controller question

[tx2sturgis]

Believe me, if a amp counter says you didn't put enough amps back in, you didn't need a amp counter. You needed to spend the money on more solar.

This is pretty much what I told another member here. In regards to a nice $200 battery monitor with all the counting features and readouts you could want, I told him I'd rather that spend that $200 on another panel and be closer to solar independence that way.

Of course a $30-50 basic monitor is still a good idea.

 

[frater secessus]

In fact I have plans to hook up a very small DC heater so that during sunny days when I have extra power, it will help heat the trailer. 50 watts of heat is almost a pittance, but over time it will pay for itself in propane saved.

Not running it off the LOAD, but I bought a little 200W heater I saw someone use at the RTR.  For folks with excess solar it's free heat.

I'll get back on topic now.

 

[Weight]

I have my roof full of solar panels. I use my Victron Monitor for my battery bank condition, maybe I should temporary cut back on my energy use. Also handy, The Victron has a relay contact that can be set with various parameters to be NO or NC, with low or high voltage, low SOC, most can be set with a relay or an alarm. I use mine to operate a fan that ventilates the battery box.

 

[jimindenver]

Weight, describe your system please. It sounds interesting and would be nice to have a basis to understand of where you are coming from. Number of watts, Ah's at what voltage for the bank, daily usage and haul, what do you use as a alternate means of charging and anything else you feel is relevant.

I am not saying amp counters are useless but I also do not think they are the end all either. I use voltage in various ways , resting, under a know load or combination of loads and response to charge to gauge the health of my aging bank. I do not however use it to decide after the fact to change my behavior. I know what will cause a change if what my bank gets is the weather going south for a day or three. In the case of the Colorado monsoon, many days. I know before hand that I will need to use propane to cook with and heat water, I might even unplug the booster. I even used the generator after being under tree cover for three days once, it sure is nice to have.

I do what to have a thread about amp counters once I get caught up some. I have some questions after seeing a handful in the number of systems I have dealt with this last year.

 

[Weight]

You want too much from an old fool like me. 400 W on the roof, can tilt to 45*. I have a folding ladder to be able to clean the panels. 45 amp Morningstar PWM. 690 ah EGC2 battery bank. Temperature regulated charging. Power vented battery box. 1000w microwave, mr coffee, toaster, fans, lights, and Indel-B refrigerator. All cables are marine grade and oversized to the next up awg. Butane gas stove. I don't have any idea what I use daily. It has been too long from when I charted. I have breakfast with the coffee and toaster. Dinner with the microwave, sometimes lunch. There is always cold beer, but I prefer my bourbon neat. I don't have any problem with my batteries. Some month or two I have maintenance day and check all the fluids. I maybe run an equalization with my ProMariner charger and check for high resistance across all connections by measuring voltage drop. I do charge a ThinkPad and phone and tablet. But not all that much.