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Post by tattoo on Jul 26, 2018 18:46:46 GMT
are there not any specs on input voltage or max wattage for the controller? Yes well kinda... There is suggested in the manual.... |
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Post by Admin on Jul 31, 2018 0:27:24 GMT
To whom it may concern: I have the Renogy 60 Amp Commander MPPT Solar Charge Controller and it's set up on my four 6v deep cycle "wet cell" batteries which are wired as two sets of series and then in parallel. My concern is the battery icon on the LED display which seems to imply the battery has a low charge. I've done some looking into this and it seems this battery icon does not represent the current charge of the actual batteries but instead is something about the amount the panels are generating into the batteries. Can anyone clear this up for me?
The display for the Commander 60 will be displaying volts, amps, watts, etc. of the power generation of panels and what is being charged into the battery. The battery icon is more of a generalization. If you feel as though your battery is not charging, then this could be a solar panel / battery sizing issue. |
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Post by tattoo on Jul 31, 2018 0:50:13 GMT
The battery icon is more of a generalization. LOL Now that was a round about none answer... LOL
The battery icon is useless..... Now there is a real answer for you....
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Post by captainstone on Aug 9, 2018 21:06:17 GMT
The system have been up and running for a while with a very small load of just a few LED lights. Today I plugged the ductless minisplit into the 3000W inverter and the Trimetic monitor indicated there was a 92A draw from the batteries. Almost immediately the orange light and  face appeared on the controller display with a voltage of 11.80. I’m not sure what this represents. I have four 6V 225Ah batteries wired in series-parallel (two banks of 12V batteries) for a total of 12V 450Ah. All seven panels were plugged in but it was pretty cloudy and they were only producing about 3A. When I turned off the minisplit the  came back, green light on, an voltage returned to 12something. Thoughts? Help? I’m planning on using the minisplit as my primary source of heat/AC. It’s a 120V system drawing a max of 9.5A while the compressor is on. SOS! |
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Post by tattoo on Aug 10, 2018 0:59:05 GMT
The system have been up and running for a while with a very small load of just a few LED lights. Today I plugged the ductless minisplit into the 3000W inverter and the Trimetic monitor indicated there was a 92A draw from the batteries. Almost immediately the orange light and face appeared on the controller display with a voltage of 11.80. I’m not sure what this represents. I have four 6V 225Ah batteries wired in series-parallel (two banks of 12V batteries) for a total of 12V 450Ah. All seven panels were plugged in but it was pretty cloudy and they were only producing about 3A. When I turned off the minisplit the came back, green light on, an voltage returned to 12something. Thoughts? Help? I’m planning on using the minisplit as my primary source of heat/AC. It’s a 120V system drawing a max of 9.5A while the compressor is on. SOS! What I've read you can't run heat and air off of such a small system..... Way to much of a draw.... With just 11.80 showing with a draw on your fully charged batteries I'm saying you have bad batteries.... What does your hydrometer say??? WTH is 12 something??? That tells us nothing... |
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Post by captainstone on Aug 10, 2018 1:10:08 GMT
The system have been up and running for a while with a very small load of just a few LED lights. Today I plugged the ductless minisplit into the 3000W inverter and the Trimetic monitor indicated there was a 92A draw from the batteries. Almost immediately the orange light and face appeared on the controller display with a voltage of 11.80. I’m not sure what this represents. I have four 6V 225Ah batteries wired in series-parallel (two banks of 12V batteries) for a total of 12V 450Ah. All seven panels were plugged in but it was pretty cloudy and they were only producing about 3A. When I turned off the minisplit the came back, green light on, an voltage returned to 12something. Thoughts? Help? I’m planning on using the minisplit as my primary source of heat/AC. It’s a 120V system drawing a max of 9.5A while the compressor is on. SOS! What I've read you can't run heat and air off of such a small system..... Way to much of a draw.... With just 11.80 showing with a draw on your fully charged batteries I'm saying you have bad batteries.... What does your hydrometer say??? WTH is 12 something??? That tells us nothing... I'll check the batteries with the hydrometer tomorrow. I was wondering if that might be the case. 12something mean 12.4 to 12.8. When you say "small system" do you mean the batteries? I have room for 4 more and am seriously considering it if it means I can run the minisplit AC for at night for several hours. |
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Post by tattoo on Aug 10, 2018 2:01:13 GMT
I wouldn't install more that two more batteries because you don't have enough panels to charge them...
Your system will have to be at the best it can be with no more draw on it to pull off what your trying to do.... In my opinion...
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Post by captainstone on Aug 10, 2018 2:03:29 GMT
I wouldn't install more that two more batteries because you don't have enough panels to charge them... Your system will have to be at the best it can be with no more draw on it to pull off what your trying to do.... In my opinion... 700W of panels isn't enough for more than two 6v batteries? |
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Post by tattoo on Aug 10, 2018 2:16:55 GMT
700W of panels isn't enough for more than two 6v batteries? I don't think so... You need to be careful not to have more batteries than you can get fully charged 100% floating everyday.
I have 800w and 6 6v 225ah batteries and I wouldn't add more batteries without more panels..... After running off the batteries all night my batteries are at 12.1 at sag. By 10:30am they are at 12.7.... On a good day and I only get 3 hours of full sun because of the trees I can make 1.5kwh...That's on a good day... I have seen 2.2kwh but it's rare.... Usually I make 1kwh everyday... Close to that on a cloudy rainy day.....
See you need to think about cloudy days when your considering batteries... Not just sunny days...
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Post by captainstone on Aug 10, 2018 2:27:01 GMT
Can I safely add another 100w panel even tho I have a 60a charge controller? Isn't that over the limit?
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Post by tattoo on Aug 10, 2018 2:30:46 GMT
Can I safely add another 100w panel even tho I have a 60a charge controller? Isn't that over the limit? You sure can that's what I have.... I also have a 60a CC..... Mine are set up, 4 and 4 and hook them together... with zero problems... |
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Post by captainstone on Aug 10, 2018 2:32:16 GMT
Cool. I'll have to see if I have enough room. Maybe mounted on the southern facing wall.
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Post by tattoo on Aug 10, 2018 2:32:40 GMT
But I still you won't be able to run your Hvac set up but it's worth a shot...
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Post by captainstone on Aug 10, 2018 2:33:45 GMT
But I still you won't be able to run your Hvac set up but it's worth a shot... It ran it for a couple of hours before the battery charge got too low but then again I might have a dead cell somewhere which I'll check in the morning with the hydrometer. |
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Post by tattoo on Aug 10, 2018 2:36:27 GMT
Awesome let us know what you find out... Best of luck....
Also check your water level.... This time of year that's critical....
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face appeared on the controller display with a voltage of 11.80. I’m not sure what this represents. I have four 6V 225Ah batteries wired in series-parallel (two banks of 12V batteries) for a total of 12V 450Ah. All seven panels were plugged in but it was pretty cloudy and they were only producing about 3A. When I turned off the minisplit the 
came back, green light on, an voltage returned to 12something.