Charge controller Question

Tooltime
Tooltime Solar Expert Posts: 45 ✭✭
Hello to all.  I have a question about my controllers.  I have been running 9 110 watt panels with a new Midnight Classic 150.  The panels are hooked up in parallel and on a good summer day create about 4.5 KW.  currently I am doing about 2.7 KW a day. I have been using 4 12 volt 425 AH batteries at 24V.  I just added 6 285 panels with 3 panels hooked in series. and at the end of today I only created 1.7 KW.  So the question is why?  I am also running a Midnight Classic 150 on the second set of panels.  

Comments

  • Tooltime
    Tooltime Solar Expert Posts: 45 ✭✭
  • Photowhit
    Photowhit Solar Expert Posts: 6,002 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November 2016 #3
    How are your panels setup? looks like you have a 24volt battery bank, and these pic's taken at dusk. You say parallel, do you have 3 strings of 3 in series?

    Did you have a load on the system when you took the picture?
    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.
  • westbranch
    westbranch Solar Expert Posts: 5,183 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November 2016 #4
    First off, you created 4.4 Kwh ...
    What is the voltage coming out of each combiner?  If the new panels are at a much higher voltage there are some losses in down conversion to start , also have you re-tightened ALL the connections from the panels to CC and on to the Battery(s)...

    please add a system description to you signature line, otherwise it is hard to make more than general comments

    ADD: PV specs are needed too... tks
     
    KID #51B  4s 140W to 24V 900Ah C&D AGM
    CL#29032 FW 2126/ 2073/ 2133 175A E-Panel WBjr, 3 x 4s 140W to 24V 900Ah C&D AGM 
    Cotek ST1500W 24V Inverter,OmniCharge 3024,
    2 x Cisco WRT54GL i/c DD-WRT Rtr & Bridge,
    Eu3/2/1000i Gens, 1680W & E-Panel/WBjr to come, CL #647 asleep
    West Chilcotin, BC, Canada
  • Photowhit
    Photowhit Solar Expert Posts: 6,002 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Sorry I missed that you have 3 strings of 3, Did you have a load on the system when you took the photo? Was it an overcast day?

    These are much shorter days (unless you are in the southern hemisphere) and the sun is lower on the horizon, do you have obstructions that are only this time of year?

    So is it just a classic dedicated to the 9 - 110 watt panels and it produce 1.7 kwh's today? My bet is you topped out and they went into float. They have less to worry about with the new panels.

    Looks like you have a reasonable array for a 24 volt 425ah battery bank. I only worry in seeing the low voltage and wondering what loads you have running on the system, unless this is quite a while after dark.
    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.
  • Photowhit
    Photowhit Solar Expert Posts: 6,002 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Well, shoot, I've got to read slower and concentrate! So you have a 850 ah 24 volt battery bank, and as I read these are the fork lift batteries. They will have a larger capacity than that in a 20 hr rate. Did you fully charge them then equalize them and measure the Specific Gravity of each cell? That would be important place to start particularly with used batteries.
    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.
  • Tooltime
    Tooltime Solar Expert Posts: 45 ✭✭
    First of all, this is taken after dark,  second,  the controller on the left is hooked to the new 285 watt panels that are 2 strings of 3.  the right controller is hooked to the old 110 watt panels all in parallel.  The contoller on the left has about 105 volts input and the one on the right has about 40 volts input.  I will post a pic of the day time values
     
  • Tooltime
    Tooltime Solar Expert Posts: 45 ✭✭
  • Tooltime
    Tooltime Solar Expert Posts: 45 ✭✭
    you can clearly see that I am producing more amps on the left but at the end of the day I have less KW.   Also they dont read the same battery volts.  so one goes to assorb while the other is still at bulk

  • Tooltime
    Tooltime Solar Expert Posts: 45 ✭✭
  • jonr
    jonr Solar Expert Posts: 1,386 ✭✭✭✭
    The two controllers are connected to two separate battery banks?   If not, then don't expect equal sharing.

    I am available for custom hardware/firmware development

  • westbranch
    westbranch Solar Expert Posts: 5,183 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November 2016 #12
    OK On the left the Volts In are 93.7V and has 1115W in yielding 39.3A
     and on the right the In Volts are 39.3V   and has 700W in  yielding  24.5A
     
    the left CC is in ABSORB so it has met the Absorb set point of Volts and  Amps
    The Right CC has NOT met the ABSORB setpoint of voltage yet so is still in the BULK stage

    Have you verified that both CC's have the same Absorb Settings?
    Do they both have the same Firmware versions?
    Have you done a Factory reset on both ?
    Have you used any of the off-set values in either CC?
    Are they both set to SOLAR Mode?
    Are both arrays aligned to the sun the same and have the same tilt angle?

    I do not know why the Left Cc is showing NO Kwh and the right one is at 1.3 Kwh

    More later..

    ADD: Do you have a WB jr on the system?
     
    KID #51B  4s 140W to 24V 900Ah C&D AGM
    CL#29032 FW 2126/ 2073/ 2133 175A E-Panel WBjr, 3 x 4s 140W to 24V 900Ah C&D AGM 
    Cotek ST1500W 24V Inverter,OmniCharge 3024,
    2 x Cisco WRT54GL i/c DD-WRT Rtr & Bridge,
    Eu3/2/1000i Gens, 1680W & E-Panel/WBjr to come, CL #647 asleep
    West Chilcotin, BC, Canada
  • cupcake
    cupcake Solar Expert Posts: 254 ✭✭✭
    ..everytime I see that cheezy art-deco gimmick looking 20's revival..thing.. the descrepancies are prolly due to the CC... a morningstar CC might suit you better
    ~1.5Kw PV in parallel
    Morningstar MPPT-60 controllers (2) in parallel
    3 Trojan tr-1275's in parallel 450ah total
    Samlex 2,000 watt 12-volt inverter hardwired


  • Vic
    Vic Solar Expert Posts: 3,208 ✭✭✭✭
    Tooltime said:
    you can clearly see that I am producing more amps on the left but at the end of the day I have less KW.   Also they dont read the same battery volts.  so one goes to assorb while the other is still at bulk


    It does appear that the left CC begins producing measurable power considerably later in the day,  than the CC on the right.

    So,  one must wonder about shading of the left's PV array,  PV orientation,   or,  just what the left CC is doing earlier in the day,  to have produced NO accumulated kWh.

    Vic

    Off Grid - Two systems -- 4 SW+ 5548 Inverters, Surrette 4KS25 1280 AH X2@48V, 11.1 KW STC PV, 4X MidNite Classic 150 w/ WBjrs, Beta KID on S-530s, MX-60s, MN Bkrs/Boxes.  25 KVA Polyphase Kubota diesel,  Honda Eu6500isa,  Eu3000is-es, Eu2000,  Eu1000 gensets.  Thanks Wind-Sun for this great Forum.
  • mike95490
    mike95490 Solar Expert Posts: 9,583 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Midnight classics support being connected in a Follow-Me mode, where the master controls both.
    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 ,