earthrealm:
sad news...my morning star 45amp CC has died....my folks in the village hv been complaining that the inverter barely lasts 10mins for a couple of days now...was finally able to go check it, thinking twas the heavy rains or something...but alas in bright sunlight the CC was displaying 0amp,i checked the log and this zero harvest started 10days ago....they reported no ligtening strike...so am rally at loss what might hv damaged it......has anyone experienced this b4?...and any luck in repairing it?
the unit is about 21 months old. 4 x 250w 24v renogy panels connected in series. input voltage usually hovers around 130v.
system is hooked up to 2 x 200amphr luminous batts, and 1.5kva 24v luminous inverter....

any suggestions would be welcome, attached is a pic of the unit

The Voc of Renogy is 37.5V x 4pcs =150Vdc
Maybe the the panels produced more power than what the CC can handle over a long period
Try to use 2 x 2 configuration next time since you have a 24V system.

thanks gents for the responses, read the pv voltage at the breaker and at the cc terminals where the pv leads are terminated, got 128v, temporarily disconnected 1 of the battery leads and read direct from the CC{batt charging output], got zero volts,...
have read all the materials on morning star website as per troubleshooting......this type of scenario wasnt mentioned.
checked the diagnoistic tab of the CC, no fault was recorded, only low batt alarm is recorded in alarm

also disconnected the negative pv cable input at the CC, and plugged it back into the CC, it sparked a little...showing some juice is entering...........but output still is zero.
learnt morning star has a 5yr waranty on the product.................can any of the inhouse dealers pls confirm this,
bought tru amazon,,,n not sure how possible returning the item from nigeria would be

earthrealm:
sad news...my morning star 45amp CC has died....my folks in the village hv been complaining that the inverter barely lasts 10mins for a couple of days now...was finally able to go check it, thinking twas the heavy rains or something...but alas in bright sunlight the CC was displaying 0amp,i checked the log and this zero harvest started 10days ago....they reported no ligtening strike...so am rally at loss what might hv damaged it......has anyone experienced this b4?...and any luck in repairing it?
the unit is about 21 months old. 4 x 250w 24v renogy panels connected in series. input voltage usually hovers around 130v.
system is hooked up to 2 x 200amphr luminous batts, and 1.5kva 24v luminous inverter....

any suggestions would be welcome, attached is a pic of the unit

voltage usually hovers around 130v. This is high, you suffered the cc to handle the voltage for 21 months. To make matters worse you were off grid, no resting time for the cc. Sorry for your loss but I think alaba boys can fix it. Always leave breathing space for anything be automobile or electronics next time. 2x2 would have been better

JUO:
voltage usually hovers around 130v. This is high, you suffered the cc to handle the voltage for 21 months. To make matters worse you were off grid, no resting time for the cc. Sorry for your loss but I think alaba boys can fix it. Always leave breathing space for anything be automobile or electronics next time. 2x2 would have been better

I don't think his panels arrangement is responsible for the fault. To the best of my knowledge, mppt controllers have dc to dc converters that's controlled by some programme( firmware) for best performance.
It's simple, lightening struck his cc and affected some components on board. Over time, we have been advised to use surge arrestors. I am still saving for one though, except if solardepotng.com is kind enough to throw one at me as independence gift.

Alaba boys are good. You may give them a try.

BTW Earthrealm, u hardly acknowledge or reply mails. the other time u posted about stabilisers, I was kind enough to send u a mail including pictures of them. and so on. Same yesterday morning.

@juo.............i really dont think its the 130v, went to morning star website, the stated it can even handle 130% of its rated capacity, and it will temporarily disconnect and reconnect every 10 secs till the spike normalizes....

@abunafi....sry abt that, the email i use for nairaland is solely for nairaland, so dont chk it very often....will try to do so...now that u complained, i rememeber i set it up on my phone, so will go check and see y it didnt notify me of new mails

@kiekie, am considering upgrading and buying ur 60amp mppt charge controller and lightening arrestor, would contact you soon.........i blv ur cc is rated for 12/24/48v systems and can handle 150voc?


though funny enough the folks at home said NO thunder or lightening occured btw 22nd n 24th sept that the logs showed the cc packed up

I need help in interpreting a battery test result


My friend has a 24V DC inverter which he runs with 4 batteries of 12v 150AH capacity.

