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  • Greetings from central ca

    hello solar panel enthusiasts . I am a DIY off grid solar seeker who is trying to create clean appreciative energy for himself and it's been quite the dangle .

    Equipment is as follows in pictures.
    They are four individual panels not to different in specs but not identical.


    theyre wired in parallel

    i have four harbor freight 35ah batteries in series to create 48v battery bank (planning on upgrading soon)

    i also have an eBay mppt charge controller (see pics )
    And a pure sine wave 1500watt inverter at 48v

    please let me know what your guys opinion is. If I'm out of line with my experiments
    If I should have my panels in series instead of parallel under a 48v system

    what I should be changing etc thanks again guys!
    Attached Files

  • #2
    30V panels in parallel are not going to charge a 48V battery bank.

    If you wire 4 in series, you will likely be over the Voc limit for most charge controllers

    2 in series will only get you 60V. and that's not enough always, for a full charge (not in a 6 hour solar day)
    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


    • #3
      THANK YOU. That makes perfect since! I will work on that .. and the charge controller I bought was an 80amp controller capable of more when running at 48v so I'll see if it can handle it like you were saying In a series string . We're hitting triple digit 105+ weather here in cen cal all week and it's been that way for about the whole month I'm trying to take advantage of all the sunlight I can get .

      My charge controller stopped working suddenly not sure if it was because I had the panels in parralell or what but I'm working on getting another one and adding fusing to my equipment because I don't have any fusing in between my gear .

      But it thanks again that's exactly the kind of info/advice i was looking for and could NOT find anywhere else.

      Comment


      • #4
        Charge Controllers have an Input Voltage spec. Most 60A and larger controllers have a 150V max input.
        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


        • #5
          You are good buddy. Just looked at the specs and yes you are spot on. My controller is actually a 60amp as well. It may actually have not fried what I think happened is it got a little bit of sunlight where I repositioned it and it messed up the LCD display. I use to hate when that'd happen to my voltage meters after a couple of hours in the sun. Contemplating buying a new charge controller or just a charge controller monitor if they have one for my controller .

          So max VOC for my 60a mppt is 160
          thatd put me at a little 120 volts in a full series array

          would this be safe to try?


          Comment


          • #6
            Voc 37V x4 = 148v @ 70F

            If it ever gets a bit chilly, that voltage will go about 20-25% higher and 177V is in "Fried the Controller" territory.

            You measure your power voltage as Vmp, but the controller really cares about the Voc
            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


            • #7
              Basically, You can wire 3 in series for a voltage high enough and safe enough for 48 volt battery charging. Your other option is to get 2 more similar panels and wire 3s2p, two strings of 3 panels.
              2.2kw Suntech mono, Classic 200, NEW Trace SW4024

              Comment

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