Switch between solar panels and controller?

[reg]

19 hours ago, Scholar Gypsy said:

, what I would like is a rotary switch built into the controller that has three positions: 1) Everything off 2) Battery connected (via fuse), panels disconnected 3) Everything on.  Then powering the system up and down, would be simple, ie 1 to 3 via  a pause at 2, and then 3 to 1 via  a pause at 2. I've forgotten about the load of course ....

Thinking about this wouldn't that be a useful after market item as a stand alone switch, much like the 1,2,3 battery switch but specificaly made to pass solar wiring through. 

Would need to be a 4 way switch to take into account load usage though. 

1 everything off

2 batteries connected

3 batteries and load connected 

4 batteries, load and solar connected. 

 

Maybe one for the likes of durite or bluesea to consider. 

[reg]

On 23/07/2018 at 16:02, reg said:

I have emailed epsolar tech support for clarification on the installation instructions. Will let you know their reply when received. 

 

Also gave them a link to this thread 

I have has a reply from epsolar tech support which states

"

Hello Sir,

Thank you very much for your informations.

And we wil feedback to our technical department to modify it.

Thanks~!" 

 

This is what I wrote

"Thank you for your reply but I maybe was not to clear in my previous email, what I was saying is

 

Page 12

"Please don't turn on the fuse during the installation" 

 

Should I think say

 

"Please don't turn on the breaker during the installation" 

 

At the moment it is confusing and has been interpreted incorrectly by some to mean that the solar panels must be connected before the batteries, which is I believe incorrect. 

 

If you change the manual to read

 

1)
"Connect components to the charge controller in the sequence as shown above 
and pay much attention to the ―+‖ and ―-‖. Please don‘t turn on the breaker during the installation. When disconnecting the system, the order will be reserved." 

 

Then this would agree with the diagram you provide and would avoid an important confusion. 

Thank you" 

 

So it looks like we have got a positive  result and the manual will be amended to remove the confusing sentence. 

Edited July 31, 2018 by reg

[WotEver]

On 31/07/2018 at 22:22, reg said:

the manual will be amended to remove the confusing sentence. 

Will it still say ‘reserved’ instead of ‘reversed’?

[dor]

I have a 100W panel connected to a 10A PWM controller. This connects to the battery via a line fuse.  When I want to check my batteries without any influence from th panel I pull the fuse.

it would seem that I am risking damage to my controller, is that right?

 

Perhaps I should fit a large 12V switch between my panel and the controller.

[pearley]

On 20/07/2018 at 14:32, Robbo said:

Mine clearly states the opposite.

So does mine. Tracer MPPT

[reg]

8 hours ago, WotEver said:

Will it still say ‘reserved’ instead of ‘reversed’?

To be honest it took a number of attempts due to language barrier to make the key point clear, didn't want to confuse the issue more with the simple, and I think fairly obvious, misspelling of reversed. 

 

Liked the sign off touch

 

Thanks~!" 

 

Apparently means :

Rye smile, wrinkly nose  embarrassed by the error. 

 

Edited September 5, 2018 by reg

[reg]

7 hours ago, dor said:

I have a 100W panel connected to a 10A PWM controller. This connects to the battery via a line fuse.  When I want to check my batteries without any influence from th panel I pull the fuse.

it would seem that I am risking damage to my controller, is that right?

 

Perhaps I should fit a large 12V switch between my panel and the controller.

Not a bad idea I use a inline blade fuse between panel and controller, simply remove the fuse when needed. 

If I am doing anything with battery then the order is

1 remove blade fuse panel-controller 

2 remove fuse battery-controller 

 

And reverse the order when reconnecting. 

[Gareth E]

1 hour ago, reg said:

Not a bad idea I use a inline blade fuse between panel and controller, simply remove the fuse when needed. 

If I am doing anything with battery then the order is

1 remove blade fuse panel-controller 

2 remove fuse battery-controller 

 

And reverse the order when reconnecting. 

Those inline blade fuses tend to have quite thin wire, certainly thinner than the normal solar cable. Did you find a fuse holder with thicker wires, or does the thin wire not bother you? 

[WotEver]

10 hours ago, Gareth E said:

Those inline blade fuses tend to have quite thin wire, certainly thinner than the normal solar cable. Did you find a fuse holder with thicker wires, or does the thin wire not bother you? 

A short piece of thinner cable isn’t going to have any appreciable affect on voltage drop. 

[Scholar Gypsy]

This is what I did (the circuit breakers are better protected than it appears in this photo), plus a sign on the wall saying what reg says in his posting above, about how to a) power up b) power down.

 

[Gareth E]

8 hours ago, WotEver said:

A short piece of thinner cable isn’t going to have any appreciable affect on voltage drop. 

OK but if there is, say, 30 amps going through it, is it not at risk of melting or something? 

[Richard10002]

2 hours ago, Gareth E said:

OK but if there is, say, 30 amps going through it, is it not at risk of melting or something? 

Only if its not rated for 30 amps..... The ones I've got say they are rated up to 30 amps.

[Gareth E]

5 minutes ago, Richard10002 said:

Only if its not rated for 30 amps..... The ones I've got say they are rated up to 30 amps.

