A Buck Converter reduces the voltage, a Boost Converter increases the voltage, they are very different names for a reason, There are also SEPIC converters that do both because they have both boost and buck topology all in the same circuit. I have done many videos about them.
Yah, DC-to-DC power supplies are extremely efficient, buck, boost, or buck-boost. It all comes down to designing the system around the desired current parameters. Generally speaking, you want as much of the system to run at the highest voltages that are reasonable and possible because line losses are lower. Not just circuit losses, but also the losses over the wires. My one provisio is that boost converters usually use an inductor as the main oscillating component, whereas a buck (down) converter uses the inductor only to massage the desired constant output voltage. The inductor in a boost converter will tend to physically vibrate a lot harder than the inductor in a buck converter. So boost converter boards tend to be noisier and also tend to physically vibrate enough that some care needs to be taken to (e.g.) glue any pot settings on the board so they don't change due to vibration. -- I'll give an explanation as to why higher voltages are better, since just about everyone gets this wrong at one point or another. * The voltage drop across anything (be it a circuit element or just a plain wire) depends on the current and the effective resistance of the element in question. V=IR (voltage = current x resistance). The 'starting' voltage is irrelevant, the voltage drop is the same either way. * But the POWER loss across that element depends on the SQUARE of the current and the effective resistance only, and does NOT depend on the voltage at all. Yes, you heard me right. The power equation is: P=IV (power = current x voltage). Now substitude the voltage equation above and you get P=IIR. P = I^2 * R. See? It doesn't care what the voltage is. It only cares what the square of the current is and the resistance. Meaning that if you can reduce the current (by raising the voltage), your circuit winds up being drastically more efficient. Another way to think about this is that the voltage drop is a constant based only on the current and resistance. So if you are running a very high voltage through a wire, the portion of the power you are losing from that constant voltage drop is exponentially lower. Exponentially lower because of that square in there... I * I (current squared). Thus, the more of the system you can operate at higher voltages, the lower the losses will be. And not just by a little. By a lot! This is why high-voltage DC grid-tie inverters can be greater than 95% efficient. They take ~200-400VDC in from the panels and convert it to 240VAC for the grid and the house. No low voltages anywhere in the system. So it winds up being extremely efficient. This is also why transmission lines for the grid pump voltages up so much... 50kV, 150kV, 750kV... some even pump voltages north of a million volts now. And that is why transmission lines have very low losses despite running hundreds of miles sometimes. The same principles work in a home power system. The principle is true for all electronics... anything with a current, be it a capacitor, resistor, inductor, transistor, FET, the wires of the circuit... everything has a loss associated with it that is universally dependent on only the current and mostly doesn't care about the voltage. This is why 48VDC battery systems are almost universally superior to 24VDC and 12VDC battery systems. Smaller wires can be used, and losses are far lower because currents are far lower for the same amount of work. -Matt
@@FourthWayRanch I would say that my knowledge level running large DC motors from solar is ... pretty close to zero. Generally speaking I don't think you can run much of anything directly from solar without a storage component to buffer the power (i.e. either the grid or a battery system). The solar output alone is just too inconsistent on its own and the result would be a burned-out motor. With that provisio, if you have a storage component like a battery system, then I think you could make it work decently well. If its a large motor, then matching the battery system voltage to the motor's design voltage directly and omitting any DC-to-DC conversion would seem the best course of action. The solar system would then only charge the battery bank (and of course can also help supply some of the power during the day). The battery bank would not have to be large, it would only have to be big enough to supply the required startup and operating current. Its purpose would be the buffer the solar output to ensure that a consistent voltage is supplied to the motor. -Matt
@@junkerzn7312 With solar it would heavily depend on where it's being applied. If you're in a desert you can probably get away with a cap to keep the voltage stable rather than a battery which would be lighter and less overhead during the daytime...Solar is only even efficient in certain areas because of the carbon overhead of all the equipment needed to run it reliably.
Chuck all the bullshit...... base everything off the theory. An application that is not advertised widely enough for the sole purpose of its ingenuity.... Ebikes! I have a 48v 1500w voilamart ebike with a 1800W 40A DC-DC DC Constant Voltage Constant Current Boost Converter Boosts 10-60v fead by a 52v 20ah 50a bms battery pack! Pretty much like having a super turbocharger with a Flux Capacitor on my ebike. I went from 35mph stock to 55 mph without adding stress overworking itself. The voila to the voila.
There is one big power switching mosfet, one reverse polarity protection mosfet and the rest are actually diodes in TO220 cases. “Buck is down, “Boost” is up. Boost Buck converter will convert either way which is good where the supply can vary either side of the required output voltage. They do cook quite easily which makes the power mosfet go short and blow the fuses. Then I replace the big fat mosfet with a couple of more powerful TO220 ones and that seems to work.
In buck converter there are several diy solutions with arduino or esp8266 to make them basic MPPT. With booster I cant find anything, but I will be the same. Take a booster module and inject pwm or digital pots from an arduino/esp8266
With a few extra components buck or boost modules can be converted to MPP byfaking the feedback pin into thinking the output is over voltage and shutting down conversion.
I have that exact same boost converter. I use it to boost from 12.8v to 22v to more quickly charge my solar generator when charging from the car. I go from 37w input to 63 watts of input, a 70% improvement on my little 300 wh solar generator.
Andy I think it's just *Step up Boost converter, I don't think there is any Step up Buck converter. BTW there are mppt charge controllers that can charge higher voltage batteries from lower voltage panels, does mppt with a boost converter instead of the usual buck. Thanks for the video, waiting for part 2.
Hi Andy, I wanted to post my experience with the TZT 1200W 20A DC converter boost module. I Ordered two of them and after a month I received only one. That unit upon applying 12V DC, and no attached load to the output produced 70V for about 30 seconds and then instantly went to 118V DC output and the CV pot and CC pots have no effect on out put voltage, but I can shut the output off with the low-voltage cut-out adjustment. Input current with no output load was about 1.5amps, and the module got pretty warm after a few mins. I also was able to get over 2amps DC output at 118V. From that result I would not trust such buck converters for charging unless I had a secondary safety cut-off in the event of an over voltage condition as a fail to high voltage is possible. 118V DC at 2 amps is also enough to be fatal. I worked for many years as an Industrial Wireman (Journeyman Electrician) and the only time I came close to a fatal electrocution was on a 125VDC Instrumentation control line. I only got loose after my legs collapsed. and I fell away from the Panel. I'd been bit with 277vac and even 480vac and while 480vac was a painful jolt it didn't "hang me up" and like 125DC did. We old veterans know what can happen and can work reasonably safely with open circuits BUT! I can't stress how important it is for the average person to work slow and cautious when working with even low DC voltages and high current potentials.
Thanks for sharing, Jack. That is good advice to always be careful and never underestimated electricity. Especially with these electronics from China, you never know. DC is very very dangerous in these regions you described. Glad you survived that!
Good comment Jack, Im glad ur here to make it, many dont get a 2nd chance with electricity. When I did a TAFE welding course way back, the tutor told us that @ 35v it was only a very small mA needed to be able to stop the heart. Some years later I met a farmer who was saved by a co worker as he was being electrocuted from a welder as he tried to repair a harvester in slightly damp conditions, I think he was changing the welding rod, the farmer had no idea what had happened, it was by chance and luck his workmate noticed him and reacted in a sensible manner to save the farmer without killing himself also.
