I am upgrading my current setup.I currently have three 140w,12vpanels in parralel and 30a Morningstar charger on a 450ah bank.I want to upgrade my charger to the classic 150 now.Would this charger still work with my panels until I can add additional panels to system?
Thank's
Tim
Yes it would work just fine with those panels
Ryan
If you buy the Cl 150, you can add 1 more panel, wire the array at 24V (2 panels in series) and simplify your wiring, leaving everything otherwise as is.
Then wouldn't I need a 24v battery bank?
Thank's
Tim
Nope, the classic is pretty smart... it detects the battery voltage and will convert the '24'Volts to what the battery needs.
Also the MPPT function of the Classics is a great tool. It allows you to get the most out of standard (12,24V) panels and non-standard (GT eg 30V) panels and charge a 12v, 24v, or 48V Edit: battery.
You should read up on the MPPT function...
Thank's I will do that
Quote from: Halfcrazy on January 31, 2014, 08:23:46 PM
Yes it would work just fine with those panels
Ryan,
I seem to remember someone from Midnite advising that input voltage should be at least one "nominal" above battery voltage. I took "nominal" to mean 12 volts. That would mean 24 volt Vmp for a 12 volt battery.
I just played with the string sizing tool for the classic 150. I wanted to see how much headroom the Classic needs to charge a 12 volt battery.
The string sizing tool seems to think an input Vmp of 15 volts is OK, but when I reduce the Vmp to 14 volts, the string sizer gives me a warning that Vmp is too low to charge the battery on hot days.
Is that believable? Can a Classic really charge a 12 volt battery with a 15 volt Vmp panel on a hot day? (assuming that panels with Vmp = 15 actually exist)
--vtMaps
ok so I ordered a clasic 150,next question is can I use my mndc125 box with it?
Thank's
Tim
the answer to that Question needs more information... ( but of course it will work with the CL150, it's from Midnite and all their products work together once we know what it is expected to do)
What do you want the final system to do? eg Start a 5 HP motor? Run a few lights? etc
What size/type Inverter do you want to run? TSW ? MSW? Dual function? Why?
How big a system do you want it to be? Is this to be a system you want to grow? (growing is not recommended for some components)
What loads do you plan on running? How long? Minutes ? All Day?
There are more but those will get things started.
This planning phase is probably the most important and detailed... so it may take a while to get it right.
I would like it to run a few lights,refridge,TV and a radio, and be a back up to my generator.I currently have two Kyocera 140W 12V panels in parallel.Feeding a 450AH BB,with a small inverter 100W.I am going to start with the Clasic 150,then add 4 more 140W panels,probaly going to up the V,pull #6 wire from array to charger,replace existing bank with 4 90AH 12V AMG's,wire them in series then parallel,looking at getting an Outback 2OOOW Inverter.
As Westbranch said you want to calculate all your loads and figure what the total daily loads are before you start changing hardware and pulling wires. The distance of your wires from PVs to controller and from controller to battery bank is important to figure your voltage drop and the size of the wire you should be using and proper breakers. You have to double the distance of you wires for DC voltage drops.You might also want to read some of the posts about wiring batteries in series and parallel. You are much better off with a single series string for charging.
Plan, calculate, plan and calculate again it is the most important thing you can do otherwise you may not be happy with your system
When you say single series string,you referring to say 6v batteries in series then parraled.I put the current system together on a shoe string budget,just looking to upgrade so I will have a little more power.Ok heres my Wire Size Calculation correct if I am wrong
25AX60FT=1500 DIVIDED BY 3%X24 Would put at using #4 copper correct?
tvac357
If you have access to MS Excel here is an excellent solar system voltage drop calculator and wire size tool. just remember with DC the length is round trip or double the actual distance measured.
The tool was provide by Neil and others on the NAWS and this forum.