JUO:
this will be a perfect match if you can get 25mm

I would not use the cable pictured. They are not flexible and have a nasty habit of coming loose. Use flexible cable. I have had nothing but trouble including shorting batteries and controllers when they pop out because you moved something and they worked their way loose. No matter how hard we tighten them they pop out of the controllers.

tolexee:

thx buddy.

saying 10mm cable shud be ok, without asking him the distance he wants to run the cable isnt good advice....a chart has been posted on this issue, 10mm might work for less than 20ft..but same isnt suitable for 40ft....
let him scroll tru this thread, the chart has been posted b4, or he googles it.

this applies for panels - cc, and cc -- batt bank

[quote author=RipVanWink post=35189183]

saying 10mm cable shud be ok, without asking him the distance he wants to run the cable isnt good advice....a chart has been posted on this issue, 10mm might work for less than 20ft..but same isnt suitable for 40ft....
let him scroll tru this thread, the chart has been posted b4, or he googles it.

this applies for panels - cc, and cc -- batt bank[/quote

Thank you for the observation. I still think that if he is running high voltage 10 mm cable will do. I have used it for 90 volts and 30 feet with very good performance. But to each his own. The amperage from your pv is less than 16 amps

We are all learning. If he is doing 3x2 there is no way he can get 10amps not to talk of 15amps then why use 10mm wire for a
10amps load. The best he can get is 9amps. 4mm can take 20amps load

Cc to battery. I use 25mm

I'm happy to have so many technophiles in the house but we're all missing a number of valuable points.
1. The thicker core wires have higher current tolerance and are less liable to snap (being much tougher too). On a downside, they aren't so ductile and bending/straightening them is always a pain (especially true once you go higher than 25mm²). And as JUO rightly observed, even with professional crimping, they can still work their way loose - unless you do an aftertouch with solder (had to secure a few that way). I save heavy core wires for linking high-capacity battery banks as, in short lengths, they have practically zero resistance. Use flex whenever you can lay your hands on them and above all, restrict fiddling with your setup unless the need truly arises. You'll save yourself untold grief.

2. Regarding the power from the PV panels, espicially in home/small installations, the primary consideration is often voltage drop and not current (heating) losses. The further the cabling distance, the more the voltage drop so long as your wire is uniform (in thickness and consistency - never join two wires of different consistencies; you can jumble different thicknesses but rate the system at the rating of the smallest wire for it is your Achille's heel - unless it's your fusewire). The issue with current comes in when utilising so many panels yet working in configurations with cummulative VoC lower than 90V DC. Most of us use at least 10mm² cables anyway which would handle literally anything. Unless you're GeorgeD1 or any of the other big boys aiming to generate energy in MegaWatts for home use. They are exceptions to the rule.

3. 2x3 or 3x2? For a 24V setup, 2x3 is ideal. The caveat here is the distance from your PV panels to the CC. Higher current often translates to using thicker cables or greater losses as heat if you maintain smaller gauge wires. If you can keep this distance under 10m and use 10mm² cables, I wouldn't lose sleep over it if I were you. We're all trying to optimise our systems but we all need to also do that within reasonable limits.

I'll add one or two more points as they gain prominence.
By the way, we're still in the Northern hemisphere so your PV panels should indeed face due South. However if you're in Lagos or along any of the coastal areas in Nigeria, you could survive with minimal tilt and PV panels facing almost anywhere. In the equators (as we are), such things don't really matter much - if your panels are placed flat. If they're tilted (which I would advise due to rain and debris), they'd better be inclined southwards!

kiekie1:


Hello, contact me for extremely rugged YASHI monocrystalline panels.
100w Mono @ 20k
200w Mono @ 40k
300w Mono @ 55k
#Note: 80w,130w.230w,240w,250w etc will soon be in stock.

Simply call Sir Frankie "08135031951" for fast supplies/delivery within Lagos and waybill outside Lagos state . THANKS !

Thanks for the offer list.

Any idea what the Vmp of the 300W panel is? That determines everything for me.

NoMoreTrolling:


Thanks for the offer list.

Any idea what the Vmp of the 300W panel is? That determines everything for me.

Contact me if you are interested . Thanks!

