diy solar

diy solar

Morningstar MPPT 45 hits 20,000Ah

Couple people on our lake Have the Tri Stars. They swear by them.
 
MisterSandals said:
>It is designed to run on the Victron Energy Venus OS but can easily be modified to run on other systems.

github.com

GitHub - osaether/dbus-tsmppt: dbus-tsmppt - Interface between Morningstar Tristar MPPT charge controller and D-Bus on Victron Energy Venus OS

dbus-tsmppt - Interface between Morningstar Tristar MPPT charge controller and D-Bus on Victron Energy Venus OS - osaether/dbus-tsmppt
github.com github.com
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Already installed - doesn't work with two controllers, MPPT-45 has to go into a ethernet controller first... our radio based internet router doesn't want to properly assign a permanent address... just a bunch of fiddle to go through once I have time.

Been distracted by the voltage spikes the AlbertaLithium batteries have been generating. Trying a Sterling power device to fix the spikes, but haven't been out to the cottage since closing it down last Nov.
 
MisterSandals said:
FWIW, i also swear by my Victron 100/30, the bluetooth functionality is REALLY nice.
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Switched from 12v to 24v last year, from a Xantrex Freedom inverter/charger to a Multiplus and put in a Victron shunt and the Pi...
Almost takes all the challenge out of the process - bluetooth, VRM, remote configuration and monitoring from home, an active support community, tons of resources... just sooo easy in comparison. The Victron ecosystem is amazing in comparison.
.
I'm tempted to replace the Tristar 45A with a Victron and give the Tristar to the neighbour whose place supports our radio internet relay.
But the Tristars are nice because they can be brutally over-panelled, and stay cool - very handy for our week/month long rain/cloud periods from.. well last year the rainy season started in September and ended the next June, with every month breaking some kind of precipitation/lack of sunlight record.
 
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time2roll said:
My TriStar MPPT-60 is only 11 yo. Works same as new. Adapted to LFP without issue. The price includes tons of functionality that goes unused. This is really a commercial unit. For the price I skipped the display panel. Have not missed it.

I keep an old win95 netbook around for programming if needed.

COzha52l.jpg
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Data Monitoring and Reliability are two really important design factors to me, and Victron seems to do pretty well on those two for some of their products. So far the MPPT that I have used have all worked seemingly flawlessly, with the exception that the bluetooth dongles have broken on me (maybe this was due to water damage though, it was outside under cover but could still receive water).

I like the Bluesolar MPPT ones because of the security of no "always available" bluetooth is nice, and also the ability to have the UART data connection to get the info about what's going on.

Only relatively recently has Morningstar become more on my radar. Really neat to see how much energy from the sun people have caught!
 
I updated my -60 last September using VirtualBox running XP under Lubuntu. Connected with ATEN UC-232 USB/serial dongle and my home-built (according to schematic available on MS website) DB-9 cable. After I resolved the issue of the VM needing to be a member of the vboxusers Linux group to use the dongle, all went fine using MSView to do the dirty work.

It's nice to not need to keep multiple old machines with various OS's on them to keep legacy hardware running...
 
curiouscarbon said:
Data Monitoring and Reliability are two really important design factors to me, and Victron seems to do pretty well on those two for some of their products. So far the MPPT that I have used have all worked seemingly flawlessly, with the exception that the bluetooth dongles have broken on me (maybe this was due to water damage though, it was outside under cover but could still receive water).

I like the Bluesolar MPPT ones because of the security of no "always available" bluetooth is nice, and also the ability to have the UART data connection to get the info about what's going on.

Only relatively recently has Morningstar become more on my radar. Really neat to see how much energy from the sun people have caught!
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I put 3Mwh through my TriStar MPPT 60, and worked flawlessly for that time. Data logging is brilliant and remote access works well (over LAN), this did require a software update to fix some issues but this was an older unit. Although they aren't a controller for beginners if you ask me, it's not the same as setting up a Victron or similar. It's not difficult though, it just takes a little more knowledge. I was almost disappointed with the Victron PV settings compared to the Tristar, it only has about 1/4 of the customisation.

Although I'm still stuck between the two, I've got a Victron 150/100 installed too, and given the rest of my system is Victron it integrates perfectly, all data is sent through my CCGX and VRM, and it uses the main battery shunt for voltage monitoring, shows solar voltage on the VRM, it's nice when everything talks to eachother. From the outside it looks a very robust unit with a massive heatsink. Guess I'll run it for a little while longer and see which one I prefer, although I'm sure they are both great units.
 
i will be honest I have no clue how much juice has run through my morningstars. the MPPT 45 is the oldest at 12+ years on the camper. 12 volt system. the four (4) MPPT60 units are all about 5 years old and chugging along nicely.

