These Victrum ones are so high-quality they’re reliable and they last and have a lot of future proof features. Honestly I would not install anything else unless there’s a specific reason I would recommend anyone installing these to complete the official training which is free and online only because it gives you really nice, look into the professional abilities of these units
!onU I bought an Epever 40A charge controller kit with the remote display and temp probe for battery. I also have a cheap 10A controller for another system that does exactly what I need so another five months and both systems will have paid for themselves. It's addicting.
I use the basic PWM charge controller for my vans Leisure battery, alongside a split charger from the alternator….its great for a basic setup, the MPPT is great for a bigger bank of two or more batteries…..👍🇮🇲
LOL..😛 I hear you man. I have yet to see any other charge controllers that can even come close to the speed and efficiency of the Victrons. They aren’t cheap, but I personally think they’re worth every cent. Happy Exploring from the NY Adirondack mountains , stay safe!
I have kind of a wacky idea for you. Yesterday I was shopping on Amazon and I happened to notice a tab for "virtual experiences". Setting aside all the dystopian elements, it occurred to me that one of the rare virtual experiences I might find interesting would be something like a live cam during your expeditions. Personally I would prefer something unedited, but I can see many reasons this might not be ideal for you. You've been creative about fundraising and avoiding these large companies that take a significant percentage for very little work. I just thought this had potential for you. I quite like books in this genre, not just polar but many expeditions. It's pretty unique in this day and age to see something new, rarer yet to do so real time. This is one of the few genres that movies do pretty well. People that have not been in these environments cannot picture the enormous power nature can wield. So I think this is arguably one of the only virtual experiences with real value.
Would you be the spokesperson for the rest of RUclips please? I cannot remember the last time I read a succinct, error free (except for Alex’s posts) comment, I have a small issue with wacky or whacky though. 🤓
@@teeanahera8949 that's very kind, thank you. I may very well be a mistaken, but to my mind the term whack refers to swinging a blunt instrument. Wack, on the other hand, I believe is onomatopoeia; it is the sound of being hit. I guess to me the phrase, the man whacked the woman and she wacked the floor, is most correct. But English is not a real language, it's three tiny languages in a trench coat. I don't think rules are hard and fast. I will fight you over the Oxford comma though.
Victron are really good, my only critque is when using the Bluetooth products you always need a LIVE internet connection despite downloading the victron connect app to my laptop, so my MPPT, whilst it appears to work well, I have not had chance to configure it, I tried both bluetooth and the VE cable and no joy, because I do not have live internet at that part of my estate.
Just trying to help. You need to wire up the port side in series and connect to the solar charger and do the same on the starboard side. This gives you a solar array in series and in parallel. If you wire it all up in series and one side is shaded, then your total power will be at the lowest out put, even if the other side is in full sun light. Try it out yourself.
No you can put both through one charge controller. You have 2 spare 50 watt panels right. Put them in an A frame , one facing south the other facing north. Wire them up in series. Take a reading. Then in parallel and take a reading. When you head of north on your journey the maximum sunlight will come from east or west if you think about it and solar shading won't help you. Just trying to help.
ive kinda forgotten by now, but will Alan have panels on both sides of the hull? one one side puts you at an disadvantage when trying to harvest solar in any boat orientation
@@AlexHibbertOriginals ah good, also a comment about the PWM controller, you could have that mounted near/on the dashboard for the helm, simply connected to the battery and a small load, or just using it for its USB ports that way you can always see the battery voltage and are able to connect non permanent loads near the helm (or just charge usb devices like your phone or radio)
Panels work quite well in ambient light, especially at sea where the light is bounced up off the water, with most boat systems unless there is a heavy load running the only thing being in direct sunlight does is get you charged earlier in the day in my experience. Mine are flat on the roof on my house boat, I gave up bothering to angle them at the sun when i realised that the batteries are charged just fine even on grey cloudy days.
Anyone know why the load arrow flashes quickly? It's not float charge. It happens in bright sunshine when it's been at 14.2V for a while then over maybe an hour it drops to ~13V with a fast flashing arrow, and then it stops flashing and starts charging again.
I love the video uploads but my god I need a drink to quench my thirst after the super salty Dry presentation. Keep up the good work for the grudging youtube bucks
EG 2000w solar cells 24v, PWM Controller, 500w load/500w charge, 800w load/800w charge ok. 2000w solar cells 24v, MPPT Controller, 500w load/1200w charge, 800w load/1200w charge. PWM work best when there is a constant load & you can provide the same wattage charging from a cheaper solar system. MPPT work best in larger solar systems or where you are trying to recharge as fast as you can with the most amount of power from a greater quantity of cells. Obviously on a perfect solar day at the optimal angle always facing the sun you will only get up to 60% of the rated max solar cell rating with mono cells & up to 40% with Poly cells. Most ppl get really discouraged by solar because they don't understand the variables that go into everything which causes losses & the inefficiency of the product due governments having strict guidelines that manufacturers have to follow to product these products. If they were too efficient then ppl would create their own power & governments are never going to allow that.
