Eco Worthy max amps 24 volt

[Oneleggedcowboy]

I hope JiminDenver or someone else understands this controller. Thanks in advance for your help. 

I have a 20 amp Eco Worthy mppt controller in my camper/horse trailer with a 245 watt solar panel at 24 volts. It works great. I now want to add another 245 watt 24 volt panel to the setup. So that would be 490 watts which is under the 520 that the controller is rated at. 

However since both panels together would be converted down for my 12 volt battery bank would the amps exceed the 20 amp rating? If so what would happen? Would the controller be fried? Or would it charge at the 20 amps and not use the other amps?

 

[John61CT]

20A is maximum output

With a 12V bank, max watts input is 300W

You would need to convert to a 24V bank to get to the 600W input.

Their spec sheets don't actually state at what point overpanelling will harm the SC, but that much is a waste of money.

Buy another SC for your new panel.

 

[jimindenver]

Max output with the Eco-worthy 20a is 20a or it is rated for 275w at 12v. The newest version is rated for a Voc of 50v. You could use two of the 245w panels but only in parallel and with a 24v battery bank. I had two Eco-worthy 20a controllers on two 245w panels and it worked great.

If you plan on pushing the controllers a lot I suggest raising the controller off the wall with spacers about a half inch to increase cooling. Check to see that the controller is seeing the same voltage as you do at the bank, if not increase the size of the battery cables.

I have seen the controller over paneled and the amps stop at 20.1a. Two 245w panels can produce around 34a or so which I agree is a waste. I started using them in 2013 and when I damaged one Eco-worthy offered to repair or replace it for free three years after I bought it.

 

[Oneleggedcowboy]

Hey Thsnks gor the info. If I put two panels with each having their own controller to my battery bank then does one controller see the charge the other is putting in and lower it's charge? I think I would want them both to put as much as possible in?

 

[jimindenver]

Each controller will see the banks voltage. In bulk both will dump as much power as is possible until the absorption point is reached. At that point the battery takes control of the rate of charge so while not balanced each controller will only push in as much as the battery will accept. So if the battery will accept 22 amps then one controller may be running at 15a and the other 7 amps but together they will meet the peak absorption rate. This is not unusual as I often see one of my Morningstar systems providing not just more power than the other but at times all of the power the bank will take while the other system is at idle and providing nothing unless I turn on a load.

Because of the programing on the Eco-worthy and the way it handles absorb you may want to set its float voltage to the absorb rate until the absorption rate drops and then reset it to normal float levels. This gives you control over how long you stay at the absorption voltage and can be changed very easily. In the cooler temperatures of high altitude it was not a issue leaving the float set to absorption levels but you may want to lower it in hotter conditions so that you do not boil your battery dry. You should also adjust your set points according to the battery manufactures guidelines for temperature. Lower for high heat, higher for low temperatures. This way you do not damage your batteries by under charging them when it is cold or overcharge them when it is hot.

 

[Canine]

If I put two panels with each having their own controller to my battery bank then does one controller see the charge the other is putting in and lower it's charge?

It doesn't matter what kind of charger is put on the batteries. A shore power battery charger and two charge controllers will all work fine. Two charge controllers hooked up to the same spot is also fine. Having charge controllers that are "networked" together is even better. That is like when you are working with someone at work with the same goal. If you each work independently with no contact with each other, you will get the job done, but not as fast as if you were communicating with each other to do the most efficient job possible. It's the same way with networked charge controllers- they communicate with each other to do the best job possible.

I would need the exact model of the Ecoworthy charge controller to be able to provide a specific answer. I had just wrote a thread about sizing a charge controller that would answer your question as well.

 

[Oneleggedcowboy]

Hello again. Had to rush home from Az in April due to a infection on my amputated stump, err residual appendage as the docs say. LOL No worries it is healing and I hope to be back in Az in Sept.

Anyway I am back to modifying my solar horse trsiler design. I got a deal on Craigslist yesterdsy on a 310 wstt Trina panel, wiring, 2 marine 12 volt batteries and a cheapo PWM 30 amp controller plus a 24 volt inverter! Now I want to copy JiminDenver and since the horse trailer living quarters is already wired for 110 volt, I want to setup the battery bank at 24 volt and let the inverter run constantly. It's a Power Bright 1500/3000. It has soft start and is rated at less than .18 amp no load draw. This way I can run my little 110 dorm fridge.
Battery bank will be 4 six volt Sams golf cart batteries wired up into a 24 volt bank. How many amp hours is that?

I understand how to do the wiring. Here are my questions....
1. What is my loss from running the inverter 24 hours a day? Is it the 1 amp is 8 amps conversion deal?
2. There will be phantom loss I know. So can I plug the refrigerator to the inverter by itself and then put everything else on the other plug with a on and off switch to help on power loss? Will it be worth the hassle?
3. How do I get 12 volts for the water pumps?
4. What is the efficency of 12 volt LED lights versus 110 volt LED lights?
5. I will be using a 245 watt panel and the 310 watt panel. Can I put them both on my 20 amp Eco Worthy MPPT controller?

I know that's a lot but thanks to yall I keep having great experiences with my solar setups!!!

 

[Cammalu]

I can’t be of any help with all that you need to know but I’d sure like to see your horse trailer setup. Did it already have living quarters and are you bringing a horse along?

 

[Oneleggedcowboy]

Hello Cammalu, my horse trailer, I actually have 3, a 2 horse side by side that I pull with my slide in came on the truck. A 1971 WW 18 foot  gooseneck with homemade small living quarters, think fry eggs, make bed and brush teeth without moving. And a huge Delta gooseneck  that has a 7 foot wide by 7.5 foot living area plus a 7x7.5 goose with the queen size bed. It has a 7x4 foot bathroom with tub and shower plus extra storage. The 10 feet for the two horses. I got tired of no room to sit with friends and also to be able to stretch my long legs... err leg. LOL  Stretch my leg out on my footstool while sitting in a stuffed armchair!  Pictures are tough to post, my cell phone times out b4 they load.

 

[Oneleggedcowboy]

Oh yes I travel with one of my horsrs. It's legal on BLM, National Foredt, State Trust etc. You mostly have to feed weed free feed n hay and scatter the manure. Also don't let them eat the trees by tying to them. Some places you can use a hi line between trees to picket and some you cant.