I am not sure if your friend figured out his boat solar set up yet, but wanted to mention mine as I live on a catamaran w/solar and 96v battery bank. So as mentioned, my setup starts with my 96v battery bank, which consists of 8 x 12v206ah SOK lithium batteries. The reason for my decision on 96v is purely due to the electric motor conversion I did to replace the old diesel engine because I was quoted over $10k to rebuild it, so I decided to convert it instead to EV. My solar started life as 4 x 450watt rigid panels on the rear connected in series, but I had lots of issues with shadows causing performance losses due to being a sailboat, so I redid the system and went parallel and ran all my panels to a combiner box in parallel. From the combiner box, it has 4 shared outputs, so I connected the PV combined voltage to 4 x Victron MPPT 100|50 charge controllers wired up in daisy chain mode on 24v battery settings. Each charge controller is assigned to a set of 2 batteries from the 96v bank. Since they are daisy-chained together, it shifts the charging load to the lowest 24v set of batteries seamlessly acting as a BMS in a way. I am currently awaiting more parts to come in, but I ordered 5 more of the Victron 100|50 chargers because I got a deal on 5 used Renogy 175watt flexible panels recently and plan to mount them on another combiner box to my battery bank for additional solar output, for a total of 2675 watts. I already function fine with the solar I have now, just want to give myself a better buffer for motoring.
We used Genasun GVB-8-OPE-Li3-51V “Boost” MPPT controllers in a project with 4 panels. Limitation was 350 Watt per controller and a bit pricey at 300USD each, but works perfectly... We put 2 - 170W panels in parallel with 2 Genasun's. Manual says 95% efficiency and 99% MPPT tracking efficiency.
The tricky thing with the "low voltage" disconnect is that it just disables the boosting, the input and output is always (through a diode and inductor) connected!
that is true but since its a boost converter the output will be higher than the input so the diode will be effective and block any current going from input to output
These boost converters are amazing- when they work! I have used them to charge batteries from Solar panels, with moderately satisfactory results. But in my experience, they fail far too often and randomly. The major component that fails is that little blue potentiometer. It is far too easy to damage it by turning it too much, so its always best to start adjusting it with low voltage and low currents. Robojax did a good review video on this exact same boost converter, and analysed various failure modes. Staying tuned for part 2 of the video. Keep up the good work!
Thank you. So far they seem to work just fine without any problems but the big test will come soon when I discharge the large 12V battery and try to recycle the energy back to my 48V battery.
I put the 1800W version on an ebike and it failed after 5 minutes, halfway up the hill. Output voltage is now the same as input. :-( 16V to 55V, to a 48V 18A peak ebike controller.
There are a few rare MPPT charge controllers which boost instead of buck. I don't know if any big brand as I've seen only chinese branded. Also note that MPPT is more than a buck/boost converter - it presents a dynamic load to the solar input to optimize power produced. A simple buck or boost converter presents a load based on its output load instead of the input power optimization.
I have one of these (forgot to show it in the video). It's only 10A and programming is awful but it works. Yes, these normal buck boost converter don't do any MPPT, they don't track.
The littel mppt10A 60v max out .. little green box on aliXp Dose . Behave in a somewatt mppt. Way.. cooked my bix after 6mt of use .. charrging my 18v lith tool bats .. makitas. Vv good . From a 12 13 14v input .. solar bat,
How can you not like this channel. Great technical content and bits of humor thrown in (Argentina). Sometimes I wonder if he makes some mistakes on purpose just to see if the viewers are paying attention (whiteboard - 35V, 30A...100W).
Could you do me a favour, do you mind calling it a boost converter. a buck converter steps down, boost steps up, buck-boost or boost-buck steps up and down. Thanks! :)
Silly English. A buck is slang for a few denominations of currencies. A buck is also the name of a male Mammalia. A buck is also a term for kicking something. What isn't a buck?
I would assume that if you parallel connect panels (via blocking diodes) they would need individual MPPT converters if we are to expect the panels to be subject to different illumination / shading ?
Hi Andy, could you complete your video measuring what efficiency have the victron mppts that you have ? More than 90%? 95%? Probably depends on the current. May be you can do several measurement with the clamp.
@@OffGridGarageAustralia Andy, with your new and big battery bank... you will need to put off an on your mppt. Good option to check their efficiency ;)
I love buck, boost or buck/boost converters. I use them in my 48 volt bioreactors. There used to be solar panel manufacturers that used micro-inverters on each imdividual string. These are supposedly still available in Ozziland. IMHO, they are the best for sailboats. Unfortunately the reason they stopped making them was due to the new North American regulations regardig grid tie. Have a great weekend Andy!
There are also panel optimizers that are, like micro-inverters, attached individually to each panel. They are DC:DC converters with MPPT instead of DC:AC converters.
@@Sylvan_dB true but the string inverters I mentioned are built in to the solar panels. By "string" I mean each string inside of the panel. Makes them more efficient when there is alot variance in shading. Each individual string on the panel are in effect a separate source. This way when you don't lose the entire panel under partial shading.
A DC-DC converter with ... really? A low-coltage disconnect? Well, it does make sense, I'm just a little surprised to see it on a cheap Chinese gadget. A boost converter can literally take almost any input voltage, every as low as 2V (often) and boost it to any output voltage (within the limitations of the components of course). This means that if the input voltage lags, the converter will still operate, but might OVERHEAT due to the excessive input current required to convert that low voltage to the desired higher voltage. Remember, going back to my previous comment... more current == more heat. For a boost converter the heat problem is on the input side of the circuit. For a buck converter the heat problem is on the output side of the circuit. (But beware... those pots can change due to vibration, so put a dot of glue across the pot after you are done setting them to prevent them from changing on their own). -Matt
hi my midnight solar charge controller works with any input voltage(more or less) and you can set the battery voltage from 12 to 72 no need for dc dc converter, but is a bit expensive but well worth it.
@@OffGridGarageAustralia I have never tried that,but I use mine on the wind turbine mode because I only have two panels in series,and sometimes the input voltage is lower than the battery, but it still charges,it all depends on the current in from the solar,I don't think it was made to charge from 30 volts into 48, but it might work
Buck converter are fun, I use a couple on my solar powered Wi-Fi Ubiquiti PTP links that takes a NBN connection 20km away over a mountain range using 3 Wi-Fi bridges and gives me internet at home up to speeds of 100/40
@@andrewradford3953 You might want to check a video that I just uploaded that gets me internet at home ruclips.net/video/k8Tfu8lii1A/видео.html&lc=UgyqmvUPPdLTGhMn3nB4AaABAg
There are some PV charge controllers with a boost converter instead of a buck converter. If wire runs can be kept short 12V or 24V systems could make more sense. On vehicle aerodynamics and weight also is important. ETFE panels are lite and last longer than PET panels.
You can get more current at the output of the boost converter if you have higher voltage at the input. The issue of not having a MPPT in this setup is that you were not able to increase your input voltage. But you can try disconect the output, increase your input voltage and then reconnect your output. It may work.
Very interesting indeed! I just bought a 36v trollingmotor and actually mounted it 1h ago. Hooked up my newly built 50Ah 12s "36v" lifepo4 battery with ANT amart bms. First testrun tomorow. I will use this motor on two boats one being 25' 2500kg. I have to be able to charge onboard since I won't have enaugh battery for 24+h anchored with the motor even through I have an extra set of cells för another 12s battery totalling 100Ah 42v. There are DC to Dc chargers to buy for a 12v-36v setup charging from the alternator, but they are costly and its more fun to build it yourself! I also have solarpanels on the boat so using them for charging the 36v battery would be great. Looking forward to part 2. Mit freundlichen grüßen from Sweden.
6:50 Hallo, ist ein Step- Up- Down Regle mit den Daten ca. 8-80 V und OUT > 12-80 V erhältlich. Ich würde gern 3 Panel mit je 22 Volt anschließen und in den Solarregler mit max. 38 V einspeisen. Bei Dämmerung sollten 3 Panel noch mehr Leistung bringen. Es dankt und grüßt MR
Das wird nicht funktionieren. Es geht hier um Leistung, nicht Spannung. Je hoeher deine Spannung, desto kleiner ist der Strom fuer eine gewisse Leistung. Einfach die Spannung erhoehen, bringt nicht mehr Leistung. Im Gegenteil, mit den Reglern dazwischen verlierst du ja Leistung, weil die nicht mit 100% Wirkungsgrad arbeiten, sonder eher um die 80% Effizienz haben.
