Hank the Tanks Dodgy battery and solar system

merl said:
Ah, all the ins and outs of this blue stuff isn't my forte Barry. As you say you'll really need bluetooth and a phone app so you can shout "Whooo Michelle, we've just hit a new high of 14.173 amps" and then high five each other. ;)
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Thats why I loved my old MPPT controller with the LED screen. :D If it was cloudy and the sun suddenly came out we would race to the wardrobe to check what was going in. :ROFLMAO: An app isn't quite the same though. Bit like a download comparted to a 12" Vinyl LP.
 
barryd said:
Yes I am aware or that one Trev. I think it was discussed up thread. Ill talk to Merl about it as I think he has a solution for the cab battery. The Victron MPPT seems the more widely known though.
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A single output controller coupled with a decent battery maintainer trumps the dual output types IMHO because if the solar drops off desperately over the winter you get both batteries charged/maintained from EHU. You really need a decent battery maintainer though. ;)
 
merl said:
A single output controller coupled with a decent battery maintainer trumps the dual output types IMHO because if the solar drops off desperately over the winter you get both batteries charged/maintained from EHU. You really need a decent battery maintainer though. ;)
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Ill try and talk to you about this tomorrow. I don't have the facility to plug the van in or a maintainer over winter here but what I do know is the current system has kept both batteries fully charged throughout. Its one of the reasons I wanted to keep it. Once I fully understand what your proposing I can then decide on what controller to go for I reckon.
 
barryd said:
Yes I am aware or that one Trev. I think it was discussed up thread. Ill talk to Merl about it as I think he has a solution for the cab battery. The Victron MPPT seems the more widely known though.
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You can fit a 200amp relay and switch from hab batts to starter batts, you can use this for emergency starts linking all the batts up or to send power to the starter battery if required, this is in place on my van as if i have left van lights on im still able to start her up.
 
trevskoda said:
You can fit a 200amp relay and switch from hab batts to starter batts, you can use this for emergency starts linking all the batts up or to send power to the starter battery if required, this is in place on my van as if i have left van lights on im still able to start her up.
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That sounds like it might need some heavy duty cabling Trev. The leisure batteries are right down the back and the cab battery right at the front on an 8m van. There is wiring in place to go to the engine battery already which is why I liked the idea of keeping that but it looks shite to be honest. The wiring thats been put in does not look great as Exwindsurfer pointed out. However What I do know is it works.

Ill see if I can get my head around Merls idea and take it from there. One of the controllers like Kevs or the one you linked to might just work fine. Im not fussed what goes in as long as it does the job.

It is crucial though that the cab battery stays topped up and if you saw my drive and that the only access is via the passenger door you would understand why.

EDIT: Now you mention it that Votronic duel charger you linked to earlier I did find reports on reviews that it can be a drain on the batteries in winter. Not sure how true that is.
 
barryd said:
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EDIT: Now you mention it that Votronic duel charger you linked to earlier I did find reports on reviews that it can be a drain on the batteries in winter. Not sure how true that is.
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No. It doesn't take power from either battery, it feeds to them
 
Nabsim said:
No. It doesn't take power from either battery, it feeds to them
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ALL solar controllers consume a standing current, this varies considerably from model to model and is obviously very small compared to the solar gain during normal operation. In the winter over a prolonged period of no/low solar the solar controller can actually consume more power than the system produces and then it's effect will be negative. Very system and condition dependant though.
 
barryd said:
That sounds like it might need some heavy duty cabling Trev. The leisure batteries are right down the back and the cab battery right at the front on an 8m van. There is wiring in place to go to the engine battery already which is why I liked the idea of keeping that but it looks shite to be honest. The wiring thats been put in does not look great as Exwindsurfer pointed out. However What I do know is it works.

Ill see if I can get my head around Merls idea and take it from there. One of the controllers like Kevs or the one you linked to might just work fine. Im not fussed what goes in as long as it does the job.

It is crucial though that the cab battery stays topped up and if you saw my drive and that the only access is via the passenger door you would understand why.

EDIT: Now you mention it that Votronic duel charger you linked to earlier I did find reports on reviews that it can be a drain on the batteries in winter. Not sure how true that is.
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No drain here, mine keeps up or just holds in nov dec but has been charging from jan no bother, truth is my batts never go down.
Yes heavy battery cable if you want a jump start from les batts to starter batt, if not wanted then just use the thine wire you have from votronic to charge the starter batt.
800 posts and we must nearly be there. 😂
 
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barryd said:
Thats why I loved my old MPPT controller with the LED screen. :D If it was cloudy and the sun suddenly came out we would race to the wardrobe to check what was going in. :ROFLMAO: An app isn't quite the same though. Bit like a download comparted to a 12" Vinyl LP.
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"we would race to the wardrobe"
And I thought we were sad just smiling when the sun was out
 
Ill see if I can find the thread about the Votronic drain. It was likely a faulty unit but I seem to think there was more than one person had the issue. With my old controller on the old van I had it a couple of times over Winter. I heard the Solar alarm going off in the van and when I checked the leisure battery had dropped to 10.5v. In the end what I did was I just pulled the fuse between the battery and the controller and isolated the leisure battery over winter. This cured the issue. With the Cab battery on the old van I just whipped off the negative lead under the bonnet. You can't really do that with a modern van.

With the current controller I have had no issues (so far). It must still use power though as it has two green flashing lights for both batteries which have flashed away all winter showing full. However to be fair there hasn't been a month where its not had a run out really.

This is why I was reluctant to change it as I kind of hate fixing stuff thats not broke but I appreciate its old hat. That said the bloke at off grid solutions "sniffed" at the proven differences between PWM and MPPT.
 
merl said:
Votronic quote 50ma and 7ma in the same document so some contradiction but either way there WILL be drain Trev, I guarantee it. (y)
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Im always getting a charge even in the dullest of days, overnight batts sit at 12.7v then 14.4v daytime and falling to float at 13.7v, keeps me happy.
 
Its not baffling me Trev. I understand about drain etc. It something Im a bit anal about in the van having ran minimal systems for yonks.

This is the thread that put me off the Votronic although if you look hard enough you will probably find one for just about any popular controller.

www.motorhomefun.co.uk

Votronic MPP 250 duo

Wonder if anyone has had a problem with the above controller suddenly stop charging up both the liesure and end gone batteries ? Seems that at some point last week it stopped working. Checked over yesterday and the units fuse seems ok. Measured 18.6V across the solar panel terminals. 12.8V...
www.motorhomefun.co.uk www.motorhomefun.co.uk
 
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