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Post by davecook89t on Jan 30, 2019 1:53:47 GMT
So I took delivery of the Renogy 300W Kit with 50AH LiFePO4 battery in early December. I bought the kit to power a set of 8 security cameras, along with the DVR that records the video output from them, a modem and router. As measured by the Renogy BT app on my phone, the draw from all the components was 20 to 25 watts during the day, and 30 to 35 watts during nighttime hours (when the cameras were in Infra Red mode). The first few days were sunny and the system worked well. I was seeing output from the panels of more than 100 watts for a few hours in the morning, at which point the battery's State of Charge would reach 100%. By the evening, it would drop to somewhere around 95% but would still be at around 80% by the next morning. At that point, I left our house in SW Florida where the system is located and went back to New York. For a couple days, I was losing access to the security system for an hour or 2 shortly after dawn. I assumed that was because the days had not been completely sunny and with fewer daylight hours toward the end of December the panels were not generating enough power to keep the system active 24/7. Not ideal, but not the end of the world either, since I assumed the problem would go away as the days got longer. After a couple of days of this pattern, one morning the security system did not come up at all and did not on any subsequent day. Finally arriving back in Florida a couple of days ago, I find that battery voltage shown on the Renogy BT app is .9V. I used a multi meter on the battery posts on the controller to confirm this measurement. The app shows sufficient voltage from the panels (about 20V, since I have them connected in parallel) to charge the battery during the day, but the controller (or possibly the battery management system) is not allowing the charge to go through to the battery. (The app shows 0 Amps under Solar Panel Current and 0 Watts under Charge Power). What went wrong and what can I do to fix it (if anything)?
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Post by tattoo on Jan 30, 2019 4:20:16 GMT
Your battery is way to small... It can't keep up with the lack of sunlight and the use at night and after time you killed it.... Did your app tell you what the battery voltage was in the morning at the end of Dec?
The SOC means nothing what was the voltage?
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Post by davecook89t on Jan 30, 2019 6:07:34 GMT
I believe you are probably correct that my battery was too small, based on the Solar Sizing Calculator on the Renogy website, but that should not have killed it if the controller was doing its job. One of the key features listed in the manual for the Rover Series MPPT Charge Controller is "Protection from Over-Discharging". I relied upon this feature and believed that part of the controller was working properly because it did cut power to my electronics for a few days when the battery had apparently been discharged to an unsafe level. For the few days I was able to monitor the system after setting it up, I never saw the battery voltage drop below 12V and never lost power to the security system. I'm assuming voltage must have dropped below 12V when the security system went offline for a few hours after I'd gone back to New York, because I know that the electronics need an input of 12V DC in order to function. Anything less will cause them to shut down, and in fact, when I came back to Florida, none of them had lights on their front panels. Even if they tried to draw power when the battery voltage was less than 12V, the controller should have prevented that. I'm convinced the controller is defective and will have to be returned, I just want to know if the battery will also have to be returned.
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Post by tattoo on Jan 30, 2019 13:08:01 GMT
Call tech support and see what they say..... It could be the CC......
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Post by bupkis on Jan 30, 2019 13:12:51 GMT
Yes, be prepared to return the battery after talking to customer support
In the future you may want to set the low voltage cutoff higher than the 11.0v rover default.
I estimate you daily usage at ~60ah, a couple of 6v deep cycle 220ah batts in series would give you a total of 220ah @ 12v (require maintenance). That would be a bare min 4 me with the low voltage cutoff at 12.0-12.2v!
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Post by tattoo on Jan 30, 2019 15:39:15 GMT
^^^^ Yes sir that's exactly what I was thinking....^^^^ I would sure like to know what his voltage really was in the morning even after just two weeks? Not his SOC as that doesn't tell a thing....
