Cadillac_Jack
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Re: Proper Wiring for two controllers to one battery bank
NinerBikes wrote: Cadillac Jack wrote: UGH! In my first post I said that I just bought a state of the art MPPT charge controller. So now I am supposed to trade it in on a 50 dollar PWM Chinese knockoff? ? ? ? ? I have also mentioned numerous times that I cannot match my two 120 watt panels for multiple reasons! A prior poster questioned why I would run my panels in series when My batteries are in parallel. DOUBLE UGH! Of course my batteries are in parallel, I said so in my first post when I said I was running dual group 27 Trojans! Triple UGH! Completely obvious and totally irrelevant. Its a camper for crying out loud not a cabin. So you bought a top of the line MPPT charge controller for $250, for a camper, when you have two mismatched 120W panels no longer made, and a 50W panel. A PWM would have handled all of that, no problem, with no ill effects... run them all the panels parallel, tie them in whereever,either at the input side of the controller, or at another junction box. 10 ga wire panels to controller will handle all the amps. You sir quite obviously cannot read. Which is of course why you should not post replies to threads that YOU DO NOT READ! ! ! ! ! MY TWO 120 WATT PANELS ARE PERFECTLY MATCHED! What don't you understand about that? I then said on numerous occasions that I cannot put up another matching 120 watt panel because A they are 72 cells and no longer made & B I don't have the room READ AND COMPREHEND! You are the one that brought in the pablum of why I would run two panels in series while my batteries are in parallel. WTH ? ? ? ? You brought a completely irrelevant argument to the table and then try to make me look stupid ??? If you had read the very first post in the thread, then you wouldn't be saying silly******about how my batteries are wired or why I don't buy a 50 dollar Chinese piece of crap! For the love of God!450Views0likes0CommentsRe: Proper Wiring for two controllers to one battery bank
UGH! In my first post I said that I just bought a state of the art MPPT charge controller. So now I am supposed to trade it in on a 50 dollar PWM Chinese knockoff? ? ? ? ? I have also mentioned numerous times that I cannot match my two 120 watt panels for multiple reasons! A prior poster questioned why I would run my panels in series when My batteries are in parallel. DOUBLE UGH! Of course my batteries are in parallel, I said so in my first post when I said I was running dual group 27 Trojans! Triple UGH! Completely obvious and totally irrelevant. Its a camper for crying out loud not a cabin.451Views0likes0CommentsRe: Proper Wiring for two controllers to one battery bank
atreis wrote: Wiring them in series lowers the line losses between the panels and the controller (it's amperage - the flow of electrons - that's resisted - and the higher voltage - how hard those electrons are being pushed - helps too). The MPPT controller will take care of outputting the correct voltage to the batteries. When wiring different panels (or sets of panels) in parallel, the VoC should match as closely as possible. (If producing at all, most panels will produce they're rated voltage, even if they're mostly shaded and producing very low amperage.) If it doesn't, the lower of the two voltages is what will be used, with any difference wasted. When wiring different panels (or sets of panels) in series, the VoC does't matter much (with an MPPT controller) but the Imp should match as closely as possible. If they don't match the higher-current panel will end up being limited to the same amperage as the lower-current panel with the difference wasted. (If the panels don't have bypass diodes, the same thing will happen if one of the panels is shaded. Some panels, Kyocera for instance, have bypass diodes between groups of cells as well. Some of the super-cheap panels don't have bypass diodes at all.) There are many references online, some better than others, for the fun of wiring in series vs. parallel, and series-parallel. These are but a few: Solar Facts MPPT Solar Solar Panels Venue Exactly right. Not sure what the other gentleman is talking about. My batteries are 12 Volt. The camper is set up for 12 volt. Two 6 volt batteries in series are 12 volt. Meaningless for this discussion. Higher volts push more amps. I will never be able to match my two 120 watt panels. As I said before, they are no longer made and besides, I don't have the room. Mismatching panels of different size is a definite no go, so adding a third panel in parallel is a bad idea. I am well aware of what series wiring does to 12 volt batteries. Why are we talking about it? My original post was in regards to wiring a second controller. The rest is well known to me. So running my two large identical panels that suffer no shading in series thru my MPPT controller will net more power to the batteries.416Views0likes0CommentsRe: Proper Wiring for two controllers to one battery bank
