Rogue MPPT, 490W and charging mysteries
Now that we were finally all in one place - me, Rogue 3048 and my rig - it was time to have some fun. 1)Battery: old starter, tested beyond dead, plates above the water. No wonder, 8 months in Mex...
Forum Discussion
Marc,
thanks - VTRIM helped to tune-up T-compensation. Somehow this was not clear from the manual, though I confess that skipped this section as well as some other "too technical" stuff. It's good to have means to calibrate. VTRIM=7 now, and the battery measured by multimeter reads close to where it should. Though, built-in display of the Rogue does not tell the whole truth, providing ~0.1V higher readings for Float. I will keep batteries on Float for a few days and watch this, and then cycle them and watch V ABS at different temps. Here is what I observed:
Float set up 13.6.
22C, Float=13.69 on multimeter on the battery. Ideally should be 13.69. Rogue display reads 13.8.
23.5C - fluctuating 23-24C, Float fluctuates 13.64-13.65. Ideally should be 13.645. Rogue reads 13.7.
25C, Float=13.63. Ideally should be 13.6. Rogue reads 13.7.
My shipping address for the next few months is not to be taken seriously, same as everything is Mexico. Mail will take several weeks with unpredictable results. When I get back North, it would be nice to upgrade the firmware then.
Full Mosey,
I am going to follow the advice of Smkettner and keep the batts on Float for some time, so they would "wake up" and hopefully behave more like they should. Also, to watch the Tcomp and fine-tuning it with VRIM if necessary. Light use in daytime like charging laptop, running shaver, radio, etc with that much solar doesn't cause batts to cycle - voltage drops but they remain in Float.
BFL,
there is no need to program this controller. I have (hopefully) tuned-up setpoints across the Temps range, and this is all I've done. Updating the firmware shouldn't be more difficult than installing new updates in PC. You download the software to PC, connect the controller via data port and it sucks the soft in - or doesn't, if either soft or controller is no good :).
No generator for me, thanks. I don't like fumes, and there is plenty of sun. Will buy one more panel and lean it against the trailer if my needs exceed the system capability. Which in turn may necessitate a more powerful controller - or it might not. Rogue can handle 500W on a clear day at sea level, but I will see if SOC will get to 90s in the evening. There seems to be no more than 2 cloudy days in row, usually with some sun, and then 3-4 days of clear or almost clear. 4th battery "might" be needed in future, or 5th and 6th, but I don't expect to need a generator here. Very old guy next door with a scooter and ~400W solar in front of his shack, permanently tilted and tracked 2-3 times a day runs a genny for two hours only after really cloudy day, but he spends a lot of time indoors (= drawing energy), and there is a scooter.
thanks - VTRIM helped to tune-up T-compensation. Somehow this was not clear from the manual, though I confess that skipped this section as well as some other "too technical" stuff. It's good to have means to calibrate. VTRIM=7 now, and the battery measured by multimeter reads close to where it should. Though, built-in display of the Rogue does not tell the whole truth, providing ~0.1V higher readings for Float. I will keep batteries on Float for a few days and watch this, and then cycle them and watch V ABS at different temps. Here is what I observed:
Float set up 13.6.
22C, Float=13.69 on multimeter on the battery. Ideally should be 13.69. Rogue display reads 13.8.
23.5C - fluctuating 23-24C, Float fluctuates 13.64-13.65. Ideally should be 13.645. Rogue reads 13.7.
25C, Float=13.63. Ideally should be 13.6. Rogue reads 13.7.
My shipping address for the next few months is not to be taken seriously, same as everything is Mexico. Mail will take several weeks with unpredictable results. When I get back North, it would be nice to upgrade the firmware then.
Full Mosey,
I am going to follow the advice of Smkettner and keep the batts on Float for some time, so they would "wake up" and hopefully behave more like they should. Also, to watch the Tcomp and fine-tuning it with VRIM if necessary. Light use in daytime like charging laptop, running shaver, radio, etc with that much solar doesn't cause batts to cycle - voltage drops but they remain in Float.
BFL,
there is no need to program this controller. I have (hopefully) tuned-up setpoints across the Temps range, and this is all I've done. Updating the firmware shouldn't be more difficult than installing new updates in PC. You download the software to PC, connect the controller via data port and it sucks the soft in - or doesn't, if either soft or controller is no good :).
No generator for me, thanks. I don't like fumes, and there is plenty of sun. Will buy one more panel and lean it against the trailer if my needs exceed the system capability. Which in turn may necessitate a more powerful controller - or it might not. Rogue can handle 500W on a clear day at sea level, but I will see if SOC will get to 90s in the evening. There seems to be no more than 2 cloudy days in row, usually with some sun, and then 3-4 days of clear or almost clear. 4th battery "might" be needed in future, or 5th and 6th, but I don't expect to need a generator here. Very old guy next door with a scooter and ~400W solar in front of his shack, permanently tilted and tracked 2-3 times a day runs a genny for two hours only after really cloudy day, but he spends a lot of time indoors (= drawing energy), and there is a scooter.
