I have a truck camper with a 7 year old solar system: 2x135 watt Kyocera panels in parallel, 2x150AH Lifeline AGM batteries and a cheapie replacement Nature Power controller.I have a compressor refrigerator and my wife uses a CPAP. I will be traveling this fall and winter and need to get the most out of my solar system. The single stage pwm controller is obviously a weak link so I just ordered a Blue Sky 3000i MPPT controller with a temperature probe. I probably should have asked for advice first, but I can still cancel the order if there are contrary recommendations.ThanksBTW, I should have also mentioned I do not have room for any additional panels or batteries.

to get the most efficient use of your new controllerReconnect the panels in series, you will gain a little more on morning and afternoon power output

What are the sizes and lengths of wire from the panels to the controller and from the controller to the batteries?

Look at the Tracer BN series. It is considerably cheaper than the Blue Sky and is a Morningstar clone. It does allow for a battery temperature sensor and has adjustable voltage sense points IIRC.What is the voltage on the panels?The Blue Sky dip switches don't give you much control of the unit. To extract every watt you may need to add the IPN remote to the Blue Sky.

The way the system was installed I cannot access or change the wiring without trying to remove the solar panels. I believe the prewiring from Northstar was 10 gauge. I have no idea how long the wiring run is. It looks like it would need to be 10 - 15 feet.What does the IPN do? I thought that was used to manage multiple controllers.

set the nature power to 14.4v when on the road and be done with it.

Solar Charge Controller Advice Needed | Good Sam Community

39 Replies

Unyalli
Explorer
May 14, 2017
pianotuna wrote:
JimK,

Handy Bob is at best dated and is full of errors. Not a reliable source.

JimK-NY wrote:
He is a discussion of reliability and efficiency of the Midnight Classic with some brief mentions for the Kid model:

https://handybobsolar.wordpress.com/2015-midnite-classic-problems/

Exactly. Quote "Morningstar pushes more amps". You don't push amps, you draw them.

Curious thousands of these out there running flawlessly but Bob figures out how to screw one up.

- Jeff
pianotuna
Nomad III
May 14, 2017
JimK,

Handy Bob is at best dated and is full of errors. Not a reliable source.

JimK-NY wrote:
He is a discussion of reliability and efficiency of the Midnight Classic with some brief mentions for the Kid model:

https://handybobsolar.wordpress.com/2015-midnite-classic-problems/
Dirtpig
Explorer
May 14, 2017
I have the suncharger 30 by bluesky and though it is PWM it is fantastic and fully customizable. I saved a bit of money over the mppt version but put those savings into another panel. I'm happy.
Unyalli
Explorer
May 13, 2017
red31 wrote:
Unyalli wrote:
their efficiency is through the roof.

is there any documentation on this? Several makers include it in their manuals, graphs of eff/watts.

Absolutely, independent tests galore and their Web site. I have a classic 150 with wiz bang jr. No more guessing when to end absorb.

I will add this, with the wiz bang jr, this is the most intelligent charge controller bar none. Yes the trimetric is awsome but antiquated and no longer needed.

- Jeff
JimK-NY
Explorer II
May 13, 2017
He is a discussion of reliability and efficiency of the Midnight Classic with some brief mentions for the Kid model:

https://handybobsolar.wordpress.com/2015-midnite-classic-problems/
red31
Explorer
May 13, 2017
Unyalli wrote:
their efficiency is through the roof.

is there any documentation on this? Several makers include it in their manuals, graphs of eff/watts.
Unyalli
Explorer
May 13, 2017
Absolute best charge controllers on the market today are the Midnite solar charge controllers for your application I would go with a kid make sure you get the wizbang Jr and a shunt nobody else offers ending amps like Midnite solar does and their efficiency is through the roof. Battery temp sensor as well.
pianotuna
Nomad III
May 13, 2017
JimK-NY,

Just enjoy having solar. It is the best money I ever spent on my RV. My system is too small for full time. I can manage about 3 days before I need to use a generator. I'm a true power hog.

The need for an audit is to help decide whether the existing system can bring home the bacon, or if you should just stay with PWM.

We had for several years an extremely perceptive (but difficult) member called Salvo. He claimed that MPPT at the very best did about 8% better than PWM. Most certainly forget the 30% claims.

I do get about 1 KWH of harvest per day from my system May through September.
red31
Explorer
May 13, 2017
http://lifelinebatteries.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/6-0101-Rev-E-Lifeline-Technical-Manual.pdf

install new controller, monitor and adjust abs time when traveling/running generator, return to default 2 hrs or less in storage.

lifeline considers FULL @77F to be 14.3v held until current has declined to .5A/100ah capacity. In low light conditions any load might trigger the abs timer to start over. non issue IMO and why I suggested setting your existing controller to 14.4v while traveling. Without gen charging you won't get to abs daily in winter.
JimK-NY
Explorer II
May 13, 2017
I do not have a meter. Nor do I understand the need for an audit. I have lived in the RV the equivalent of about 3 years so I have a very good idea of when I run out of juice and need the generator. There are some big variables in useage, including whether my wife is traveling with me and uses the CPAP. For part of this next trip I will be alone. The next huge variable is ambient temps. The compressor refrigerator runs less than one third time with temps about 70. With temps in the upper 80s, it runs close to constantly. The next big variable is my laptop use. It chews a lot of power especially if I do photo editing for several hours. I need to do any updates now while my camper is just sitting. Once I take off and use the RV, it will be too late.

I don't know anything about the BS 3024. I ordered the 3000i and the default is equalization off. If not it can easily be set to off.

At this point I am still trying to learn more about solar. I am not sure if I can still cancel the order. I don't think it has shipped so I probably have until at least Monday.