I'm alovin" this solar stuff.....

Chris11
Chris11 Registered Users Posts: 130 ✭✭
After firing up my "large" ( to me ) off grid solar system I found the cheapy thermal breaker between the CC and the bat bank was constantly clicking off.  The smart guys on here told me to replace it.  I got in touch with our host NAWS, talked to a real nice guy named Jason who shipped me a simple magnetic 60 amp breaker which fit perfectly into the last space in my combiner and today for the first time it fully charged my Plug-In Prius without me having to constantly turn the breaker back on.  

After exchanging the crappy breaker with the new one,  I sat and watched the Outback display ( which I love ) putting somewhat free juju into the car.  I still don't have enough panels to make it a wash...the bats had to supply some current.  It was like watching a new channel on T.V.   At one time it read a full rate of 1 KW .  By the time I got my phone's camera turned on the display had slipped back to just under ... 990 watts of which I did get a picture.  And at times the display showed 38 amps output from these 10 100 watt panels in series/parallel producing 11 amps.  Ya gotta love these MPPT CC'ers.

And the point of this post?  No point ... just sharing my happiness.  

Comments

  • Raj174
    Raj174 Solar Expert Posts: 795 ✭✭✭✭
    I love free juju too.
    4480W PV, MNE175DR-TR, MN Classic 150, Outback Radian GS4048A, Mate3, 51.2V 360AH nominal LiFePO4, Kohler Pro 5.2E genset.
  • mcgivor
    mcgivor Solar Expert Posts: 3,854 ✭✭✭✭✭✭
    Free juju indeed , after the battery is charged, it chills the beer, washes the clothes, cooks th food and most importantly makes me happy, it is a sence of achievement knowing what was once wasted, is now productive, one point, don't become complacent, keep your finger on the pulse, supprising things can pop up and spoil your fun.
    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.
  • myocardia
    myocardia Solar Expert Posts: 118 ✭✭✭
    edited September 2017 #4
    mcgivor said:
    one point, don't become complacent, keep your finger on the pulse, supprising things can pop up and spoil your fun.
    Yeah, Murphy's Law says that anything you aren't keeping your eye on/finger on the pulse of will rear up and bite you, and will spoil your fun and your bank account. Keeping your eye on everything as often as possible will alleviate that, and it will only end up being an attempted spoiling of your fun, and attempted draining of your wallet/bank account. >:) 
    DoD= depth of discharge= amount removed from that battery   SoC= state of charge= amount remaining in that battery
    So, 0% DoD= 100% SoC, 25% DoD= 75% SoC, 50% DoD= 50% SoC, 75% DoD= 25% SoC, 100% DoD= 0% SoC
    A/C= air conditioning AC= alternating current (what comes from the outlets in your home) DC= direct current (what batteries & solar panels use)
  • Chris11
    Chris11 Registered Users Posts: 130 ✭✭
    edited September 2017 #5
    Yesterday I went to the property to make certain all is well.   My plan is to charge my car in the mornings then use the afternoon sun to recharge the bats.  It seems to be working well....the bats were in float as I expected.  However once I plugged in the car I "thought" the Flexmax would immediately change from float to bulk since the inverter takes partial energy from the panels and partial from the bats.  It didn't change the readout.  It stayed in float.  I left it like that for about 10 minutes, then turned off and turned everything back on.  At this point it stayed in bulk.  

    My question.....why wouldn't the Flexmax immediately switch automatically to bulk once it sensed the batteries being drained?  I dunno if I'm just being anal or if it takes longer than 10 minutes for the Flexmax to sense a lowered charge in the batteries.

    Thanks, Chris              Edit:  The readout did read properly...between 650 and 800 watts depending on clouds....while it was showing float.
  • Estragon
    Estragon Registered Users Posts: 4,496 ✭✭✭✭✭
    There may be a "rebulk" or similar setting. It's a voltage at which a new bulk/absorb charge cycle starts, possibly with a short delay to avoid starting a cycle because of a short voltage sag from a pump starting, etc.
    Off-grid.  
    Main daytime system ~4kw panels into 2xMNClassic150 370ah 48v bank 2xOutback 3548 inverter 120v + 240v autotransformer
    Night system ~1kw panels into 1xMNClassic150 700ah 12v bank morningstar 300w inverter
  • BB.
    BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 33,431 admin
    You have to be a bit careful when talking about charge controller "states".

    Bulk, Absorb, Float (for solar charge controllers) are "charging states" that the controller decides what voltage (and current) to supply to the battery based on "assumed" battery state of charge/need of charging. Bulk is all energy from array to battery bank. Absorb is when the battery hits a charging set point (like 14.75 volts for a flooded lead acid battery)--The charger holds that voltage for a length of time (2-6 hours, depending) and/or a minimum charging current (like 1-2% current flow of battery bank AH capacity--100 AH, 1-2 amps of charging current). Float is simply just "holding" the battery voltage at ~13.6 volts or so (and whatever current the battery+loads take).

    So--When you put a load on your charge controller "floating"--It will (or at least should) output from 0-maximum available amperage to hold 13.6 volts (bulk/absorb does not apply, because the battery is still 100% charged, as far as the charge controller is concerned).

    HOWEVER, if the battery voltage falls to (for example) less than 12.7 volts for a few minutes (i.e., the load current exceeds the available solar current from the array+charge controller, sun sets, clouds in front of sun, etc.), the charge controller will "flip" to bulk mode charging and supply all available current (from array) until the battery voltage reaches absorb set point voltage--And through the rest of the "charging cycle".

    So--The load you apply + available energy from the array (amount of sun, size of array, etc.) and your applied load will be "looked at" by the charge controller to decide the next state it should be in (B. A. F.).

    With a Flexmate, which has the ability to measure battery current (charging or discharging)... It may make the decision on what charge mode based on current and time (i.e., AH out of the "full battery") when to decide to flip to bulk/absorb charging mode.

    You don't want to charge an "already full" battery just because you applied a load to the system that the solar array was able to support directly. You only want to recharge the battery when it has been significantly discharged.

    I hope this word salad makes sense...

    -Bill
    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset
  • Chris11
    Chris11 Registered Users Posts: 130 ✭✭
    Thanks gentlemen for sharing your knowledge.  Yep, I was being anal.  

    Chris  
  • BB.
    BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 33,431 admin
    A good mechanic (and electrician, engineer, cook, surgeon, trades"person", etc.) understands their tools.

    -Bill
    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset