Heliotrope CC-60 PWM charge controller

kevinjones · January 2017

Hello,

I have been using a Heliotrope CC-60 PWM charge controller on a solar off-grid setup. It seems to be working fine, though it is about 7 to 10 years old. I am wondering is the technology it is using still fine by today's standards, or has the technology for charge controllers significantly improved since then?

Also, I would like to find some documentation on it - a manual at the least, but preferably more technical to the extent of schematic diagrams. My Google searches have been unfruitful, and by the number of dead ends I have been hitting in trying to contact the company, I am guessing they are no longer in business.

Any input/advice in this would be much appreciated.

Thanks,
Kevin

Aguarancher · January 2017

Found an old write up on it and a probably long gone company address and number. It appears to be quite old. go to page 31 on the pdf. Depending on your use it may be fine for you, but CC tech has advanced far ahead of your unit.

tricolour.net/home_power/Home%20Power%20%23008.pdf

Photowhit · January 2017

Okay, some of this is going to be a bit sketchy, but aside from getting someone else who was around back then, I'm going to give it a shot. Heliotrope General, had a fire in about 2000 and for the most part got out of the solar electric business. I don't know if they did much after that. Robin Gudgel mentions them here;

http://www.midnitesolar.com/pages/evolution/evolution4.php

I think they made quality stuff, and he mentions that "Heliotrope was years ahead of everyone else with their excellent charge controllers" Apparently they were not relay based, relays have contacts that will age and in time fail with carbon buildup.

I don't recall hearing more about Heliotrope, but perhaps they sold off some continuing stock from an off site warehouse. Robin giving them praise is a pretty good recommendation.

Time rolls on and PWM controllers have largely been replaced with MPPT type charge controller in larger systems. They are different and to use them, you would likely need to setup your array in longer strings. MPPT type charge controller need a bit more voltage above the charging voltage. To understand the difference I would encourage you to search "pwm vs mppt" in google and read a couple articles.

If it's working, and you are happy, I might just get a backup Morningstar or Schnieder/Xantrex/Trace 60 amp unit as a backup. MPPT types do give you a little more output, but largely their advantage comes from being able to use less expensive Grid tied (60 cell) solar panels.

Photowhit · January 2017

An article that I found from Home Power magazine, introduces the Heliotrope CC line of charge controllers;
http://www.ibiblio.org/london/alternative-energy/homepower-magazine/archives/8/heliocgr.txt

I hunted around a bit and that article is for Home Power winter issue, 1988/89
https://archive.org/stream/Home_Power_Magazine_Issue_008_1988-12-1989-01/Home_Power_Magazine_Issue_008_1988-12-1989-01_djvu.txt

kevinjones · January 2017

@Aguarancher and @Photowhit, thanks very much for the links.

mike95490 · January 2017

if your batteries are charging fine, I'd not bother with changing anything, Going to MPPT gear means rewire of the PV array, and then you will have 20-30% more charging available.

kevinjones · January 2017

My main concern in choosing a CC is not so much efficiency, but in preserving/extending battery life. If MPPT uses a better charge algorithm which accomplishes that, then it would be worthwhile to me, otherwise it is not so much a big deal. Of all the research I've done on MPPT vs PWM so far, I have heard nothing mentioned of better battery charge management to the tune of extending battery life.

Also another thing I was considering, is rewiring panels for higher voltage means more panels in series vs parallel. My panels are aging, and it would seem to me that a panel going bad in a series string would render the others in the string useless, whereas if they are connected as they are now in parallel, one going bad would just silently drop out. Correct me if I am not seeing correctly in this line of thinking however.

BB. · January 2017

In general, for smaller systems (less than ~400 Watts), it can be cheaper for use "12 volt" solar panels + PWM charge controllers.

And for systems >800 Watts or so, it is generally better to use Vmp~30 volt panels and MPPT charge controllers.

Yes, you are correct. If you have a failed panel in a string--The entire string is "useless". Similar for shading, if there is a partially shaded panel with multiple parallel strings, that string will not produce a useful amount of energy until the shade is removed.

MPPT controllers are typically newer/more expensive/more complex designs. But for day to day usage, a well designed PWM system will work just about as well as a well designed MPPT system.

I would not suggest replacing your controller just to have a new controller if yours is working OK.

If you are going to replace solar panels + charge controller etc... Then I would suggest looking at GT type solar panels and a MPPT charge controller.

In any case, doing a few paper designs before you purchase any hardware is highly suggested.

-Bill

Heliotrope CC-60 PWM charge controller

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