@@popuptoaster Yes, technology for the public will always be at least 50 years behind that of the military in most cases. Big business company owners that own multiple business controls the technology that the public sees because society earns them their profits & they don't want to lose profit to something that replaces money that they can earn from us. The military were using plate batteries in vehicles that were able to travel across the USA on one charge & yet we are led to believe that plate battery technology is far away in the future which is a lie. Everything in life what you hear on the news, what you are taught in school, is all lies.
Roughly speaking, how old are you? What age do you think is a realistic goal to keep up this level of expeditions for you? Have you considered what you might do next if and when that day comes?
@@-HighTide oh I didn't mean it that way at all. I used to do a fair bit of exploring myself, but I'm now wheelchair-bound. I meet many people close to the end of their life that want to have an adventure whether it is safe or not. I was not trying to imply he is too old by any means. I think a lot of people are drawn to the idea of dying while exploring nature, but then again you don't want to become one of those horrible fluorescent mile markers on Mount Everest. Building a statue to your own foolishness.
Sometimes you can save money from victron if you buy ones without Bluetooth and get a Bluetooth adapter or USB cable and program them that way especially with multiple units it can pay off
By far the best unboxing video of Victron charge controllers I've ever watched. Thanks!
Amongst such stiff competition in a crowded, and vitally important, sub-genre of unboxing videos, this is high praise. Thank you.
My unboxing needs have been met for the day.
I started with a PWM controller, soon swapped to MPPT, night and day(!) difference to the efficiency of the system.
These Victrum ones are so high-quality they’re reliable and they last and have a lot of future proof features. Honestly I would not install anything else unless there’s a specific reason I would recommend anyone installing these to complete the official training which is free and online only because it gives you really nice, look into the professional abilities of these units
I have no understanding of what went on aside from some light snark and a pleasant and honest unboxing inside out favorite boi Alan, long may he reign
Pleasant snarking - quite the achievement.
!onU I bought an Epever 40A charge controller kit with the remote display and temp probe for battery. I also have a cheap 10A controller for another system that does exactly what I need so another five months and both systems will have paid for themselves. It's addicting.
I use the basic PWM charge controller for my vans Leisure battery, alongside a split charger from the alternator….its great for a basic setup, the MPPT is great for a bigger bank of two or more batteries…..👍🇮🇲
I have been researching the Victron products for a van I hope to build some day. I like their stuff!
every time you say "bye" i kind of expect to hear a pause followed by "my books" XD that would be funny
4:34 "My solar system?" Alex Hibbert has reached Kardashev-2 power levels here.
Appreciate that you weren't passing off some defiled box as an - "I never diddled with it" - box.
He’s not a Victron fanboy, as he’s surrounded by Victron charge controllers. Maybe he’s just in denial..😛
Now myself, I’m a proud Victron fanboy!
Stockholm syndrome. Don't assume it's initially voluntary.
LOL..😛
I hear you man. I have yet to see any other charge controllers that can even come close to the speed and efficiency of the Victrons.
They aren’t cheap, but I personally think they’re worth every cent. Happy Exploring from the NY Adirondack mountains , stay safe!
I just slothed by to hint at the extremely family-friendly membership program ;) Wholesomeness in abundance!
I've only ever got good experiences with Victron products. 👍👍👍👍
I have kind of a wacky idea for you. Yesterday I was shopping on Amazon and I happened to notice a tab for "virtual experiences". Setting aside all the dystopian elements, it occurred to me that one of the rare virtual experiences I might find interesting would be something like a live cam during your expeditions. Personally I would prefer something unedited, but I can see many reasons this might not be ideal for you. You've been creative about fundraising and avoiding these large companies that take a significant percentage for very little work. I just thought this had potential for you. I quite like books in this genre, not just polar but many expeditions. It's pretty unique in this day and age to see something new, rarer yet to do so real time. This is one of the few genres that movies do pretty well. People that have not been in these environments cannot picture the enormous power nature can wield. So I think this is arguably one of the only virtual experiences with real value.
Would you be the spokesperson for the rest of RUclips please? I cannot remember the last time I read a succinct, error free (except for Alex’s posts) comment, I have a small issue with wacky or whacky though. 🤓
@@teeanahera8949 that's very kind, thank you. I may very well be a mistaken, but to my mind the term whack refers to swinging a blunt instrument. Wack, on the other hand, I believe is onomatopoeia; it is the sound of being hit. I guess to me the phrase, the man whacked the woman and she wacked the floor, is most correct. But English is not a real language, it's three tiny languages in a trench coat. I don't think rules are hard and fast. I will fight you over the Oxford comma though.
