Cant get a money refund so ill get a panel and do ‘something’ with it.
Solar The Solar Panel Thread
- Thread starter cruza driver
- Start date
The answer to my question is no doubt yes. Has anyone here replaced the Jayco supplied TPS -555 solar charge controller with an MPPT one? If so - which one would you recommend? Is this a straightforward task?
Many thanks
Bill
Many thanks
Bill
It shouldn't be difficult Bill, @Billrw136 just require tag the cables, remove them and then remove the TPS and replace with your new unit and fit the cables...........just remember to disconnect the battery, 240 disconnected and if unable to disconnect the solar then insulate the cable end as soon as your remove from controller...........
I use a TPS-555 controller on my portable panel, they come in a variety of brands mine has the Camec label on it.
I use a TPS-555 controller on my portable panel, they come in a variety of brands mine has the Camec label on it.
Certainly looks like an electrical burn (through) mark!! Most likely caused by a poor soldered joint arching across the broken solder joint when conducting solar current. Makes you wonder on how careful persons were in handling this "flexible" panel before you got it. They do have a limit on how much they can be flexed and the weakest points are the tiny soldered connections under the silicon cover.
Just stumbled upon this article again, gives a simple easy to read explanation of charging/batteries/type/size etc which should help some of us less techo folks....
https://www.caravansplus.com.au/guides/calculating-how-big-your-battery-needs-to-be-a-44.html
https://www.caravansplus.com.au/guides/calculating-how-big-your-battery-needs-to-be-a-44.html
Hello @Craig and Leanne , here is the great reference posted by @Drover that I mentioned in my earlier post. Suggest have a good read as it covers most of the questions you are asking about charging your battery. If still in doubt about connecting wiring, just put it to the forum. Lots here to help you.
Hello @Billrw136 , just read through your question about an MPPT controller to replace the PWM one you now have. I have had amazing success with my MPPT LD solar model TD2310 (Tracer Dream Series) rated at 30A and up to 100V. Bought on EBay for around $140.00 from C Trade in Forster in NSW. 2 year warranty too. Can do ALL the settings and recordings of power in/power out over a period and all the other things you want to know - all on site without having a computer hookup. Includes a battery temp probe also. Where I go, there is rarely any reception so I did not have a need for that system. It is slightly smaller than the Epever, so that may be a factor in where you want to place it.
The Epever is another brand that members have bought. It does the same thing too, but you need to purchase a computer hookup panel and lead to be able to change some of the settings. It has the advantage of being able to give a readout to your laptop so you can print out results etc. Cost is higher and then you usually have to add computer lead, hookup panel and a battery temp probe for the full system. Have a look on Ebay for all the info.
The big advantage of MPPT controllers is that you can hook up panels in SERIES and get the advantages of lower losses in cabling (no need for heavy cables when voltage from 2 panels will give between 29 to 36 volts). More if you want to connect up more panels in SERIES. If you look at some of my posts on solar panels and what sort of output I am getting, definitely consider installing one. Picture of my MPPT controller installed in my Penguin for you to see.
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Hello again @MarkAW , I just found the post that I referred to about battery charging and vehicle voltages. I am sure you will find it interesting reading and may help you with your problem. Some members have not had any major problems like yours, but there are quite a few who have. Good luck.
Hi there @Billrw136, I recently replaced my PWM Jayco controller for a MPPT Epever Tracer controller. I left the connections as they were installed at the factory with 2 panels in parallel.
With my old setup, I have never seen greater than 7A supply to the batteries, but with the new controller I have seen it as high as 19A and the smarts of the inbuilt charger are much better.
The whole setup cost under $200 and a bit of time but I’m very happy with the result.
Hi @Bellbirdweb , glad to hear from you again and that your MPPT controller is working so well. From the figures you have provided, that is great output from fixed panels. You do not have to worry about voltage drop from long cables as I have to consider with portable panels. Your old Jayco PWM controller certainly was not being very productive for you and not doing you any favours at only 7A total from both panels. Now with the same panels and I assume same position for panels, there is a huge difference. Other than the more sophisticated operation of your MPPT controller, why do you think that there has been such a huge change? Dirty panels, bad/poor connections or maybe no output from one of the panels?? Keen to know what you think.