This implies he connects each two batteries in series and then connects each of the two series in parallel to get 24V DC.


Yesterday at the point the inverter went into battery low the following measurement were made

1st Batt String Result:

Batt 1) 9.78V
Batt 2) 11.90V


2nd Batt. String result

Batt 3) 9.67V
Batt 4) 12.02V


I made a new battery string series with Batt. 2 and Batt 4 leaving Batt 1 and 3 in another series.

All were connected as before.

Today the inverter again went on a battery low after running all night on battery and I made another measurement

Here is the result

Batt 1) 10.16V
Batt 3) 11.48V

Batt 2) 9.81V
Batt 4) 11.81V

From the above result the only batteries that remained consistent were batt 1 and 4.

Batt 1 is consistently bad in both arrangement.

Batt 4 is consistently good in both arrangement.


Battery 2 and 3 are the inconsistent ones.


I need inputs as to why this is so.


Thanks for taking out time to go through the epistle

earthrealm:
@juo.............i really dont think its the 130v, went to morning star website, the stated it can even handle 130% of its rated capacity, and it will temporarily disconnect and reconnect every 10 secs till the spike normalizes....

@abunafi....sry abt that, the email i use for nairaland is solely for nairaland, so dont chk it very often....will try to do so...now that u complained, i rememeber i set it up on my phone, so will go check and see y it didnt notify me of new mails

@kiekie, am considering upgrading and buying ur 60amp mppt charge controller and lightening arrestor, would contact you soon.........i blv ur cc is rated for 12/24/48v systems and can handle 150voc?


though funny enough the folks at home said the thunder or lightening occured btw 22nd n 24th sept that the logs showed the cc packed up

Quite an age dear friend! Yes the 60a mppt and DC/AC surge arrestor are readily available., you can simply reach me ...

abunafiu:


I don't think his panels arrangement is responsible for the fault. To the best of my knowledge, mppt controllers have dc to dc converters that's controlled by some programme( firmware) for best performance.
It's simple, lightening struck his cc and affected some components on board. Over time, we have been advised to use surge arrestors. I am still saving for one though, except if solardepotng.com is kind enough to throw one at me as independence gift.

Alaba boys are good. You may give them a try.

BTW Earthrealm, u hardly acknowledge or reply mails. the other time u posted about stabilisers, I was kind enough to send u a mail including pictures of them. and so on. Same yesterday morning.

But you were scared to use 4x4 even when your cc is 150v input? Have you by any means checked the device temperature at 90v and above at noon? I believe you will be scared of 4x4 by the time you see the result. I think you know the result of an engine performing at a high RMP all the time?

c0ogumo:


The Voc of Renogy is 37.5V x 4pcs =150Vdc
Maybe the the panels produced more power than what the CC can handle over a long period
Try to use 2 x 2 configuration next time since you have a 24V system.

Regarding the 130% comment. I think they meant watts not volts. In Nigeria I have seen funky stuff from our solar installation. Cables from controllers getting hot, fans running all the time, 1 kw in panels producing 980 W at the controller.
You have to allow room in your design for stuff like that.

JUO:
But you were scared to use 4x4 even when your cc is 150v input? Have you by any means checked the device temperature at 90v and above at noon? I believe you will be scared of 4x4 by the time you see the result. I think you know the result of an engine performing at a high RMP all the time?

Yes. I will definitely be scared of usimg 4 by 4. At 3 by 3 typical total Voc is usually between 115 and 130v for every 24v panel.
My TSMPPT60 can handle max 150v. which means 130v is safe enough. However, 4 by 4 will result to 145 to 160V voc and that's when d problem will start.
Always consider the name plate values on ur panels with respect to your cc b4 connection.
With my 3 by 3 connection. My cc has never gone beyond 45°C . My cc has high temperature protection as well as high voltage disconnect.

Surge protection is highly recommended.

kiekie1:


Quite an age dear friend! Yes the 60a mppt and DC/AC surge arrestor are readily available., you can simply reach me ...