@@OffGridGarageAustralia Danke. Mir ging es in erster Linie um die max. Eigenspannung des Solarreglers mit 48 V. 3 Module in Reihe liefern über 66 Volt. Habe 3 Module parallel geschaltet. PS Vor dem Regler einen Verbraucher direkt am Panel angeschlossen erziele ich etwas weniger Leistung als dahinter. Mehrere Versuche mit gleichem Ergebnis. MfG
Would this be viable to allow a large-ish parallel array located far away from the charge controller to use higher voltage for transmission? I'm not familiar with limitations on connecting buck/boost converters. Am I missing anything? Could this be done with a cheap PWM controller and another down buck converter, rather than MPPT?
Well... not, that would not work. You cannot have these converters in between the solar panel and the MPPT. The converter would output a constant voltage to the MPPT, regardless of the input. So the MPPT cannot track the optimal power point of the solar panels any more.
I think in order to precisely measure the efficiency you would need a goof meter or some shunt like thing at the output. Because the current it small on the outside so using a Hall effective current meeter it might not be very precise and little shifts will change a lot on the efficiency calculation. I found my hall effect current meter is not stable when measuring on + or - cables and with different input direction. Also if it get close to a large inductor and the readings are off as well.
@@OffGridGarageAustralia I see. I was comparing a few myself and I need to select to use one that is 90% about rather than 80% as it is used between my LTO pack and the LFP pack. So I needed to measure it precisely 😅
Manual MPPT, nice! One consideration--you got different wattages in your plans with the same panels in a parallel arrangement. This doesn't seem quite right. Aside from real world losses (which can be mitigated to a degree) they should be roughly the same. Are you perhaps using open circuit panel voltage (Voc) and not Vmp and Imp for one of the calculations?
Hi there :D Funny to Research for this converter and fin this video at UT. This video workshop was a god presentation :D I have working with this items for several of year now, right the 30A 1500W version, you seems to use 20A version, without the cooling fan. Any way, the reported efficiency is probably somewhat exaggerated. I didn't see your formula for the efficiency calculation, but the fastest and shortest formula calculation is for the efficiency: Power=Voltage X Current. While Efficiency = output power divided by applied power multiplied by 100% But this is the fastest way and is not "the whole thing". This formula includes all sides for the exact power calculation: USABLE POWER OUT/POWER IN=VOLTS OUT X I OUT/V IN X I IN This was otherwise just a small note input, and keep going with your exquisite well-explained experiments that show the way to the rest of the world, how to do it in practice :D
I am experimenting with two lifepo4 batteries 12.8v 50ah wired in series for a 24v input to the boost converter wired to an ebike kit output is 48v, the ebike runs at 800watts with the way I have this setup. About i get a 60 to 70 mile range aproximately.
As you seem to have noted: that the verbiage in this industry can be a bit Dodgy. What is needed is that all RUclipsr should get their verbiage right. For even though you may not know this, you are in the education business. The education: There are about three basic DC-DC modules out there: 1: A Buck / Step Down Module: From a low voltage to Up to about the input voltage. 2: A Boost / Step Up Module: From a high voltage Down to about the input voltage. 3: A Buck / Step Down - Boost / Step Up Module: From a low voltage to a higher voltage - The output voltage can be adjusted higher or lower or near the input voltage. Great when the input voltage varies up or down around the output voltage.
@@kevinroberts781 I have one of the 300W Buck versions that he showed, and it will get very hot with out a fan. Have ran my Buck converter at 20A at 1.65 volts for many hours to top top charge a set of cells, and now charge the same set as a 4s at 10A OK; BMS limit on charging. JacobsParts 300W Synchronous Buck Module Constant Current CC CV DC DC Step Down Voltage Power Regulator 6-40V in to 1.2-36V 20A Out 5V 12V 24V using this one since June with no issues, you will need a fan for the heatsink and try to limit it to 20A.
When calculating efficiency don't just round up or down the numbers you read. Input 12.81v 5.152A 65.99712w Output 54.6v 1.07a 58.422w 88.522 % efficiency Over a half % more than your calculation An it is NOT a buck converter only Boost. And it can't replace a MPPT as it is trackin the power curve of the input voltage to regulate the output amps to the most efficient input voltage and amps or just watts
That would not work. The converter is outputting a constant voltage to the MPPT regardless of the solar input it gets. The MPPT would not track or control anything .
Hi Andy, I am working on similar setup with the 1800W (up to 40A) and i was wondering if you could use the dc booster as the "PV input" on your mppt or just use the dc booster as "normal" charger. My use case is that during off peak or over night the electricity price is much lower, so i want to "switch" and use the grid power to top up/charge my batteries. Great video and looking forward for part 2 ;-) cheers from New Zealand
Oh, cool. I got the same converter some days ago, for intentionally charge a 48V battery from a single panel on the tractor. I did not put any serious load on it, but was surprised of the voltage stability over the total input range in a quick test. Seems to be worth its price. But, as it has a maximum of 20 Amps on the input, it is just usable for paralleling two panels, in theory. Not a problem for my tractor, and i do not own a boat yet. Thanks for sharing ;-)
Yes, these are all switching power supplies. Basically there is a core switching power supply IC (or two) on the chip that oscillates at 20KHz or higher that essentially implements a current pump. There is a feedback circuit from the output voltage and comparator on the IC that is controlled by a resistor. Its essentially a high-frequency PWM circuit. You *WILL* get some HF noise on the voltage output, but filtering that is fairly easy (usually part of the board... that's why you see extra capacitors and sometimes even an extra inductor on these boards). -Matt
@@diydsolar You mean if the output of the power supply is connected to a battery, will the battery filter out the noise from the power supply? If we were talking about something rougher, like intermittent power supply operation due to solar variability and other things that could create wide variability in the power supply's output, having a battery works wonders. But for high frequency noise from a switching power supply... no, a battery won't do a whole lot to mitigate the HF noise. The type of power supply noise we are talking about here is in the millivolt / 20 KHz range. e.g. like 20mV ripple or something like that (it depends on a lot of factors). I wouldn't expect the battery to help a whole lot for that type of noise. The reason is that a battery's voltage is generated by a chemical process and that chemical process does not instantly respond to changes in the power draw. It responds very quickly, yes, but not instantly. But probably not fast enough to overcome high frequency noise. But I can't say for sure. I've never tested a scenario like that myself. Certainly a battery will deal with any large-scale variability of the power supplyi's output. But small scale? millivolt range at 20KHz ? Seems unlnikely. -Matt
surprisingly efficient. And unbelievably inexpensive. I am working on some LED projects for my bicycle and another for my motorcycle and aliexpress has amazing deals on every flavor of board you can imagine.
SOLUTION TO YOUR SOLAR PROBLEM - Andy have you looked at the Victron Multiplus-II GX AC Charger? It apparently can work with an existing FIT system by being connected in parallel with an existing solar system. It will then charge the batteries from the Feed In Tariff meter and the energy will be used when you really need it. The earnings from the FIT will not be affected. Might be worth having a look, a company that I’ve used to buy pv panels from called Voltacon sell these chargers. Hope this can solve your problem. All the best,Steve from the UK.
Those are very common Boost Converter PCB's only the inductor and capacitors change, I have 3 of them (each in various states of repair and reuse) One thing I will warn you about is to keep it very cool but do not put too large of a fan on it, the little 12v buck converter onboard for the control circuit will burn up if you draw more than 200mA as it has a very low current rating. This is a very neat experiment but I think you need a solar charge controller that actually has a brain so it can do MPPT. There are boost charge controllers, but they are far and few between
There are some diy projects with buck module and pwm injection from an arduino or esp8266 to do a mppt control. You buy the "power board" in aliexpress and after that, you add "brain" with an arduino or esp. With booster I cant find any diy project
@@diydsolar yea that is cool. The control logic should be very similar since they are probably just sending the PWM into the V or I adjust inputs, so it should just work the same. I wish I could experiment with solar panels :( maybe Andy could give something like that a try!