WHEN I SHOW PEOPLE MY SOLAR SETUP,ITZ KINDA NEW TO THEM......MAKES ME WONDER THAT WHEN WILL NIGERIANS GET TO KNOW ABOUT SOLAR BIGTIME......LOLZZZ

kiekie1:


Contact me if you are interested . Thanks!

K, will do!

To all solar enthusiasts in the house, I just found my new best friend, a BATTERY DESULPHATOR.

I got one off of Amazon and it's doing wonders for my batteries.

I'd say it's a good investment getting one to keep your batteries healthy, so no crystallization occurs.

They're pretty cheap too and easy to hook up.

NoMoreTrolling:
To all solar enthusiasts in the house, I just found my new best friend, a BATTERY DESULPHATOR.

I got one off of Amazon and it's doing wonders for my batteries.

I'd say it's a good investment getting one to keep your batteries healthy, so no crystallization occurs.

They're pretty cheap too and easy to hook up.

I second that notion. I've had a pair for two years and not only have they kept my automotive batteries from dying prematurely (right after I noticed cold-cranking issues on harmattan mornings). I've successfully revived two automotive batteries and 3 AGM batteries using the same pair. I've had less luck with gel batteries.

Mine are of the Infinitum brand so, cheap (if you're speaking of cost of procurement) doesn't quite qualify. Cheap, if you're referring to cost of savings on battery replacements, downtime from undue/excessive crystallisation and premature battery failure (not to mention the heartache of seeing another battery die), an absolute very cheap would be my answer

saipro,
i have my battery life saver (bls) permanently hooked up to my battery bank and they been
doing a marvelous job keeping my batteries happy. this year end i'll be doing another turn around
maintenance on my bank and i'll see how the nominal voltages hold up compared to the year before.

@ GeorgeD1. pls sir could i please have your contact number. i would like to install solar panels at my office. thanx

I'm stumped. I have an EP Solar iTracer ET6415ND which I've used almost flawlessy for a month. I noticed occassionally that it would suddenly stop charging but would resume within seconds. A few times, it failed to auto-resume but opening the breaker between the PV panels and the CC would restore normalcy. Up until yesterday.

Starting about 7am today, I've isolated and tested every single element of the system (including checking each PV panel for short-circuits or reverse current). Everything down to the batteries is normal but the CC would simply refuse to admit any current in ergo, no current out. It also restricts PV voltage to between 26V and 27V. VoC of the array today has been between 91V before 7am and around 102V by 11am. I damn near blew a lamp while trying to ascertain that power was actually leaving the panels.

Reconnect to the CC and the voltage immediately fizzles out and never exceeds 27V DC. Intensive search on Google revealed it not a common problem but it's neither rare in the Tracer/eTracer/iTracer series. The same has been experienced with Renogy series. Usually, it's supposed to auto-revert within a day or so. I did encounter two instances online in which it didn't and rather than service or replace it, the company opted to refund the cash instead. Could this mean it's a fundamental flaw in the programming of the firmware?

Back to my case, I called the supplier who suggested I call the importer (bad idea but I obliged nonetheless because we have a cordial relationship). The dealer requested I revert to my supplier (naturally). I'll follow that line to it's natural end but in the interim, what do people in the house think might have happened? The possibility of a short-circuit or surge damage are literally non-existent as it is isolated from the grid and the failures have been occuring in daytime (of course). Max possible output current is about 55A but rarely goes beyond 29A due to my small-sized battery bank but reaches 38A while running loads thus ruling out the possibility of having overloaded the system.

By the way, the fact that it's registering a voltage also means some power is passing through. Since it's thoroughput is at 27V, it seems to have somehow moved the batteries to nominal float voltage (26.4V) but with no idea on the current with which it did that or whether what I'm seeing is surface charge. I'm wary of loading it but would do controlled loading tests after midnight when everyone would be asleep and I'll have the inverter to myself. For now, I'm falling back to my smaller 1.4kW square-wave inverter powered by 400Ah of LiFePO batteries at 12V (a beautiful system which has worked flawlessly for over two years).