Victron are really good, my only critque is when using the Bluetooth products you always need a LIVE internet connection despite downloading the victron connect app to my laptop, so my MPPT, whilst it appears to work well, I have not had chance to configure it, I tried both bluetooth and the VE cable and no joy, because I do not have live internet at that part of my estate.
Better late than never, a like and comment to feed the algorithm
Just trying to help.
You need to wire up the port side in series and connect to the solar charger and do the same on the starboard side. This gives you a solar array in series and in parallel. If you wire it all up in series and one side is shaded, then your total power will be at the lowest out put, even if the other side is in full sun light.
Try it out yourself.
Both sides will be independent, through different controllers. Is this what you mean?
No you can put both through one charge controller.
You have 2 spare 50 watt panels right. Put them in an A frame , one facing south the other facing north. Wire them up in series. Take a reading. Then in parallel and take a reading. When you head of north on your journey the maximum sunlight will come from east or west if you think about it and solar shading won't help you.
Just trying to help.
So what I am saying is.
The maximum solar power you might get is only 200 Watts maybe, assuming this is enough power for your equipment.
ive kinda forgotten by now, but will Alan have panels on both sides of the hull? one one side puts you at an disadvantage when trying to harvest solar in any boat orientation
Yes indeed, 4 x 100W, two on either side.
@@AlexHibbertOriginals ah good, also a comment about the PWM controller, you could have that mounted near/on the dashboard for the helm, simply connected to the battery and a small load, or just using it for its USB ports
that way you can always see the battery voltage and are able to connect non permanent loads near the helm (or just charge usb devices like your phone or radio)
Panels work quite well in ambient light, especially at sea where the light is bounced up off the water, with most boat systems unless there is a heavy load running the only thing being in direct sunlight does is get you charged earlier in the day in my experience. Mine are flat on the roof on my house boat, I gave up bothering to angle them at the sun when i realised that the batteries are charged just fine even on grey cloudy days.
Anyone know why the load arrow flashes quickly? It's not float charge. It happens in bright sunshine when it's been at 14.2V for a while then over maybe an hour it drops to ~13V with a fast flashing arrow, and then it stops flashing and starts charging again.
I love the video uploads but my god I need a drink to quench my thirst after the super salty Dry presentation. Keep up the good work for the grudging youtube bucks
I'm secretly funded by the beer industry
@@AlexHibbertOriginals bravo sir.
EG 2000w solar cells 24v, PWM Controller, 500w load/500w charge, 800w load/800w charge ok. 2000w solar cells 24v, MPPT Controller, 500w load/1200w charge, 800w load/1200w charge. PWM work best when there is a constant load & you can provide the same wattage charging from a cheaper solar system. MPPT work best in larger solar systems or where you are trying to recharge as fast as you can with the most amount of power from a greater quantity of cells. Obviously on a perfect solar day at the optimal angle always facing the sun you will only get up to 60% of the rated max solar cell rating with mono cells & up to 40% with Poly cells. Most ppl get really discouraged by solar because they don't understand the variables that go into everything which causes losses & the inefficiency of the product due governments having strict guidelines that manufacturers have to follow to product these products. If they were too efficient then ppl would create their own power & governments are never going to allow that.
So you think manufacturers make their stuff inefficient because the government tells them to do so? Really? 🤣🤣
@@popuptoaster Yes, technology for the public will always be at least 50 years behind that of the military in most cases. Big business company owners that own multiple business controls the technology that the public sees because society earns them their profits & they don't want to lose profit to something that replaces money that they can earn from us.
The military were using plate batteries in vehicles that were able to travel across the USA on one charge & yet we are led to believe that plate battery technology is far away in the future which is a lie. Everything in life what you hear on the news, what you are taught in school, is all lies.
Are you sure it's not you doing your video whilst they operate their boat lift? ;) Great series, interesting and funny ... ;)
sweet!
Roughly speaking, how old are you? What age do you think is a realistic goal to keep up this level of expeditions for you? Have you considered what you might do next if and when that day comes?
Damn Jean-Paul Simon,
Go for the throat! 👉🤪💨
@@-HighTide oh I didn't mean it that way at all. I used to do a fair bit of exploring myself, but I'm now wheelchair-bound. I meet many people close to the end of their life that want to have an adventure whether it is safe or not. I was not trying to imply he is too old by any means. I think a lot of people are drawn to the idea of dying while exploring nature, but then again you don't want to become one of those horrible fluorescent mile markers on Mount Everest. Building a statue to your own foolishness.
Yes that's interesting an' all but have you thought of a name for the charge controller? I like Dave or Holly.
Sometimes you can save money from victron if you buy ones without Bluetooth and get a Bluetooth adapter or USB cable and program them that way especially with multiple units it can pay off
First
>:(