I understand they do not offer some offer some of the instant gratification of being able to look at everything from everywhere while thinking you are somehow increasing productivity by doing so.... but guess what? They just work, yes they take a little more effort to program, but the available customization once you take that step makes up for any shade that anybody tosses at them.

Pro's

1. they can be adjusted to whatever charge profile your battery bank needs, regardless of chemistry
2. no moving parts to burns up.
3. no chinesium BS to burn up
4. reliability... hour after hour, day after day.

Con's... expensive.
 
I just ordered a $1,065.00 (incl shpg) Morningstar Tri Star MPPT 60A–600V (Made in Taiwan) from Ecodirect. Morningstar has been in the business for 30 years and has a low employee turnover. At least they aren’t doing like most companies in the USA…outsourcing most of the labor to communist China, stuffing their warehouses full of the overpriced junk and re-staffing/re-training their offices annually, providing us with pretty colored/labeled junk that changes model numbers and internal parts so often that tech support can’t even keep up to date on troubleshooting, can’t stock spare parts for their mostly unrepairable junk anyway, making their warranties worthless.
 
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Morningstar and in particular, the Tristar MPPT 60 had been my goto for just over 10 years. I can't fault the reliability and after a few firmware updates the ethernet comms has worked well for monitoring remote sites.
Unfortunately the price rises over the last few years (at least in NZ) and the needlessly expensive and proprietary comms options forced me to look elsewhere.

I tried Victron and while I despise the battery and PV terminals being on opposite sides to almost any other charge controller, the programming and firmware updates over bluetooth and easy parsing of data from the VE.Direct port regardless of whether I have the 100A or the cheap 15A model have made these the standard for me going forward.
 

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usersnames said:
Morningstar and in particular, the Tristar MPPT 60 had been my goto for just over 10 years. I can't fault the reliability and after a few firmware updates the ethernet comms has worked well for monitoring remote sites.
Unfortunately the price rises over the last few years (at least in NZ) and the needlessly expensive and proprietary comms options forced me to look elsewhere.

I tried Victron and while I despise the battery and PV terminals being on opposite sides to almost any other charge controller, the programming and firmware updates over bluetooth and easy parsing of data from the VE.Direct port regardless of whether I have the 100A or the cheap 15A model have made these the standard for me going forward.
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HVAC, automotive, housing, food, shipping have all jumped 40-60% in the good ole USA in the past three years. Most people with excess funds to buy all three are still buying, so prices will continue rising.
 
sunshine_eggo said:
Am I missing something?

I'm seeing 20,005Ah.

20,005Ah @ 12V is 240,060Wh or 240kWh.

@ $700, that works out to $2.92/kWh. Kinda spendy.

Given the length of ownership and described activity, I'm not sure I believe it's only done 20,005Ah. :)
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With 900w of solar, I have pushed 362kWh through my Victron MPPT in 3 months!
 
TimE said:
With 900w of solar, I have pushed 362kWh through my Victron MPPT in 3 months!
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I have a morningstar TriStar PWM 60a , 2,500w PV

The shunt says batteries have charged 550kwhs in 6 months .

But who knows exactly how much it has produced cause LOADS of power just goes across the busbar and never actually hits the battery , I know the inverter idles at 1.2kwh a day , 180days x 1.2kwh = 216kwh

Say 50% of that idle never hit the batteries (108KWh)

658kwh

morningstar PWM cost £300, that is under 50p per KWh , and that's only after 6 months.

I am expecting a long healthy life from the tristar. At this rate, if it lasted 10yrs , that would equal £0.025 per KW
 
SamG340 said:
I have a morningstar TriStar PWM 60a , 2,500w PV

The shunt says batteries have charged 550kwhs in 6 months .

But who knows exactly how much it has produced cause LOADS of power just goes across the busbar and never actually hits the battery , I know the inverter idles at 1.2kwh a day , 180days x 1.2kwh = 216kwh

Say 50% of that idle never hit the batteries (108KWh)

658kwh

morningstar PWM cost £300, that is under 50p per KWh , and that's only after 6 months.

I am expecting a long healthy life from the tristar. At this rate, if it lasted 10yrs , that would equal £0.025 per KW
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My 720W solar array has harvested 362kWh in 3 months. My portable 200w solar panels have only been installed for 2 months and not everyday. They have contributed 47kw. All my kit is Victron. We harvest way more kW with MPPT that PWM. We also harvest way more kWh because we use lithium batteries. The lead bank spent half the day in float. Now the MPPT rarely goes off bulk. We just use more of the power. My 720w solar array used to harvest circa 2kwh per day until we switched to lithium. Those same panels harvest 3.6kwh per day now
 
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