Solar charger (1 Viewer)

[Bart]

Sorry to side swipe the thread a bit but saying as we on the subject of the controller if i was to get the Voltronic MPP250 what would be better to see exactly what is happening with my input from my solar and the state of my batteries.
Either the matching Voltronic panel https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/100A-12V...LCD-battery-monitor-and-5m-cable/122869295226
Or the Victron BMV 700
I had the Victron BMV 700 before and i know its great , but just wonder if id be better getting the Voltronic Battery monitor/shunt as its the same brand , but ive no idea if it does as much as the Victron or is better / worse quality.

 

[Just smiffy]

Suck it up lads..... one for each panel...

 

[Silver-Fox]

Suck it up lads..... one for each panel...

View attachment 302841

Yep there’s a man with more money than sense.

Ohh hang on I paid for those didn’t I

 

[Just smiffy]

Yep there’s a man with more money than sense.

Ohh hang on I paid for those didn’t I

Only 1.6 worth....

But they were already on it when bought...

 

[Silver-Fox]

Either the matching Voltronic panel

That’s what I fitted but it came with what looks like a telephone cable attached.
Plugged straight into the MPPT controller.

Didn’t have that bit of board with the connections either.

Sure I paid around £70 mark for mine.

10% off for C and C members

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[Silver-Fox]

Only 1.6 worth....

But they were already on it when bought...

How’s life treating you two then dude.

Thought you would be attending Thetford for the ped racing

 

[Just smiffy]

How’s life treating you two then dude.

Thought you would be attending Thetford for the ped racing

We’re in Albir for a month...

Life is good

 

[Pausim]

Sorry to side swipe the thread a bit but saying as we on the subject of the controller if i was to get the Voltronic MPP250 what would be better to see exactly what is happening with my input from my solar and the state of my batteries.
Either the matching Voltronic panel https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/100A-12V...LCD-battery-monitor-and-5m-cable/122869295226
Or the Victron BMV 700
I had the Victron BMV 700 before and i know its great , but just wonder if id be better getting the Voltronic Battery monitor/shunt as its the same brand , but ive no idea if it does as much as the Victron or is better / worse quality.

I have a mixture of Votronic and Victron kit and think both makes are excellent. I have a Victron BMV 700 and very much approve of the range of settings available for matching it properly to the battery but I don't much like the display. I have now added the bluetooth dongle and use the excellent app instead, the display having been relegated to the battery compartment. With the benefit of hindsight I should have bought one of the models with built in bluetooth. I think the Votronic display is much nicer and easier to read and would expect it to have a good range of settings.

My personal view is I would avoid the NASA one. I have yet to be convinced that a battery can be more than 100% full but there are threads that say the NASA ones can read 104% when full. Sorry but that is mathematical nonsense. I believe the explanation given is that this is because it takes more Ah to fill a battery than have been drawn out of it as it discharges but that just means that it is never going to start the cycle off from a realistic point. The Victron has charging efficiency and Peukerts factor settings to compensate for this and never reads more than 100%. It also synchronises at 100% by monitoring voltage rise and current drop off during charging so it knows when the battery is full.

 

[Bart]

Didn’t have that bit of board with the connections either.

That is the shunt that reads everything that goes into and also leaves the batteries.

 

[Silver-Fox]

That is the shunt that reads everything that goes into and also leaves the batteries.

So you can plug the Votronic display into the shunt then?

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[Stealaway]

It's a mine field. Having checked the prices again, it seem they give you picture of an MPPT but then sell you a MMP!!. Amazon prices are all the place. Photonic Universe is even more confusing. Do Voltronic still make a MTTP controller?

 

[Stealaway]

That is the shunt that reads everything that goes into and also leaves the batteries.

My tried and tested method is get as much charge as you can into them during the day. I don't need to know or control the amount. In the evening I simply watch my volt meter drop to about 12.5 and then turn the TV off. It takes about 3.5 hours depending on if we also have the heating on. I'm not bothered about how many amps I'm using just the state of charge in the batteries

 

[Bart]

So you can plug the Votronic display into the shunt then?

Yip via a cable, im sure you could buy the shunt separate but i never found it quickly.

 

[funflair]

It's a mine field. Having checked the prices again, it seem they give you picture of an MPPT but then sell you a MMP!!. Amazon prices are all the place. Photonic Universe is even more confusing. Do Voltronic still make a MTTP controller?

