I think I F***ed Up

[Kywood91]

Does this all go together and if so what wires do I need to make this work? I looked online and my biggest concern are these solar panels that I bought offline. The person I bought them from said they are 275watts but when I look online I don't see this as an option. How can I tell how many watts these are and how do I make them work with this controller I have and the Jupiter inverter. I am trying to do this for Skoolie (mobile home).

 

[Fred S]

The second line of your label reads "Maximum Power W 270", meaning 270 watts. What is the model # of the Epever controller?

I suggest you look at this forum's many resources for beginners first, and also at Will Prowse's Youtube channel for the many "beginners" videos he has done.

 

[Kywood91]

The second line of your label reads "Maximum Power W 270", meaning 270 watts. What is the model # of the Epever controller?

I suggest you look at this forum's many resources for beginners first, and also at Will Prowse's Youtube channel for the many "beginners" videos he has done.

EPEVER MPPT Solar Charge Controller 40A 150V PV Solar Panel Controller Negative Ground W/ MT50 Remote Meter + Temperature Sensor PC Monitoring Cable[Tracer4215BN]

so yeah I've been looking at videos and reading stuff online. WILL, EXPORLIST LIFE, so many videos and I just can not seem to grasp this. Like I get that if I put the wires into the batteries and into the controller and the inverter and then the solar I will get power. What I don't know is how do I know which wires go into everything. Like the size. How do I know what size Awg wire to put into stuff and if I need a bus bar or what type of fuses to use?

Also forgot to put that we have Valence 12v lithium batteries not sure if that makes a difference.

 

[toolmaker]

I think the panels are 24V 270W. Will has a very good book on building a solar system on Amazon. Great diagrams.

 

[GMB]

There is a 'Resources' link above. If you type in "Wire Size" and/or "Fuse" into the search field there will be several articles and tools to help you out.

Also see the Will's website for some examples of how everything is hooked up.

RV Solar Power Blue Prints

Building a vehicle mounted solar power system? Let me help.

www.mobile-solarpower.com

 

[Fred S]

The Epever is a nice controller, but you'll probably have to set it up with custom settings under "Control Parameters", "Battery Type", "User", for your Li batteries. However if it is a newer version of the controller, perhaps it has a Li option for Battery Type.

If you have trouble with the controller manual, or other instructions about connections from the sources you listed, you probably should get local hands-on help for the initial installation.

 

[SolarQueen]

How many panels did you buy? Two? If so, use the Y cables to wire them in parallel. Then you need another MC4 cable twice as long as your distance to cut into two to have a plus and minus coming from the Y into the charge controller through a 30A breaker on the positive wire. Have a 50A breaker on the output of the charge controller to the batteries. I can't see how big the inverter is, so I don't know what size breaker you need between the inverter and the batteries.

 

[Kywood91]

I think the panels are 24V 270W. Will has a very good book on building a solar system on Amazon. Great diagrams.

So if 24v I definitely can't use them in a 12v system so I did f*** up

 

[Kywood91]

How many panels did you buy? Two? If so, use the Y cables to wire them in parallel. Then you need another MC4 cable twice as long as your distance to cut into two to have a plus and minus coming from the Y into the charge controller through a 30A breaker on the positive wire. Have a 50A breaker on the output of the charge controller to the batteries. I can't see how big the inverter is, so I don't know what size breaker you need between the inverter and the batteries.

Ĺl
We bought 2 panels and the 2nd picture is for wiring them together (I hope) and if they are 24v panels can I still use this controller (EPEVER MPPT Solar Charge Controller 40A 150V PV Solar Panel). The charge controller is 1000w continuous/2000 watt peak modified sine wave but the output voltage is 120.... so I don't think this is going to work. I feel like all these things dont go together somewhere

 

[GMB]

I suggest you look at this forum's many resources for beginners first, and also at Will Prowse's Youtube channel for the many "beginners" videos he has done.

