How much is a charge controller going to affect the quality of your system? People talk about kinds of charge controllers but not how much it will affect the charging ability from 1 kind to another. If you get a good one or a great one or just average, will they all run the same or will they change the effect of the battery quality and performance much? Thanks.
For a 40 Amp wire it's 8 AWG, (without voltage drop... the farther the distance from the panels to the charge controller, you will need to step up your wire size, especially using DC current.) The fuses I got in the automotive section at Mills Fleet Farm. I'm sure that any Auto Parts store would have them.
Super videos in this series. You spend a great deal of time explaining things which is so helpful. However, you didn't really show the Rover connections for a novice. It would be helpful if you would show each cable and its point of connection. Here you start out saying cable comes in house and connects to a certain place. But then you just say this connects to this and that but don't show it. You do share a lot of good Rover info but I'm looking for a video that actually shows step by step where each wire goes. I'm sure there are manuals and pictures out there. I'm sharing my thoughts on this because you sincerely seem to want to be instructional and helpful. If you slowed down a little and went step by step, a novice like myself could learn so much more. I'm a subscriber now and look forward to all your videos. Thank you!
It's pretty obvious if you know anything about a solar charger two red wires coming out of it with fuses only means one thing. Fuse on the positive coming in and a fuse on the positive going out to protect your charger from short circuits or surges
I have three panels that are hundred w h and I want to put an extra panel that's 350 Watts can I use that panel on my 40 amp charger controller 12-volt system
300 w system, then you want to hook up an additional 350 w panel to give you a total of 650 w. 650 w divided by 12 v = just over 54 amps. I wouldn't do it.
I just bought the 400W Premium package. My big confusion is the 10A in-line fuse that was included. Why only 10 amp? Each of the 4 panels puts out 20V & 5A. If I wire them in parallel, I'd be possibly pushing 20 amps. Are these panels meant to be wired in series only? What am I not understanding? Can I wire in parallel and just use a 25A (20 x 1.25) fuse Thanks!
Hi. I have a 60A, 4 300w panels and 4 225ah batteries. The fuse from PV is 100a but at higher amp it blows. Why? Also what's the correct setting for 24v battery bank? Thanks
one panel is equal to 25A if you're set up for a 12v battery system. for a 24v system, one panel will produce 12.5a. so all four 300w panels, Wired in Parallel, on a 12v system would be 100 amps. no good! But if you hook it up for a 24v system, using your four 300w panels, Wired in Parallel, it would only produce 50w. So set your batteries up, Wired in a Series, for a 24v, system.
I did a video on another kit I just bought... there's actually a link to the kit posted in the description of that video. Less than $500 USD shipped to your door! Thanks for watching! 🙂
What are the "load" connectors for, please? None of these videos goes out of their way to explain this! Can I run a 12v fridge from this without connecting the fridge to a battery first?
Honestly, I do not remember off the top of my head unless I got the owners manual out. But if I remember correctly, it's not too be used for to much load (amps). And I know you can turn it off (so it never comes on) you can also turn it always on, or what we're thinking of using it for, would be using it as a photocell (like outdoor lights that come on during the night) for LED lighting in our house hooked up on a dimmer switch (for more control over brightness). Maybe call renogy customer service and ask them. Do you know the amount of amps or watts your fridge uses?
Yes the load is for 12volt usage. If your fridge doesn't use to much watts or amps, yes you 'could' hook it up to this spot without using battery terminals.
I have a very similar setup except using flooded marine batteries. My batteries (6) never show more than 65% charge. Is there something I'm doing wrong?
Great video! It provided the exact information I have been trying to find as I am installing my system. I will be attaching to 8 batteries to power my houseboat.
i dont mean to be so offtopic but does anyone know a method to log back into an instagram account? I was dumb forgot the account password. I would love any assistance you can give me!
@Nikolas Dylan i really appreciate your reply. I found the site on google and Im trying it out now. Seems to take a while so I will reply here later with my results.
Awesome video... Thanks for sharing the information. Your right, there are very few to none video's on RUclips showing this RoVer charge controller. I have two of these 30 and 40. I have four 100 watt RENOGY Monocrystalline panels, and two 150 watt Monocrystalline panels. I went with two 6volt Trojan T105 RE batteries. Would like to ad two more but must reinforce my battery compartment due to the weight of rack battery 67 pounds. They are heavy but I'm told the Trojans are the way to go... Anyway I'm new to all of this, so please share more video's with us. Thumbs UP on your video, and you have a new subscriber to your channel. By way ad a link to where you get those fuse holders. I like em...
Thanks for the compliment's! The fuse boxes I got were for a vehicle at a 'fleet farm' (like tractor supply) store. They were about $4 a piece I think?! The batteries you have are one of the best. Hopefully one day we can acquire them too! Thanks again for the sub! :)
Excellent video how ever temperature on the mppt is not the battery its for the mppt controller temperature management and if you want to know the temperature of the battery u need a monitor
Equalize is done on lead batteries every so often to hopefully stop from sulfating or something essentially internal shorting of the battery. Set it to the battery manufacturer specs for equalize voltage usually 15v-16v
I'll try to put a link up underneath this comment. If that doesn't work (cause RUclips may not post it) you can do a search on our channel for DC Fuse Block Holder Panel.
