12v bank morningstar 300w inverter
  • Dave Angelini
    Dave Angelini Solar Expert Posts: 6,730 ✭✭✭✭✭✭
    There is no support because there is no company!
    Sorry but for $ 500 you can solve this problem!
    "we go where power lines don't" Sierra Nevada mountain area
       htps://offgridsolar1.com/
    E-mail offgridsolar@sti.net

  • Philter
    Philter Registered Users, Users Awaiting Email Confirmation Posts: 2
    I’ll try to start from the beginning  2005ish
    4 solar world vmp 44.5, short circuit current 5.4 2 strings 2 series, those parallel 
    abs 58v. Adjustable   float 55.5 adjustable  no bulk setting 
    Bought batteries used (5years old)didn’t last but 3  more years ,,then just replaced 8 6v 225ah
    and ran with just those 8. Very limited loads  (led lights,deep well pump, small deep freezer with Johnson
     controller with probe set for 35* to 39* differential)left over winter on float
    Batteries fully charged approximately 60v
    As power is drawn from small loads I expected  ahr to be replaced ,,so at sun loss the batteries 
    would show full charge instead of down 8 or 10% 
    I bought control equipment inside with plans to load up more 
    Can I replace this Apollo with the Midnight Kid and increase the life of batteries 
    I’m sometimes about as numb as a bale of hay so I do apologize for that,, sorry.

  • Estragon
    Estragon Registered Users Posts: 4,496 ✭✭✭✭✭
    At ~60v, the fully charged bank is above the float voltage setting of 55v. Once the absorb cycle is complete (likely based on a timer setting), the controller will let the voltage drop to float. I wonder if your "down 8-10%" is including this? Even with no loads or charging, the voltage would eventually drop to a resting voltage (~51v). Loads just speed up the drop.

    Once the bank voltage drops to float, the controller should supply enough current to keep it there, to the extent it can with available sun. If loads + float current is less than available sun, no power is being drawn from the battery.

    Assuming the batteries are flooded golf-cart type, you can (and should) check specific gravity regularly to see if your charging is appropriate.
    Off-grid.  
    Main daytime system ~4kw panels into 2xMNClassic150 370ah 48v bank 2xOutback 3548 inverter 120v + 240v autotransformer
    Night system ~1kw panels into 1xMNClassic150 700ah 12v bank morningstar 300w inverter
  • Photowhit
    Photowhit Solar Expert Posts: 6,002 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Philter said:
    Can I replace this Apollo with the Midnight Kid and increase the life of batteries 
    So it looks like you have 4 roughly 200 watt panels, 800 watt array. 800 watts ÷ 48 volts (charging voltage for a near flat battery) = about 17 amps... This should be no problem for the Kid! You could likely expand to double the array and still not pressure the Kid as your actual production will be less than 800 watts

    Here is a link to Midnite's array sizing tool for the Kid;

    http://www.midnitesolar.com/sizingTool_kid/
    Home system 4000 watt (Evergreen) array standing, with 2 Midnite Classic Lites,  Midnite E-panel, Magnum MS4024, Prosine 1800(now backup) and Exeltech 1100(former backup...lol), 660 ah 24v Forklift battery(now 10 years old). Off grid for 20 years (if I include 8 months on a bicycle).
    - Assorted other systems, pieces and to many panels in the closet to not do more projects.