This is a great suggestion OP. Also, duckduckgo/google the names of your devices to find the user manuals online and read them about 10x each.

 

[SolarQueen]

Ĺl
We bought 2 panels and the 2nd picture is for wiring them together (I hope) and if they are 24v panels can I still use this controller (EPEVER MPPT Solar Charge Controller 40A 150V PV Solar Panel). The charge controller is 1000w continuous/2000 watt peak modified sine wave but the output voltage is 120.... so I don't think this is going to work. I feel like all these things dont go together somewhere

The MPPT charge controller will drop the output voltage of the 24V panels to the 12V for the batteries. Your inverter, not your charge controller, is 1000W, 12VDC input and 120VAC output, you need about a 125A breaker between the inverter and the batteries.

 

[Forbisher]

So if 24v I definitely can't use them in a 12v system so I did f*** up

Solar power has a learning curve with confusing concepts to newbies.
You can use so called 24V panels with a 12 volt battery.
Your "24v" Panels can be connected in parrallel or series then to your Epever charge controller which has a voltage limit that your "24v" panels will be less than so it will work.

 

[Kywood91]

The MPPT charge controller will drop the output voltage of the 24V panels to the 12V for the batteries. Your inverter, not your charge controller, is 1000W, 12VDC input and 120VAC output, you need about a 125A breaker between the inverter and the batteries.

If everything except the charge controller is designed for 24v would it just be easier to get rid of this controller and get a different one maybe an all in one system (I don't know why I thought I could build this). A 24v system is better isn't it?

 

[Kywood91]

This is a great suggestion OP. Also, duckduckgo/google the names of your devices to find the user manuals online and read them about 10x each.

I watch him all the time. I still don't completely get it. I definitely understand more than I did before.

 

[Kywood91]

I think the panels are 24V 270W. Will has a very good book on building a solar system on Amazon. Great diagrams.

I might need to get the book. I watch his videos and I am still lost on certain things.

 

[SolarQueen]

If everything except the charge controller is designed for 24v would it just be easier to get rid of this controller and get a different one maybe an all in one system (I don't know why I thought I could build this). A 24v system is better isn't it?

The charge controller is designed to do exactly what you are doing, take a higher voltage PV to a lower voltage battery bank. You say everything else is designed for 24V, is the inverter a 12V or 24V input? I was assuming 12V. Please double check.

A 12V system is fine for the size system you have. If it is for a skoolie, I'm sure you have appliances that run off 12V, so keeping it 12V is best.

You definately need to learn more before you try to do the install yourself. You should buy Will's book.

 

[mjbeam]

Looks to me like what you have will work together fine. Just take a breath and get a copy of Will's book. It really isn't very difficult. You will be surprised how simple it is once you get it hooked up.

 

[Kywood91]

The charge controller is designed to do exactly what you are doing, take a higher voltage PV to a lower voltage battery bank. You say everything else is designed for 24V, is the inverter a 12V or 24V input? I was assuming 12V. Please double check.

A 12V system is fine for the size system you have. If it is for a skoolie, I'm sure you have appliances that run off 12V, so keeping it 12V is best.

You definately need to learn more before you try to do the install yourself. You should buy Will's book.

I read up on the inverter more yeah I have to buy another one apparently this one only works with Lead batteries.... the only thing I currently have for 12v is the water pump...... also wouldn't 24v make it so I can actually run an air conditioner

 

[Kywood91]

Looks to me like what you have will work together fine. Just take a breath and get a copy of Will's book. It really isn't very difficult. You will be surprised how simple it is once you get it hooked up.

I'm buying it right now on Kindle

 

[mjbeam]

12 or 24 volts doesn't matter as far as running an air conditioner. The only difference would be that you could use smaller wires between the batteries and the inverter if you went 24 volts. And you would need a different inverter, and a 24 --> 12 volt DC to DC converter for your pump.