Batteries? The deepest you want to go is 3 batteries deep. Example... to keep 12v continuous wire them in parallel... (+to+to+ and -to-to-) the reason why is to keep an even pull/draw from each battery. So with Three 200ah batteries, you would then have 600ah in total. With that being said... depending on what kinda battery you're using... lithium, gel, acid of lead, etc... typically you never want to try to go below 50% charge, so in theory, you'll only have 300ah with Three 200ah batteries. Now with your question about how many batteries can you put on your 30a rover.... I would say 2... maybe 3?! It all depends on how much you use your batteries. Cause if you use your system let's say just on the weekends at a cabin... you can probably use 6 batteries if you want! Cause you'll have 5 days of charging. But if you use it on a daily basis... with a 30a rover... max, 2 batteries. You don't want to have a battery bank that you can never fill. That would be just throwing your money away. Another thing to consider too... your environment where it's being used. Hot Temps? Cold Temps? Solar panels are rated at their voltage at 77 degrees F. The hotter it is, the Less voltage they produce. But the colder it is, the More power they'll produce. Example... here today we woke up to -20 degrees F. Our solar panels that are rated at 12v were producing 23.4v. So the batteries were charged very fast! In the summer, they take quite a bit more time to charge (double time vs winter). Hope this helps. Thanks for watching. 🙂
I have a slightly older model Rover 20A PG & the operation of it is causing me a near nervous breakdown! To explain.... I'm using the controller with a 100W Renogy panel & an inverter. Everything seems to work like a dream but.... The company has told me that I shouldn't be drawing power from the unit whilst it is being charged from the panel. This effectively stops all use during the day & I'm now wondering what, if any, is a safe amount of charge to be coming down from the panel to allow me to take power from the battery? Should I only use it at night or after 7.... 😵💫 I think the problem(s,) which I've been told could damage my battery, lies in the charging cycles which I now think are not designed/expecting an inverter to be using the system. The company have told me to put in a circuit breaker for whenever I want to draw power. I'm coming round to thinking that the MPPT is really not designed to work with a setup that uses an inverter? Any views/help?
Thanks for the question. I hope this may help you out. So this is what my understanding is from your post... You have one 100w panel you're using, that's going into your 20a charge controller. Then from your charge controller, you feed the power into your battery. And from your battery you have a power inverter hooked up to the battery in which you want to draw from during the day. Is that correct? 🤔 If so, I think what the company is trying to say to you is... there's not enough power coming into your battery to keep the charge that you have on it while pulling from the battery as well. Is there a 'floating' signal that the charger shows you? Example; like with our charge controller, it let's us know that when the battery is fully charged, it goes into a state of 'floating'. When it's in the floating stage, all the excess power that's coming into the battery is being not being utilized, so it's making the excess power disappear so it will not overcharge your battery. With that small of a system that you are using, the company is probably telling you that they don't want you to kill your battery so you'd have to replace it. I'm not sure on how many amp hour battery you are using. When we first started we had only one 12v 98ah (amp hour) battery, but we did have 4 100w panels charging it. So it had zero issues giving us enough power to charge the battery so we could pull off of the battery at the same time it was charging. I hope this information helped. Thanks for asking. 🙂
The power inverter uses power to make power... and if you're using more power, along with using the inverter, your device(s) maybe pulling more that than the one panel can produce.
@@TinyIowa Thank you so much for your help *Tiny!* I think you might be right. I have attached part of a correspondence from Renogy regarding the issue below. I have two 120amp batteries setup in parallel. Are they saying that if the battery is flat or being drained to within a point that falls below the recommended 50% discharge level that this is the issue & obviously not recommended? In other words, if the battery is showing anything above a 50% capacity I've got no problems & can use it regardless of the charge coming in so at night even? Mine does have a "Float" indicator together with "Bulk" & "Boost" indicators. That has been another issue when the system goes into "Boost," if I've got the inverter running it goes nuts as it is rightly picking up on an over charge coming from the battery.... Thank you again for your kind help. 👍 From Renogy. *_"Thank you for getting back to us._* *_You are correct. The battery may be damaged if it is being charged and discharged at the same time. This is more likely to happen if the discharge current is greater than the charging current...."_*
@@TinyIowa Sorry Tiny, to add sightly to the issue... Why do you think Renogy would tell me to put a circuit breaker in? That would indicate to me that I shouldn't be charging or drawing at the same time regardless of the state of the battery?
No problem. Always here to help and I understand the frustrations of leaning new, I hate to say it but, 'technology' (makes me feel old talking like that! 😆... but it's not like in common every day use that all people use all the time! So I understand the frustrations). Yes what renogy said about the 50% battery usage is true... it's hard on the battery, due to the fact that the charge cycles won't last as long as 'promised'. But honestly, here's what we do... when the voltage on the battery says 12.7v (after it floted for awhile during the day) we consider that fully charged. In our house we have 3 now that live here... my wife & myself, and our a almost 18 year old son. At night when we watch the battery levels... when it hits 12.2v we tell everyone how low it is, and whatever is pulling the most power we turn off and unplug it from the house (inverter) ... and just use the basics, but nothing to extreme. Usually at that time when it happens, we're all about to go to bed. So no biggie. But there are times, usually in the spring when we have heavy fog and thick overcast, that we may never get to the floating phase while charging... then we tell everyone, it's was a bad for charging so don't use the big stuff for tonight. When it has hit 11.9 we kill the power throughout the house and wait. Only a handful of times that has happened though in the past 5+ years. Again, I'm not sure if that's 100% correct on what to do, but it works for us. We only started off with 1 12v battery... we did that for about two years then added another one. BUT both batteries are still going strong with no issues! About your other two indicators, boost & bulk I believe... I have zero experience with that nor knowledge of. Sorry. But if you can, I would highly recommend using a set of 4 100w panels in total with a MPPT charge controller for your 2 battery system. I think for us... it would be fine with 3 batteries. (Which is the limit you'd want to use with using 12v batteries all ran in parallel... for proper pull from all 3 batteries.) Hope this helps!
