mank1234:


You should have said 60Ah then. Current (A or amps) is an instantenoeus quantity and is very different from ampere-hour, AH which is a function of current and time. Solar harvest is stated in AH or WH.

Thanks for the correction. I do appreciate.

earthrealm:


this is not scientifically possible in this century, maybe in the next century it will be.
getting 60amps from a 30amp cc, from a 600watt panel?
pls crosscheck and verify what you wrote

I guess u didn't get me right. The 60amps u saw me talk abt is my harvest for a whole day.

Dreamflyin:
I'm tired of the poor harvest from my 2kw pv array by the PWMs installed.
Imagine am yet to see more than 24amp harvest for a 4 battery bank of 200aH any day.

Please anyone selling 80amp MPPT or 40amp MPPTs?

Something must certainly be wrong with ur set up. In as much as pwm is not effective as mppt, its still not doing bad on a small set up. Using my self as an example, 4 of my 150watts panel(600watts) are connected to my 30amp charge controller, and the minimum I get on a rainy or cloudy day is 35amps. This days that we no more experience rain in the middle belt area of nigeria, I harvest up to 60 amps. I formally had the same complaints u're giving currently but luckily I ran into a well experienced installer who discovered that my wires were seriously undersized. After installing the right wires I recorded a great improvement in my harvest. Contact an installer to have a critical look at ur set up and I believe u will be fine.

efuro:


honestly, mppt is superior to pwm.
I get info on my harvest& plenty info I don't really need too.
now I know I can expand pv gradually.
I have not really regreted my actions going AE/RE.
the first day i hit 1kilowatt "i said na me be dis?" even with my ye-ye 4 PVS.
for 2 months even NEPA has refused to bring bills too.
my dear oga obimind, how I which I had discovered this 2014 or even in 2015

My Broda, I envy you. Mppt has always been on my mind, but its just that I have some other projects on ground that is eating up my money. Pls can u send me a chat via my email address so we can talk more privately? obinnaokechukwu7@gmail.com.

efuro:


noted with thanks

Congrats on ur newly purchased mppt 60 cc. How has the performance been so far?

efuro:


24v system. wired (1-3,2-4). I check voltage read with ordinary digital metre. I have not been able to use Cc to fully charge & go into equalization charge. I presumed one bat is lagging.

by rule I have never gone below 24.4v till day break before I shut down.
equalizing is rattling my brains

I'll advice u separate those batteries, test them individually with ur digital metre to find out which of the battery is lagging. It will help protect other from running down over time.

efuro:
older pix

Is ur set up a 24v set up? If yes, how did u connect those 4 batteries without having to deal with the batteries not being unequally charged?

earthrealm:
@obimind1,
seems reprobate has already answered you.
getting a single mppt CC will also be a move in the right direction

I got my mind on it bro.

earthrealm:
.

connecting 4 12v 200ah batts to the 1.4kw mpower 24v may not be a good idead. the charging current of that device is below 20amp x 2 =40amps, thus it will not charge the batteries properly, you may not nitice this immediately, but graduadually, it will kill/sulphate the battery.
you have 3 hard options.

1. maintain ur present 2 battery system, and add solar to it.600w to 1kw panels shud be fine with 40/45amp CC....ie if phcn is poor in ur are

2. GET THE 4new batts, and then get minimum of 60amp CC, and minimum of 1500w panels, so ur primary source of charging the batts would be solar, n the panels would generate >40amps charging curent

3. get a new inverter +4 new batteries, the new inverter shud be capable of charging the 4units 12v 200ah batts, 24v prag 4kw or 4kw 48v mpower inverter will do the job.

btw missing 2 old n 2 new batts isnt recommend, the old batts will bring down the new batts to thier level over time

@Earthrealm, presently I have 6 pieces of 150 watts panel which is 900watts in total. So far my panels are not doing bad at all. I can power my 192 litre nexus double door fridge which outputs 110 watts & also my LG washing machine when the sun is at its peak.
My major challenge now is how I can get a longer back up time. That was my reason for asking about connecting 4 batteries to my 24v set up.
Talking abt my charge controller, for now i use a combination of two charge controllers 20ah & 30ah cc, that is a total of 50ah cc. Both of them are pwm, though i'm optimistic of upgrading to an mppt some day. Thanks for ur assistance. I sincerely do appreciate.

