mppt 60 amp controller settings

pyana1
pyana1 Solar Expert Posts: 39 ✭✭
in Solar Beginners Corner #1
just upgraded from a 45 amp Morningstar mppt charge controller to a 60 amp ; the 45 amp seemed to be straightforward - installed it and got all the amps and watts as stated 600 watts , 45 amps. However the 60 amp seems a little more challenging. With the 60 amp I initially had the switches set to battery type #6 however i received an HVD alarm, so i switch the battery type to # 5 and received the entire 750-800 watts and 60 amps as stated for one day and i also received a "charging limit" alarm.

Today, as it is still set to battery type #5, i am not able to receive the entire 800 watts, 60 amps - im currently fluctuating between 48-50 amps. The next battery type setting is type #4 and the final setting that says AGM/flooded .

I have 1005.5 PV watts and four Trojan t-105s 450 amps. my objective is to run my freezer 24 hours but I need my controller to take my batteries into absorption mode to stir up the electrolytes so I can find some sort of balance within my state-of-charge

I don't not have a laptop to customize the absorption settings , etc, ect . I'm currently in Haiti and it would be very difficult to find the serial cable etc .
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  • pyana1
    pyana1 Solar Expert Posts: 39 ✭✭
    #2
    I'm am currently absorbing... will continue to monitor to see if i will receive HIS entire 60 amps for the next few days !
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  • BB.
    BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 33,642 admin
    #3
    Technically, you will only see full solar panel output power ( voltage*current) during Bulk and/or if the battery charging current plus DC loads exceeds the charger's output current (i.e, the battery current + DC loads pulls battery bus below absorb or float set point).

    When the battery bus is at "absorb", the battery is already "Naturally" limiting its current draw (from 100% of what controller can supply to 1% or even 0.1% or less--depending on battery type and charge settings, etc.).

    Take an accurate volt meter and measure the Vbatt charging voltage during absorb (and on the MPPT controller's battery output, just to make sure you do not have too much voltage drop). If the battery bus is at your desired charging voltage and for long enough time (typically around 2 to 4+ hours), then the lead acid battery bank is being correctly charged.

    -Bill
    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset
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  • Dave Angelini
    Dave Angelini Solar Expert Posts: 6,917 ✭✭✭✭✭✭
    #4
    pyana1 wrote: »
    just upgraded from a 45 amp

    I don't not have a laptop to customize the absorption settings , etc, ect . I'm currently in Haiti and it would be very difficult to find the serial cable etc .

    You do not need a laptop to customize or use a "custom battery" from the XW charger menu. You do need to be in advance settings to program a custom battery. To do this scroll down to basic settings,
    press enter and the up and down buttons all at the same time. This will change the basic settings to advanced. You now can program anything you want. make sure you know what you want to program.
    The reason this is like this is to keep the uninformed from making a bad decision. Good Luck and as BB says above and you can always run a small heater to load test. Might not have one in Haiti and you might have a DC only system.... A load test placed on a battery bank in float should hold the DC voltage for several minutes. You then can read on the XW-60 the wattage into the battery. If voltage is dropping
    you have too much load or the noon sky is not clear enough. Buenos Surerte!
    "we go where power lines don't" Sierra Nevada mountain area
       htps://offgridsolar1.com/
    E-mail offgridsolar@sti.net

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  • mike95490
    mike95490 Solar Expert Posts: 9,583 ✭✭✭✭✭
    #5
    Not sure what brand the new controller is ? The Mornigstar MPPT 45 & 60 use the same manual, and I would suppose, the same switches. The 60 handles a bit more amps, and has a WEB server built in for monitoring
    Powerfab top of pole PV mount | Listeroid 6/1 w/st5 gen head | XW6048 inverter/chgr | Iota 48V/15A charger | Morningstar 60A MPPT | 48V, 800A NiFe Battery (in series)| 15, Evergreen 205w "12V" PV array on pole | Midnight ePanel | Grundfos 10 SO5-9 with 3 wire Franklin Electric motor (1/2hp 240V 1ph ) on a timer for 3 hr noontime run - Runs off PV ||
    || Midnight Classic 200 | 10, Evergreen 200w in a 160VOC array ||
    || VEC1093 12V Charger | Maha C401 aa/aaa Charger | SureSine | Sunsaver MPPT 15A

    solar: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Solar
    gen: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Lister ,

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  • Dave Angelini
    Dave Angelini Solar Expert Posts: 6,917 ✭✭✭✭✭✭
    #6
    I think I messed him up. Thanx Mike!
    "we go where power lines don't" Sierra Nevada mountain area
       htps://offgridsolar1.com/
    E-mail offgridsolar@sti.net

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