Yes indeed. Just remember, the more batteries (amp hours) you have, the longer you can run your electronics. We have two 12v sealed gel batteries and run our entire tiny house (including my wife's and my laptops) off of the system. Thanks for asking.
@@TinyIowa I want to attached a single 200 amp hours lithium instead of connecting two batteries, would that work also? Thank you again. I want to keep the setup as simple as possible.
I don't have the manual near me... I packed it away somewhere, sorry... But I think if you look up the manual online, I'm pretty sure yes you can. That would work fine too. My suggestion though is to go with 2 6volt batteries. Usually the 6volt batteries have more amp hours on them than a 12 volt.
This is a very simple question for anyone that actually seems, for some reason. to be hard to answer.... I need to connect the solar controller panel & inverter up to my battery. I only have 1 set (+ & -) of clamp connectors on there. Would it be OK to feed the "+" wires of *BOTH* the panel & inverter into the same connector slot & same for "-" ?
straight from the panels to the battery ? well I wouldn’t recommend it could easily damage your battery’s over heat or something while your at work burn your house down
@@jaredfairbarn4417 Thanks Jared. I didn't actually explain that very well. It is going through a controller it was more the the question of using the same terminal possibly with same wires touching connecting to the plus and minus connections. I have since been given to understand that this is not a problem at all and have had the system up and running perfectly well. Thank you for your input though.
Yeah if you're just using just one battery that is fine. If you use multiple batteries you'll have to have some jumpers and you would want to pull your power from different battery terminals. I could make a video on how to correctly do that if you would like.
@@TinyIowa I think I'm OK now *Tiny* but thank you very much for your kind offer. The summer was really a process of experimentation & discovery with my first solar setup. It all worked fine during what was actually quite a good British summer for us. My one regret was possibly in not looking into more modern battery technology as my understanding is - with sealed lead acid - you only really have a 20% usage band as you shouldn't take lesuire batteries below 80%? Funny enough, in bemoaning the British weather - When the sun is out we are probably one of the best countries in the world to run a panel in as a good summer's day will stay around an optimum panel functioning temp of around 25C! That's "if" the sun comes out!
That's a 40amp fuse circuit. So I might get the 40amp automatic fuse breaker. I see how you wired the positive to fuse then positive to mppt then positive fuse to to positive battery terminal. Awesome now I'm very confident now I can finally do it myself. Where the negative goes straight to mppt then straight to battery terminal.
Always put your fuse in line with the hot wire. Hence on a vehicle the negative (ground) goes to your frame/engine block, etc... where as the positive (hot) goes to your circuits/fuse box. Here's something that may blow your mind... please do not over-think it, because it may drive one mad 😵💫😆... but power travels from negative to positive. The actual definition of 'electricity' is the flow of electrons. And we know from study of atoms... you have the neutrons (neutrally charged) and the protons (positively charged) make up the center (nucleus) of the atom. On the outside orbit of the nucleus we have the electrons (negatively charged).
6 Volt Batteries Usually Have More AMP Hours on Them. When you run them in series yes the amp hours stay the same. Usually you want to run MAX 3 batteries in Series. And the same goes for Parallel, 3 Max. (Both are easier to charge with only 3. Example... 1 12v batter w/100 Amp Hours + another battery w/the same stats... Wired in Parallel gives you 200 Amp Hours. But if you get a 6 v battery with 200 amp hours and a second one w/the same stats and wire them in series to achieve 12 v they will give you still 200 amp hours. But here's the thing...if you get two more 6v 200 amp batteries, (wire them in series) and wire them in parallel, you now have 400 amp hours. So in since it is not good to wire more than three batteries in series (cause its harder to charge) You can achieve more amp hours. Three 12 v batteries w/100 amp hours a piece will give you 300 amp hours. Whereas three sets of 2 6v 200 amp hour batteries wired together will give you 600 amp hours. They even have 2 v batteries... but it's just not economical to do that. Eventually the best thing to do is go up in power... instead of 12 v go with 24v or even a 48v system.... it takes less power to create 120 volts AC current going from 48 volts DC current. Whereas to create 120 volts AC current going from 12 V DC current. but again... economics & what one really needs. hope that helps explain things.
yes there are numerous ways to get the 12 volts needed. FYI most appliances nowadays are ran on DC voltage/current anyways. Most all have transformers built into them already, but people just don't realize. Pro's and Cons to everything. Thing is... build your system for YOUR needs. There is no "Standard way of doing things." Also with the Rover (charge controller) that we use, there is a separate circuit coming from the Rover that has a 12 V Line.
It would have been more wonderful if there was a step by step tutorial on how to install the 4g gauge wires into the breaker or fuse switch then into the mppt straight into another fuse switch straight into the terminal then install the gague wires from the mppt to the solar panels and how to insert a cover to prevent water entering through the roof that creates a barrier and an attachment area where the wires go through. Be very helpful hints. Because I've search the RUclips site, and nothing shows from start to finish on how it's done, and they rush it through to make monetorial sense only.
Yeah sorry. When we installed them it's was mid December and it was very cold outside! The daylight was fading fast and it takes a long time to set filming equipment up etc etc... especially when it's only one person and children who would've needed to film. At that time I also didn't have the correct software to edit the clips. Next time when I install all this and then some into our utility building this summer I will do a better job and get more in depth. Thanks for watching. 🙂
Better fuse option is a fuse next size up from controller so 50a in this case. Then make sure your wire is rated for the same or heavier gauge following an Ampacity chart. 8ga will work for many applications but 6 ga is better
You never go higher than what is max, 40 it is, then 40 it will be. That would be like using a 20 amp fuse for a 15 amp circuit. If you go higher, you're just asking for problems. We have been using it this way since installation... not one problem. We like it that way .
