Help in understanding the data from my MT50 meter?
I'm looking for help in deciphering/understanding the data presented in the posted image.
I understand that the Left most icon is info for the solar panel. The battery is the battery. The "light" icon deals with load.
It's the numbers- I'm trying to gain a better understanding of what these mean exactly in regards to the system....What is the example posted saying about what is going on with the system? THANKS SO MUCH!
40A CC MPPT Controller
MT50 Trace Meter
1000 watt pure sine wave inverter
200AH AMG Battery (Renogy)
Comments
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Welcome to the forum novaop,
It is saying that the battery is full and you have no load on the battery.
The PV input is determined by the battery. 37.2 x 1.1 = 40.92 divided by battery voltage 14.4 = 2.9 amps
Rick4480W PV, MNE175DR-TR, MN Classic 150, Outback Radian GS4048A, Mate3, 51.2V 360AH nominal LiFePO4, Kohler Pro 5.2E genset. -
Raj174 said:Welcome to the forum novaop,
It is saying that the battery is full and you have no load on the battery.
The PV input is determined by the battery. 37.2 x 1.1 = 40.92 divided by battery voltage 14.4 = 2.9 amps
Rick
3 - 100 watt Renogy panels in a series.
40A CC MPPT Controller
MT50 Trace Meter
1000 watt pure sine wave inverter
200AH AMG Battery (Renogy) -
In regards to the solar - do the numbers under there represent only the power that's being provided to the battery? In other words they are not representative of the full power possible from the panels. So as the battery is drawn down the numbers would increase?3 - 100 watt Renogy panels in a series.
40A CC MPPT Controller
MT50 Trace Meter
1000 watt pure sine wave inverter
200AH AMG Battery (Renogy) -
What is the 2.9amps?? Is that how much is going into the battery? Or is that what is available in the battery? I'm very new to all of this and while I've been reading a lot....so far the light bulb of comprehension is not going on...only flickering.3 - 100 watt Renogy panels in a series.
40A CC MPPT Controller
MT50 Trace Meter
1000 watt pure sine wave inverter
200AH AMG Battery (Renogy) -
Ok....I've been playing around with my system and making a note of the numbers showing up on the meter. So when I turn on everything drawing power inside my camper.... the PV amps go up & so does the amps under the battery. Nothing happens under the load icon...no change. I thought the load icon was supposed to indicate the load....from things being turned on and using electricity. Is this not the case?
I'd like to add that the battery is showing fully charged and the sun is out while I'm doing this.
3 - 100 watt Renogy panels in a series.
40A CC MPPT Controller
MT50 Trace Meter
1000 watt pure sine wave inverter
200AH AMG Battery (Renogy) -
The load icon is strictly for what may be connected to the load output terminals on the charge controller. It appears you don't have anything connected to those terminals. Best to leave it that way. If you must, connect only a low current item (such as a led light) which may be turned on and off by settings on the controller.
2.1 Kw Suntech 175 mono, Classic 200, Trace SW 4024 ( 15 years old but brand new out of sealed factory box Jan. 2015), Bogart Tri-metric, 460 Ah. 24 volt LiFePo4 battery bank. Plenty of Baja Sea of Cortez sunshine.
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The 2.9A is what's going into the battery at 14.4V, the PV is producing 37.2V at 1.1A which is down converted to the battery charging voltage, there is no load, hense 0.0A, the voltage at load terminals is 14.5V, which is strange because it's higher than battery voltage but not something to be overly concerned with, it's just a rough indication. As loads are applied the PV will attempt to support the loads resulting in the amperage increase indicated, if the loads are greater than the PV's ability to support them, current will be withdrawn from the battery, when loads are turned off, the amperage will remain higher, tapering down as the battery approaches full charge. The load terminals should only be used for small loads, any larger loads should be connected directly to the battery via an overcurrent device, fuse or breaker, higher end controller's do not have load terminals such as these1500W, 6× Schutten 250W Poly panels , Schneider MPPT 60 150 CC, Schneider SW 2524 inverter, 400Ah LFP 24V nominal battery with Battery Bodyguard BMS
Second system 1890W 3 × 300W No name brand poly, 3×330 Sunsolar Poly panels, Morningstar TS 60 PWM controller, no name 2000W inverter 400Ah LFP 24V nominal battery with Daly BMS, used for water pumping and day time air conditioning.