Off-Grid Garage love your channel, i have a 24 volt DIY lithium large battery pack that i charge up to 28 something what size solar panel would i need with this Boost converter to charge up my 24 volt battery pack, i have a 100 watt solar panel is that to much or do i need like a 20 or 10 watt 12 volt or 24 volt solar panel...Peace
Andy i bought 3 of the converters on this video. They are 1500 watts each. Can i combine them all for a really high amp charger? Im using 100 amp 12 volt powermax power supply but im needing to charge a 560 ah 24 volt battery. 2p8s. I have victron solar charger and a couple other solar chargers but im wanting a powerful charger that i can charge with if i need to. Any advice is appreciated
You connect a power supply and set it to the voltage you want the converter to disconnect. Then turn the pot anti clockwise until the converter disconnects and the red LED comes on. Set!
Good morning and thanks for video. I have a 16.8v lithium battery and would like to power up a device that needs 18v and 2 amp max. How can I achieve that with a boost converter?
Maximum power point tracking keeps the PV system at maximum power output by adjusting the solar panel voltage to the optimum. For example for a 12V panel in full sunlight it would be 18V. But if the MPPT tried to maintain 18V in low light. when the panel can't reach it's maximum efficiency. A true MPPT will track the optimum power voltage down lower to say 16V to draw what it can from the panel in low light conditions. It will track down to the battery voltage. So these cheap MPPT device don't track the voltage down. You can only set them at the optimum full sun voltage . So they should really be called MPP module. So buck converters are efficient converters on a bench power supply. But don't track and will be inefficient on solar panels due to maintain the output voltage rather than the input voltage.
Hi Andy nice to see what you do for testing. I also have that booster unit and it works perfectly. My 24V system, offgrid, has more energy than I use there, so now a small hybrid victron inverter is connected and with the booster I make 24V almost 80V with max 7A, which is max for the Victron, and so I have extra off-grid energy in the evening. everything works perfectly but needs extra cooling. I keep following you with these tests suc6
I waited months for mine to arrive from China. When I opened the package and cut the tape on the foam it was wrapped in it fell on the floor and flattened two of the caps. Never got a chance to use it...
I’m really glad for these videos..now I know about boost inverters…Im going to use little ones but also at least one serious booster…using surplus Venus electricity/energy/power..since I rarely use ac I want to make use of my upgraded alternator..with over 100a @ 12v with a boost to 24v & 50a…the one I am looking at is near $150. …nice to know finally more how to charge my portable Venus main power system including both solar and hopefully wind turbine electric production.
I can answer that - no. The boost converters are limited to 90 Volts (The one he shows) and the electronics are only rated for a hundred Volts, anything above that and "BisSsT". Although, there may be boost converters (Aliexpress?) that can go that high so, no stacking needed.
Some things rated at a certain voltage like say usb can actually prefer lower or higher than average power usb..same seems true about 6..12…24v and whatever amp too.
Andy, I have a dilemma. I have a DC Mini Split HAVAC powered directly to my Solar array (8A, 364Volt). I want to run a battery bank to the HVAC unit that requires
I tried a boost converter to run a solar pump from a car battery. I found I didn't have enough battery to run the pump nearly as long as I needed. Ended up going to a small generator and a dc power supply to feed the mppt pump controller. The generator is lighter and less expensive than the battery.
for the boat, I would solar charge a 12 (or 24 if you have little need for 12 volt) volt battery and from the battery have some DC-DC converters 12->24 and a large 12-48. And not cheap from aliexpress, I would not risk that on a boat. Go quality like Victron
I just made a short and popped my booster, I had two yellow 20amp fuses in it (come that way) and I know there very cheap fuses. Wondering what the chances are that the booster is fine and by making a short on the output side and popping both of them fuses did it saved it or not? My thought is the 20 amp rating is good as the maker prob knows but the brand of fuse is not good, Looks like your using two 25amp?
put two 250vac 20amp tube fuses is and its alive again, but prob not a good selection but they work. I find 250vac 20amps are normally rated 60vdc 20amps but there's no dc rating on the ones I got. @@OffGridGarageAustralia
Sir I want to drive 3 wheeler with 1500 watt two boost converter parallel connection input 24 volt 100 amp battery through 1000 watt 48 volt motor will this project work well sir please help me give proper advice
A Buck Converter reduces the voltage, a Boost Converter increases the voltage, they are very different names for a reason, There are also SEPIC converters that do both because they have both boost and buck topology all in the same circuit. I have done many videos about them.
BUC became buck. BUC is short for Block Up Converter.
Have you repairerederd 1 yet .. replaced the mossFet .
Efficiency is 75%
Yah, DC-to-DC power supplies are extremely efficient, buck, boost, or buck-boost. It all comes down to designing the system around the desired current parameters. Generally speaking, you want as much of the system to run at the highest voltages that are reasonable and possible because line losses are lower. Not just circuit losses, but also the losses over the wires.
My one provisio is that boost converters usually use an inductor as the main oscillating component, whereas a buck (down) converter uses the inductor only to massage the desired constant output voltage. The inductor in a boost converter will tend to physically vibrate a lot harder than the inductor in a buck converter. So boost converter boards tend to be noisier and also tend to physically vibrate enough that some care needs to be taken to (e.g.) glue any pot settings on the board so they don't change due to vibration.
--
I'll give an explanation as to why higher voltages are better, since just about everyone gets this wrong at one point or another.
* The voltage drop across anything (be it a circuit element or just a plain wire) depends on the current and the effective resistance of the element in question. V=IR (voltage = current x resistance). The 'starting' voltage is irrelevant, the voltage drop is the same either way.
* But the POWER loss across that element depends on the SQUARE of the current and the effective resistance only, and does NOT depend on the voltage at all. Yes, you heard me right. The power equation is: P=IV (power = current x voltage). Now substitude the voltage equation above and you get P=IIR. P = I^2 * R. See? It doesn't care what the voltage is. It only cares what the square of the current is and the resistance.
Meaning that if you can reduce the current (by raising the voltage), your circuit winds up being drastically more efficient.
Another way to think about this is that the voltage drop is a constant based only on the current and resistance. So if you are running a very high voltage through a wire, the portion of the power you are losing from that constant voltage drop is exponentially lower. Exponentially lower because of that square in there... I * I (current squared). Thus, the more of the system you can operate at higher voltages, the lower the losses will be. And not just by a little. By a lot!
This is why high-voltage DC grid-tie inverters can be greater than 95% efficient. They take ~200-400VDC in from the panels and convert it to 240VAC for the grid and the house. No low voltages anywhere in the system. So it winds up being extremely efficient. This is also why transmission lines for the grid pump voltages up so much... 50kV, 150kV, 750kV... some even pump voltages north of a million volts now. And that is why transmission lines have very low losses despite running hundreds of miles sometimes.
The same principles work in a home power system. The principle is true for all electronics... anything with a current, be it a capacitor, resistor, inductor, transistor, FET, the wires of the circuit... everything has a loss associated with it that is universally dependent on only the current and mostly doesn't care about the voltage. This is why 48VDC battery systems are almost universally superior to 24VDC and 12VDC battery systems. Smaller wires can be used, and losses are far lower because currents are far lower for the same amount of work.
-Matt
@@FourthWayRanch I would say that my knowledge level running large DC motors from solar is ... pretty close to zero.
Generally speaking I don't think you can run much of anything directly from solar without a storage component to buffer the power (i.e. either the grid or a battery system). The solar output alone is just too inconsistent on its own and the result would be a burned-out motor.
With that provisio, if you have a storage component like a battery system, then I think you could make it work decently well. If its a large motor, then matching the battery system voltage to the motor's design voltage directly and omitting any DC-to-DC conversion would seem the best course of action. The solar system would then only charge the battery bank (and of course can also help supply some of the power during the day).
The battery bank would not have to be large, it would only have to be big enough to supply the required startup and operating current. Its purpose would be the buffer the solar output to ensure that a consistent voltage is supplied to the motor.
-Matt
@@junkerzn7312 your comments are gold!