@@TinyIowa the fuse is there to protect the wire from the battery shorting out...preventing a fire. The controller stops output at 40a...that's not the issue. The risk is the battery at hundreds of amps in a small wire. Fuses/breakers aren't exact science, they might blow at -10% of rating or +30%. In your theory the controller can be running at full output 40a...the fuse says oh 40a pop, now your controller is disconnected. So a 50a gives the controller a little breathing room but still protects.
For the 40 amp MPPT controller, 4 100 watt panels, and some wire etc... $670 delivered to the house. Less than $1000 you can get a couple 12 v deep cycle batteries, an inverter, and the solar set. It all pays for itself in less than a year. Then every 5 years new batteries. Solar panels are good for 25 years.
The lower the cell temp the higher the voltage and power produce. Temp inversely correlate with Vmp voltage and Pmp. The problem is, the higher the temp the lower the voltage, and it may go below the charger minimum MPPT voltage range, and it may turn off your charging.
Yes I was watching your video why things I do like about it but you're making a few mistakes that is not aluminum wire its nickel-coated is copper with nickel coating on it so you don't have to use no locks on The Wire and definitely definitely need to put ends on preferably soldering
The wire that I used for the installation was Aluminum wire. I was an electrician for many years, and studied the NEC book. Yes, granted the edition that I studied under is a few years older than the current one, but when I studied codes of the past it seemed like the codes never decreased in value and only went up. FYI, I have a close friend that still holds an electricians license and I specifically had asked him about the code for using aluminum wire. He told me exactly what I was panning to do is still correct to this day. Aluminum saves on weight and is more cost effective than Nickle Coated Copper!! Win Win! Yes, I should have put on electrical spade terminal connectors on my wire's before I connected them to my fuse boxes... but at that time, I didn't have any for that gauge of wire and I wasn't to worried about it. Why? Cause this is just a temporary installation until I get my power shed built, And I wanted to get the panels operational! (A run to the store from here is a 60 mile round trip!) But when I build my electrical power shed and remount this permanently, then I will, (you have my word on this lol) add spade connectors to the wire that will be soldered. ;) Good day.
Confusing, start talking about something then forget about it and move into something else. What is wire on far left going to battery? Just said it doesn’t matter which post it hooks up to, then moved into batteries. Would like to see how the fuses are connected and what size wire you used for all connections.
Could you be specific as to how I set the array for a Lithium battery? Just installed it and don't want to screw up. If you want, email me at acwdownsouth at yahoo....
Sorry it took a while to get back to you... unfortunately I don't know right off the top of my hand. Best suggestion would be to look at the manual or contact customer support. They'll be able to help you out 100%! Thanks!
I just bought this system and 3 200 ah Renogy lithium batteries. The Rover has gotten a face-lift, but your video is still a great help.
That's awesome! Thanks for watching! 🙂
Perhaps you could share the part number or a link to where you found that type of fuse holder. Thanks!
Could you explain which size fuses and shouldn't there be an on/ off switch
I bought the renogy kit but have no idea which size wires go to which component there was no paperwork
What size fuses did you use ... ? I have 400 watt panels connected to my MPPT i need to fit some fuses . thanks
40 amp fuses. One going in to the mppt charge controller, and one going to the battery(s) from the charge controller.
Thanks for watching. 🙂
@@TinyIowa thank you very much.
Thanks for the video, just got the same system and getting ready to set it up.
No problem! Thanks for watching! 🙂
How much is a charge controller going to affect the quality of your system? People talk about kinds of charge controllers but not how much it will affect the charging ability from 1 kind to another. If you get a good one or a great one or just average, will they all run the same or will they change the effect of the battery quality and performance much?
Thanks.
Where did you get your 40 amp fuse holders? Thanks.
I actually made a video on that! Thanks for watching
Yes, please detail the AWG on your battery and panel wiring and where did you get those cool fuses?
For a 40 Amp wire it's 8 AWG, (without voltage drop... the farther the distance from the panels to the charge controller, you will need to step up your wire size, especially using DC current.) The fuses I got in the automotive section at Mills Fleet Farm. I'm sure that any Auto Parts store would have them.
Thank you Sir!
Super videos in this series. You spend a great deal of time explaining things which is so helpful. However, you didn't really show the Rover connections for a novice. It would be helpful if you would show each cable and its point of connection. Here you start out saying cable comes in house and connects to a certain place. But then you just say this connects to this and that but don't show it. You do share a lot of good Rover info but I'm looking for a video that actually shows step by step where each wire goes. I'm sure there are manuals and pictures out there. I'm sharing my thoughts on this because you sincerely seem to want to be instructional and helpful. If you slowed down a little and went step by step, a novice like myself could learn so much more. I'm a subscriber now and look forward to all your videos. Thank you!
Thank you for your suggestions and I will make a video on this for you.
I’d like to see the connectors used on the wires going into the charge controller.
Hi .. do you know where I could purchase those fuse blocks?
Here's the link to my video on them...
ruclips.net/video/28vPqG0xKaY/видео.html thanks!
Ebay
Or Amazon!
I like your system. Happy Thanksgiving john
Thank you! Happy Thanksgiving to you as well! Thanks for watching. 🙂
You skip around & move camera so it is hard to see how you wired the fuses.... & why the 2nd one (2nd panel?). Comments on wiring would be apprec..
The Hot Wire Coming In... (red wire) has the fuse going into the charge controller. The hot wire coming out to the battery is also fused.
