Adding more solar (1 Viewer)

[KUSKUS]

Just after a bit of advice, just taken delivery of a new to me Hymer B680s and the dealer added to the existing solar panel ( 110 watt) another 120 watt , so probably 230 watt in total.
they assured me that they had fitted a new solar controller .
Having now had a really good look at it there appears to be a rather nasty little Epever EPIPDB dual solar controller and MT1 display.
We are planning to do some temporary holiday sites this year and would like as much solar as possible, would it be a good idea to fit a 300/350 watt panel and new Victron smart controller and leave the existing Epever controller in situ.
the Hymer has three Varta 95 amp AGM batteries ( unknown age but appear ok ) and a Schaudt LAS 1218 -2 charger.
Long term I would like to upgrade to Lithium

 

[Jev88]

It won't hurt to install new panel and controller. They just get on with their job depending what they sense from your battery bank.

 

[Stealaway]

Having now had a really good look at it there appears to be a rather nasty little Epever EPIPDB dual solar controller and MT1 display.

That's not very nice

That's just what I have and its worked perfectly for over 5 years.
I love the dual battery function and adjustability of the set up

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[1967bowesj]

That's not very nice

That's just what I have and its worked perfectly for over 5 years.
I love the dual battery function and adjustability of the set up

View attachment 717621

I’ve the sam, if you don’t mind me asking Stealaway how do you get amps through put to show?

dontnthink mine shows amps

 

[Lenny HB]

Having now had a really good look at it there appears to be a rather nasty little Epever EPIPDB dual solar controller and MT1 display.

I would ditch that controller and run everything through a Victron. A couple of years ago at a Fun rally two people were having problems with their solar in both cases it was faulty controllers of that ilk.

 

[KUSKUS]

just thought about keeping it with smallest panel to charge engine battery only?

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[Reallyretired]

I also have that controller. It seems to be the only one that allows proper solar charging of the vehicle battery, especially in storage when that's the one that needs priority. Many others only give a trickle to the vehicle battery. In the winter I have it set to 70% vehicle 30% leisure, the opposite when I'm using the motorhome.
Although other chargers are theoretically more efficient I keep this one for this very reason and it works fine.

 

[KUSKUS]

OK sounds like a plan, did check it yesterday and it was putting 14.6 volts into the engine battery which I thought was a tad high.

 

[jongood]

OK sounds like a plan, did check it yesterday and it was putting 14.6 volts into the engine battery which I thought was a tad high.

if you get a votronic reg they have a separate terminal for trickle charging your starter battery. I imagine Victron will have something similar.

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[KUSKUS]

Yes I had an Epever duo racer on my last Hymer that was OK.
Would like to go down the Victron route but pretty sure it won't charge engine battery.

 

[Stealaway]

I’ve the sam, if you don’t mind me asking Stealaway how do you get amps through put to show?

dontnthink mine shows amps

Have a look at these instructions.
Basically move the arrow onto solar input in the centre and scroll through the options. There also current voltage and ampage readings.
You can also see the battery priority you have set up from this function.
I have 50/50 in winter and 90/10 to the hab batteries in summer when touring

https://westech-pv.com/mediafiles/Downloads/Anleitung_MT1_EN_2020.pdf

 

[funflair]

if you get a votronic reg they have a separate terminal for trickle charging your starter battery. I imagine Victron will have something similar.

No Victron don't Jon, that's why we use the battery master

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[KUSKUS]

The Epever solar controller in your picture is nothing like the Epipdm-com series that is installed in my Hymer but I will have a look at settings and come back to you.

 

[PaulandChrissy]

That's not very nice

That's just what I have and its worked perfectly for over 5 years.
I love the dual battery function and adjustability of the set up

View attachment 717621

I also have an Epever unit from Photonics Universe. It’s work faultlessly for 8 years and is fully programable for any battery system. The latest Epever app is also much better than the earlier version giving full control over the charge settings. You can even switch the load circuit on and off remotely. Super bit of kit at a very reasonable price.

 

[Lenny HB]

I also have an Epever unit from Photonics Universe. It’s work faultlessly for 8 years and is fully programable for any battery system. The latest Epever app is also much better than the earlier version giving full control over the charge settings. You can even switch the load circuit on and off remotely. Super bit of kit at a very reasonable price.View attachment 717995

Tat is a totally different unit, the other one is a cheap Chinese one marketed under various names.

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[Ducatikid]

Just after a bit of advice, just taken delivery of a new to me Hymer B680s and the dealer added to the existing solar panel ( 110 watt) another 120 watt , so probably 230 watt in total.
they assured me that they had fitted a new solar controller .
Having now had a really good look at it there appears to be a rather nasty little Epever EPIPDB dual solar controller and MT1 display.
We are planning to do some temporary holiday sites this year and would like as much solar as possible, would it be a good idea to fit a 300/350 watt panel and new Victron smart controller and leave the existing Epever controller in situ.
the Hymer has three Varta 95 amp AGM batteries ( unknown age but appear ok ) and a Schaudt LAS 1218 -2 charger.
Long term I would like to upgrade to Lithium

On the subject of adding more solar I talked to a local dealer about adding an extra panel and he said that as my panels were a few years old adding a new one could damage the old ones and recomended replacing them all at the sametime does anyone agree with that ?

 

[Lenny HB]

On the subject of adding more solar I talked to a local dealer about adding an extra panel and he said that as my panels were a few years old adding a new one could damage the old ones and recomended replacing them all at the sametime does anyone agree with that ?

Dealer BS.

 

[PaulandChrissy]

Tat is a totally different unit, the other one is a cheap Chinese one marketed under various names.