@@junkerzn7312 With solar it would heavily depend on where it's being applied. If you're in a desert you can probably get away with a cap to keep the voltage stable rather than a battery which would be lighter and less overhead during the daytime...Solar is only even efficient in certain areas because of the carbon overhead of all the equipment needed to run it reliably.
Chuck all the bullshit...... base everything off the theory. An application that is not advertised widely enough for the sole purpose of its ingenuity.... Ebikes! I have a 48v 1500w voilamart ebike with a 1800W 40A DC-DC DC Constant Voltage Constant Current Boost Converter Boosts 10-60v fead by a 52v 20ah 50a bms battery pack! Pretty much like having a super turbocharger with a Flux Capacitor on my ebike. I went from 35mph stock to 55 mph without adding stress overworking itself. The voila to the voila.
There is one big power switching mosfet, one reverse polarity protection mosfet and the rest are actually diodes in TO220 cases. “Buck is down, “Boost” is up. Boost Buck converter will convert either way which is good where the supply can vary either side of the required output voltage. They do cook quite easily which makes the power mosfet go short and blow the fuses. Then I replace the big fat mosfet with a couple of more powerful TO220 ones and that seems to work.
You life saver, I've just had a buck-boost fail and this is probably why! The fuse blew as well but apparently not early enough
Whats the fet number ..
From “Argentina”, you should change the name of the channel to ‘Off-Grid Worldwide.” Haha, I love the tongue-in-cheek!
Azerbaijan is next,
Probably followed by Antarctica and maybe Angola.
@@jamess1787 I thought about Antarctica...🤔
The “low voltage disconnect” often has no hysteresis so can be used as pseudo MPPT. Set it slightly below the nominal max power voltage of the panel.
Buck or boost converters do not automatically also perform the mppt task, that is a bit more involved.
In buck converter there are several diy solutions with arduino or esp8266 to make them basic MPPT. With booster I cant find anything, but I will be the same. Take a booster module and inject pwm or digital pots from an arduino/esp8266
With a few extra components buck or boost modules can be converted to MPP byfaking the feedback pin into thinking the output is over voltage and shutting down conversion.
I have that exact same boost converter. I use it to boost from 12.8v to 22v to more quickly charge my solar generator when charging from the car. I go from 37w input to 63 watts of input, a 70% improvement on my little 300 wh solar generator.
Andy I think it's just *Step up Boost converter, I don't think there is any Step up Buck converter. BTW there are mppt charge controllers that can charge higher voltage batteries from lower voltage panels, does mppt with a boost converter instead of the usual buck. Thanks for the video, waiting for part 2.
You could be absolutely right. The term buck is usually used for a step-down converter.
Hi Andy, I wanted to post my experience with the TZT 1200W 20A DC converter boost module. I Ordered two of them and after a month I received only one. That unit upon applying 12V DC, and no attached load to the output produced 70V for about 30 seconds and then instantly went to 118V DC output and the CV pot and CC pots have no effect on out put voltage, but I can shut the output off with the low-voltage cut-out adjustment.
Input current with no output load was about 1.5amps, and the module got pretty warm after a few mins. I also was able to get over 2amps DC output at 118V. From that result I would not trust such buck converters for charging unless I had a secondary safety cut-off in the event of an over voltage condition as a fail to high voltage is possible.
118V DC at 2 amps is also enough to be fatal. I worked for many years as an Industrial Wireman (Journeyman Electrician) and the only time I came close to a fatal electrocution was on a 125VDC Instrumentation control line. I only got loose after my legs collapsed. and I fell away from the Panel. I'd been bit with 277vac and even 480vac and while 480vac was a painful jolt it didn't "hang me up" and like 125DC did.
We old veterans know what can happen and can work reasonably safely with open circuits BUT! I can't stress how important it is for the average person to work slow and cautious when working with even low DC voltages and high current potentials.
Thanks for sharing, Jack. That is good advice to always be careful and never underestimated electricity. Especially with these electronics from China, you never know. DC is very very dangerous in these regions you described. Glad you survived that!
Good comment Jack, Im glad ur here to make it, many dont get a 2nd chance with electricity. When I did a TAFE welding course way back, the tutor told us that @ 35v it was only a very small mA needed to be able to stop the heart. Some years later I met a farmer who was saved by a co worker as he was being electrocuted from a welder as he tried to repair a harvester in slightly damp conditions, I think he was changing the welding rod, the farmer had no idea what had happened, it was by chance and luck his workmate noticed him and reacted in a sensible manner to save the farmer without killing himself also.
A hot 20000v ig coil HANG ME UP once .. 💥💥💥💀😆
@@istopedthewuhanlabfunding6351 Good title. My friend Dr. Paul Cottrell at Harvard and on 'Rumbel' would agree
Paul Conarttists.cottrell.🤣
I am not sure if your friend figured out his boat solar set up yet, but wanted to mention mine as I live on a catamaran w/solar and 96v battery bank. So as mentioned, my setup starts with my 96v battery bank, which consists of 8 x 12v206ah SOK lithium batteries. The reason for my decision on 96v is purely due to the electric motor conversion I did to replace the old diesel engine because I was quoted over $10k to rebuild it, so I decided to convert it instead to EV. My solar started life as 4 x 450watt rigid panels on the rear connected in series, but I had lots of issues with shadows causing performance losses due to being a sailboat, so I redid the system and went parallel and ran all my panels to a combiner box in parallel. From the combiner box, it has 4 shared outputs, so I connected the PV combined voltage to 4 x Victron MPPT 100|50 charge controllers wired up in daisy chain mode on 24v battery settings. Each charge controller is assigned to a set of 2 batteries from the 96v bank. Since they are daisy-chained together, it shifts the charging load to the lowest 24v set of batteries seamlessly acting as a BMS in a way. I am currently awaiting more parts to come in, but I ordered 5 more of the Victron 100|50 chargers because I got a deal on 5 used Renogy 175watt flexible panels recently and plan to mount them on another combiner box to my battery bank for additional solar output, for a total of 2675 watts. I already function fine with the solar I have now, just want to give myself a better buffer for motoring.
👍👍😲😲 solar p boat . U nutted it out ..
We used Genasun GVB-8-OPE-Li3-51V “Boost” MPPT controllers in a project with 4 panels. Limitation was 350 Watt per controller and a bit pricey at 300USD each, but works perfectly... We put 2 - 170W panels in parallel with 2 Genasun's. Manual says 95% efficiency and 99% MPPT tracking efficiency.
Wow great. didn't know these inverters exist. I have only a small 10A boos charge controller.
The tricky thing with the "low voltage" disconnect is that it just disables the boosting, the input and output is always (through a diode and inductor) connected!
that is true but since its a boost converter the output will be higher than the input so the diode will be effective and block any current going from input to output
100% spot on. I've charged an 18 volt battery from a 12 volt battery. I have used a few types.
@5:10 those caps look kinda shorted. Hard to tell for sure, but the look to be bulging a bit on the top.
Great idea about setting them up that way.
Many many AH ago he says,, a new time frame indeed. I like it
I prefer Watt hours.
Is independent of the power type or voltage.
Eg this month has been 4.7MWh.
@@andrewradford3953 diff strokes for diff folks... I personally dig em both
These boost converters are amazing- when they work!
I have used them to charge batteries from Solar panels, with moderately satisfactory results.
But in my experience, they fail far too often and randomly. The major component that fails is that little blue potentiometer. It is far too easy to damage it by turning it too much, so its always best to start adjusting it with low voltage and low currents.
Robojax did a good review video on this exact same boost converter, and analysed various failure modes.
Staying tuned for part 2 of the video. Keep up the good work!
Thank you. So far they seem to work just fine without any problems but the big test will come soon when I discharge the large 12V battery and try to recycle the energy back to my 48V battery.
I put the 1800W version on an ebike and it failed after 5 minutes, halfway up the hill. Output voltage is now the same as input. :-(
16V to 55V, to a 48V 18A peak ebike controller.
Thank uu
Once you are boosting the voltage it's no more a buck converter. It's a boost-converter - no bucking is being done.