5Kw Yanmar clone single cylinder air cooled diesel generator for rare emergency charging and welding. -
littleharbor2 said:The load icon is strictly for what may be connected to the load output terminals on the charge controller. It appears you don't have anything connected to those terminals. Best to leave it that way. If you must, connect only a low current item (such as a led light) which may be turned on and off by settings on the controller.the controller.3 - 100 watt Renogy panels in a series.
40A CC MPPT Controller
MT50 Trace Meter
1000 watt pure sine wave inverter
200AH AMG Battery (Renogy) -
Littleharbor2 is right. The load icon is for another set of contacts on your charge controller. Usually, you can program the load contacts to perform a specific function. The most common is to wire a set of lights to the load contact and have the controller turn the lights on at dusk.
Most of us don't use the load contacts anyway, so don't worry about it.Denver Area
Off Grid: 1.2kW, 48V, Midnite Kid, Grundfos SQFlex
Industrial design and automation. -
Thanks to those who've responded thus far. Things are starting to make more sense now. This is my first time using solar and I want to be sure I understand what these numbers are telling me. Another question....When there IS a load at night (no charging going on) (say I turn on some lights and fans) - then should I see a negative number on the amps under the battery? (showing amps being drawn?)3 - 100 watt Renogy panels in a series.
40A CC MPPT Controller
MT50 Trace Meter
1000 watt pure sine wave inverter
200AH AMG Battery (Renogy) -
Another observation/question..... I've noticed that the battery icon that is supposed to indicate the charge level does not seem to jive with reality. For instance....after the sun goes down this icon almost immediately drops to show HALF of full charge...even with zero draw - nothing turned on inside my camper. This freaked me out a bit when I saw it happen.......however the volts under the battery show it as 12.9, which I think is indicative of a full charge. Any thoughts??? Thanks.3 - 100 watt Renogy panels in a series.
40A CC MPPT Controller
MT50 Trace Meter
1000 watt pure sine wave inverter
200AH AMG Battery (Renogy) -
novaop said:Another observation/question..... I've noticed that the battery icon that is supposed to indicate the charge level does not seem to jive with reality. For instance....after the sun goes down this icon almost immediately drops to show HALF of full charge...even with zero draw - nothing turned on inside my camper. This freaked me out a bit when I saw it happen.......however the volts under the battery show it as 12.9, which I think is indicative of a full charge. Any thoughts??? Thanks.4480W PV, MNE175DR-TR, MN Classic 150, Outback Radian GS4048A, Mate3, 51.2V 360AH nominal LiFePO4, Kohler Pro 5.2E genset.
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novaop said:Thanks to those who've responded thus far. Things are starting to make more sense now. This is my first time using solar and I want to be sure I understand what these numbers are telling me. Another question....When there IS a load at night (no charging going on) (say I turn on some lights and fans) - then should I see a negative number on the amps under the battery? (showing amps being drawn?)
Rick4480W PV, MNE175DR-TR, MN Classic 150, Outback Radian GS4048A, Mate3, 51.2V 360AH nominal LiFePO4, Kohler Pro 5.2E genset. -
novaop said:Another observation/question..... I've noticed that the battery icon that is supposed to indicate the charge level does not seem to jive with reality. For instance....after the sun goes down this icon almost immediately drops to show HALF of full charge...even with zero draw - nothing turned on inside my camper. This freaked me out a bit when I saw it happen.......however the volts under the battery show it as 12.9, which I think is indicative of a full charge. Any thoughts??? Thanks.1500W, 6× Schutten 250W Poly panels , Schneider MPPT 60 150 CC, Schneider SW 2524 inverter, 400Ah LFP 24V nominal battery with Battery Bodyguard BMS
Second system 1890W 3 × 300W No name brand poly, 3×330 Sunsolar Poly panels, Morningstar TS 60 PWM controller, no name 2000W inverter 400Ah LFP 24V nominal battery with Daly BMS, used for water pumping and day time air conditioning.
5Kw Yanmar clone single cylinder air cooled diesel generator for rare emergency charging and welding. -
mcgivor said
I wonder if the smiley face changes to when the battery is completely dead?
2.1 Kw Suntech 175 mono, Classic 200, Trace SW 4024 ( 15 years old but brand new out of sealed factory box Jan. 2015), Bogart Tri-metric, 460 Ah. 24 volt LiFePo4 battery bank. Plenty of Baja Sea of Cortez sunshine.
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novaop said:Another observation/question..... I've noticed that the battery icon that is supposed to indicate the charge level does not seem to jive with reality.