The aggressive marketer. . You no dey slack at all. More grease bro. Keep up d good work.

abunafiu:

Yes. I will definitely be scared of usimg 4 by 4. At 3 by 3 typical total Voc is usually between 115 and 130v for every 24v panel.
My TSMPPT60 can handle max 150v. which means 130v is safe enough. However, 4 by 4 will result to 145 to 160V voc and that's when d problem will start.
Always consider the name plate values on ur panels with respect to your cc b4 connection.
With my 3 by 3 connection. My cc has never gone beyond 45°C . My cc has high temperature protection as well as high voltage disconnect.

Surge protection is highly recommended.

my oga easy o. Your boy remain loyal. Just an advise for those that don't know, high voltage will damage your cc

Who is "Alaba Boys"? Lol


I would like to have his contact as I have a CC from a customer location I need to fix

For a 24v system, the MPPT function of the CC can work so well with 2x2 config.

I would always advice the setup not be done to the extreme to give room for re-adjustment if anything happens.

I use this TOMZN DC SPD and its been okay , not had any incident so far and to say most off my instaatuons are around Akwa aibom , Rivers state axis.

Update on thin film panels 1.4kw on 60 amp MPPT iTracer . Got a total harvest of 8.1kw yesterday. Pic taken around 5pm when harvest was 8kw. Fingers crossed!!!

durodee:
Update on thin film panels 1.4kw on 60 amp MPPT iTracer . Got a total harvest of 8.1kw yesterday. Pic taken around 5pm when harvest was 8kw. Fingers crossed!!!

This is beastly. Bro that number is sick. I need 2 kw in poly to get your numbers. You are getting performance that is out of this world. I will try them eventually.

abunafiu:

The aggressive marketer. . You no dey slack at all. More grease bro. Keep up d good work.

Thanks .. Happy Sunday Sir !

durodee:
Update on thin film panels 1.4kw on 60 amp MPPT iTracer . Got a total harvest of 8.1kw yesterday. Pic taken around 5pm when harvest was 8kw. Fingers crossed!!!

Congrats Sir... SUN @ WORK !

JUO:
my oga easy o. Your boy remain loyal. Just an advise for those that don't know, high voltage will damage your cc

Oga juo... don't mind me. I felt the need to let people know that 3 by 3 is not harmful to mppt controller.
To be honest, if u refer to the manual that came with the TSMPPT60 ..3 by 3 is discouraged. Sometimes in 2013., my self, GeorgeD1 and some other guys discussed this extensively. After practicals , we concluded 3 by 3 was the best for 48v systems.
When I tried the same for 24v, I discovered I was loosing power but my cc worked fine for almost a month when I 4kw inverter was away. I use only 1080watts in total.

As u rightly pointed. high voc will fry pwm easily. voc above 150v is strongly discouraged for mppt cc.

Happy sunday bro!.

abunafiu:

Oga juo... don't mind me. I felt the need to let people know that 3 by 3 is not harmful to mppt controller.
To be honest, if u refer to the manual that came with the TSMPPT60 ..3 by 3 is discouraged. Sometimes in 2013., my self, GeorgeD1 and some other guys discussed this extensively. After practicals , we concluded 3 by 3 was the best for 48v systems.
When I tried the same for 24v, I discovered I was loosing power but my cc worked fine for almost a month when I 4kw inverter was away. I use only 1080watts in total.

As u rightly pointed. high voc will fry pwm easily. voc above 150v is strongly discouraged for mppt cc.

Happy sunday bro!.

Mornigstar has a 600 V MPPT and Midnite Solar has a 250 V unit. Most controllers have a 150 V max. The Chinese have as low as 70 V and can max out at 145 Volts.
Having the recipe does not make one a chef. That is why forums like this are a gold mine.

chris81964:


Mornigstar has a 600 V MPPT and Midnite Solar has a 250 V unit. Most controllers have a 150 V max. The Chinese have as low as 70 V and can max out at 145 Volts.
Having the recipe does not make one a chef. That is why forums like this are a gold mine.

and that doesn't come cheap, since MorningStar has 600v input are you saying one should put 550v or 600v since the the cc can handle 600v? High dc voltage can kill incase we have forgotten

JUO:
and that doesn't come cheap, since MorningStar has 600v input are you saying one should put 550v or 600v since the the cc can handle 600v? High dc voltage can kill incase we have forgotten

Thx 4 d reminder. Infact I advice not to even joke with 100v dc not to mention 600v.
I was once shocked by the voc coming out from my 3 by 3 set up. Since then, I don't play with panels during d day. I do my installations early or later in d evening.
Better be safe than sorry.