5:19 dat CAP in the midle is gona pop soon.
Nice vídeo like always !!!
Thank you.
There are a few rare MPPT charge controllers which boost instead of buck. I don't know if any big brand as I've seen only chinese branded.
Also note that MPPT is more than a buck/boost converter - it presents a dynamic load to the solar input to optimize power produced. A simple buck or boost converter presents a load based on its output load instead of the input power optimization.
I have one of these (forgot to show it in the video). It's only 10A and programming is awful but it works.
Yes, these normal buck boost converter don't do any MPPT, they don't track.
The littel mppt10A 60v max out .. little green box on aliXp
Dose . Behave in a somewatt mppt. Way.. cooked my bix after 6mt of use .. charrging my 18v lith tool bats .. makitas.
Vv good . From a 12 13 14v input .. solar bat,
5:07 Your output caps are swollen, be careful that they don't pop. Might want to change them to a higher voltage or buy better caps as replacement.
I now, I need to replace them...
5:36 oh wow, these 2 of 3 capacitors (left and middle) are gone and need to be replaced. Do you see that inflated top part of them?
How can you not like this channel. Great technical content and bits of humor thrown in (Argentina). Sometimes I wonder if he makes some mistakes on purpose just to see if the viewers are paying attention (whiteboard - 35V, 30A...100W).
I love that you are giving us a global view of your Off-Grid Garage, especially during these Covid times. Love it. :)
Could you do me a favour, do you mind calling it a boost converter. a buck converter steps down, boost steps up, buck-boost or boost-buck steps up and down. Thanks! :)
Silly English.
A buck is slang for a few denominations of currencies.
A buck is also the name of a male Mammalia.
A buck is also a term for kicking something.
What isn't a buck?
Just don’t get “buck naked”.
I would assume that if you parallel connect panels (via blocking diodes) they would need individual MPPT converters if we are to expect the panels to be subject to different illumination / shading ?
No they don't. I made a video about that where I shaded panels in parallel without any diodes.
Hi Andy, could you complete your video measuring what efficiency have the victron mppts that you have ? More than 90%? 95%? Probably depends on the current. May be you can do several measurement with the clamp.
Sure, that's a good idea. They claim to have over 95%. Let's see...
@@OffGridGarageAustralia Andy, with your new and big battery bank... you will need to put off an on your mppt. Good option to check their efficiency ;)
I love buck, boost or buck/boost converters. I use them in my 48 volt bioreactors.
There used to be solar panel manufacturers that used micro-inverters on each imdividual string. These are supposedly still available in Ozziland. IMHO, they are the best for sailboats. Unfortunately the reason they stopped making them was due to the new North American regulations regardig grid tie.
Have a great weekend Andy!
There are also panel optimizers that are, like micro-inverters, attached individually to each panel. They are DC:DC converters with MPPT instead of DC:AC converters.
@@Sylvan_dB true but the string inverters I mentioned are built in to the solar panels. By "string" I mean each string inside of the panel. Makes them more efficient when there is alot variance in shading. Each individual string on the panel are in effect a separate source. This way when you don't lose the entire panel under partial shading.
@@Sylvan_dB do u no if u have seen them on aliexpress .
@@istopedthewuhanlabfunding6351 no, I haven't.
A DC-DC converter with ... really? A low-coltage disconnect? Well, it does make sense, I'm just a little surprised to see it on a cheap Chinese gadget. A boost converter can literally take almost any input voltage, every as low as 2V (often) and boost it to any output voltage (within the limitations of the components of course). This means that if the input voltage lags, the converter will still operate, but might OVERHEAT due to the excessive input current required to convert that low voltage to the desired higher voltage. Remember, going back to my previous comment... more current == more heat.
For a boost converter the heat problem is on the input side of the circuit. For a buck converter the heat problem is on the output side of the circuit.
(But beware... those pots can change due to vibration, so put a dot of glue across the pot after you are done setting them to prevent them from changing on their own).
-Matt
hi my midnight solar charge controller works with any input voltage(more or less) and you can set the battery voltage from 12 to 72 no need for dc dc converter, but is a bit expensive but well worth it.
I heard about the midnight SCC, have to look it up. It sound very interesting. So you can charge a 48V battery from a 30V solar panel with it?
@@OffGridGarageAustralia I have never tried that,but I use mine on the wind turbine mode because I only have two panels in series,and sometimes the input voltage is lower than the battery, but it still charges,it all depends on the current in from the solar,I don't think it was made to charge from 30 volts into 48, but it might work
Buck converter are fun, I use a couple on my solar powered Wi-Fi Ubiquiti PTP links that takes a NBN connection 20km away over a mountain range using 3 Wi-Fi bridges and gives me internet at home up to speeds of 100/40
Going to use one for a security camera at our front gate 500m away.
@@andrewradford3953 You might want to check a video that I just uploaded that gets me internet at home ruclips.net/video/k8Tfu8lii1A/видео.html&lc=UgyqmvUPPdLTGhMn3nB4AaABAg
There are some PV charge controllers with a boost converter instead of a buck converter. If wire runs can be kept short 12V or 24V systems could make more sense. On vehicle aerodynamics and weight also is important. ETFE panels are lite and last longer than PET panels.
You can get more current at the output of the boost converter if you have higher voltage at the input. The issue of not having a MPPT in this setup is that you were not able to increase your input voltage. But you can try disconect the output, increase your input voltage and then reconnect your output. It may work.
I have mine to charge my gigantic battery for welding. I use a 500 watts power supply (48v) then step up the voltage to 62 v and use the Victron MPPT.
Good to know that device exists & is efficient!
I am staying tuned for part 2. Thank you
Very interesting indeed!
I just bought a 36v trollingmotor and actually mounted it 1h ago. Hooked up my newly built 50Ah 12s "36v" lifepo4 battery with ANT amart bms. First testrun tomorow.
I will use this motor on two boats one being 25' 2500kg. I have to be able to charge onboard since I won't have enaugh battery for 24+h anchored with the motor even through I have an extra set of cells för another 12s battery totalling 100Ah 42v.
There are DC to Dc chargers to buy for a 12v-36v setup charging from the alternator, but they are costly and its more fun to build it yourself! I also have solarpanels on the boat so using them for charging the 36v battery would be great.
Looking forward to part 2.
Mit freundlichen grüßen from Sweden.
Boost converters are the coolest, I'm glad they are cheap too.
6:50 Hallo, ist ein Step- Up- Down Regle mit den Daten ca. 8-80 V und OUT > 12-80 V erhältlich. Ich würde gern 3 Panel mit je 22 Volt anschließen und in den Solarregler mit max. 38 V einspeisen. Bei Dämmerung sollten 3 Panel noch mehr Leistung bringen.
Es dankt und grüßt
MR
Das wird nicht funktionieren. Es geht hier um Leistung, nicht Spannung. Je hoeher deine Spannung, desto kleiner ist der Strom fuer eine gewisse Leistung. Einfach die Spannung erhoehen, bringt nicht mehr Leistung. Im Gegenteil, mit den Reglern dazwischen verlierst du ja Leistung, weil die nicht mit 100% Wirkungsgrad arbeiten, sonder eher um die 80% Effizienz haben.
@@OffGridGarageAustralia Danke. Mir ging es in erster Linie um die max. Eigenspannung des Solarreglers mit 48 V. 3 Module in Reihe liefern über 66 Volt. Habe 3 Module parallel geschaltet.
PS Vor dem Regler einen Verbraucher direkt am Panel angeschlossen erziele ich etwas weniger Leistung als dahinter. Mehrere Versuche mit gleichem Ergebnis.
MfG
If you increase the input voltage does it increase the output current while keeping the output voltage constant?
Would this be viable to allow a large-ish parallel array located far away from the charge controller to use higher voltage for transmission? I'm not familiar with limitations on connecting buck/boost converters. Am I missing anything? Could this be done with a cheap PWM controller and another down buck converter, rather than MPPT?