For info purposes, I have T105-RE 6V *4 batteries, 3kW 24V MustPower inverter, the offending CC and Joy 240W PV panels * 6 currently inclined at 45^o to ensure suboptimal output till the setup is fully tested (four weeks more of observation to go anyway). Why the premature CC failure? Nothing is burnt and nothing smells.

EDIT: I got impatient and did my load testing by isolating the system. It is indeed surface charge after all - though not entirely. Based on closed-circuit voltage monitoring under 150W of resistive load, it would appear that the SOC moved from 80% to 95% during the day - despite the CC's claim of "not charging". I'm thinking the displayed VoC (which incidentally coincides with the voltage at which the batteries were being fed "0A" ) is actually some form of shunting occuring within the CC. More reports tomorrow. Gotta dash now.

Saipro:
I'm stumped. I have an EP Solar iTracer ET6415ND which I've used almost flawlessy for a month. I noticed occassionally that it would suddenly stop charging but would resume within seconds. A few times, it failed to auto-resume but opening the breaker between the PV panels and the CC would restore normalcy. Up until yesterday.

Starting about 7am today, I've isolated and tested every single element of the system (including checking each PV panel for short-circuits or reverse current). Everything down to the batteries is normal but the CC would simply refuse to admit any current in ergo, no current out. It also restricts PV voltage to between 26V and 27V. VoC of the array today has been between 91V before 7am and around 102V by 11am. I damn near blew a lamp while trying to ascertain that power was actually leaving the panels.

Reconnect to the CC and the voltage immediately fizzles out and never exceeds 27V DC. Intensive search on Google revealed it not a common problem but it's neither rare in the Tracer/eTracer/iTracer series. The same has been experienced with Renogy series. Usually, it's supposed to auto-revert within a day or so. I did encounter two instances online in which it didn't and rather than service or replace it, the company opted to refund the cash instead. Could this mean it's a fundamental flaw in the programming of the firmware?

Back to my case, I called the supplier who suggested I call the importer (bad idea but I obliged nonetheless because we have a cordial relationship). The dealer requested I revert to my supplier (naturally). I'll follow that line to it's natural end but in the interim, what do people in the house think might have happened? The possibility of a short-circuit or surge damage are literally non-existent as it is isolated from the grid and the failures have been occuring in daytime (of course). Max possible output current is about 55A but rarely goes beyond 29A due to my small-sized battery bank but reaches 38A while running loads thus ruling out the possibility of having overloaded the system.

By the way, the fact that it's registering a voltage also means some power is passing through. Since it's thoroughput is at 27V, it seems to have somehow moved the batteries to nominal float voltage (26.4V) but with no idea on the current with which it did that or whether what I'm seeing is surface charge. I'm wary of loading it but would do controlled loading tests after midnight when everyone would be asleep and I'll have the inverter to myself. For now, I'm falling back to my smaller 1.4kW square-wave inverter powered by 400Ah of LiFePO batteries at 12V (a beautiful system which has worked flawlessly for over two years).

For info purposes, I have T105-RE 6V *4 batteries, 3kW 24V MustPower inverter, the offending CC and Joy 240W PV panels * 6 currently inclined at 45^o to ensure suboptimal output till the setup is fully tested (four weeks more of observation to go anyway). Why the premature CC failure? Nothing is burnt and nothing smells.

Its issues like this that makes me spend countless hours online reviewing a product before I buy it, Sorry bro may I suggest you save and buy a reputable brand Cc? The good thing is that at least you have a backup.

I got impatient and did my load testing by isolating the system. It is indeed surface charge after all - though not entirely. Based on closed-circuit voltage monitoring under 150W of resistive load, it would appear that the SOC moved from 80% to 95% during the day - despite the CC's claim of "not charging". The duration of the low current charge (if indeed it was low) permitted current to reach the core of the plates (it spent 4 hours of full sunshine idling at "no charge" while the SOC and bank voltage kept rising; how I wish I had a shunt). I'm thinking the displayed VoC (which incidentally coincides with the voltage at which the batteries were being fed "0A" ) is actually some form of shunting occuring within the CC. More reports tomorrow.