Hi @Boots in Action, I was quite surprised just how much of a difference it made.
The old controller was above my fridge, so quite some distance from the batteries, so I ended up joining the wires from the panel to the ones that used to go to the battery, installed the epever right down at the battery and used those wires as the panel input and ran new ones to the battery via the shunt.
So the controller is now much closer to the battery, but other than that no other changes.
I regularly get up and clean the panels, so I don’t think that was a factor, I think it’s all down to the much better controller, and much closer distance between controller and battery.
Hi @Bellbirdweb , with those sort of results, it really shows the value of MPPT controllers. Why have extra panels and/or batteries when you can easily get so much charge into battery/ies in a very short time. If members with power problems upgrade their ordinary PWM to MPPT, it could solve a lot of their problems. A great example of all the advantages at moderate cost, which is very quickly recovered. Not hard to change either if funds are available.
not sure what is in mine (very very dumb when it comes to elektrickery), but it has been on toilet roll N#3 of jobs, to move the thingy off the wall of the Van and mount it closer to the battery, someone on some thread mentioned it once ages ago that the shorter the distance the better the charging
Yes @bigcol , you did read that on an earlier post. Technically, the voltage coming into the solar panel controller will be approx 17 to 18 volts with a single panel or even two panels in parallel. However, the solar controller reduces this voltage to a level just above the battery voltage it senses. So with this lower voltage from controller to battery, there are voltage/current losses before it gets to battery. That is why it is important to have the heavier wire between controller and battery as short as possible to get the most power into battery.
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Thanks @Drover , @Bellbirdweb and @Boots in Action for replying to my post. I am sorry it has taken a while to respond - granny flat, moving logs from second very large tree removal, spreading of mulch and on it goes.
I became interested in changing my controller when I recently purchased a portable panel with attached MPPT controller - I then read about PWM and MPPT.
The van is brand new with 2 x 150watt panels and 2 batteries.
I presume to fit a new controller that I simply remove the current one and connect the new one in its place? Or is it more complicated than that?
Just reread your replies and it looks like that is what I need to do!
The one you have @Boots in Action has gone up in price, but that is not a problem.
I think I will get one and add it to the pile of items in the garage that are waiting to be fitted when I get the chance!
We are heading north in the middle of the year.
Thanks again
Bill
I became interested in changing my controller when I recently purchased a portable panel with attached MPPT controller - I then read about PWM and MPPT.
The van is brand new with 2 x 150watt panels and 2 batteries.
I presume to fit a new controller that I simply remove the current one and connect the new one in its place? Or is it more complicated than that?
Just reread your replies and it looks like that is what I need to do!
The one you have @Boots in Action has gone up in price, but that is not a problem.
I think I will get one and add it to the pile of items in the garage that are waiting to be fitted when I get the chance!
We are heading north in the middle of the year.
Thanks again
Bill
No need to apologise Bill, we all cop that sort of thing, swapping the units is not hard just disconnect the wires from one and reconnect to new unit, making sure you tag each wire before you remove and pull fuse on battery and panels, if no fuse then insulate as soon as you disconnect the cable.
If you have an integrated power unit where the controller is part of a big circuit board which turns solar/240/12v on/off as it wishes then thats another story.
Next trip away I will try to note what my system does, as we stop for a week at a time should give me some good figures to see how this unit of mine performs......Big Mal has a Pro Star 35 controller hanging off 200w and compare it to the TPS 30amp controller on the 120w portable, which is similar to what a lot of vans have , just means I will have to get out of bed early to catch the figures, mine usually gets back up to full noise by 1000 easily so haven't felt the need to seriously look at upgrading the controller
If you have an integrated power unit where the controller is part of a big circuit board which turns solar/240/12v on/off as it wishes then thats another story.
Next trip away I will try to note what my system does, as we stop for a week at a time should give me some good figures to see how this unit of mine performs......Big Mal has a Pro Star 35 controller hanging off 200w and compare it to the TPS 30amp controller on the 120w portable, which is similar to what a lot of vans have , just means I will have to get out of bed early to catch the figures, mine usually gets back up to full noise by 1000 easily so haven't felt the need to seriously look at upgrading the controller