Well... not, that would not work. You cannot have these converters in between the solar panel and the MPPT. The converter would output a constant voltage to the MPPT, regardless of the input. So the MPPT cannot track the optimal power point of the solar panels any more.
Thanks for figuring out that low voltage disconnect!
Very interesting...🤔 I have exactly the same buck converter, where exactly is the volt and amp adjustment button..?
Andy please quote all prices in Venezualan Bolivers!
You're a funny guy I don't know how I stumbled upon this channel but are you explain things very well and are very entertaining
Thanks a lot!
I think in order to precisely measure the efficiency you would need a goof meter or some shunt like thing at the output. Because the current it small on the outside so using a Hall effective current meeter it might not be very precise and little shifts will change a lot on the efficiency calculation.
I found my hall effect current meter is not stable when measuring on + or - cables and with different input direction. Also if it get close to a large inductor and the readings are off as well.
Yes, it might be a bit off but in general it shows that these converters are not as bad as like 50/60% efficiency as I was expecting it.
@@OffGridGarageAustralia I see. I was comparing a few myself and I need to select to use one that is 90% about rather than 80% as it is used between my LTO pack and the LFP pack. So I needed to measure it precisely 😅
@@FuyangLiu oh, wow, interesting project you're doing.
@@OffGridGarageAustralia 😜 maybe I can also make a video to talk about it 😅
Also was the one of the coldest days ever in Durban , South Africa!
Manual MPPT, nice! One consideration--you got different wattages in your plans with the same panels in a parallel arrangement. This doesn't seem quite right. Aside from real world losses (which can be mitigated to a degree) they should be roughly the same. Are you perhaps using open circuit panel voltage (Voc) and not Vmp and Imp for one of the calculations?
How do you see what voltage you set the low voltage disconnect to?
0.13 Argentina? Or Australia?
Hi there :D Funny to Research for this converter and fin this video at UT. This video workshop was a god presentation :D I have working with this items for several of year now, right the 30A 1500W version, you seems to use 20A version, without the cooling fan. Any way, the reported efficiency is probably somewhat exaggerated.
I didn't see your formula for the efficiency calculation, but the fastest and shortest formula calculation is for the efficiency: Power=Voltage X Current. While Efficiency = output power divided by applied power multiplied by 100% But this is the fastest way and is not "the whole thing". This formula includes all sides for the exact power calculation:
USABLE POWER OUT/POWER IN=VOLTS OUT X I OUT/V IN X I IN
This was otherwise just a small note input, and keep going with your exquisite well-explained experiments that show the way to the rest of the world, how to do it in practice :D
I am experimenting with two lifepo4 batteries 12.8v 50ah wired in series for a 24v input to the boost converter wired to an ebike kit output is 48v, the ebike runs at 800watts with the way I have this setup. About i get a 60 to 70 mile range aproximately.
As you seem to have noted: that the verbiage in this industry can be a bit Dodgy. What is needed is that all RUclipsr should get their verbiage right. For even though you may not know this, you are in the education business.
The education:
There are about three basic DC-DC modules out there:
1: A Buck / Step Down Module: From a low voltage to Up to about the input voltage.
2: A Boost / Step Up Module: From a high voltage Down to about the input voltage.
3: A Buck / Step Down - Boost / Step Up Module: From a low voltage to a higher voltage - The output voltage can be adjusted higher or lower or near the input voltage. Great when the input voltage varies up or down around the output voltage.
Can you recommend one that doesn't melt? I have purchased most of the ones amazon offers and they all melt.
@@kevinroberts781
I have one of the 300W Buck versions that he showed, and it will get very hot with out a fan. Have ran my Buck converter at 20A at 1.65 volts for many hours to top top charge a set of cells, and now charge the same set as a 4s at 10A OK; BMS limit on charging. JacobsParts 300W Synchronous Buck Module Constant Current CC CV DC DC Step Down Voltage Power Regulator 6-40V in to 1.2-36V 20A Out 5V 12V 24V using this one since June with no issues, you will need a fan for the heatsink and try to limit it to 20A.
@@kevinroberts781 apply a safety factor of 2 or even 3 in all these boards. 20A? .... better not go up 10A
it was many many AMP hours ago...!!!!!!!!!! i use to stick with electric stuff after long time and i find it extra funny . keep up
When calculating efficiency don't just round up or down the numbers you read.
Input 12.81v 5.152A 65.99712w
Output 54.6v 1.07a 58.422w
88.522 % efficiency
Over a half % more than your calculation
An it is NOT a buck converter only Boost.
And it can't replace a MPPT as it is trackin the power curve of the input voltage to regulate the output amps to the most efficient input voltage and amps or just watts
I would be interested to see what putting this converter between a panel and mppt controller would do.
Would it still be able to find a mpp?
That would not work. The converter is outputting a constant voltage to the MPPT regardless of the solar input it gets. The MPPT would not track or control anything .
@@OffGridGarageAustralia you could set boost converter to current limit at the max power point of the panel.
small note at 6:35 when you have a step up converter it cant be buck instead its called boost or as you sayed just step up converter
Hi Andy, I am working on similar setup with the 1800W (up to 40A) and i was wondering if you could use the dc booster as the "PV input" on your mppt or just use the dc booster as "normal" charger. My use case is that during off peak or over night the electricity price is much lower, so i want to "switch" and use the grid power to top up/charge my batteries. Great video and looking forward for part 2 ;-) cheers from New Zealand
I thought you were in Australia! Enjoy your exploration!
Me in Australia? 😂
Oh, cool. I got the same converter some days ago, for intentionally charge a 48V battery from a single panel on the tractor. I did not put any serious load on it, but was surprised of the voltage stability over the total input range in a quick test. Seems to be worth its price.
But, as it has a maximum of 20 Amps on the input, it is just usable for paralleling two panels, in theory. Not a problem for my tractor, and i do not own a boat yet.
Thanks for sharing ;-)
Yes, these are all switching power supplies. Basically there is a core switching power supply IC (or two) on the chip that oscillates at 20KHz or higher that essentially implements a current pump. There is a feedback circuit from the output voltage and comparator on the IC that is controlled by a resistor. Its essentially a high-frequency PWM circuit.
You *WILL* get some HF noise on the voltage output, but filtering that is fairly easy (usually part of the board... that's why you see extra capacitors and sometimes even an extra inductor on these boards).
-Matt
@@junkerzn7312 will the battery in output work as noise filter ?
@@diydsolar You mean if the output of the power supply is connected to a battery, will the battery filter out the noise from the power supply?
If we were talking about something rougher, like intermittent power supply operation due to solar variability and other things that could create wide variability in the power supply's output, having a battery works wonders.
But for high frequency noise from a switching power supply... no, a battery won't do a whole lot to mitigate the HF noise. The type of power supply noise we are talking about here is in the millivolt / 20 KHz range. e.g. like 20mV ripple or something like that (it depends on a lot of factors). I wouldn't expect the battery to help a whole lot for that type of noise.
The reason is that a battery's voltage is generated by a chemical process and that chemical process does not instantly respond to changes in the power draw. It responds very quickly, yes, but not instantly. But probably not fast enough to overcome high frequency noise.
But I can't say for sure. I've never tested a scenario like that myself. Certainly a battery will deal with any large-scale variability of the power supplyi's output. But small scale? millivolt range at 20KHz ? Seems unlnikely.
-Matt
20
🤣🤣🤣20 amps . U wont evnnn get to 11 amps . In putts .
Can you show how I could convert 12vdc input to 8kv output. I’m using a lipo input battery.
Thanks
Bruce
surprisingly efficient. And unbelievably inexpensive. I am working on some LED projects for my bicycle and another for my motorcycle and aliexpress has amazing deals on every flavor of board you can imagine.
SOLUTION TO YOUR SOLAR PROBLEM - Andy have you looked at the Victron Multiplus-II GX AC Charger? It apparently can work with an existing FIT system by being connected in parallel with an existing solar system. It will then charge the batteries from the Feed In Tariff meter and the energy will be used when you really need it. The earnings from the FIT will not be affected. Might be worth having a look, a company that I’ve used to buy pv panels from called Voltacon sell these chargers. Hope this can solve your problem. All the best,Steve from the UK.