By the way, I also spend countless hours on reviews but the incidence rate of what I just reported is so low, it's sheer bad luck that I'd have the issue. Something I did notice common to almost all the systems having this fault (including the Renogy ones) were the fact that they belonged to enthusiasts and were highly tuned. It seems imprecision makes for less stringent demands on the system (or gross overloading leading to a swift failure). Perhaps they were not designed to be as efficient as we hoped.

I'll tow the warranty/repair/replacement line though I'm sorely tempted to open it up and do a quick post mortem examination.

Saipro:
I got impatient and did my load testing by isolating the system. It is indeed surface charge after all - though not entirely. Based on closed-circuit voltage monitoring under 150W of resistive load, it would appear that the SOC moved from 80% to 95% during the day - despite the CC's claim of "not charging". The duration of the low current charge (if indeed it was low) permitted current to reach the core of the plates (it spent 4 hours of full sunshine idling at "no charge" while the SOC and bank voltage kept rising; how I wish I had a shunt). I'm thinking the displayed VoC (which incidentally coincides with the voltage at which the batteries were being fed "0A" ) is actually some form of shunting occuring within the CC. More reports tomorrow.

By the way, I also spend countless hours on reviews but the incidence rate of what I just reported is so low, it's sheer bad luck that I'd have the issue. Something I did notice common to almost all the systems having this fault (including the Renogy ones) were the fact that they belonged to enthusiasts and were highly tuned. It seems imprecision makes for less stringent demands on the system (or gross overloading leading to a swift failure). Perhaps they were not designed to be as efficient as we hoped.

I'll tow the warranty/repair/replacement line though I'm sorely tempted to open it up and do a quick post mortem examination.

its a pity,
I think there is a batch of the iTracer 6415 that came with some factory issue. you can open the CC, there is no warranty seal on the screws. when you open look inside and confirm that the capacitors inside are intact. I had an issue like this and EPSOLAR asked me to fill an incident form which had provision for serial No and other infos.
the good thing is that the replaced it -NO QUESTIONS ASKED

speak to your supplier and see if they can contact the importer, then the chain of business would get to EPSOLAR and get a replacement for you.

I will try uploading a pix to show you what the inside looks like.

Good luck

you sabi speak plenty grammar sha

Konnektions146:



its a pity,
I think there is a batch of the iTracer 6415 that came with some factory issue. you can open the CC, there is no warranty seal on the screws. when you open look inside and confirm that the capacitors inside are intact. I had an issue like this and EPSOLAR asked me to fill an incident form which had provision for serial No and other infos.
the good thing is that the replaced it -NO QUESTIONS ASKED

speak to your supplier and see if they can contact the importer, then the chain of business would get to EPSOLAR and get a replacement for you.

I will try uploading a pix to show you what the inside looks like.

Good luck

you sabi speak plenty grammar sha

De grammar no be my fault. Dem sabi misquote person for dis Nairaland, no be small. Concise terms are a necessity.
Regarding the steps you took, it would appear my initial assessment was right - it's a firmware problem they're well aware of. Time to go whittle my supplier so he can make his own dealer miserable enough to consider taking it up. Thanks

Konnektions146:



its a pity,
I think there is a batch of the iTracer 6415 that came with some factory issue. you can open the CC, there is no warranty seal on the screws. when you open look inside and confirm that the capacitors inside are intact. I had an issue like this and EPSOLAR asked me to fill an incident form which had provision for serial No and other infos.
the good thing is that the replaced it -NO QUESTIONS ASKED

speak to your supplier and see if they can contact the importer, then the chain of business would get to EPSOLAR and get a replacement for you.

I will try uploading a pix to show you what the inside looks like.

Good luck

you sabi speak plenty grammar sha

What's the make of that in the pic ? How was the problem finally rectified ??

kiekie1:


What's the make of that in the pic ? How was the problem finally rectified ??

Undoubtedly, it's an iTracer IT6415ND, in every detail identical to mine.

New data: Upon further examination of the log data and monitoring of the CC's performance, it would seem it entered OVD mode and refused to exit that stage. Just an educated guess though.

kiekie1:


What's the make of that in the pic ? How was the problem finally rectified ??

EP Solar replaced it straight

Konnektions146:


EP Solar replaced it straight

Which steps did you take? I need to initiate my replacement proscedure ASAP!