NinerBikes wrote: If you have two matching 120W panels, those are each close to 7 amps each charge rate. Why even bother screwing with the 50 watt solar panel and it's measly 2.5 addtional amps, when you already have 14 amps? Get another matching 120W panel if you can, and sell the 50 watt panel. 120W panels for 89 AH group 27's AGM's is plenty, for most applications. Next time when your replace the Group 27's Trojans, consider 6V T105's instead. Much, much, much easier to keep charged, they don't have the crappy acid to lead ratios that car type sized batteries do, so that the damn battery can fit under the hood without shorting out at the terminals. Trojan should make a T-105 AGM Side terminal batteries for cars already, for no shorts. When you match batteries, you should match panels also... seems to me just to be common sense. Understood. Oddly enough I have already come to the same conclusion. I am going to concentrate on the two 120 watt panels. I am wiring them in series and running 8 gauge MC4 wire to the Rouge through a plumbing vent. This will decrease my wire run to well less than 10 feet. From the charger to the batteries I only have a 24 inch run, and it will be 6 gauge fused before and after the charger. Later on I will take down the 50 watt panel, and replace it with a 100 watt unit and use the same wire route to the second charger thus I will be gaining an additional 6 amps plus absolutely no combiner boxes or holes in my roof. Unfortunately, I can no longer find the Evergreen 72 cell 120 watt panels, so I will have to build a second array. As to the T 105s, already been down that road. They will not fit in my battery box. The Trojan 27 TMX was really the best I could do, and still have a fair amount of room to work on and water the batteries. The Trojan group 27s that I have are 105 AH each. I should be sized pretty well with the two 120 watt panels in series. I bought a relatively cheap watering system from Amazon, and it works flawlessly. I also have the remote meter for the Rouge. Very exited about this setup. Thanks for all the replies.415Views0likes0CommentsProper Wiring for two controllers to one battery bank
Ok guys here is what I have, and what I want to do. I have two 120 watt panels running through a 10 year old PWM charge controller to a set of two group 27 deep cycle 12 volt Trojans. I also have the original 50 watt panel that came with the camper siting unplugged. I just purchased the Rouge 2024 MPPT controller. I am going to run the 120 watt panels through the Rouge controller to the group 27s. So now I have the original 50 watt panel along with original PWM controller. I want to wire this up to the same battery bank. My questions are in regards to proper wiring. Do I run the wires from both controllers straight to the battery? Or do I run the wires from both controllers through a set of 12 volt circuit breakers then run them separately to the battery? Or do I run the wires from both controllers through a set of 12 volt breakers then join the wires together then to the battery ? Maybe I need to fuse the leads and don't need the breakers at all? Thanks for any thoughts from the experts.4.6KViews0likes38CommentsRe: Camplite 6.8
Spent a few hours pouring over the 6.8 among others. Small fridge without a real freezer. The deal breaker for me as I remember it was having to fold the thin crummy mattress out of the way to open the fridge. Also as has been mentioned, the water tanks are very small and with a price in the mid 20 thousands I expected more.546Views0likes0CommentsRe: TR: The "Wildnerness" Jennie Lakes near KC and Seq NP
Nice report. I have done that wilderness many times. In my opinion, the Sequoia area of the Sierras is the most incredible place that I have ever seen. By far my favorite place in the world. So many folks go to Yosemite with its massive crowds and traffic not realizing that the Sequoia is just as spectacular without all the noise. The high Sierra trail out of crescent meadow leads to scenery that boggles the mind. Of course most folks never venture more than a few feet from their vehicles. Good on you for showing the kids what really matters.621Views0likes0CommentsRe: Best Side Entry Camper??
AidenJ wrote: The nicest side entry I've seen is the 11' S&S. Unfortunatly I don't think they are producing. The fit and finish on that unit was the best I've seen in a while. Times 10. by the way, looks like you can order one factory direct right now. http://www.s-scampers.com/index.php1.1KViews0likes0Comments
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