mppt charge controller - ZLPOWER ??

[Sunking]

My solar mppt SL-40 seems to be working very well from what I could see.Let explain.I got 8 :65 watt panels.[36 or the 3x6 cells] total 520watts. This morring I went to start a van up and the battery was dead,wouldn't turn over the engine, so i said hay, let me see how long and what amperage my panels will be putting out. Before i hooked it up it had 11.09 volts, and my volt meter from the panels said 31 volts amp was 0 I had nothing connected except the SL-40. I connected the controller to the battery and the voltage went down to 14 and the amps went up to 16. . I hooked it up at 11:53am and checked it at 1:49pm. at 1:49 pm the Volts were up to 28 volts and the amps were down to 5 amps. I don't know, but I think that is pretty good.

John just where are you measuring this voltage and current. If that is at the input of the Charge controller you have a big problem. The problem is your CC is called a MPPT, if those are the voltages and current you are reading at the input of the charge controller is a dead give-away you have a PWM controller.

The voltage on a MPPT controller should be spot on to the panel rated Vmp. Only thing that will vary is the current.

[Mike90250]

....The problem is your CC is called a MPPT, if those are the voltages and current you are reading at the input of the charge controller is a dead give-away you have a PWM controller.

The voltage on a MPPT controller should be spot on to the panel rated Vmp. Only thing that will vary is the current.

Once the controller decides it no longer needs the MPPT function, it reverts to PWM for control. My MS Tristar MPPT does this, while in bulk, it's in MPPT, but switches to PWM for absorb and float

[conntaxman]

mppt controller

I read these at the input of the charge controller.I mean the amps and the volts. but took a volt mesu. at the battery also., I know that you guys DONT like over seas stuff, and I agree not buying from their. BUT 3 or 4 times the amount of the cost, is just NUTS. I dont want to get into the politices of this S....." If someone can prove to me that this controller is NOT or dose NOT do any mppt Let me know. SO that I """"will get my money back. """" that sure would be a great help. Please not just because it is not USA made.
I never liked getting scew.... . No matter Who made the product.
tks
John

[no carrier]

My solar mppt SL-40 seems to be working very well from what I could see.Let explain.I got 8 :65 watt panels.[36 or the 3x6 cells] total 520watts. This morring I went to start a van up and the battery was dead,wouldn't turn over the engine, so i said hay, let me see how long and what amperage my panels will be putting out. Before i hooked it up it had 11.09 volts, and my volt meter from the panels said 31 volts amp was 0 I had nothing connected except the SL-40. I connected the controller to the battery and the voltage went down to 14 and the amps went up to 16. . I hooked it up at 11:53am and checked it at 1:49pm. at 1:49 pm the Volts were up to 28 volts and the amps were down to 5 amps. I don't know, but I think that is pretty good.Never thought the panels would put out that much amperage. When you look at one panel it looks small. ha ha ha . Im very happy with them. Next Im working on my Dc to Ac inverter, I now think that a 470ohmx 200volt cap is bad. I just changed out a Mosfet because it was sooooo hot that I though it was bad. Hate to buy a new one.
John

John, I have the same pv system as you do, 520 watts...I bought
Chinese mppt, was not convinced it was an mppt and sent it back..
I then bought a Rouge 30a mppt, A bit more but come to find out,
it was a true mppt...A few days ago I tested it...Ran my battery
pack down to 12.50vdc, to be sure it would run in mppt....It was
noon and the sun was bright...Oct 14, 2011...So. Cal...The Rogue
showed 12.5a coming in and 24.5a going into the battery bank..
Am at home on my 3rd beer, testing was done at my shop, so
the figures may be off a tad....I do believe the volts were 14vdc..
That gives my pv system a bit over 336 watts..Yours at 224 watts..iI do respect you being on a budget, but you dont have a mppt...
Dennis

[Sunking]

If someone can prove to me that this controller is NOT or dose NOT do any mppt Let me know.

John look I am not trying to beat you up, just trying to help. Allow me to explain and then you can confirm if my understanding is correct OK?

