My First PWM Solar Run
Well, I guess you could say I lost my solar charging virginity... finally. :) Two 140w 12v Poly panels, in parallel, manual tracking, Isc 8.15a (x2), Voc 22.4, 50' (one way) of 6awg cable to Solar3...
Forum Discussion
jrnymn7 wrote:
West,
So your rooftop connections are all inside the combiner box, and attached directly to the bus bars, with terminal ring ends? So, no mc4 connectors used?
I can see going that route, as it would still be easy enough to switch things out, from series to parallel, if need be. And I really don't like trying to disconnect those mc4's, anyway. If it wasn't for needing a good finger nail trimming, I probably wouldn't have been able to push those tiny tabs in the other day.
I used one of those audio CB's, like snowman recommended. I have a 50a on the pos cable to the bank, and it raised voltage drop by 0.08v at 45a, but by nothing measureable at finishing amps. So I'm guessing the 30a on the pos solar cable is likely causing about half that at 20a solar.
Re; EQ'ing... yes the amps are there, but not the voltage, it seems. BFL and Niner (or Landyacht? I forget) saw a difference of .3-.5v over and above the solar30's setting of 15v, but mine appears to be very close, when confirmed with the dmm. Besides, I prefer to EQ individual 6's with my cc/cv variable adjustable power supply, so it's not really a concern.
I kept about 6' of MC4 connected to the module's standard box. The MC4 is terminated at the combiner where 4 ga. cable leads down about 6' to the controller. A direct connection to the module would be even better if you don't need or like the MC4 connectors.
Understood on the EQ. There are a variety of ways to get it done.
