I am working my way through the MS MODBUS Specification specs to capture data onto the RPi3.The plan is to avoid fixed control panels, and instead, run a web server on the RPi3 and then view info via smartphone, tablet, laptop, etc clients. A mifi will provide LAN connections.As of last Friday, I have been capturing the 'RAM' data fields for each minute. The fields are listed on page 4.I have no plans to use spreadsheets. I store the data in an sqlite3 database.Here is a sample output from an sql query run from the sqlite3 CLI:day cs cstate avg_bvolts min_btemp max_btemp minutes ---------- -- ------ ---------- ---------- ---------- ----------2017-04-23 3 Night 12.93 9 25 620 2017-04-23 5 Bulk 13.35 9 26 178 2017-04-23 6 PWM 14.86 10 22 328 2017-04-23 7 Float 13.36 22 27 314 The query displays a summary of the minutes for each control state for the previous day. The bank is 270ah AGM which should explain the high Night battery Volts. I do run two 12V compressor fridges 24/7.Looking for Comments, Suggestions, Questions.HTH;JohnTo correct broken MODBUS link. And, yes, I still refer back to this topic.

full_mosey wrote:I am working my way through the MS MODBUS Specification specs to capture data onto the RPi3.The plan is to avoid fixed control panels, and instead, run a web server on the RPi3 and then view info via smartphone, tablet, laptop, etc clients. A mifi will provide LAN connections.As of last Friday, I have been capturing the 'RAM' data fields for each minute. The fields are listed on page 4.I have no plans to use spreadsheets. I store the data in an sqlite3 database.Here is a sample output from an sql query run from the sqlite3 CLI:day cs cstate avg_bvolts min_btemp max_btemp minutes ---------- -- ------ ---------- ---------- ---------- ----------2017-04-23 3 Night 12.93 9 25 620 2017-04-23 5 Bulk 13.35 9 26 178 2017-04-23 6 PWM 14.86 10 22 328 2017-04-23 7 Float 13.36 22 27 314 The query displays a summary of the minutes for each control state for the previous day. The bank is 270ah AGM which should explain the high Night battery Volts. I do run two 12V compressor fridges 24/7.Looking for Comments, Suggestions, Questions.HTH;JohnComment Number 1: COOL!!!!!!!!!! :)Number 2: Sounds like you're a RPi expert but just my two cents: invest in a good microSD card if you're hammering the card with IO, like sqlite will do. I have 6 RPis in the house, and when I buy cheap SD cards they last about 8 months. I bought a couple of Samsung SD cards and they've gone three years.Web Server - Not sure if you have a favorite, but if not I've been running lighttpd on my home Pi and like it. Small. Solid.I've got an RPi3 with a SensorHat in our coach collecting environment and OBD2 data. I'll follow your lead if/when we add solar!

Very good to hear I'm not alone in my madness :)I don't have solar, but do have a RPI2 collecting data from my Magnum and several other custom built WiFi sensors and switches around the trailer... it all ties together in a web based "dashboard" that I can bring up on any tablet or smartphone.Not familiar with the RPI3, but if it's using one of those tiny microsd cards for the database, you'll want to move the db over to a USB stick or external USB hard drive. The SQL server on my RPI2 burned through two microsd cards already, the constant writes killed the cards dead.

RPi3 is an RPi2 with built in WiFi, Bluetooth (BLE) and a higher clock speed (1.2 GHz). Add a heatsink and folks are overclocking to 1.4ish. The RPi3 really needs a good 2.5A or better power supply. Mine was flaky with a 2A feed.

Uno mas - Western Digital has a line of external drives designed especially for the Raspberry Pi.

pconroy328 wrote:Uno mas - Western Digital has a line of external drives designed especially for the Raspberry Pi.I put an old laptop hard drive in a usb box and plugged it into the Pi. Cost about $7 for the box. More space then I'll ever need for databases and source code.

MorningStar TriStar-45 PWM and Raspberry Pi 3 data project

DanNJanice
Explorer
May 04, 2017
That is so cool!
I have been using two arduinos connected by wireless modules to monitor my batteries for the last couple of years. It works great.
I have been thinking of upgrading to RPi to give it a little more processing power.
full_mosey
Explorer
May 04, 2017
Here is a peek at PWM.

This shows:
1. The graph is produced by a PHP program located on the RPi. The RPi runs apache2 web server. You can see the IP assigned to the RPi by my router in the houser.

The RPi is located in my van which is parked at my home. The screenshot was made from my computer inside the house. I can view from any device with a web browser, e.g., my smart phone or tablet.