JUO:
and that doesn't come cheap, since MorningStar has 600v input are you saying one should put 550v or 600v since the the cc can handle 600v? High dc voltage can kill incase we have forgotten

DC voltage over 80 is dangerous ( can stop your heart). That high will kill. Grid tied inverters run voltages that are that high. Someone mentioned that the max for charge controllers was 150.
You know know it is not. And no I don't advocate going to the max pv voltage. There are phenomenon that will make your PV spike beyond the installed voltage.

THANKS for all the comments...quite an eye opener.

though my cc has never been extremely hot, even on very hot days..
i did the 4 x 4 setup, cos i felt , that wud reduce the load on my panel to cc cables which are rated for 15amps or so...its 10awg solar cable.

wud do 2 x 2 when i buy a new cc

@iamtoobuisy2bother.....noticed something similar in 2 luminous installations that are hooked up to 200 x 2 batts.
1 of the batts appears to hv a lower voltage of BOUT 10.4V WHEN the system is down..................noticed twas the negative terminal batt in one of the installations......cud u confirm which battery also failed in urs...wannna test my theory.
if my theory is right periodically swapping the batteries will counter such

earthrealm:
THANKS for all the comments...quite an eye opener.

though my cc has never been extremely hot, even on very hot days..
i did the 4 x 4 setup, cos i felt , that wud reduce the load on my panel to cc cables which are rated for 15amps or so...its 10awg solar cable.

wud do 2 x 2 when i buy a new cc

@iamtoobuisy2bother.....noticed something similar in 2 luminous installations that are hooked up to 200 x 2 batts.
1 of the batts appears to hv a lower voltage of BOUT 10.4V WHEN the system is down..................noticed twas the negative terminal batt in one of the installations......cud u confirm which battery also failed in urs...wannna test my theory.
if my theory is right periodically swapping the batteries will counter such

I can confirm i have noticed a lesser voltage at cutout on all the batteries on the NEGATIVE end of my systems. I thought at that time that maybe the NEGATIVE terminal cable being a bit longer was the problem! Periodical swaprounds highly recommended.

durodee:


I can confirm i have noticed a lesser voltage at cutout on all the batteries on the NEGATIVE end of my systems. I thought at that time that maybe the NEGATIVE terminal cable being a bit longer was the problem! Periodical swaprounds highly recommended.

periodic swapping is highly recommended. the most negative battery usually takes the fall.
I do periodic swapping for systems above 12v.
To counter this phenomena, I recommend an upgrade to flooded batteries such that u can perform equalisation.

I stand to be corrected: most indian inverters (24v and above)damage batts..usually the most negative. I am speaking from experience. They are equipped with poor chargers. I have tried inverters like prag and mustpower. ...they charge well and equal voltage is observed on all batts unlike sukham etc.
However, when it comes to fault tolerance, I give it to the Indian inverters.

earthrealm:
sad news...my morning star 45amp CC has died....my folks in the village hv been complaining that the inverter barely lasts 10mins for a couple of days now...was finally able to go check it, thinking twas the heavy rains or something...but alas in bright sunlight the CC was displaying 0amp,i checked the log and this zero harvest started 10days ago....they reported no ligtening strike...so am rally at loss what might hv damaged it......has anyone experienced this b4?...and any luck in repairing it?
the unit is about 21 months old. 4 x 250w 24v renogy panels connected in series. input voltage usually hovers around 130v.
system is hooked up to 2 x 200amphr luminous batts, and 1.5kva 24v luminous inverter....

any suggestions would be welcome, attached is a pic of the unit

I've tried reading thorough the various contributions to these though I'm not sure if i got all the details from the replies.
Just as it is suggested, it is always safe (and also specified by standards) to leave a safety room on your charge controller loadings but that is always referring to the total load capacity not just instantaneous big voltages.

I am sure it is not the high voltage that destroyed your cc because it can accommodate that panels configuration comfortably. As long as you do not have an open cct in your dc line theres no way you cc will hit the Voc ratings and even if it could, you wouldn't have a sun intensity that will produce that peak Voc for long enough to destroy the cc. Since load is always connected to the system the Vmp should be the considered voltage for your evaluation.