I see what you mean. he has one like this. They work, but cheap and cheerful. I suppose dealerships fitting solar are going to only fit the most cost efficient units.

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[jongood]

On the subject of adding more solar I talked to a local dealer about adding an extra panel and he said that as my panels were a few years old adding a new one could damage the old ones and recomended replacing them all at the sametime does anyone agree with that ?

incredible!! possibly a good idea to update regs, depending on whats fitted now

 

[funflair]

On the subject of adding more solar I talked to a local dealer about adding an extra panel and he said that as my panels were a few years old adding a new one could damage the old ones and recomended replacing them all at the sametime does anyone agree with that ?

No, but I would put the new one on it's own controller.

 

[KUSKUS]

New solar panel on its own Victron controller and leave the other two small ones on the Chinese controller?

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[Rob Turner]

Maybe some more panels if you have the room and fire it all through either a Victron or Votronic controlder.
I had a Votronic on my last van and it has the extra terminal for the cab battery but at the time there wasn’t an English version for the app.
I now have a Victron in this van purely for the app and have fitted a Votronic battery master.
All works well and I’m happy with it.

 

[kingspeed]

Just after a bit of advice, just taken delivery of a new to me Hymer B680s and the dealer added to the existing solar panel ( 110 watt) another 120 watt , so probably 230 watt in total.
they assured me that they had fitted a new solar controller .
Having now had a really good look at it there appears to be a rather nasty little Epever EPIPDB dual solar controller and MT1 display.
We are planning to do some temporary holiday sites this year and would like as much solar as possible, would it be a good idea to fit a 300/350 watt panel and new Victron smart controller and leave the existing Epever controller in situ.
the Hymer has three Varta 95 amp AGM batteries ( unknown age but appear ok ) and a Schaudt LAS 1218 -2 charger.
Long term I would like to upgrade to Lithium

Hello, I just had a read through your post, and it reads as though the "dealer" has fitted another panel to the one already on the van.
There is already a potential problem as you cannot fit different output panels together.
If there are to be more than one solar panel on your vehicle they must be of the same output ie; 2x100 or 2x150 or 4x100w etc.
If you put a 110 with a 120w you effectively now have 2 110 as the higher value will be governed by the lower if you catch my drift.
Hope that helps. Regards Trevor.

 

[jongood]

Hello, I just had a read through your post, and it reads as though the "dealer" has fitted another panel to the one already on the van.
There is already a potential problem as you cannot fit different output panels together.
If there are to be more than one solar panel on your vehicle they must be of the same output ie; 2x100 or 2x150 or 4x100w etc.
If you put a 110 with a 120w you effectively now have 2 110 as the higher value will be governed by the lower if you catch my drift.
Hope that helps. Regards Trevor.

are you confusing panels with batteries? I have a 100w and a 170 in one of my controllers and clamping the positive cable gives 4. 2 and 7.5 amps respectively. granted voltages need to be similar.

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[peterc10]

Hello, I just had a read through your post, and it reads as though the "dealer" has fitted another panel to the one already on the van.
There is already a potential problem as you cannot fit different output panels together.
If there are to be more than one solar panel on your vehicle they must be of the same output ie; 2x100 or 2x150 or 4x100w etc.
If you put a 110 with a 120w you effectively now have 2 110 as the higher value will be governed by the lower if you catch my drift.
Hope that helps. Regards Trevor.

I think you may be confused. With panels fitted in parallel it is the voltage that should be the same, not the wattage. The voltage usually depends upon the number of cells, so just count them up.

Edit, beaten by jongood

 

[kingspeed]

are you confusing panels with batteries? I have a 100w and a 170 in one of my controllers and clamping the positive cable gives 4. 2 and 7.5 amps respectively. granted voltages need to be similar.

No, I was referring to the original post by KUSKUS when he said, and I quote "Just after a bit of advice, just taken delivery of a new to me Hymer B680s and the dealer added to the existing solar panel ( 110 watt) another 120 watt , so probably 230 watt in total."
I had an enquiry re my adding solar panels, and talked to the specialists Sargent Electrical in Hull .
They told me you cannot mix solar panels of different watt out put. If you do then the lower panel will be the power you get from the mix.
IF, what I was told by Sargent is correct then KUSKUS now has 220 and not 230.

 

[funflair]

New solar panel on its own Victron controller and leave the other two small ones on the Chinese controller?

If the "Chinese" controller isn't MPPT I would be tempted to change that as well and get the benefit of up to 30% more power from those panels.

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[Lenny HB]

No, I was referring to the original post by KUSKUS when he said, and I quote "Just after a bit of advice, just taken delivery of a new to me Hymer B680s and the dealer added to the existing solar panel ( 110 watt) another 120 watt , so probably 230 watt in total."
I had an enquiry re my adding solar panels, and talked to the specialists Sargent Electrical in Hull .
They told me you cannot mix solar panels of different watt out put. If you do then the lower panel will be the power you get from the mix.
IF, what I was told by Sargent is correct then KUSKUS now has 220 and not 230.

That is not correct, providing the panels are the same voltage you will get 230.

 

[funflair]

This seems quite a good read, and suggests what Kingspeed is describing is the result of mixed panel sizes in series.
https://www.explorist.life/using-mismatched-solar-panel-sizes/

 

[kingspeed]

That is not correct, providing the panels are the same voltage you will get 230.

Ok I must be wrong if you all think so.
I am of the opinion I was simply trying to help. Perhaps this chap, who thinks he knows best can help.(personally I think he knows best)
You tell me what you think, Have a look.
Real Life Install of mismatched solar panels ->
Be interested to see what you "think"

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