2. PWM - The cursor position is to indicate that PWM% was below the Float% threshhold at 1:00PM. The controller is poised to switch to float Voltage if PWM% can remain below 30% for 1 hour.

It is unlikely that there will be a switch to float Volts because of the two 12V compressor fridges.

HTH;
John
LittleBill
Explorer
May 04, 2017
DanNJanice wrote:
That is so cool!
I have been using two arduinos connected by wireless modules to monitor my batteries for the last couple of years. It works great.
I have been thinking of upgrading to RPi to give it a little more processing power.

mind providing your code?
full_mosey
Explorer
May 27, 2017
Update:

I replaced the TS-45PWM with an SSMPPT 15L. The 12V panels are rewired to 24V series.

Here is my rendition of a remote meter:

The Load Current of 0.29 is the RPi.

Soon the load current will include a MIFI and two 12V compressor fridges(see profile).

Next, I need to work on the Magnum 1012 inverter/charger charging and load data capture.

Trimetric killer?

HTH;
John
full_mosey
Explorer
Jun 20, 2017
Here is a graph showing the progress of charging during one day.

I got a clamp-on DC Amp meter for father's day. The brief drop of battery Volts at around 8:30 is me testing the meter by running a 480W space heater from the inverter. The other dips are due to the cycling of two 12VDC fridges while the charge Amps are lower than the fridges' draw.

The stair stepping of the Target Volts is the temp-comp function of the controller reacting to increases in battery temperature.

HTH;
John
full_mosey
Explorer
Jun 27, 2017
Anyone using batteries to run a fridge might be interested in this graph.

This is an overnight graph showing the effect of the duty cycle of a Dometic CF-35 fridge/freezer. The fridge is set to 1C. Ambient temperature decreased from 35 to 25C.

I was hoping to use the MS SSMPPT 15L's load terminals to record Amp draws, however, the 15L only measures Amps provided from solar and not the battery.

Some of the decrease in battery Volts is due to the battery temperature decreasing from 33 to 25C.

HTH;
John
MrWizard
Moderator
Jun 27, 2017
Battery voltage did not drop below 12.62v
You did very well
What is the amp hr capacity of your battery bank ?

Was that 10pm to 6am ?
mike-s
Explorer
Jun 27, 2017
According to their modbus doc:
Adc_ic_f
(12)(0x000B) (A). battery charge current, filtered.
Charging current to the battery as measured by on-board shunt.
I think you have to calculate solar current = load current + battery current (maybe flip the sign on battery current?)
full_mosey
Explorer
Jun 27, 2017
MrWizard wrote:
Battery voltage did not drop below 12.62v
You did very well
What is the amp hr capacity of your battery bank ?

Was that 10pm to 6am ?

Eaton Powerware 135Ah 500W UPS used. I have two for 270Ah. I got them at 5yrs old in the Summer of '15. I benchmarked them at the time and they rested at 12.88V at 85F.

Yes, 21:09 to 06:02!

HTH;
John
full_mosey
Explorer
Jun 27, 2017
mike-s wrote:
According to their modbus doc:
Adc_ic_f
(12)(0x000B) (A). battery charge current, filtered.
Charging current to the battery as measured by on-board shunt.
I think you have to calculate solar current = load current + battery current (maybe flip the sign on battery current?)

Take a look at this for me.

The graph is all charge_state 3 = night. There cannot be any charge current.

sqlite> select max(adc_ic_f), max(adc_il_f) from rhr where charge_state = 3 and dt>'2017-06-26 12';
0.007247314453125 0.12320434570312
sqlite>

The RPi is powered from a USB adapter connected to the load terminals.

A DROK USB tester shows the RPi drawing ~.330 mA, which is greater than the .12mA above. That is how I concluded that the 15L is not measuring battery draw overnight.

It also appears that the daytime measuring is off as well. Here is a read of current values averaged over the most recent 10 minutes:

SS MPPT 15L Meter(10 min avg):
Serial = ********
Time = 2017-06-27 14:25:03
Charge State = 7.0 <--- float
INPUT:
Array Voltage = 38.04
OUTPUT:
Battery:
Target-Volts = 13.23
Volts = 13.21
Amp-Hours = 28.1
Current = 0.69 <---- adc_ic_f
kW = 0.0091
kWhs = 17.3
Load:
Volts = 13.2
Amp-Hours = 0.8
Current = 0.13 <---- adc_il_f
Temperature:
RTS = 34.0
Heatsink = 47.0
Ambient = 46.0

Maybe you can make sense of this. The .13 is less than the RPi's actual draw.

HTH;
John