Eco-Worthy 12v solar panels, Now drifting to... mono vs poly
When I search here, the only Ecoworthy results I get are for their controllers. Does anyone have any experience with their 12v panels?
Forum Discussion
He needs an earlier version of PM3 which does not have the 15 minute thing. That is what I have and then modified. Without the 15 min thing it originally would go into boost only if the batts were really low, using the same 13.2 trigger as a WFCO.
When I used the internal pot to change it up from (no load on the bench) 13.6 to 14.8, it just goes to 14.8 at constant max amps (takes however long the batts take to get to that) and then stays at 14.8 while amps taper. I have to shut the charger off or it will Float the batts forever at 14.8
I don't know how you can tell ahead of time if a "PM3" has that 15 min thing or not. ISTR it would have been mid-2012 when they brought in that 15 min thing (which is good if you want to keep it as is, so it won't act like the dreaded WFCO and be hard to get into boost)
Around the same time, they introduced the "PM4" There must have been some later PM3s that got the 15 min thing before they went all PM4.
It seems the trouble with raising the 13.6 voltage on the newer ones to 14.8 makes it do 15.x for the first 15 minutes, which would be a problem with the batteries connected. If you wait till it drops to the 14.8 after 15 minutes, that would waste 15 min of generator time. Also you want to clamp on first while the thermistor is still cold, so if you wait 15 min with the charger on and then clamp on once it drops to 14.8, that could overheat the thermistor. (means a circuit board repair to replace that RT-1---BTDT)
When I used the internal pot to change it up from (no load on the bench) 13.6 to 14.8, it just goes to 14.8 at constant max amps (takes however long the batts take to get to that) and then stays at 14.8 while amps taper. I have to shut the charger off or it will Float the batts forever at 14.8
I don't know how you can tell ahead of time if a "PM3" has that 15 min thing or not. ISTR it would have been mid-2012 when they brought in that 15 min thing (which is good if you want to keep it as is, so it won't act like the dreaded WFCO and be hard to get into boost)
Around the same time, they introduced the "PM4" There must have been some later PM3s that got the 15 min thing before they went all PM4.
It seems the trouble with raising the 13.6 voltage on the newer ones to 14.8 makes it do 15.x for the first 15 minutes, which would be a problem with the batteries connected. If you wait till it drops to the 14.8 after 15 minutes, that would waste 15 min of generator time. Also you want to clamp on first while the thermistor is still cold, so if you wait 15 min with the charger on and then clamp on once it drops to 14.8, that could overheat the thermistor. (means a circuit board repair to replace that RT-1---BTDT)