It's pretty obvious if you know anything about a solar charger two red wires coming out of it with fuses only means one thing. Fuse on the positive coming in and a fuse on the positive going out to protect your charger from short circuits or surges
What best agm settings
I have three panels that are hundred w h and I want to put an extra panel that's 350 Watts can I use that panel on my 40 amp charger controller 12-volt system
300 w system, then you want to hook up an additional 350 w panel to give you a total of 650 w. 650 w divided by 12 v = just over 54 amps. I wouldn't do it.
I just bought the 400W Premium package. My big confusion is the 10A in-line fuse that was included. Why only 10 amp? Each of the 4 panels puts out 20V & 5A. If I wire them in parallel, I'd be possibly pushing 20 amps. Are these panels meant to be wired in series only? What am I not understanding? Can I wire in parallel and just use a 25A (20 x 1.25) fuse Thanks!
I would call customer service. They are awesome help over there. 😁
Hi. I have a 60A, 4 300w panels and 4 225ah batteries. The fuse from PV is 100a but at higher amp it blows. Why? Also what's the correct setting for 24v battery bank? Thanks
one panel is equal to 25A if you're set up for a 12v battery system. for a 24v system, one panel will produce 12.5a.
so all four 300w panels, Wired in Parallel, on a 12v system would be 100 amps. no good!
But if you hook it up for a 24v system, using your four 300w panels, Wired in Parallel, it would only produce 50w. So set your batteries up, Wired in a Series, for a 24v, system.
Hey, how much was total cost for you? Renogy has a sale price and i’m wondering if that’s actually their sale price
I did a video on another kit I just bought... there's actually a link to the kit posted in the description of that video. Less than $500 USD shipped to your door!
Thanks for watching! 🙂
The video is called...
Unboxing Renogy's 2023 400 watt 40 amp Solar Panel Kit with MPPT Charge Controller
What are the "load" connectors for, please? None of these videos goes out of their way to explain this! Can I run a 12v fridge from this without connecting the fridge to a battery first?
Honestly, I do not remember off the top of my head unless I got the owners manual out.
But if I remember correctly, it's not too be used for to much load (amps). And I know you can turn it off (so it never comes on) you can also turn it always on, or what we're thinking of using it for, would be using it as a photocell (like outdoor lights that come on during the night) for LED lighting in our house hooked up on a dimmer switch (for more control over brightness).
Maybe call renogy customer service and ask them.
Do you know the amount of amps or watts your fridge uses?
Yes the load is for 12volt usage. If your fridge doesn't use to much watts or amps, yes you 'could' hook it up to this spot without using battery terminals.
I have a very similar setup except using flooded marine batteries. My batteries (6) never show more than 65% charge. Is there something I'm doing wrong?
Do you have a 12v system? Are the deep cycles 12v batteries? Are they all run in parallel?
Great video! It provided the exact information I have been trying to find as I am installing my system. I will be attaching to 8 batteries to power my houseboat.
Good Deal! Thanks for the nice comment!
i dont mean to be so offtopic but does anyone know a method to log back into an instagram account?
I was dumb forgot the account password. I would love any assistance you can give me!
@Avi Donovan Instablaster ;)
@Nikolas Dylan i really appreciate your reply. I found the site on google and Im trying it out now.
Seems to take a while so I will reply here later with my results.
@Nikolas Dylan it did the trick and I now got access to my account again. Im so happy:D
Thanks so much you really help me out!
Where did you get those alligatoe clips? Are they connected to 8awg wires? Hunting for some.at the moment.
Awesome video... Thanks for sharing the information. Your right, there are very few to none video's on RUclips showing this RoVer charge controller. I have two of these 30 and 40. I have four 100 watt RENOGY Monocrystalline panels, and two 150 watt Monocrystalline panels. I went with two 6volt Trojan T105 RE batteries. Would like to ad two more but must reinforce my battery compartment due to the weight of rack battery 67 pounds. They are heavy but I'm told the Trojans are the way to go... Anyway I'm new to all of this, so please share more video's with us. Thumbs UP on your video, and you have a new subscriber to your channel. By way ad a link to where you get those fuse holders. I like em...
Thanks for the compliment's! The fuse boxes I got were for a vehicle at a 'fleet farm' (like tractor supply) store. They were about $4 a piece I think?! The batteries you have are one of the best. Hopefully one day we can acquire them too! Thanks again for the sub! :)
Excellent video how ever temperature on the mppt is not the battery its for the mppt controller temperature management and if you want to know the temperature of the battery u need a monitor
The temperature gauge that came with the kit that plugs into the charge controller says to hook it up to the battery, which it is.
Anyone know where I can find information on the Equalization setting? Thanks.
Equalize is done on lead batteries every so often to hopefully stop from sulfating or something essentially internal shorting of the battery. Set it to the battery manufacturer specs for equalize voltage usually 15v-16v
Good show, where could I find those fuse holders ?
I'll try to put a link up underneath this comment. If that doesn't work (cause RUclips may not post it) you can do a search on our channel for
DC Fuse Block Holder Panel.
www.fleetfarm.com/detail/maxi-fuse-block-60-amp/0000000047190?Ntt=Littlefuse%20Maxi%20Fuse%20Block%20Holder
@@TinyIowa Thanks a bunch !
how many 12v renogy 200 amp batteries can i put on a 30 amp rover
Batteries? The deepest you want to go is 3 batteries deep.
Example... to keep 12v continuous wire them in parallel... (+to+to+ and -to-to-) the reason why is to keep an even pull/draw from each battery.
So with Three 200ah batteries, you would then have 600ah in total.
With that being said... depending on what kinda battery you're using... lithium, gel, acid of lead, etc... typically you never want to try to go below 50% charge, so in theory, you'll only have 300ah with Three 200ah batteries.
Now with your question about how many batteries can you put on your 30a rover....