2x2 is not a very good option for a 48v system. I've had to do 4x4 in some installations where certain conditions demanded that using Morningstar and Outback cc and they've been up and running for years now.

Your problem could've been lightening, reverse current, earth leakage etc. but most likely lightening. Most lightenings that destroys doesn't necessarily come with loud thunder and so might not be noticed.

In history, I have done a lot of installations and have never had any failed Charge Controller. One of my secrets is MIDNITESOLAR LIGHTENING ARRESTOR MNDC115, or 300 depending on your application. How it works; whether you are using 3x3, 4x4 or 10x10 configuration in your installations, the MNDC115 makes sure your cc does not see more than 150v. You would also discover that your solar panels will only get these peaking ratings intermittently and not always so allowing you to enjoy a high yield form a higher voltage config. while still keeping your system safe.

Check them out on our installations on our Facebook page "PBASE Solar". I have also attached a picture of one below running on a 3x3 configuration in an off grid installation.

@RICHMON........thanks for voicing your opinion, i never believed it was high voltage that destroyed my cc, just decided to keep my opinion to myself...due to the over whelming verdict from the house .

1. the system has been on for 21months...n even in the peak of harmattan where sunlight is highest, nothing happened to the system, is it now in the rainy season that such bright sunlight that will exceed 150voc will occur........

2. this is morning star, not just such chinese knockoff...this cc is quite rugged and well built........usa made, imagine they gave 5yrs waranty!, have contacted amazon to explore if/how they would honor the waranty

i think twas either lightening or temporary disconnect from the batt side {learnt some workmen came to do some work in the house, ...even though its unlikely they would hv disconnected anything to hv easier acces to work......it cant be ruled out]

my system is a 24v system , not 48v...the prag 4kw 24v/48v inverters look really competent, would consider them when i want to upgrade.

@abunafiu.....so u cant equalize on sealed batts?............i set my morning star cc to equalize on my sealed batts every 28days, so is this wrong?

@house, does any supplier still have the zenith 260amp 12v batts?...................
am a bit confused......the trojan flooded batts can be hooked up and equalized with a charge controller right?, read something abt some inverters like luminous not being suitable for flooded batts

long time guys. going true and just remember my experience handling a 20kva 360vdc. the battery just de vex shock frm + or -. kai i dont play wt high dc volt o.

chris81964:


This is beastly. Bro that number is sick. I need 2 kw in poly to get your numbers. You are getting performance that is out of this world. I will try them eventually.

Try Solrworld Solar panels. I have seen 17.4kWh/D from a 3.06kw Solarworld Submodule Mono Panels.
The figure does not depend on the solar panel quality only. It depends also on load and installation.

richmon74:


Try Solrworld Solar panels. I have seen 17.4kWh/D from a 3.06kw Solarworld Submodule Mono Panels.
The figure does not depend on the solar panel quality only. It depends also on load and installation.

I have used Solarworld panels for my clients. I get 4.9 kw/h on a good day (load dependent) on my 1 kw in Renesola panels. I have seen them produce as much as 900 Watts. Thank you for the tip. (The load in the house is limited to a refrigerator, a desktop and fans)

GOOD NEWS, AMAZON/Morning star has confirmed am still under waranty,
just need to get it to the usa

Pharyn:
How do you revive a dying Trojan J185?

Background:
This is the design:

5kVA Indian Inverter (with 20A charging Charging Current @48V).
8 units of Trojan 12V 205Ah (J185). 4 in series. 2 paralleled with the Inverter follow-come cables.
Location: Osun State.
Installation date: December 2014.

Current status: battery low after 45 minutes.

House, how can these precious batteries be rescued? The installation was done for my Pastor's house.

@kiekie,
@coogumo,
@abunafiu,
@Imo Nkweini,
@House,

Appreciate your responses and contributions to this question. God bless you all.

I had changed all the cables a month ago, to a new set of 50mm cables, all same size, shorter, about 25cm long. (See attached picture).

I had considered replacing the Inverter with another 3- or 4-stage kind of Inverter with 50A-60A charging current, but what would be done to the Indian Inverter?

So, an option that can be conveniently presented to my Pastor is that of adding an external charger (4-stage preferably).

What brand of this charger is readily available and functional?

Thank you.