Lead vs load question

[Gdwats]

Now 13A at 46V?

[littleharbor]

That 13 amps is what is going into your battery but it's at the battery voltage not the array voltage. That's the MPPT doing its thing.

[Gdwats]

Oh, ok da. So there is only 166W going to battery .....12.8v x 13A. Not good. But it's cloudy.

[Gdwats]

New Q. The new config:
1x 500W 12V only A.C. inverter
3 x 100W 20V panels in series
1x Renogy 20A MPPT CC
2 x 55AH DC SLA batteries in parallel (inverter only 12v).

in this configuration it looks like I could even add another 100W panel in series for ~80V (CC limit is 100V), and still be under the 20A limit of the CC. I could not do this in parallel as 4 panels exceed 20A...yes?

[Gdwats]

I noticed there is someone on here called Sunking that seems angry and enjoys calling people stupid and ignorant, yet constantly offers bizzare advice. Should i ignore them, or does this person know the stuff?

[ButchDeal]

New Q. The new config:
1x 500W 12V only A.C. inverter
3 x 100W 20V panels in series
1x Renogy 20A MPPT CC
2 x 55AH DC SLA batteries in parallel (inverter only 12v).

in this configuration it looks like I could even add another 100W panel in series for ~80V (CC limit is 100V), and still be under the 20A limit of the CC. I could not do this in parallel as 4 panels exceed 20A...yes?

No that isn't how it works. The amp epratting of the charge controller is on the battery or output side. 400 watts at 12v is 33amps.
If you reconfigure for 24v you can do it though. As 300w at 24v is 12.5a. 400w at 24v is 16a

[Mike90250]

I noticed there is someone on here called Sunking that seems angry and enjoys calling people stupid and ignorant, yet constantly offers bizzare advice. Should i ignore them, or does this person know the stuff?

He forgot more than I know about batteries and grounding code.

[Gdwats]

I see, thanks Butch. I kinda suspected as much.
I've learned a lot here so far. One if the most useful things was to think "P in=P out, and that P loss =i^2

If I get a 1500-2000W pure sine 12/24 inv, and rewire the 2x55AH battery bank in series, would 6 100W panels with 5 hr unobstructed view require more batteries? What'd be best mppt replacement? Would I need more panels at 45 degrees N?

[Gdwats]

Update :
4 x 100W panels in series
35 feet MC4 wire from array to controller
Renogy Rover 20A MPPT (max100V, 560W)
2 x 12V 55AH sla in series for 55AH@24V
Samlex 300W 24V A.C. inverter.
7-8hr unobstructed day in summer(2nd day at new house, sun on panels at 1030am today, off them at 630 pm yesterday).

The controller is now maxed out. I may get 4 x 6V 400AH(?)or so batteries later though. And a larger inverter.

[sensij]

Update :
4 x 100W panels in series
35 feet MC4 wire from array to controller
Renogy Rover 20A MPPT (max100V, 560W)
2 x 12V 55AH sla in series for 55AH@24V
Samlex 300W 24V A.C. inverter.
7-8hr unobstructed day in summer(2nd day at new house, sun on panels at 1030am today, off them at 630 pm yesterday).

The controller is now maxed out. I may get 4 x 6V 400AH(?)or so batteries later though. And a larger inverter.

Controller is not yet maxed out. 20 A * 24 V = 480 W of charge power... you won't generate that with 400 W of panels. With a 55 Ah battery, you wouldn't really want to though. If you do follow through with a larger battery at some point, you'll probably need more panels to go with it. A 2nd string of 4 x 100 W panels would match up well on that controller and your existing string, and you might be able to catch a sale at $1 / W. At some point, starting over with grid tie panels (60 cell or 72 cell) may be more cost effective than sticking with 36 cell panels.

[Gdwats]

Controller is not yet maxed out. 20 A * 24 V = 480 W of charge power... you won't generate that with 400 W of panels. With a 55 Ah battery, you wouldn't really want to though. If you do follow through with a larger battery at some point, you'll probably need more panels to go with it. A 2nd string of 4 x 100 W panels would match up well on that controller and your existing string, and you might be able to catch a sale at $1 / W. At some point, starting over with grid tie panels (60 cell or 72 cell) may be more cost effective than sticking with 36 cell panels.

Thanks. Some of that makes sense sensij, but although the 4 panels do not come close to the 560W max, adding 4 more panels would exceed the 100V max on the controller. 5 panels total COULD exceed 100V. So figured i was maxed out by voltage limitation. Now you're going to show me some more magic? Sunking showed me the series magic, which has gotten me here from a 12v parallel putz.

[Gdwats]

Is a simple string just 2 sets of leads from 2 sereis arrays, connected in parallel (with 2 into 1 connecter pieces), then joining both to a (my) single array input controller?

Also, I could definitely use a bigger A.C. inverter as I have more to plug in. I thought I saw a ROT xAh/xW?

[sensij]

Is a simple string just 2 sets of leads from 2 sereis arrays, connected in parallel (with 2 into 1 connecter pieces), then joining both to a (my) single array input controller?

You got it. Make sure the combined Isc doesn't exceed the allowable current through the connectors (usually they are at least 20 A, ok for at least two strings depending on the panel specs), and the wire is sized to handle the combined current with acceptable transmission loss over that distance.