Yes, I'm looking at the Multi all the time. This would be my preferred solution.
Those are very common Boost Converter PCB's only the inductor and capacitors change, I have 3 of them (each in various states of repair and reuse) One thing I will warn you about is to keep it very cool but do not put too large of a fan on it, the little 12v buck converter onboard for the control circuit will burn up if you draw more than 200mA as it has a very low current rating.
This is a very neat experiment but I think you need a solar charge controller that actually has a brain so it can do MPPT. There are boost charge controllers, but they are far and few between
There are some diy projects with buck module and pwm injection from an arduino or esp8266 to do a mppt control. You buy the "power board" in aliexpress and after that, you add "brain" with an arduino or esp. With booster I cant find any diy project
@@diydsolar yea that is cool. The control logic should be very similar since they are probably just sending the PWM into the V or I adjust inputs, so it should just work the same. I wish I could experiment with solar panels :( maybe Andy could give something like that a try!
Great comment, thank you.
You should use the potentiometer to higher current on the boost converter. I didn't see you touch that
There is one MPPT with a boost convertor!
Off-Grid Garage love your channel, i have a 24 volt DIY lithium large battery pack that i charge up to 28 something what size solar panel would i need with this Boost converter to charge up my 24 volt battery pack, i have a 100 watt solar panel is that to much or do i need like a 20 or 10 watt 12 volt or 24 volt solar panel...Peace
The 100W panel will work just fine. If it produces around 22V, that will work.
@@OffGridGarageAustralia thank you...Peace
We need more test with this device connect to solar panel ( 12v ) and charge a 24v or more with MPPT charger.
I am playing with these things at home as well, found the small ones seems not having good efficiency.
I had a smaller one but it had the magic smoke problem. These one seem to be far more robust.
Andy i bought 3 of the converters on this video. They are 1500 watts each. Can i combine them all for a really high amp charger? Im using 100 amp 12 volt powermax power supply but im needing to charge a 560 ah 24 volt battery. 2p8s. I have victron solar charger and a couple other solar chargers but im wanting a powerful charger that i can charge with if i need to. Any advice is appreciated
Your buck converter has very puffy caps, is it a dead one?
What happens if input higher than output set point. My input is from battery and need to keep output at 12v
How do you setup the low voltage disconnect.
You connect a power supply and set it to the voltage you want the converter to disconnect. Then turn the pot anti clockwise until the converter disconnects and the red LED comes on. Set!
Thanks andy
Why don't you use Andersons powerpole 45?
Jolly fella, .... I enjoyed the video....which means I learnt a lot thank you
the convertor will need a fan . also heat = loss of energy, i have blow 2 of these boost's up btw.
How many Amps?
Can you get 20amp of draw from one of these boost converters?
Yes but watch the cooling. They are getting hot.
Are the two caps closest to the pots on the first board displayed swollen? Hard to tell, but looks like the top of the caps may be starting to bulge.
Started the video and saw exactly the same @off-grid garage please check that !!!
Yes, they are swollen and will be replaced. I use the converter only for testing, not for production.
Good morning and thanks for video. I have a 16.8v lithium battery and would like to power up a device that needs 18v and 2 amp max. How can I achieve that with a boost converter?
Maximum power point tracking keeps the PV system at maximum power output by adjusting the solar panel voltage to the optimum. For example for a 12V panel in full sunlight it would be 18V. But if the MPPT tried to maintain 18V in low light. when the panel can't reach it's maximum efficiency. A true MPPT will track the optimum power voltage down lower to say 16V to draw what it can from the panel in low light conditions. It will track down to the battery voltage. So these cheap MPPT device don't track the voltage down. You can only set them at the optimum full sun voltage . So they should really be called MPP module. So buck converters are efficient converters on a bench power supply. But don't track and will be inefficient on solar panels due to maintain the output voltage rather than the input voltage.
Hi Andy nice to see what you do for testing. I also have that booster unit and it works perfectly. My 24V system, offgrid, has more energy than I use there, so now a small hybrid victron inverter is connected and with the booster I make 24V almost 80V with max 7A, which is max for the Victron, and so I have extra off-grid energy in the evening. everything works perfectly but needs extra cooling. I keep following you with these tests suc6
Can I use buck booster to my TV 19.5v of 30w from solar of 100w 12v or from12v battery?
Uh, what does the 3rd pot near the input do?
That's the ow voltage disconnect as I mentioned in the video 😉
@@OffGridGarageAustralia oops OK, I missed that part, thx
I waited months for mine to arrive from China. When I opened the package and cut the tape on the foam it was wrapped in it fell on the floor and flattened two of the caps. Never got a chance to use it...
But caps are easy to replace, that shouldn't be a problem.
yay Nice white board example :)
I’m really glad for these videos..now I know about boost inverters…Im going to use little ones but also at least one serious booster…using surplus Venus electricity/energy/power..since I rarely use ac I want to make use of my upgraded alternator..with over 100a @ 12v with a boost to 24v & 50a…the one I am looking at is near $150. …nice to know finally more how to charge my portable Venus main power system including both solar and hopefully wind turbine electric production.
Hi Andy. Which country did you originate from?
Pretty sure you're my hero.
Awwww, Marc.
I have 12v 180ah battery, can i run hubmotor 48v 1500w using this module .waiting for your answer
Boost converter from low to high and buck Converter from high to low and then we have buck boost converters which can do both
hey Andy ,could u wire 2 boost converter in series ? only the output🤔🤔🤔 to get 160volt dc.
I can answer that - no. The boost converters are limited to 90 Volts (The one he shows) and the electronics are only rated for a hundred Volts, anything above that and "BisSsT". Although, there may be boost converters (Aliexpress?) that can go that high so, no stacking needed.
Looking forwards to part 2
Some things rated at a certain voltage like say usb can actually prefer lower or higher than average power usb..same seems true about 6..12…24v and whatever amp too.
Andy, I have a dilemma. I have a DC Mini Split HAVAC powered directly to my Solar array (8A, 364Volt). I want to run a battery bank to the HVAC unit that requires
I tried a boost converter to run a solar pump from a car battery. I found I didn't have enough battery to run the pump nearly as long as I needed. Ended up going to a small generator and a dc power supply to feed the mppt pump controller. The generator is lighter and less expensive than the battery.
Bro one doubt
If can I buy 48v 7ah battery can I connect my 12v 18ah battery in series connection?
for the boat, I would solar charge a 12 (or 24 if you have little need for 12 volt) volt battery and from the battery have some DC-DC converters 12->24 and a large 12-48. And not cheap from aliexpress, I would not risk that on a boat. Go quality like Victron
I just made a short and popped my booster, I had two yellow 20amp fuses in it (come that way) and I know there very cheap fuses. Wondering what the chances are that the booster is fine and by making a short on the output side and popping both of them fuses did it saved it or not? My thought is the 20 amp rating is good as the maker prob knows but the brand of fuse is not good, Looks like your using two 25amp?
I had the same on one of mine, replaced the fuses and they blew again. Must be the MOSFET which has a short. Hardly worth to repair for that price.
put two 250vac 20amp tube fuses is and its alive again, but prob not a good selection but they work. I find 250vac 20amps are normally rated 60vdc 20amps but there's no dc rating on the ones I got. @@OffGridGarageAustralia
question if i may. i have a 4 pack of lipo's 14.6 volts. 1 cell keeps over charging. i have a bms and a cell balancer on the pack. any suggestions?
I was expecting you to adjust the CC trimmer to max. You should try it. That cheap little guy is a monster 😂 ✌️
i cant wait for part 2😁 Nice video sir👍
Sir I want to drive 3 wheeler with 1500 watt two boost converter parallel connection input 24 volt 100 amp battery through 1000 watt 48 volt motor will this project work well sir please help me give proper advice