I would say 2... maybe 3?! It all depends on how much you use your batteries. Cause if you use your system let's say just on the weekends at a cabin... you can probably use 6 batteries if you want! Cause you'll have 5 days of charging. But if you use it on a daily basis... with a 30a rover... max, 2 batteries. You don't want to have a battery bank that you can never fill. That would be just throwing your money away.
Another thing to consider too... your environment where it's being used. Hot Temps? Cold Temps?
Solar panels are rated at their voltage at 77 degrees F. The hotter it is, the Less voltage they produce. But the colder it is, the More power they'll produce. Example... here today we woke up to -20 degrees F. Our solar panels that are rated at 12v were producing 23.4v. So the batteries were charged very fast! In the summer, they take quite a bit more time to charge (double time vs winter).
Hope this helps. Thanks for watching. 🙂
You did a good job explaining that stuff.
Thank you
Does it work on lithium battery
Can I run 3 ... 250 Watt Solar Panels Through a Renogy 40 Amp ROVER CHARGE CONTROLLER ..
Thank You for your help 🙏
12v or 24v panels?
I just ordered one with load diversion. Anyone using that feature?
I have a slightly older model Rover 20A PG & the operation of it is causing me a near nervous breakdown!
To explain....
I'm using the controller with a 100W Renogy panel & an inverter. Everything seems to work like a dream but.... The company has told me that I shouldn't be drawing power from the unit whilst it is being charged from the panel. This effectively stops all use during the day & I'm now wondering what, if any, is a safe amount of charge to be coming down from the panel to allow me to take power from the battery? Should I only use it at night or after 7.... 😵💫
I think the problem(s,) which I've been told could damage my battery, lies in the charging cycles which I now think are not designed/expecting an inverter to be using the system.
The company have told me to put in a circuit breaker for whenever I want to draw power.
I'm coming round to thinking that the MPPT is really not designed to work with a setup that uses an inverter?
Any views/help?
Thanks for the question. I hope this may help you out.
So this is what my understanding is from your post...
You have one 100w panel you're using, that's going into your 20a charge controller. Then from your charge controller, you feed the power into your battery. And from your battery you have a power inverter hooked up to the battery in which you want to draw from during the day.
Is that correct? 🤔
If so, I think what the company is trying to say to you is... there's not enough power coming into your battery to keep the charge that you have on it while pulling from the battery as well.
Is there a 'floating' signal that the charger shows you?
Example; like with our charge controller, it let's us know that when the battery is fully charged, it goes into a state of 'floating'. When it's in the floating stage, all the excess power that's coming into the battery is being not being utilized, so it's making the excess power disappear so it will not overcharge your battery.
With that small of a system that you are using, the company is probably telling you that they don't want you to kill your battery so you'd have to replace it.
I'm not sure on how many amp hour battery you are using. When we first started we had only one 12v 98ah (amp hour) battery, but we did have 4 100w panels charging it. So it had zero issues giving us enough power to charge the battery so we could pull off of the battery at the same time it was charging.
I hope this information helped. Thanks for asking. 🙂
The power inverter uses power to make power... and if you're using more power, along with using the inverter, your device(s) maybe pulling more that than the one panel can produce.
@@TinyIowa
Thank you so much for your help *Tiny!*
I think you might be right. I have attached part of a correspondence from Renogy regarding the issue below.
I have two 120amp batteries setup in parallel.
Are they saying that if the battery is flat or being drained to within a point that falls below the recommended 50% discharge level that this is the issue & obviously not recommended?
In other words, if the battery is showing anything above a 50% capacity I've got no problems & can use it regardless of the charge coming in so at night even?
Mine does have a "Float" indicator together with "Bulk" & "Boost" indicators. That has been another issue when the system goes into "Boost," if I've got the inverter running it goes nuts as it is rightly picking up on an over charge coming from the battery....
Thank you again for your kind help. 👍
From Renogy.
*_"Thank you for getting back to us._*
*_You are correct. The battery may be damaged if it is being charged and discharged at the same time. This is more likely to happen if the discharge current is greater than the charging current...."_*
@@TinyIowa
Sorry Tiny, to add sightly to the issue...
Why do you think Renogy would tell me to put a circuit breaker in?
That would indicate to me that I shouldn't be charging or drawing at the same time regardless of the state of the battery?
No problem. Always here to help and I understand the frustrations of leaning new, I hate to say it but, 'technology' (makes me feel old talking like that! 😆... but it's not like in common every day use that all people use all the time! So I understand the frustrations).
Yes what renogy said about the 50% battery usage is true... it's hard on the battery, due to the fact that the charge cycles won't last as long as 'promised'.
But honestly, here's what we do... when the voltage on the battery says 12.7v (after it floted for awhile during the day) we consider that fully charged. In our house we have 3 now that live here... my wife & myself, and our a almost 18 year old son. At night when we watch the battery levels... when it hits 12.2v we tell everyone how low it is, and whatever is pulling the most power we turn off and unplug it from the house (inverter) ... and just use the basics, but nothing to extreme. Usually at that time when it happens, we're all about to go to bed. So no biggie.
But there are times, usually in the spring when we have heavy fog and thick overcast, that we may never get to the floating phase while charging... then we tell everyone, it's was a bad for charging so don't use the big stuff for tonight. When it has hit 11.9 we kill the power throughout the house and wait. Only a handful of times that has happened though in the past 5+ years.
Again, I'm not sure if that's 100% correct on what to do, but it works for us. We only started off with 1 12v battery... we did that for about two years then added another one. BUT both batteries are still going strong with no issues!
About your other two indicators, boost & bulk I believe... I have zero experience with that nor knowledge of. Sorry.