PS: How long have you had the replacement and how has the performance been? Any complain(s)?

Saipro:


Which steps did you take? I need to initiate my replacement proscedure ASAP!

PS: How long have you had the replacement and how has the performance been? Any complain(s)?

It took about 2weeks before it wasreplaced.

I got mine directly frim epsolar, but I don't know how possible for you to get it from them but you can try.

If not, you need to pass through your suppliers,

I replaced with a MUST power MPPT and it worked well. not fixed on any installation as the customer is satisfied so far.

You can start by writing EP solar directly stating your challenge, let them know you are willing to ship back to China if they need you to.

Good luck

saipro,
while i sympathize with you on your troubles, i'll encourage you to always stick with trusted brands.
for charge controllers you just can't beat tristar mppt. and there is a reason they are more expensive.
remember in solar as in life, you get what you pay for!

GeorgeD1:
saipro,
while i sympathize with you on your troubles, i'll encourage you to always stick with trusted brands.
for charge controllers you just can't beat tristar mppt. and there is a reason they are more expensive.
remember in solar as in life, you get what you pay for!

I agree with you on trusted brands but, I believe midnight cc is far more expensive and reliable, no single bad review about them.

Believe me, I have seen the error in my ways. I think I'll prefer the MorningStar Tristar. The Midnight CC is however tempting as it currently comes with a coupon for a free WhizBang Jr Shunt. Incredible value, if you ask me. My defaulting on both brands earlier was because of the annoying need to but a separate display which could easily have been incorporated pro bono. I looked down on it as a cheap marketing gimmick to maximize returns. Selling 6-pack hotdogs yet making buns only in 8-packs

Hey guys, so much cool tech worth researching, in order to reap the ultimate rewards in your solar setups.

For instance, have you guys heard of the new LG INVERTER-V AIR CONDITIONER?

It's being touted to have a much lower surge power than traditional air conditioners. Here's an excerpt from an article regarding the LG AC, "In accordance with LG, for the normal mode 1HP AC needs 1.5 KVA generator", http://www.bellanaija.com/2014/07/23/lg-electronics-unveils-new-air-conditioner-that-works-with-small-capacity-generators/.

I think this is really cool if true. So no longer does one have to be barred from using air conditioners with your 2kw and above inverters. This is the kind of tech I've been waiting for before I plunge into larger wattage inverter setups. Obviously, it would be nice to get a hold of one to see just how much surge current is actually being consumed by the device.

Just imagine though for a sec that this is true. That means no more ac surge currents to worry about during inverter sizing, where an 800 watt air conditioner might consume about 6000 watts of power for a short time just to get the compressor going.

Anywho, thought I'd share to those who are already generating upwards of 1000watts solar power. It would be nice to get an intelligent air conditioner like this where you could really reap the benefits of a hot day, lol.

Another cool device (don't know if it's been mentioned already in one of the many pages), is a power meter to tell what power individual devices in your household draw.








I hooked my 80 watts fridge into this and was shocked at the current surge of the small fridge to over 500 watts. Obviously I knew there'd be surge current with the fridge, but I was thinking more like 300 or so

With accurate measurements of loads, proper planning and load shedding can be done to maximize battery life among other things.

Suddenly, I feel like I'm being drawn into the world of "needing to know and having everything within the realm of needing" as often occurs with FTA enthusiasts

After a few emails being traded, I got this from customer care:

"Hello Sir


The controller maybe have been damaged - charge MOSFET be short or driver failure, so that charging cann't be controled, same as the solar panel be connected to battery directly.


You can contact the salesman to change new one."

Saipro:
Believe me, I have seen the error in my ways. I think I'll prefer the MorningStar Tristar. The Midnight CC is however tempting as it currently comes with a coupon for a free WhizBang Jr Shunt. Incredible value, if you ask me. My defaulting on both brands earlier was because of the annoying need to but a separate display which could easily have been incorporated pro bono. I looked down on it as a cheap marketing gimmick to maximize returns. Selling 6-pack hotdogs yet making buns only in 8-packs

midnight cc has inbuilt screen, you only pay extra for the in door remote.