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Raj174 said:It will not read negative reading because the MT50 is a charge controller remote, and only displays PV and charging information. However, the battery voltage will drop as loads are applied. If you want to see amp readings for loads you'll need a separate amp meter installed for that purpose.
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Spence_McCallie said:The load icon is for another set of contacts on your charge controller. Usually, you can program the load contacts to perform a specific function....Most of us don't use the load contacts anyway, so don't worry about it.
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Thanks to all!! I'm gaining a much better understanding of what the meter is all about. I'm no longer freaking out.3 - 100 watt Renogy panels in a series.
40A CC MPPT Controller
MT50 Trace Meter
1000 watt pure sine wave inverter
200AH AMG Battery (Renogy) -
Thanks for the comments about the battery icon on the MT50. I was having little panics with it looking like I was haemorrhaging charge. Seems like a design fault if its intuitive use is so different from its actual intension.
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Buraddo, glad you posted that image, thats similar to what I have and think I'm not getting a charge to the battery. I have 13.9 and .1 at the panel icon and 12.8 and .1 at the battery icon.
Am I right then in saying I have (13.9x.1)/12.8 = .1085 amps coming from the panel. Does this mean my panel is broken?
And the 12.8 at battery, thats healthy, what is the .1a under that saying.
Many thanks...
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The current is that low probably because the battery is full.
2.1 Kw Suntech 175 mono, Classic 200, Trace SW 4024 ( 15 years old but brand new out of sealed factory box Jan. 2015), Bogart Tri-metric, 460 Ah. 24 volt LiFePo4 battery bank. Plenty of Baja Sea of Cortez sunshine.
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Buraddo,
You can make your own thread/discussion when we get into the details about your system... Will help us focus the Q&A on your needs and not confuse with Novaop's system.
Of course, the panel output depends on how much sun is hitting the panel under full sun... Nominally, the panel under full sun should be somewhere around 14.x to 20.x volts if PWM controller... And ~17.5 to 21.x volts if an MPPT charge controller under full sun.
So--First look, either your panel or wiring has issues (if under full sun), and if early morning or late afternoon--Cannot tell if good reading or not (panels approach Vmp to Voc under weak direct sun on an MPPT controller). If this is a PWM controller, the Vpanel is roughly Vbatt+ 1 to 2 volts (if charging) and Voc if battery is full.
Your battery voltage is also not telling us much right now... 13.5 volts is around "float voltage"--Where the controller "thinks" the battery if full and just enough voltage to keep the battery charged and supply any DC loads on your system.
Your controller seems to think the battery is 1/2 full--And if so, should be taking pretty much 100% of the solar array output and send it to the battery bank. If the battery is 1/2 full, it needs charging ASAP--Sitting at 1/2 charge for days/weeks--The batteries (if lead acid/AGM/etc) will sulfate pretty quickly. You do want to figure out what is going on pretty quickly... And/or get the battery bank on an AC charger for a day or two... FLA batteries need to be recharged around once a month. AGM can go upwards of 6 months between charging at 75F (25C). If the battery bank is stored "hot" (93F/35C or hotter)--need to be charged more often (and/or get them cooled down--Batteries age faster at higher temperatures)
Can you tell us the controller type (brand/model), your solar array (Vmp/Imp/Pmp, how many panels, series/parallel wired, etc.) type/voltage/AH rating of battery bank, and what your sun was (morning, noon, etc). And your rough location.
Do you have a hydrometer (if flooded cell batteries), and/or a decent voltmeter?
More or less, you want to see around 14.4 to 14.8 volts or so, and hold it for 2-6 hours (roughly 6 hours if bank is 1/2 charged)...
-BillNear San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset -
Can you send a picture of your MT-50? Surely it reads different than Buraddo's from 2018
2.1 Kw Suntech 175 mono, Classic 200, Trace SW 4024 ( 15 years old but brand new out of sealed factory box Jan. 2015), Bogart Tri-metric, 460 Ah. 24 volt LiFePo4 battery bank. Plenty of Baja Sea of Cortez sunshine.
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The little battery picture that displays how full the battery is is fairly worthless on the Epever charge controllers. I have 2 in parallel, and they don't even agree with each other.
They will also go up and down drastically with even small loads.
The real bummer is that when you parallel them or use the RS485 cable for something else, the MT50s will no longer work.
And, yes, Ive had the sad face. Not something you want to see!😩
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