But if you can, I would highly recommend using a set of 4 100w panels in total with a MPPT charge controller for your 2 battery system. I think for us... it would be fine with 3 batteries. (Which is the limit you'd want to use with using 12v batteries all ran in parallel... for proper pull from all 3 batteries.)
Hope this helps!
Hi 2x190watt mono panels how many amps fuse ? 150 amp batty how many amps fuse ? Thanks
It all depends on your voltage of the battery you have set up.
@@TinyIowa 12 volt ?
Can you run 2 laptops 12 hrs a day on this system?
Yes indeed. Just remember, the more batteries (amp hours) you have, the longer you can run your electronics. We have two 12v sealed gel batteries and run our entire tiny house (including my wife's and my laptops) off of the system. Thanks for asking.
@@TinyIowa I want to attached a single 200 amp hours lithium instead of connecting two batteries, would that work also? Thank you again. I want to keep the setup as simple as possible.
I don't have the manual near me... I packed it away somewhere, sorry... But I think if you look up the manual online, I'm pretty sure yes you can. That would work fine too. My suggestion though is to go with 2 6volt batteries. Usually the 6volt batteries have more amp hours on them than a 12 volt.
Are your solar panels wired in Ceres or parallel ?
Parallel.
Is it necessary to install fuses and why?
Mainly for protection. Power surge blowing a fuse is better that blowing a more costly thing.
Circuit breakers are cheaper though over time, just reset them if they trip, saves fuse buying over time.
surely you can change the batt temp to fahrenheit?
Yeah I wish that was the case... But unfortunately not. :(
This is a very simple question for anyone that actually seems, for some reason. to be hard to answer.... I need to connect the solar controller panel & inverter up to my battery. I only have 1 set (+ & -) of clamp connectors on there. Would it be OK to feed the "+" wires of *BOTH* the panel & inverter into the same connector slot & same for "-" ?
straight from the panels to the battery ? well I wouldn’t recommend it could easily damage your battery’s over heat or something while your at work burn your house down
@@jaredfairbarn4417
Thanks Jared.
I didn't actually explain that very well. It is going through a controller it was more the the question of using the same terminal possibly with same wires touching connecting to the plus and minus connections.
I have since been given to understand that this is not a problem at all and have had the system up and running perfectly well.
Thank you for your input though.
Yeah if you're just using just one battery that is fine. If you use multiple batteries you'll have to have some jumpers and you would want to pull your power from different battery terminals. I could make a video on how to correctly do that if you would like.
@@TinyIowa
I think I'm OK now *Tiny* but thank you very much for your kind offer.
The summer was really a process of experimentation & discovery with my first solar setup.
It all worked fine during what was actually quite a good British summer for us. My one regret was possibly in not looking into more modern battery technology as my understanding is - with sealed lead acid - you only really have a 20% usage band as you shouldn't take lesuire batteries below 80%?
Funny enough, in bemoaning the British weather - When the sun is out we are probably one of the best countries in the world to run a panel in as a good summer's day will stay around an optimum panel functioning temp of around 25C! That's "if" the sun comes out!
What are the best settings for an 18650 pack, 4S7p (16.8v) ? I looked at the user settings but not sure what to set equilization and boost to?
I'm not sure. I would call customer service and ask them! Thanks for asking, sorry I couldn't be of help.
Nice easy setup explanation. I would get some proper ends on those cable going into the fuses. Just safer and you will get let voltage loss.
Thanks for watching. 🙂
That's a 40amp fuse circuit. So I might get the 40amp automatic fuse breaker. I see how you wired the positive to fuse then positive to mppt then positive fuse to to positive battery terminal. Awesome now I'm very confident now I can finally do it myself. Where the negative goes straight to mppt then straight to battery terminal.
Always put your fuse in line with the hot wire. Hence on a vehicle the negative (ground) goes to your frame/engine block, etc... where as the positive (hot) goes to your circuits/fuse box.
Here's something that may blow your mind... please do not over-think it, because it may drive one mad 😵💫😆... but power travels from negative to positive. The actual definition of 'electricity' is the flow of electrons. And we know from study of atoms... you have the neutrons (neutrally charged) and the protons (positively charged) make up the center (nucleus) of the atom. On the outside orbit of the nucleus we have the electrons (negatively charged).
Cable size would be helpful
40 amp = 8 gauge
@@TinyIowa 👍🏽
24 volts is good ?
Yes that is!
The charge only allows enough voltage through the controller to charge the battery... 15 or 16 volts.
Why 6volt batteries and not 12volt
6 volts usually have more Amp Hours than 12 volt. Thanks for asking
@@TinyIowa but then you need to run 2 of them in series to equal a 12 volt system. so doesnt it equal out?
6 Volt Batteries Usually Have More AMP Hours on Them. When you run them in series yes the amp hours stay the same. Usually you want to run MAX 3 batteries in Series. And the same goes for Parallel, 3 Max. (Both are easier to charge with only 3.
Example... 1 12v batter w/100 Amp Hours + another battery w/the same stats... Wired in Parallel gives you 200 Amp Hours. But if you get a 6 v battery with 200 amp hours and a second one w/the same stats and wire them in series to achieve 12 v they will give you still 200 amp hours. But here's the thing...if you get two more 6v 200 amp batteries, (wire them in series) and wire them in parallel, you now have 400 amp hours.
So in since it is not good to wire more than three batteries in series (cause its harder to charge) You can achieve more amp hours. Three 12 v batteries w/100 amp hours a piece will give you 300 amp hours. Whereas three sets of 2 6v 200 amp hour batteries wired together will give you 600 amp hours.
They even have 2 v batteries... but it's just not economical to do that.
