New RV PV System Build and Questions

Started by Nadi, December 22, 2017, 01:12:39 PM

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Nadi

Hello fellow solar enthusiasts,
I have recently created my own RV PV system details as follows.

3 renesola jc300m panels mounted to the roof all in series. I flat mounted two of them and the other one I just wired so that I can move it around to face the Sun. I want to be able to make two of the three roof panels be able to crank up to tilt. If you have any suggestions with that I would love to hear them.
Midnite solar classic 150.
4 Trojan t105s in series.
Samlex 600w true sine wave inverter.

I just put the third panel in series facing directly towards the Sun in hopes of getting more power into the controller. I am a bit frustrated because it reads I'm getting a hundred and twenty six volts but still only about 60 watts. Would love to get some help on this build.

Westbranch

One thing that comes to mind is that iif the batteries are not heavily depleted you will only see the amount of power that the battery needs to become fully charged... also time of day kicks in too, testing should be done near SOLAR NOON...
KID FW1811 560W >C&D 24V 900Ah AGM
CL150 29032 FW V.2126-NW2097-GP2133 175A E-Panel WBjr, 3Px4s 140W > 24V 900Ah AGM,
2 Cisco WRT54GL i/c DD-WRT Rtr, NetGr DS104Hub
Cotek ST1500 Inv  want a 24V  ROSIE Inverter
OmniCharge3024  Eu1/2/3000iGens
West Chilcotin 1680+W to come

ClassicCrazy

As Westbranch mentioned - you need to know the state of charge the controller is in - such as Bulk, Absorb, Float.  If you also installed the Whizbang you will need to set it up properly to give you a good indication of your state of charge ( SOC) . New batteries can take some cycling to get them working to their fullest capacity .
And as Westbranch said -- if the batteries are in Absorb the controller holds the voltage steady and cuts the current back.
If you read the forums you will see lots of discussion of different ways that people use the extra power that is available - one way is by automating loads using the AUX contacts - there are many topics in the forums and a recent one the Matrix documented very well.
What settings are you using for  your Absorb, absorb time, float, ending amps ( if you are using that ) , temperature compensation , etc?

Not sure how far you are planning to discharge your batteries but in general the deeper you discharge your batteries the less lifetime cycles they will have.

The solar systems are not plug and play - they take lots of study and observation to really understand and also battery and or hardware  maintenance.

Someone recently posted this link to panels and understanding how they perform in series with shading - there is another video they made  that talks about tilt angle https://youtu.be/ofo1HQyGG8s

Larry
system 1
Classic 150 , 5s3p  Kyocera 135watt , 12s Soneil 2v 540amp lead crystal for 24v pack , Outback 3524 inverter
system 2
 5s 135w Kyocero , 3s3p 270w Kyocera  to Classic 150 ,   8s Kyocera 225w to Hawkes Bay Jakiper 48v 15kwh LiFePO4 , Outback VFX 3648 inverter
system 3
KID / Brat portable

CDN-VT

Nadi
Do you have a breaker PV style from the panels ????

You DO need one if your opening up the series wiring to move your panel around.
See I would flip the breaker open & then disconnect the wires so that the MC4 connections would not see amperage or and welding .


Above replys agreed
VT
Canadian Solar 350W 37.6 VOC  30.6 VMP 8.22 ISC 7.87 IMP ,-15 c +30c max  4 strings in 2 in Series for 24v Classic 150 -1020 Ah  Freezers & fridges ~~~ Second Array same panels of 3sx3 parallel for 24 V Classic 150 -440 Ah Outback Barns & out blds.
48Vdc almost done,11Strings up of 3s11P same panels