• You connected what you knew was a dead battery to the charge controller.
• The battery in question was from a vehicle.
• When you connected the battery, you measured the panel voltage and current at the input of the controller and observed it dropped from 31 volts down to 14 volts @ 16 amps (224 watts out of a 520 watt panel).
• After 2 hours the voltage and current at the controller input were 28 volts @ 5 amps (140 watts out of a 520 watt panel).

Do I understand you correctly?
Does anything capture your attention?

Last question is how do you have the panels configured? Reason I ask if you have 36 cells, and assuming you have all the panels in parallel you should see Voc around 22 to 24 volts at the very most and you mention seeing 28 and 31 volts.

[enerteg]

Victron Energie MPPT

Hello I think Victron Energie controller MPPT is the same than SL-40A from ZLPOWER.
Is correct?

[enerteq]

MPPT Controller

Hello,
yes, ZL Power vs. Victron Energy have the same controllers, I think Helior Technology is a white label OEM manufacturer.

[conntaxman]

panel

Question about panel output. I know it's hard to answer because every day is different. But I would like an idea or what people are getting out of their panel's/panel. Plus having the right angle too. But on a Bright cloudy day and a clear sunny day. Am I right in saying the amperes are very low when it is cloudy,but you still get voltage.
I know their are alot of factors.
so what are you getting off your panels or a single panel. Single panel would be better.
tks
John

[russ]

Am I right in saying the amperes are very low when it is cloudy,but you still get voltage.tks
John

That is correct

[Mike90250]

... Am I right in saying the amperes are very low when it is cloudy,but you still get voltage....
... Single panel would be better.

Volts, amps - it takes BOTH to produce power (watts)

Single panel is not "better", it's merely a single panel.

[Sunking]

Am I right in saying the amperes are very low when it is cloudy,but you still get voltage.

Depends on how you measure it. IF you are using the Voc and Isc test that is correct. If you try to put a load on the panel then you have little of either voltage or current. Solar panels are current sources, not voltage

[conntaxman]

panel

Russ, i know that, I was just wondering what readings are coming from a panel/panels in different day time conditions. Cloudy,sunny, raining, Mine were putting out voltage and amp's when it was snowing and gray clouds.Not much.
what readings do your panels put out.You must have volt and amp meter's on the input.
tks
John

[wbsolar12]

Depends on how you measure it. IF you are using the Voc and Isc test that is correct. If you try to put a load on the panel then you have little of either voltage or current. Solar panels are current sources, not voltage

Sunking,

I've a charge controller rating question for you - am a newbie so not sure if I can open a new thread.

If my Solar Panels are 230w and I connect a string of 2 in series in parallel with another string of 2, totally 4 panels.

The Isc of each panel is 8.2 amps.

Charge controller am looking at is rated at 30 amps MPPT with 95v max input voltage.

Now, for Charge Controller Purpose :

Is this equivalent to 8.2*2=16.4*1.25~ 21 amps so I can use 30 amp MPPT ? (I am doing 8.2 x 2 because of the parallel connection)
OR
Is this equivalent of output of 920 watts/battery bank volt size => 920/24 = 38 ? so I have to upgrade to higher charge controller?

I am confused really whether this rated charge controller amperage is at the input side of the charge controller or the output of it?

I've seen experts using 2 ways to do it. Not sure which is right.

Thanks

[Sunking]

MPPT Charge Controller current is Panel wattage / Battery Wattage. So you have a problem because 960 watts \ 12 volts = 76 amps. So if you are running @ 12 volt battery you need a 80 amp controller. If you have a 30 amp MPPT controller it can only handle 350 to 400 watts, so you can only use one of your panels

[wbsolar12]

MPPT Charge Controller current is Panel wattage / Battery Wattage. So you have a problem because 960 watts \ 12 volts = 76 amps. So if you are running @ 12 volt battery you need a 80 amp controller. If you have a 30 amp MPPT controller it can only handle 350 to 400 watts, so you can only use one of your panels

When you said Battery Wattage .. I think you implied Battery Voltage,
Then you mean the Battery system voltage right not the individual battery right? Because my Battery is 12v connected 2 in series, so which makes it 24v. Still short as I need 38 amps ... ?