DMerciful:
I use Mopower inverter(same as sulkam more or less) 1.5kva. Been using it for 1.5yrs now n sometimes t power my freezer or fridge with it n even my washing machine. My batteries are still going strong. So if it can run these loads without issues then what else? Btw its sine wave n its less than 50k now. I actually bought it 40k

My 1.4va Mpower inverter is 2years and 3 months old with the same Mpower batteries 200ah*2 agm that came with it as at the time of purchase. So far my inverter has been super intelligent and by God's mercy I have not worked on it ever since I bought it. My next plan now is adding two more batteries to my already existing system so as to enjoy a longer back up time. Or betterstill, if I am to get four new batteries and dispose this present set of batteries I have, what will be the best way to connect these 4 new batteries to my 1.4va 24v system to avoid unequal charging over a long period of time? Pls advice from this wonderful forum will be highly appreciated.

bigrovar:


very similar to my setup. In my case I use the sulkam falcon plus inverter rated 1200W (1.5kva @ 0.8 power factor).. The battery monitor I have between the inverter and battery reads a no idle load of 25w. So far so good the inverter is doing fine. My defining load is a 175 Liter LG freezer with start up surge at close to 800w and running power at 130w. What I like about this inverter is that it comes with a battery temperature sensor which allows it to do temperature controlled charging...

The downside is that the max voltage it can charge my battery is at 28.8v which is pretty low for a floaded acid battery.. however since I just use it as a bulk charger and still have my charge controller has my primary battery charger.

Same with me, the max my inverter can charge my battery is at 28.5v. Using ur charge controller as ur primary battery charger what the max voltage u see?
I'm asking cus mine inverter is by brand Mpower 1.4va.

Gud day @ everyone in the house. I have 2*200ah battery on a 24v set up 1.4va inverter, which I have used for over 2years now. I'm planning on adding 2 more 200ah battery so that I can have a longer back up time. The present batteries are not doing bad presently but I'm scared of adding 2 more batteries to avoid one battery bank acting as a load on the other. How can I achieve this dream of having a longer back up time without having more problems at the end of the day? Ur suggestions are highly welcome.

GeorgeD1:
abunafiu,
donmajor2,
dunka,
et al,

thanks guys. indeed its been quite a while. its really exciting seeing all the new developments happening
on the thread and so many new members getting hooked on solar.

ever since the price of fuel sky-rocketed, its been my desire to revisit that calculation I did in 2010 and I
I was quite surprised at the outcome. what a difference six years makes.

on a side note, my system is still firing on all cylinders with no issues at all - discounting weather.
when I look back at all the money spent and this calculation, I realize that in six years, my system has
more than paid for itself in terms of cost-savings alone. right now, what I'm using is free energy!

George D, u inspired me on this journey of renewable energy. When I see the benefits I've got thru my little set up since june 2014 , it motivates me to keep investing more on renewable energy. With my 1.4kva inverter, 2*200ah batteries connected in series 24v, 6 pieces of 150 watts panel(900watts), and my little pwm 30ah and 20ah charge controller all working at the same time, I can power my frigde(110watts) for at least 4 hours on a cloudy day and 6 hours on a sunny day. Also my appreciation goes to Richmond, Abunafiu, Dunka,Chris,Kiekie,Saipro,Earthrealm,Cogumo,Bigrover,and many others which I can't mention. U guys are doing a great job here. May God almighty keep blessing u all beyond measures.

DMerciful:
Try buy an mppt.......d difference is clear! Common u have six panels....why can't you afford an mppt even if not brand new? Try to make ur connections neater

I've always had an mppt on my mind... I started using solar panels just four months ago and my batteries clocked 2 years plus as at June this year. So gradually am stepping up. I'll definitely give my testimony when my mppt finally arrives. But 1st I'm trusting God that my next upgrade will be getting a 3.5kva inverter. I only turn on my generator when I want to pump water to my overhead tank. Renewable Energy is a sure way of investing and cutting cost on power generation. A big thanks to u guys for always being a source of inspiration to me and many other silent readers.

abunafiu:


ure welcome sir. so how has it been.

Its been gud Sir. A big kudos to u guys who run on bigger set ups. I will be there some day.

That's my set up...with my 150*6=900 watts at 24v in panel I can power my fridge 110 watts and a ceiling fan and also a 45 Watts plasma TV. In as much as I can't afford the high cost of getting an mppt, I must say that my pwm charge controllers are not doing bad at all. No matter how cloudy the day might be I can always power my frigde within a minimum of 4 hours everyday,but when we have a sunny day I can power my frigde up to 6 hours from 11am to 5pm.

Trippledots:
I enjoy this thread alot....just reading n looking at pixs is exciting. anyway let me drop some quick hints about circuitry


1. d farther your battery is from ur panels and d higher d current in ur cables, the more losses you get from ur panels

2. mppt is best suited for cold/temperate regions n high capacity setups. pwm charge controllers are not so bad either n are better suited for warmer regions.(personally I have a very small, in fact micro setup iv been using for ab0ut 2years now n still running. I built my charge controller myself n as basic as it is in operation, my not-so fairly used batteries lasted a year plus before I replaced dem.)

3. d higher your panel volt difference from ur battery bank voltage, the less the amount of power harvested from your panels.

4. lastly, for really large capacity and longer usage you can look into gravity operated hydro systems. This system uses potential energy of water instead of battery to store energy, and is touted to last longer than batteries would.

weldone guys!

I think u're correct. Most of us in the middle belt area enjoy good sunshine everyday and my pwm 30amp charge controller is doing quite well. Pix of my set up may be posted later.