More solar advice please

[Alan de Enfield]

1 minute ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

16.1v according to Trojan, IIRC.

 

So you don't have a technically valid answer my question?

No

[Asia_Off_Grid]

Just now, Mike the Boilerman said:

16.1v according to Trojan, IIRC.

+ 1 greenie

(I'm out of reactions for the day.)

[Alan de Enfield]

1 minute ago, Asia_Off_Grid said:

+ 1 greenie

(I'm out of reactions for the day.)

You need to learn to pace yourself - If you have any left late at night you can squander than as you like.

[MtB]

3 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

No

 

Excellent. So giving one's batteries a good 'kicking' = equalising them. Yay!

[Asia_Off_Grid]

1 minute ago, Alan de Enfield said:

You need to learn to pace yourself - If you have any left late at night you can squander than as you like.

It's an addiction. I cannot help myself.

[MtB]

Just now, Asia_Off_Grid said:

It's an addiction. I cannot help myself.

 

You can alwsys come back and greenify all my excellent posts tomorrow. 

 

[cuthound]

4 hours ago, Asia_Off_Grid said:

Equalizing voltage is about 15.5, isn't it? 

Depends on battery type and battery temperature.  16 volts isn't unusual on a cold winters day from my Victron Combi.

[Ssscrudddy]

I know it's a few days old, but as a tracer bn user since 2014, I have observed this.

If the alternator is running, putting out anywhere between 14.5V & 14.7V, the tracer controller sees the batteries as full & doesn't even try to do anything. As far as I'm aware my alternator is a dumb charger & will just keep going until it's turned off.

If the mains charger is in bulk mode it's doing 14.4V & the tracer sees the batteries as full & doesn't do anything

If the alternator is running 14.5V - 14.7V, the mains charger (Mastervolt combi) sees the batteries as full & doesn't do anything.

If the mains charger is in float 13.25V then the tracer controller sees the batteries as not charged enough & so will take over, at an observed float mode of 13.65V (although the manual says 13.8V), which convinces the Mastervolt charger the batteries are full & so it will do nothing.

Basically the alternator is the highest voltage which convinces the tracer MPPT controller & the Mastervolt charger that the batteries are full & so the other 2 do nothing.

Next highest is the tracer controller, so if the alternator is off, assuming enough sun, the tracer is doing the charging & the Mastervolt sees it as full so does nothing.

Lowest voltage is the Mastervolt charger, so if there is not enough sun (& alternator off) the mains charger is doing it's thing.

Edit to say they all play nicely together & don't confuse each other, I have 2 30A tracer controllers, each wired to 2 165W panels in series

Edit 2 to say, both the tracer & the mains charger are 14.4V for bulk, but somehow they don't confuse each other. However realistically I'm usually in a marina on shore power so batteries are full, & when I'm not (ie I get back from a cruise & plug into the mains) then the batteries are full anyway & so it's not doing bulk charge anyway.

Edited February 24, 2018 by Ssscrudddy

[WotEver]

8 hours ago, Ssscrudddy said:

I know it's a few days old, but as a tracer bn user since 2014, I have observed this.

If the alternator is running, putting out anywhere between 14.5V & 14.7V, the tracer controller sees the batteries as full & doesn't even try to do anything. As far as I'm aware my alternator is a dumb charger & will just keep going until it's turned off.

If the mains charger is in bulk mode it's doing 14.4V & the tracer sees the batteries as full & doesn't do anything

If the alternator is running 14.5V - 14.7V, the mains charger (Mastervolt combi) sees the batteries as full & doesn't do anything.

If the mains charger is in float 13.25V then the tracer controller sees the batteries as not charged enough & so will take over, at an observed float mode of 13.65V (although the manual says 13.8V), which convinces the Mastervolt charger the batteries are full & so it will do nothing.

Basically the alternator is the highest voltage which convinces the tracer MPPT controller & the Mastervolt charger that the batteries are full & so the other 2 do nothing.

Next highest is the tracer controller, so if the alternator is off, assuming enough sun, the tracer is doing the charging & the Mastervolt sees it as full so does nothing.

Lowest voltage is the Mastervolt charger, so if there is not enough sun (& alternator off) the mains charger is doing it's thing.

Edit to say they all play nicely together & don't confuse each other, I have 2 30A tracer controllers, each wired to 2 165W panels in series

Edit 2 to say, both the tracer & the mains charger are 14.4V for bulk, but somehow they don't confuse each other. However realistically I'm usually in a marina on shore power so batteries are full, & when I'm not (ie I get back from a cruise & plug into the mains) then the batteries are full anyway & so it's not doing bulk charge anyway.

This is exactly how you would hope it would all work. If the engine is running because you are cruising then the alternator is spinning anyway and hence the charge is ‘free’. Yes, some hp will be ‘wasted’ on charging but not so much that you’d notice. If you’re plugged in and the sun is shining then you get a truly free charge from the Solar and don’t spend money on expensive shore power. 

[KJT]

My set up has three Tracer MPPT contollers, running a total of 830 watts of solar. It is a fit and forget system. Never had to disconnect anything if the engine is running or when on shore power. If on shore power though, in my installation, the solar shuts down, presumably sensing fully charged batteries regardless of SOC. In that case I just switch off the shore power supply to get the benefit of the solar.

Ken