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  • RV solar question. Will it work?

    I have the following;
    4 Evergreen Solar 210W panels (model ES-A-210-fa2)
    1 Bluesky 3024i charge controller
    6 Gel 52amp hour batteries 12v
    1 Inverter 3000w

    1) Will these panels work with this controller or blow it up?
    2) Will this system work together or will I have any type of issues

    Thanks for any help

  • #2
    How are the batteries wired up?

    Comment


    • #3
      Those Evergreen panels are 12 volt nominal panels. The antiquated BlueSky controller, while a quality controller, is limited in its maximum voltage input to a paltry 57 Voc. Being a 30 amp controller you will only be able to use 2 of those panels for a 12 volt system. Wire them in series. If you can go with a 24 volt system you can use all 4 panels in a 2S2P configuration. The odd thing about these controllers is that, being a MPPT controller it only takes a slightly higher than nominal Voc. that a 24 volt panel would produce.

      As to your batteries they have a few strikes against them. They are gel batteries which don't tolerate aggressive charging well. They are very small and in a 12 volt package will require multiple parallel strings to get any meaningful capacity. I would sell them off for whatever you can get and buy a starter set of 6 volt golf cart batteries. It would take 16 of them to equal the capacity of 4 golf cart batteries @ 24 volts.
      Last edited by littleharbor; 11-04-2017, 10:16 AM.
      2.2kw Suntech mono, Classic 200, NEW Trace SW4024

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      • #4
        With 6 gel batteries, you are looking at a failure inside a year. No it is not going to work. Nothing you have is made to work with each other. With your panels requires a 65 amp MPPT controller and those will cost $500 each. Gel batteries should not be used for anything except Fire & Security Alarm Panels and Egress Emergency Lighting.
        MSEE, PE

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        • #5
          The batteries I have are electric wheelchair batteries.

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          • #6
            I forgot. I was told that through the solar controller it can network between 8 controllers through the IPN Pro Remote configuration

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by Brenna View Post
              I have the following;
              4 Evergreen Solar 210W panels (model ES-A-210-fa2)
              1 Bluesky 3024i charge controller
              6 Gel 52amp hour batteries 12v
              1 Inverter 3000w

              1) Will these panels work with this controller or blow it up?
              as others said, marginal.


              2) Will this system work together or will I have any type of issues
              GEL batteries can't be charged fast enough in the short solar day, and will fail quickly. many parallel batteries is another problem. A monster 3kw inverters idle draw will consumer more power than you expect

              Thanks for any help
              reply in red

              Powerfab top of pole PV mount (2) | 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

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by Brenna View Post
                I have the following;
                4 Evergreen Solar 210W panels (model ES-A-210-fa2)
                1 Bluesky 3024i charge controller
                6 Gel 52amp hour batteries 12v
                1 Inverter 3000w
                Question #1...
                Are you 100% sure they are "GEL" type batteries?
                In some replies they are freaking out because you said "GEL"
                My experience tells me, that you most likely have Sealed AGM type batteries, not GEL.
                This makes a huge difference.
                So let us know if they say, "Sealed Lead Acid AGM" or not.

                Question #2 ...
                Are you designing a 12 Volts system or a 24 Volt System?
                Do you have 24 Volt Inverter?
                3 parallel strings x 2 batteries in series per string is NOT optimal.
                But if you already have the batteries then do what you need to do.

                If you design a 24 Volt system then your Charge Controller could handle 800 watts of PV Input Power.
                Since you have 810 Watts Peak ( 4 x 210 Watts PV ) then I think that is OK - since REAL WORLD watts will be lower.
                Connect two PV Panels in series per string and then connect the two PV strings in parallel.
                The 42 Volt PV Voc spec will be really close to the 45.6V MAX Input Voltage on Charge Controller - But Real World Voc maybe be lower than spec.
                A cold morning can push Voc higher.

                Your battery bank is very small for a 3,000 Watt Inverter unless your loads are very small and you need 3,000 watts for SURGE (fat cables).
                1,872 Watt-Hour battery Bank = 6 x 52AH x 12 Volts x 50% DOD
                That will give you (approx) ...
                1 Hour of Battery Time at 1,500 Watt Load ( 50% Load )
                10 Hours of Battery Time at 150 Watt Load ( 5% Load )

                Yes, I could make your collection of components "work" together.
                Last edited by NEOH; 11-04-2017, 09:55 AM.

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                • #9
                  The batteries definitely say Gel on the front of them. We are wiring 12V series and the inverter is 12V.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Originally posted by Brenna View Post
                    The batteries definitely say Gel on the front of them. We are wiring 12V series and the inverter is 12V.
                    With 12volt batteries you will need to wire them in "parallel" to build a 12volt system.

                    The problem with more than 2 batteries wired in parallel increases the chance of one or more failing due to unequal charging and discharging.

                    Even with the same cable lengths for each parallel connection you will probably get different resistance levels between the paths which leads to uneven current flow.

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                    • #11
                      took all of your advice upgraded my cc to a flexmax 80 now looking at agm batteries thankyou

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                      • #12
                        Is there a reason you are going to use AGM batteries? Compared to a Flooded battery AGMs dont last as long and they cost a heck of a lot more. Something to think about.

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                        • #13
                          i already have 2 agm batteries in the truck as starter batteries

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                          • #14
                            Batteries have different flavors of design: Just because the truck has 2 each agm starter batteries does not mean they will be suitable for (deep cycle) use. More than likely Those 2 batteries are SLI, which are inappropriate for deep cycle use.

                            You need to educate yourself about batteries. Please read associated stickies on this forum, also go here and read up on battery design: http://batteryuniversity.com/

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              As i posted earlier I have the following items;

                              4 Evergreen Solar 210W panels (model ES-A-210-fa2)
                              1 Outback Power FlexMax 80 Charge Controller
                              1 Inverter 3000w

                              I want to hook up the panels in parallel (laying flat on the truck) using #10 AWG wire.

                              1) Should I hook up the panels in parallelI or in series or in 2P2S? I want to install a battery disconnect switch between the house batteries and the truck starter batteries so if the house batteries are dead i can charge them while i drive.

                              The truck batteries are AGM and there are two of them.

                              2) Do the house batteries need to be deep cycle AGM batteries to match the truck batteries?
                              3) If not, what batteries should I purchase for my solar system that are maintenance free? (cannot afford lithium)

                              Thanks for all of the help

                              Comment

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