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Mix 60 and 100 watt panels in series. Advice needed

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  • Mix 60 and 100 watt panels in series. Advice needed

    I have an off grid 320 watt panel system - 2x60 and 2x100 watt panels - working well with PWM on 8x6 volt golf cart batteries - 1600ah capacity. El Niño has been giving us a lot lot of cloudy days so I am exploring an MPPT controller to salvage the lower light days. My question is can I run the four panels in series or perhaps pair the 60s and the 100s and run them in parallel? The load is about 300 watt-hours of steady state computer electronics around the clock plus RC airplane batteries of 1000 to 10000 mah batteries that are charge in an hour. More at flypcc.org/ camera.

  • #2
    Sorry I meant 300 watt- hours per day.

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    • #3
      you can but you'd be throwing away 40w of each of the 100 w panels.

      If you what more of an explanation we'd need to know the full specs of both panels.

      WWW

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      • #4
        Renege 100 watts:
        Maximum Power: 100W
        Maximum System Voltage: 600V DC (UL)
        Optimum Operating Voltage (Vmp): 18.9V
        Optimum Operating Current (Imp): 5.29A
        Open-Circuit Voltage (Voc): 22.5V
        Short-Circuit Current (Isc): 5.75A
        Output Cables: 4.0 mm2 (0.006 in2), 800mm (31.5 in)
        Connectors: MC4 Connectors
        25-year transferable power output warranty: 5-year/95% efficiency rate, 10-year/90% efficiency rate, 25-year/80% efficiency rate
        5-year material and workmanship warranty

        The 60 watt panels are from AIMS Power. They no longer sell it and don't have a spec for it on the website aimscorp.net.
        They do have a spec for a 120 watt.

        I understand that putting four panels in series won't work to full spec. But how about series parallel with 60+60 in series plus 100+100 in series and then parallel them. If my battery bank is sitting at 12.0 volts each side should kick in with 6+ volts on each panel. Can I feed that system into one MPPT controller or do I need two?

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        • #5
          Bump, still need answer to last reply

          2 60 watt/22volt in series , two 100 watts/22volt in series, then parallel the two pairs. Will that give me the full 320 watts of power capability? I have a new Epever 40 amp MPPT controller.
          Last edited by Slacsteve; 10-04-2018, 08:33 AM.

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          • #6
            You could measure the open circuit voltage of the 60W panels, which will not vary a lot with sun. The maximum
            power voltage will then be about 80% of that. The maximum power current (good sun) will be 60W divided by
            the voltage. What is your battery arrangement? Bruce Roe

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            • #7
              Battery bank is a mixture of 6 volt (pairs) and 12 volt deep cycle batteries in parallel totally 1400 ah but degraded to about 55%. Recharge seems to max out at 12.3 volts. I need to equalize them.

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              • #8
                Originally posted by Slacsteve View Post
                Battery bank is a mixture of 6 volt (pairs) and 12 volt deep cycle batteries in parallel totally 1400 ah but degraded to about 55%. Recharge seems to max out at 12.3 volts. I need to equalize them.
                A 12volt 1400Ah battery system will need about 140 amps to properly charge it. That requires about 1800 watts of solar panels and 2 x 80amp MPPT charge controllers.

                Your 320 watts and 40a CC will never get your batteries back up to even 80% SOC.

                I would choose the best batteries you have and try to make a 200 to 260Ah battery system which will about right for 320 watts. Otherwise get more panel wattage and a bigger CC.
                Last edited by SunEagle; 10-04-2018, 02:06 PM. Reason: spelling

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                • #9
                  Panels may be put in series with similar current ratings, parallel with similar voltage ratings. It
                  appears you might use an MPP charge controller for your pair of 100W panels in series, and
                  another MPP charge controller for your 60W panels in series. If both strings were of nearly
                  the same voltage, the 2 strings could be parallel to a single controller. Bruce Roe

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                  • #10
                    That's what I wanted to hear. I will try 60-60 in parallel with 100-100. It should alllow me to charge earlier and later in the day with MPPT and the higher voltages at the ends of the day.

                    thank you

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