Eventually the best thing to do is go up in power... instead of 12 v go with 24v or even a 48v system.... it takes less power to create 120 volts AC current going from 48 volts DC current. Whereas to create 120 volts AC current going from 12 V DC current. but again... economics & what one really needs.
hope that helps explain things.
Tiny Iowa but then u would need buck or boost converter to step down that 48v to use on ur 12v devices
yes there are numerous ways to get the 12 volts needed. FYI most appliances nowadays are ran on DC voltage/current anyways. Most all have transformers built into them already, but people just don't realize. Pro's and Cons to everything. Thing is... build your system for YOUR needs. There is no "Standard way of doing things."
Also with the Rover (charge controller) that we use, there is a separate circuit coming from the Rover that has a 12 V Line.
It would have been more wonderful if there was a step by step tutorial on how to install the 4g gauge wires into the breaker or fuse switch then into the mppt straight into another fuse switch straight into the terminal then install the gague wires from the mppt to the solar panels and how to insert a cover to prevent water entering through the roof that creates a barrier and an attachment area where the wires go through. Be very helpful hints. Because I've search the RUclips site, and nothing shows from start to finish on how it's done, and they rush it through to make monetorial sense only.
Yeah sorry. When we installed them it's was mid December and it was very cold outside! The daylight was fading fast and it takes a long time to set filming equipment up etc etc... especially when it's only one person and children who would've needed to film. At that time I also didn't have the correct software to edit the clips. Next time when I install all this and then some into our utility building this summer I will do a better job and get more in depth. Thanks for watching. 🙂
How to you rate the product?...
So far where we live in Iowa... 10/10!! 0 Problems!!
Over one year of use too!
Ramsey solar?
No idea what you mean by that...
Better fuse option is a fuse next size up from controller so 50a in this case. Then make sure your wire is rated for the same or heavier gauge following an Ampacity chart. 8ga will work for many applications but 6 ga is better
You never go higher than what is max, 40 it is, then 40 it will be. That would be like using a 20 amp fuse for a 15 amp circuit. If you go higher, you're just asking for problems. We have been using it this way since installation... not one problem. We like it that way .
@@TinyIowa the fuse is there to protect the wire from the battery shorting out...preventing a fire. The controller stops output at 40a...that's not the issue. The risk is the battery at hundreds of amps in a small wire. Fuses/breakers aren't exact science, they might blow at -10% of rating or +30%. In your theory the controller can be running at full output 40a...the fuse says oh 40a pop, now your controller is disconnected. So a 50a gives the controller a little breathing room but still protects.
@@mrmotofy we will agree to disagree. I do agree with a percentage +-
the kit comes with batteries ?
No unfortunately.
What price
For the 40 amp MPPT controller, 4 100 watt panels, and some wire etc... $670 delivered to the house.
Less than $1000 you can get a couple 12 v deep cycle batteries, an inverter, and the solar set.
It all pays for itself in less than a year. Then every 5 years new batteries. Solar panels are good for 25 years.
4 200 amp 6 volt batteries is only 200amps
....depends how you wire the batteries.
The lower the cell temp the higher the voltage and power produce. Temp inversely correlate with Vmp voltage and Pmp. The problem is, the higher the temp the lower the voltage, and it may go below the charger minimum MPPT voltage range, and it may turn off your charging.
Exactly Correct!! I'll be posting a video shortly since we are having cold cold days ahead regarding this!
Yes I was watching your video why things I do like about it but you're making a few mistakes that is not aluminum wire its nickel-coated is copper with nickel coating on it so you don't have to use no locks on The Wire and definitely definitely need to put ends on preferably soldering
The wire that I used for the installation was Aluminum wire. I was an electrician for many years, and studied the NEC book. Yes, granted the edition that I studied under is a few years older than the current one, but when I studied codes of the past it seemed like the codes never decreased in value and only went up.
FYI, I have a close friend that still holds an electricians license and I specifically had asked him about the code for using aluminum wire. He told me exactly what I was panning to do is still correct to this day. Aluminum saves on weight and is more cost effective than Nickle Coated Copper!! Win Win!
Yes, I should have put on electrical spade terminal connectors on my wire's before I connected them to my fuse boxes... but at that time, I didn't have any for that gauge of wire and I wasn't to worried about it. Why? Cause this is just a temporary installation until I get my power shed built, And I wanted to get the panels operational! (A run to the store from here is a 60 mile round trip!) But when I build my electrical power shed and remount this permanently, then I will, (you have my word on this lol) add spade connectors to the wire that will be soldered. ;)
Good day.
Muito bom ,👏👏👏👍🏅
Ty sir
No problem. Thanks for watching! 🙂
I'm very disappointed in the connection lugs. They're absolutely pathetic
Yep they are. But it works.
@@TinyIowa yeah I got it working. Have an outback 60 that couldn't handle 8 100w panels. Had to put 2 on the renology
Confusing, start talking about something then forget about it and move into something else. What is wire on far left going to battery? Just said it doesn’t matter which post it hooks up to, then moved into batteries. Would like to see how the fuses are connected and what size wire you used for all connections.
Yeah I digress a lot. The wire on the left going to the battery is for the temperature reading.
No!! Don't waste your money
Either go 6v golf carts or 100ah Lithium iron sulphate Anything in the middle is a waste of time and money
Do you have a battery bank system connected to your solar system?
Could you be specific as to how I set the array for a Lithium battery? Just installed it and don't want to screw up. If you want, email me at acwdownsouth at yahoo....
Sorry it took a while to get back to you... unfortunately I don't know right off the top of my hand. Best suggestion would be to look at the manual or contact customer support. They'll be able to help you out 100%! Thanks!