solor controler wiring

[spud150]

i have 2 100 watt panels and a wellsee mppt 30 amp controler the wires from

the panels are 2 posative joined together and 2 negative joined together going into the controler then posative and negative coming out to the batterys and nothing in the load ,does that sound right as my batterys seem to be discharging instead of charging

thanks

[matty40s]

Does it look like the one below??

There should be no discharge unless the unit is faulty - at the prices I have seen for this unit - it looks like a very(VERY) cheap MPPT that may not even be an MPPT.

 

I do hope you also have a fuse or isolator between the batteries and controller. Check all your connections.

 

Try connecting your panels in series - (pos of one panel to neg of the other) and use a multimeter to see what voltage is now running through -this should be higher, and the MPPT is more likely to produce a better ampage.

 

 

[spud150]

thanks matty ,yes thats the one ,i have no fuse ,what size fuse do i need,and do i need to have anything in the load

thanks

[MtB]

i have 2 100 watt panels and a wellsee mppt 30 amp controler the wires from

the panels are 2 posative joined together and 2 negative joined together going into the controler then posative and negative coming out to the batterys and nothing in the load ,does that sound right as my batterys seem to be discharging instead of charging

thanks

 

Your wiring sounds correct to me (other than the missing fuse).

 

It could be that you are drawing more power from your batteries than the solar are producing. 200W of panels will produce 200W only under PERFECT conditions. Most of the daylight time they will be delivering between 20W and 100W, I'd say. Are you leaving the boat with the battery master switches OFF while you find they discharge, or are you a liveaboard, or what?

 

MtB

[spud150]

thanks mike i leave the boat for 6 days with the batterys turned off ,so i would expect to return to nice full batterys but its not happening

thanks

[MtB]

thanks mike i leave the boat for 6 days with the batterys turned off ,so i would expect to return to nice full batterys but its not happening

thanks

 

Sounds to me as though there is a component failure then. The panels are connected in parallel so if one fails the other will still work. My money is on that controller as it looks impossibly small and weedy to handle 30 Amps and be MPPT.

 

Does the 'charge' lamp on the controller illuminate? Have you tried reading the instructions booklet for fault tracing? I agree with Matty, easy to trace the problem if you get yourself a multimeter.

 

MtB

[spud150]

thanks i have a multimeter checked it yesterday on the controler on the panel side and it was showing 16,6 but the trouble is i dont know what i am doing

[smileypete]

There should be a fuse in the positive near the batts, 15A is ideal, 20A will do OK.

 

The 'Wellsee' is very likely not a genuine MPPT but a cheap PWM instead, get a refund under 'DSR' if you can or if it was sold as an MPPT.

 

ETA: A decent Tracer 20A MPPT can be had from the likes of 'Bimble Solar' for £90ish all in:

 

http://www.bimblesolar.com/offgrid/mppt/20amppt

 

ETA2: If budget is tight and you don't need to wring every last watt out of your solar panels then a cheap but decent PWM controller will do too:

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/SainSonic-Battery-Charge-Controller-Regulator/dp/B008RJEVLK

http://www.amazon.co.uk/SainSonic-Waterproof-LS2024RP-Controller-Regulator/dp/B008RJEVZG

 

cheers, Pete.

~smpt~

Edited May 20, 2013 by smileypete

[DeanS]

thanks i have a multimeter checked it yesterday on the controler on the panel side and it was showing 16,6 but the trouble is i dont know what i am doing

 

I'd like someone to confirm what I'm about to say (I dont have to do it this way as I have a clamp meter), ..

 

You could disconnect the positive battery wire from the MPPT....and connect your multimetre in series between the controller + pin and the wire going to the battery...and you would be able to measure the current flowing from the MPPT to your batteries.

 

On my 30Amp MPPT, it's about 2-5 amps when cloudy...and I've seen it at about 12Amps , on a bright, cloudy day. Alas, I havent had a proper sunny day yet ....but the batteries are definately getting charged. I think your controller is the problem. Mine is a 30A MPPT and is about 3 times bigger than yours ......and I have heard that some Chineses ones are only partly MPPT....but dont know much more than that.

[MtB]

I'd like someone to confirm what I'm about to say (I dont have to do it this way as I have a clamp meter), ..

 

You could disconnect the positive battery wire from the MPPT....and connect your multimetre in series between the controller + pin and the wire going to the battery...and you would be able to measure the current flowing from the MPPT to your batteries.

 

Confirmed.

 

PROVIDED your multimeter is capable of measuring current up to the rated output of your MPPT controller. Otherwise the pretty magic smoke might come out of your precious multimeter...

 

MtB

 

thanks i have a multimeter checked it yesterday on the controler on the panel side and it was showing 16,6 but the trouble is i dont know what i am doing

 

In that case you need to be measuring the voltage coming OUT of it next. The voltage going to the batteries. I'd expect about 14v if the controller is working, certainly 13v or higher. 12.6v or lower and the controller is dead.

 

Is the 'charging' light on the controller illuminated? (Second time of asking!)

 

 

MtB

[spud150]

sorry mike i am getting a flashing red light on the charge side of the controler and the thanks for the other replys i will try them next weekend, might even send it back and get that tracer ,i bought this as i just have to buy the cheapest can not help myself