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Post by davecook89t on Feb 12, 2019 1:38:27 GMT
Update:
I was given an RMA number for the battery by Renogy Customer Service, but before sending it back I decided to try to bring my battery back to life with the smart charger I use for our car. Surprisingly, it worked. I have now determined beyond a shadow of a doubt that 50 Ah is not sufficient for my usage and I would gladly return my battery and spend the extra money to get the 100 Ah version if that were possible (I'm assuming it's not). Rather than give up totally on powering my security system with solar, I decided to try to set up a switching system, enabling me to utilize solar during the day but switch over to regular utility company power at night. I bought a 5 prong relay from an auto supply store and hooked up the Charge Controller to the 87 Prong and hooked up my 12V AC adaptor to the 87A Prong. I have tested the behaviour of the relay at different voltages and found that it will switch from the 87 Prong to the 87A Prong when 87 Voltage drops to somewhere around 10V. When the charge is between 10V and 12V the relay cannot seem to make up its mind which power source to use. After the first cloudy day, I was awakened in the middle of the night by the sound of the relay clicking rapidly as it began switching between 87 and 87A, probably several times per second. Per the BT app, the voltage on my battery at that point was just above 11V. Obviously this is not ideal. I would like to find a relay that would switch definitively to 87A at no less than 12V, but do not know how to go about finding one. Alternatively, I'm thinking I could set the controller cutoff to a level higher than the 11V default (as was suggested by bupkis), hopefully to 12V. Unfortunately, I have not found a way to do that. I see the "Over Discharge Volt" and "Discharge Limit Volt" fields in the BT app, but cannot seem to change those values, even after logging in with the Admin password. Is there something I'm missing?
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Post by tattoo on Feb 12, 2019 1:50:15 GMT
I wouldn't attempt to try and change anything on your CC until you get a larger battery.... I don't think a 100ah battery will be large enough...
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Post by bupkis on Feb 12, 2019 13:52:10 GMT
I see on page 16 of a manual The charging parameter setting (Equalizing voltage, Boost voltage, Floating charging voltage, over-discharge return voltage, Over-discharge voltage) are only available under the battery “USER” mode.
note, low voltage disconnect should have been the first thing programmed to a higher than 11v level when using the load terminals. Also note you need to be in battery type USER, do this from the controller as directed on page 16!
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Post by davecook89t on Feb 12, 2019 14:58:50 GMT
Thanks for your help, bupkis. I was able to get into the programming mode, but was unsure what parameters I'm seeing. The value 15, for instance, refers to the Manual mode, but where do I go to change the Low Voltage Disconnect?
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Post by bupkis on Feb 12, 2019 15:09:53 GMT
modes 0-17 are for load control (mode 0 is on/off dusk dawn page 17), you need to be in a different area, starting at the main screen follow the directions in the manual page 16 here is the manual I'm looking @ www.renogy.com/template/files/Specifications/Rover%20203040.pdfbe sure and set or keep the 'other' settings for your Li battery.
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Post by davecook89t on Feb 12, 2019 20:30:58 GMT
Ok, I believe I did get to the menu on Page 16 at one point, but I do not recall seeing any values (i.e. numbers). I could only toggle between Battery Type and System Voltage. Possibly I inadvertently changed one of the other settings and that is preventing me from accessing the Voltage settings (other than System Voltage). Part of the problem is my battery is in the corner of my shed and it is difficult to read the screen. I'm not at the house now (I connected the security system to AC power before I left), but I will be going back in a few days and will try again to change the Over-Discharge Voltage. Next time I will take my flashlight and the written manual with me to be sure I am not missing anything.
Thanks again for your help.
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Post by bupkis on Feb 12, 2019 21:41:27 GMT
change the low voltage disconnect, 11v is too low for good battery life. 12.0 - 12.2v would be better but we talking Li and I don't know what voltage would be appropriate. I thought Li held there voltage well and then all of a sudden they crap out.
You can certainly try the app, remember you need battery type USER to make changes to most parameters.
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Post by davecook89t on Feb 13, 2019 21:33:02 GMT
I opened up the printed manual that came with my charge controller and now see that page 16 is different than the electronic version in the link. My page 16 only shows 2 sets of Programming Parameters, Battery Type and System Voltage, so it seems I do not have the capability of changing the low voltage disconnect. The model I have is described in the manual as RVR-40. Is it possible I have a lower end model of the MPPT controller or do not have the latest software installed on it?
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Post by bupkis on Feb 14, 2019 12:32:32 GMT
do you have a page near the end that shows the voltage set pt and lists USER as 9-17v (ie adjustable)?
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