Thanks for all the helpful responses everyone!
It sounds like the top hypotheses are;
Cells not "perfectly" balanced
Some sort of terminal connection issue
I think I'll do a cursory check of my connections, then pursue the balance hypothesis... It's a little complicated since the system is...
Hmmm, that does make me think of an interesting possibility - still not a good idea...
If all the charging were done with independent (read electrically isolated except for their connection to the batteries) power sources at 12v - say two separate alternators - to separately charge two 12v...
"Easy" is maybe a bit of a strong word here... Are you considering the full supply chain? What about all the similar stars that have run out of fuel and/or catastrophically failed taking the surrounding region with them?
This was during the summer:
I have relatively small fixed loads on the system (12v Pb chemistry in this case) that graph above is from so there's plenty of sun during the summer to get past the boost phase - though not really an ideal amount of float charging...
What were you hoping to...
They might be in the datasheet for each panel.
No, what I'm talking about is probably unrelated to the function of the bypass diodes.
Just that it isn't necessarily accurate to assume that the Isc/Vmp points for different panels will occur at the same irradiance/temperature values. If the...
Nice! Sounds tricky... Were you able to get access to the back of the board? How hard was it to get the potting material off (black coating) off? Pictures of the process?
You're probably already thinking of these things, but if you plan to sell them, I'd recommend;
Disconnect the wire going...
No, (if I'm understanding which part you're talking about) that refers to the largest "system voltage" of the battery side. This is largely independent of the supported PV open circuit voltage range - though it is relevant in that the PV voltage needs to be higher than the battery voltage for...
I'm curious if you can include a picture/screenshot of that part of your manual. I just searched the Tracer-AN manuals (both 10-40A and 50-100A) and didn't find a reference to "40v".
The Li configuration through the computer (Epever Solar Station software) isn't exactly a "canned profile". When you use the Li parameter dialog, you can still configure the voltage thresholds and things like that.
Also AFAIK, some functionality like "low temperature charge protection" can't be...
The thread I linked so far only contains data to the contrary.
In that thread, I (and others) have aggregated some data that suggests that the peak observed propane efficiency is around 15% - compared to up to 20% with gasoline and up to 25% with diesel. Those efficiency numbers already take...
I've tested it with a couple of the Tracer####AN controllers (See https://diysolarforum.com/threads/is-epever-mppt-solar-charge-controller-capable-of-low-temp-shut-off.22931/) but don't have any of the ####BN controllers to test with...
I'll be curious to hear the results of your testing if you...
Yeah, no pressure ? (pun intended)
Well, I calculated 14.5% above, but either one would be better than any of the real-world propane numbers we've seen so far. (In the right ballpark though so probably possible.)
Is that all extrapolated from their marketing numbers or have you measured for yourself?
6.667 (kWh generated) / 33.41 (kWh total energy) = 19.95% efficiency
6 (kWh generated) / 33.41 (kWh total energy) = 17.96% efficiency
If we assume ~$6/gal for fancy ethanol free gas in the US, that's...
Hi @On_The_Road! I'd been meaning to come back and provide an update here...
I've just been living with it. I think the conclusion that my cells aren't perfectly balanced is correct, but I'm not trying to eek every last watt out of my batteries so I just reduced my charging voltages such that...