MPPT and yes Votronic do still make but they are called MPP's with the suffix 165, 250 etc as the wattage it can handle, duo means it has two battery outputs habitation and starter, and AES out is a signal to switch any AES device primarily a fridge.

Martin

 

[Bart]

My tried and tested method is get as much charge as you can into them during the day. I don't need to know or control the amount. In the evening I simply watch my volt meter drop to about 12.5 and then turn the TV off. It takes about 3.5 hours depending on if we also have the heating on. I'm not bothered about how many amps I'm using just the state of charge in the batteries

Very true and if it works for you , then happy days , some people inc me like to know every last detail.

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[funflair]

Votronic do a"solar computer" and a "battery computer" they look very similar but do different things so anybody purchasing needs to be careful, the "solar computer" plugs straight into a Votronic MPP regulator and tell you the amps/watts you are producing, the battery voltage, and cumulative watts/amps with a reset function.

I don't have a "battery computer" but note that it comes with a shunt so that it can monitor battery capacity and state of charge.

Martin

 

[Stealaway]

MPPT and yes Votronic do still make but they are called MPP's with the suffix 165, 250 etc as the wattage it can handle, duo means it has two battery outputs habitation and starter, and AES out is a signal to switch any AES device primarily a fridge.

Martin

Does @Lenny HB know about this ☹

 

[Lenny HB]

Does @Lenny HB know about this ☹

Of course.

 

[Silver-Fox]

Took these a bit earlier when it was a bit overcast.
I have two 150w panels plus these from Photonic.

 

[Bart]

Suck it up lads..... one for each panel...

View attachment 302841

I like them connectors that you have the positives and neutrals joined together , where did you get them from ,, u got a link ?

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[funflair]

View attachment 302901 View attachment 302900 Took these a bit earlier when it was a bit overcast.
I have two 150w panels plus these from Photonic.

Where is your solar computer plugged into.

Martin

 

[funflair]

Does @Lenny HB know about this ☹

Lenny knows everything

Martin

 

[Just smiffy]

I like them connectors that you have the positives and neutrals joined together , where did you get them from ,, u got a link ?

Nope, already on when I bought the Motorhome, I let someone else take the hit....

 

[Just smiffy]

I like them connectors that you have the positives and neutrals joined together , where did you get them from ,, u got a link ?

Ooh, just remembered that vanbiz put the solar on so that’s where there from...

 

[funflair]

@Silver-Fox this is our Solar computer display,

On the total ah screen it shows that the panel has sun on it and a small output, I would expect yours to show the same but I can’t see the cable into your controller.

And if anybody is interested the total ah has been reset twice at 10,000 so that’s nearly 30,000ah from 240w in about 6 years.

Martin

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[Silver-Fox]

@Silver-Fox this is our Solar computer display,

View attachment 302910

On the total ah screen it shows that the panel has sun on it and a small output, I would expect yours to show the same but I can’t see the cable into your controller.

And if anybody is interested the total ah has been reset twice at 10,000 so that’s nearly 30,000ah from 240w in about 6 years.

Martin

Yeah I’ve not got the bar on the left but didn’t have anything turned on either.

In my picture of the controller the flat cable front left is the one that feeds the display.

 

[funflair]

Yeah I’ve not got the bar on the left but didn’t have anything turned on either.

In my picture of the controller the flat cable front left is the one that feeds the display.

OK just couldn’t see enough wires.

Martin

 

[Silver-Fox]

OK just couldn’t see enough wires.

Martin

I’m guessing mines good then?

I’m far from an electric wizard

 

[funflair]

I’m guessing mines good then?

I’m far from an electric wizard

Not trying to trip you up or anything but I was expecting to see 5 wires +ve -ve for panels and again for battery then the 5th being the computer cable, then I was surprised it didn’t look like mine on the display, if you scroll up or down does it show amps and fluctuate with the sun?

Martin

 

[Silver-Fox]

Not trying to trip you up or anything but I was expecting to see 5 wires +ve -ve for panels and again for battery then the 5th being the computer cable, then I was surprised it didn’t look like mine on the display, if you scroll up or down does it show amps and fluctuate with the sun?

Martin

Never entered my head you were.

It’s good to have a secound pair of eyes on it just to double check

You can just see the pair of cables from the solar panels behind the display cable.

Yes it scrolls through different displays as pictures above.

I might have misunderstood your post.

I’ve paired the panels on the roof via the proper connectors.
So just one pair goes to controller.

Then 1 pair from controller to batteries.

Then the one multi core to display.

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