OK thanks I'll add that to the list of possibilities. The problem I have is that my controller is in the bedroom at the back of the boat. I'm trying to get a solution that's not only practical, but looks neat as well.

[Gareth E]

Another thought: would there be any problems if I installed a standard 'house' switch with a box? This could look quite neat. I know they are designed for 240v but with 375w of solar on a 12v system, would they be safe? Also my cables are 5mm would a standard switch take this?

[Gareth E]

Such as this one... https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/METAL-CLAD-ELECTRICAL-FITTINGS-SWITCHES-AND-SOCKETS-WORKSHOP-GARAGE-INDUSTRIAL/173310742142?hash=item285a200e7e:m:m-wCFaojcZd3tyig6MIaraQ

[WotEver]

Those switches don’t have a DC rating. The upshot of which is that they may be just fine, but they may not. Switches designed for DC have the contacts built differently to AC switches. 

[Richard10002]

5 hours ago, Gareth E said:

OK thanks I'll add that to the list of possibilities. The problem I have is that my controller is in the bedroom at the back of the boat. I'm trying to get a solution that's not only practical, but looks neat as well.

I use a 50A one of these:

 

https://www.12voltplanet.co.uk/waterproof-switchable-surface-mounted-circuit-breakers.html

 

My panels are in parallel, so voltage doesnt exceed the 48V rating. It works well as a switch - the circuit breaking facility not actually necessary.

[Gareth E]

This is about the neatest solution I can find. A few things aren't clear though: Would the connections inside it accept 5mm wire? Also are they likely to be a simple screw fitting? can't be doing with faffing fitting ring terminals etc. Also, do the wires have to enter the breaker through the rear of the unit? this would be a no no as it would be mounted on a timber bulkhead, I'd need one wire to enter the unit from each side.

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/32A-DC-Circuit-Breaker-MCB-Solar-Fuse-125v-Single-Pole-1P-Ebike-TOB1Z-63-C32/272030672228?epid=2098502521&hash=item3f564aa564:g:32kAAOSwjXRXYTf1

[WotEver]

1 hour ago, Gareth E said:

This is about the neatest solution I can find. A few things aren't clear though: Would the connections inside it accept 5mm wire? Also are they likely to be a simple screw fitting? can't be doing with faffing fitting ring terminals etc. Also, do the wires have to enter the breaker through the rear of the unit? this would be a no no as it would be mounted on a timber bulkhead, I'd need one wire to enter the unit from each side.

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/32A-DC-Circuit-Breaker-MCB-Solar-Fuse-125v-Single-Pole-1P-Ebike-TOB1Z-63-C32/272030672228?epid=2098502521&hash=item3f564aa564:g:32kAAOSwjXRXYTf1

That’s a breaker designed to be fitted onto a 35mm DIN rail in an enclosure like this: https://www.screwfix.com/p/wylex-3-module-ip65-insulated-enclosure-with-visor/74436

 

The cable entry into your chosen enclosure will depend on its case. 

[Richard10002]

4 hours ago, Gareth E said:

This is about the neatest solution I can find. A few things aren't clear though: Would the connections inside it accept 5mm wire? Also are they likely to be a simple screw fitting? can't be doing with faffing fitting ring terminals etc. Also, do the wires have to enter the breaker through the rear of the unit? this would be a no no as it would be mounted on a timber bulkhead, I'd need one wire to enter the unit from each side.

On the one I have, it’s mounted just like you want, and the wires enter from the sides. However, you need to “faff” with ring terminals, but you would have a much better connection than a screw terminal.

 

You could buy one of these:

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_sacat=0&_nkw=agu circuit breaker&rt=nc&LH_PrefLoc=1&_trksid=p2045573.m1684

 

but I was advised against it on the basis that a ring is better than a screw squashing wires.

[Gareth E]

1 hour ago, Richard10002 said:

On the one I have, it’s mounted just like you want, and the wires enter from the sides. However, you need to “faff” with ring terminals, but you would have a much better connection than a screw terminal.

 

You could buy one of these:

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_sacat=0&_nkw=agu circuit breaker&rt=nc&LH_PrefLoc=1&_trksid=p2045573.m1684

 

but I was advised against it on the basis that a ring is better than a screw squashing wires.

I looked at those, they would be a very neat solution. Perfect actually. They don't seem to have a rating for higher volts though? My panels are in series.

[WotEver]

4 hours ago, Richard10002 said:

I was advised against it on the basis that a ring is better than a screw squashing wires.

Fit a ferrule to the end of the wire then screw the screws down very tight. It’s how high current connections are made within 440V fuseboxes after all. 

[WotEver]

3 hours ago, Gareth E said:

They don't seem to have a rating for higher volts though?

Good point. A fuse/holder combination voltage rating shouldn’t really be exceeded. 

[Gareth E]

41 minutes ago, WotEver said:

Good point. A fuse/holder combination voltage rating shouldn’t really be exceeded. 

I guess that rules out those cheap midi fuse holders then? And pretty well everything else, it seems!

[Richard10002]

5 hours ago, Gareth E said:

I looked at those, they would be a very neat solution. Perfect actually. They don't seem to have a rating for higher volts though? My panels are in series.

I switched to parallel so I could fit the breaker switch. Didn’t mind faffing with rings