Is there an electrical reason why a person cannot make their own 3-to-1 parrallel mc4 connections? For example:
3x 100w panels
max amperage per panel is about 5.6amps/each
total amperage in parrallel would be about 16.8amps
sooooo.......
all wiring is using 10awg (30amp max) wire....
Projected Result is:
the 3x POS+ connections are parralleled at the 3 panels down to 1x 10awg (30 amp) wire using a 6awg insulated butt-connector.
the 3x NEG- connections are parralleled at the 3 panels down to 1x 10awg (30 amp) wire using a 6awg insulated butt-connector.
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Reality output is:
the 3x parralled 100w panels are producing 12.9v and 1.1amp (cloudy day and battery bank is a little low).........but..........
connecting a 4th stand-alone 100w panel on its own 10awg wiring....bumps voltage to 13.1 and JUMPS amperage to 3.6 amps (which is a 2.5amp increase).
EDIT: (I do generally understand that "voltage" is affected by the charge level of the battery bank, and also that the charge amperage is "manipulated" by the PWM CC.............but there is an undeniable fact that 1 panel alone, under all the same conditions, is adding more amperage than the 3x parralleled panels combined)..
This 2.5 amp increase from ONE PANEL ALONE is producing more amps than the THREE (3x) PANELS (parralleled) COMBINED!!!!
(2.5 amps x 13.1v on a PWM cc = 32.75w;........for a 100w panel on a cloudy day sounds quite reasonable)
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So is there something this newbie did not predict about the behavior of diodes (or ANYTHING) in parralleling the connections???.......or is it likely that 1 or more panels are not functioning due to the shipping "mishandling"?? I wish I had time to check each panel independantly right now.....but that requires me to disconnect the battery bank many times, climb up the roof many times, plug in each panel independantly many times, climb back down many times, and reconnect the battery bank many times..... However, I have to sleep now, go to work as soon as I wake up (when my wife gets home), go do boy scout stuff with my son in the morning, sleep again, go to work again..........and MAYBE get an opportunity to test the panels independantly on Sunday morning. So, please, any input about why "electically" these 3 panels are producing such low output using a fabricated "parrallel connection",......please let me know so I can be pondering it between now and Sunday/Monday.?
Thanks in advance, and I apologize for the book I have written. I just want to be thorough...
3x 100w panels
max amperage per panel is about 5.6amps/each
total amperage in parrallel would be about 16.8amps
sooooo.......
all wiring is using 10awg (30amp max) wire....
Projected Result is:
the 3x POS+ connections are parralleled at the 3 panels down to 1x 10awg (30 amp) wire using a 6awg insulated butt-connector.
the 3x NEG- connections are parralleled at the 3 panels down to 1x 10awg (30 amp) wire using a 6awg insulated butt-connector.
--------------------------------
Reality output is:
the 3x parralled 100w panels are producing 12.9v and 1.1amp (cloudy day and battery bank is a little low).........but..........
connecting a 4th stand-alone 100w panel on its own 10awg wiring....bumps voltage to 13.1 and JUMPS amperage to 3.6 amps (which is a 2.5amp increase).
EDIT: (I do generally understand that "voltage" is affected by the charge level of the battery bank, and also that the charge amperage is "manipulated" by the PWM CC.............but there is an undeniable fact that 1 panel alone, under all the same conditions, is adding more amperage than the 3x parralleled panels combined)..
This 2.5 amp increase from ONE PANEL ALONE is producing more amps than the THREE (3x) PANELS (parralleled) COMBINED!!!!
(2.5 amps x 13.1v on a PWM cc = 32.75w;........for a 100w panel on a cloudy day sounds quite reasonable)
------------------------------------------
So is there something this newbie did not predict about the behavior of diodes (or ANYTHING) in parralleling the connections???.......or is it likely that 1 or more panels are not functioning due to the shipping "mishandling"?? I wish I had time to check each panel independantly right now.....but that requires me to disconnect the battery bank many times, climb up the roof many times, plug in each panel independantly many times, climb back down many times, and reconnect the battery bank many times..... However, I have to sleep now, go to work as soon as I wake up (when my wife gets home), go do boy scout stuff with my son in the morning, sleep again, go to work again..........and MAYBE get an opportunity to test the panels independantly on Sunday morning. So, please, any input about why "electically" these 3 panels are producing such low output using a fabricated "parrallel connection",......please let me know so I can be pondering it between now and Sunday/Monday.?
Thanks in advance, and I apologize for the book I have written. I just want to be thorough...
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