The final piece for my system.. panels.. 12v or 24v..??

Re: The final piece for my system.. panels.. 12v or 24v..??

There's not much difference between 4.3 Amps and 4.4 Amps. Switching things on/off it is not at all unusual to see numbers "bounce up and down" so to speak.

The % PWM indicates the amount of time the controller spends "switched on" as it were to maintain levels. With only one panel connected it needs to be on more to achieve the same output. This will not be a linear function either.

I should make a video of the MX60 doing a sweep; it'd drive you crazy.

Re: The final piece for my system.. panels.. 12v or 24v..??

With even more panels available to supply power (greater current potential) the PWM would 'switch on' even less often.

NITE = no panel power detected; the charger thinks it is night time.

PWM = charger is pulsing to try to maintain a Voltage set point.

BULK = charger can not maintain V point with pulsed current; it switches to 'full on' Bulk mode.

FLOAT = charger has gone through BULK and ABSORB completely and switches to lower FLOAT Voltage maintenance level.

In normal operation what you should see is first thing in he morning it will switch from NITE to PWM when Voltage is detected at the input. It will try to hold a Voltage set point for FLOAT. It may run up and down a bit, changing PWM percent until it determines full charging is needed. It then goes to BULK, where it will stay until the battery is brought up to ABSORB Voltage level, then it will run PWM with varying % to maintain the V point against loads (if it can). After full ABSORB time has passed it will shift down to FLOAT and try to maintain that V point as long as it can. Again it will be running PWM as it switches on/off to keep the Voltage steady against loads. When it can't it will increase 'on' time until it hits BULK again (in accordance with the programming). When panel Voltage drops below the detectable minimum it will go back to NITE.

Note that with a defective battery and not running through a whole charge cycle in sequence the controller operation will be erratic. You really do have to leave it be and let it sort things out for itself.

Re: The final piece for my system.. panels.. 12v or 24v..??

Al;

Here's a little general information for you about testing equipment: the most important thing is to eliminate as many variables as possible.

You haven't really achieved this with your efforts. For one thing, the panels' outputs will change due to insolation, panel temp, and load. Switching them on and off will only aggravate the changes. But the worst is that dead battery. With a good battery you have a reasonable chance of predicting performance in accordance with the Peukart Effect, especially if you can measure actual SG and battery temperature to get a reliable SOC figure. A bad battery is a crap shoot: it can have all kinds of problems inside, from sulphated plates which make it perform like a smaller battery to open connections or shorts or erosion or invasion of alien tadpoles. You just never know what's gone on inside. That's why I repeatedly warn against buying used batteries, no matter how much of a 'bargain' they appear to be.