mppt results are in.

[Canine]

The tests are done and the results are in the record.Mppt controllers are vastly superior to my el cheapo controllers.Bob,please send me a heaping helping of humble pie.I bow to your superior intelligence.Results are on the order of 40% gain in production.I have 1 Blue Sky($250),3 EP Solar($100),2 Make sky blue($75)(Yeah,if you like the name you should try understanding the install directions.)controllers.They are all working great and production is pretty close with all of them.It will be a few years before I find out about longevity.Eating crow is not too bad if you have plenty of salt.

 

[jimindenver]

That is a substantial increase Bob and you have a substantial array meaning a lot more power. Now that it is done, would you have been happy using all EP controllers or is the Blue Sky worth the extra dough. Never heard of the Make sky blue brand but am always glad to hear of another affordable solution.

 

[coffeewitholiver]

Blue Sky is big in the marine world.

 

[Canine]

I don't know yet,Jim.They are all putting out about the same when the batteries are low.The cheapest Makesky Blue are still charging in the 7-8 amp range after the others have gone to float.Right now I don't know if that is good or bad.The Makeskyblue controllers are heavier and have two coils instead of one.I'll keep a close eye on water level.Don't want to drop below the plates.I'll let you know more in a few months.

 

[ccbreder]

Could you clarify what your set up actually contains? what are the different blue sky and make blue? very confused. What were the other controllers you are comparing? Cheap against quality?

 

[Canine]

CC,I have 24 100 watt panels.I was using cheap($10-$20)pwm controllers.I was going to buy just 1 mppt and test it against the pwm setup.Well,I decided to expand the test to also include different brands of controllers.Then I decided to just go all mppt.I bought 3 different brands of controllers.Makeskyblue is the cheapest at $75.EP Solar is next at $100.I bought a Blue Sky for $250 as a sort of control.I hooked 1 each of them up and compared them to my old cheap pwms.It was obvious immediately that the mppts were much better.I left them like that for a couple of days to make sure.Then I replaced the rest of my pwm controllers.I don't know how the mppts would compare to a high dollar pwm like a Morningstar but they are a lot better than $10 controllers that I was using.I set this system up 7 years ago and I would do a few things different now.Mainly,I would go with 24 volt panels to save money.I'm going 24 volt panels on the camper when I set it up.I have to throw in a shout out to Deka batteries.I have drained them too low too many times and they are still doing the job.

 

[SternWake]

Do you have 24 panels or 24 volt 100 watt panels? I don't really know of many 24v nominal panels rated less than 200 watts though.


A 12v PWM controller fed a 24v panel will clip much of the panels energy, 40 to 50%, easily.

Most MPPT controllers claims gains of 30% only in very low temperatures with very low battery voltage, compared to PWM controllers.

My Blue Sky's 2512i with IPN pro remote MPPT's readout says amps in and amps out through the dc to dc conversion. Usually the amps out is only 8 to 12% higher and only at lower battery states of charge, and certainly not on the hotter days where the amps out can be less than the amps in..

Claims of 40 to 50% gains without hard numbers and data cause involuntary eye rolling.

Deka make a good flooded battery. Their AGM intimidator series compared to other AGMS, show poor performance in partial state of charge cycling, which is common in Vehicle dwelling.

 

[Vagabound]

...
Deka make a good flooded battery ... compared to other AGMS, show poor performance in partial state of charge cycling, which is common in Vehicle dwelling.

:huh:

Vagabound

 

[jimindenver]

Bob

My $500 Morningstar MPPT controller doesn't milk a lick more power out of a panel than a $100 Eco-Worthy does the identical panel right next to it.

You would get the same results you are with the cheap PWM controllers that you would if you got the best, high featured, high dollar PMW controller you can find. MPPT is just a more efficient using all of the voltage.

 

[SternWake]

:huh:

Vagabound

They make a Good flooded battery, their AGM battery does not stack up  to other AGM in PSOC cycling.

 

[Canine]

All I can vouch for is what happened in my own situation.SOMETIMES the mppts were putting out about 40% more than the cheap pwms.This happened early in the morning when the batteries were low.While in the bulk charge,they always produced at least 20% more.This was the results of 3 days tests.The results were so good,I went ahead and changed the other controllers over before my week of testing was over.I may change a couple of them over to 24 volt just to see what happens.As far as batteries go,I don't see any need for AGMs,in my situation.I didn't change any of the programs on the controllers,just left them in the default mode.I'm going to put 2 300 watt 24 volt panels on the camper sometime this winter.I'll see how the controllers work out before buying for the camper.The highest voltage I ever observed coming from the pwms was 14.2.I am getting 14.4 from the mppts in float mode.I can't say if this is good or bad, it may boil my batteries dry.The dekas are 6 years old.I'll know more as time goes on.