I had that same problem with a laptop power supply, it looked like it had a positive wire and 2 shielding cables surrounding it, turns out the outer shielding wire is the negative, the other shield wire is a sense wire, when that smaller sensor wire is connected to the positive cable, it works perfectly
He he, I was trying the exact same thing and ran into the exact same issues. A solution is to put a buck converter in between so you can supply a constant current. I tried it with both an MPPT and a PWM and it works. I used a 19.5V 12.5A laptop charger and was able to get 16.6V 11.1A into the MPPT, resulting in 13.7V 12.9 A to the battery. I could have probably pushed it a bit futher if I tried by adjusting the pots on the buck to their limits, but I didn’t want to create too much heat, and was just satisfied to prove the concept. I used a 20A rated buck converter ($20 AUD from Amazon)
You need to put a resistor across 50 to 100 ohm resistor to keep power supply on .Some times all you need is a 1k resistor 1 watt is enough .It's got an auto shut off via current sensing.I have used a Milwaukee M18 as the solar cell as well.works fine.The m18 will put a 4 amp current to a 12v lead acid battery at 20 volts
@@stefanflorin288 .Start with a 3 k 1 watt resistor in parallel with the supply +- .We have issues with some panel mounted 5v/12v/24v Mukti tap switch mode power supplies .Start off with a 3 k ohm resistor .They do get quite warm .I use capton tape to isolate it from the PCB traces ..You don't want to draw too much current .just enough to keep it triggered in the run mode .Every manufacture of power supplies is different .We buy many no name power supplies from digikey they are all open and meant to be enclosed in panels..We also buy Schneider 5vdcc 12vdc and 24 VDc. From 50 watt to 200 watts.Amazing some models can take up to 600 vdc/Ac input output is always on .No load sensing but they do have voltage adjustment and overload sensing .
The power supply doesn't have enough current. MPPT's are like buck converters; they convert an input power to an output power. i.e., 36v 10A in will become 12, 30a. So if you have a 30a MPPT, you'll need say 24v at 15a, minimum. More sophisticated MPPT's will limit their output current regardless (to a point) of input power. Tracers and Victron are examples of this. I bought a Victron Smartrsolar 50a MPPT and use the Bluetooth app to limit the output current to 40a and then use a 36v 20a power supply to run it. The MPPT is looking for a sweet spot for max power input and the laptop power supply will shut down as it is trying to regulate voltage.
There are two different types of converters I've used. A buck converter reduces the voltage. Ex: 24v @ 5A will be reduced to 12v @ 10A. Same wattage. A boost converter does the opposite. 12v @ 10@ will be boosted to 24v @ 5A. Hope this helps!
Somewhat different application, as I will need a 12 to 24v charger/converter for my Suburban/camper build I will try running the converter from one or two 120v to 12v desktop power supplies powered by a generator, or shore power, rather than the alternator of the engine. Utilizing a high amp three way switch. This should work as the better converters have an adjustable output, thus limiting the max required input? I'll find out by next spring when I set that up!
The amp ratings of the laptop PS were 6.7amps and 7.7amps respectively. I'm surprised the charge controller didn't even should more then .5amp before the laptop PS would shutdown. Is the CC not showing the amp draw fast enough before the laptop PS freaks out?
@@OffGridBasement The current will ramp up almost instantly, so the charge controller may not display the actual or peak current before the laptop PS cuts out. You could try putting an ammeter in series but that may not see the peak current either. Do you have a bench PSU or something else with constant limiting? Is there a setting on the charge controller that can limit the input current to 5A?
A desktop power supply won't work as the highest voltage rail in one is only 12v +- a few % per Microsoft specs, but possibly a Dewalt 20v, if could keep it triggered?
Would be possible to wire some of the sets together in a power supply to achieve 20v? I know a desktop supply has a 12v plug and also some 4 or 5v plugs.
@@OffGridBasement Only with a 12v to 24v converter, then kinda defeating the purpose, lol. I believe the other plugs on a desktop are 3.3v and 5v. The other problem I realized is limiting the power draw from the chargers/power supplies, the solar panels self limit to a maximum with no problem. but a power supply/ charger depending will put out all it can until it maxes out and/or to overload shutdown. I'll need to think about it, It certainly can be done with the addition of a custom micro circuit board. But it's been a long time since I've done that type of work and I didn't do that much, but a lot of electrical work. Just connecting two 12v desktop power supply out puts in series to get 24v, would fry both, so likely I wouldn't try it? I'll think about it, maybe see on some forum?
@@OffGridBasement For a desktop power supply the, they are sized over maximum computer draw so no need to have a limiter, other than emergency shutdown ect.
For a cordless tool/computer charger, they again are sized for purpose. I think it's going to somewhat hard to make a charge controller limit power draw when they are self limited by the solar panels?
MAN! You just gave me an idea. I have made a permanent magnet motor from and old AC blower motor. I've been trying to figure out an easy way to clean the power coming from it. Running it with a drill gives me a few different voltage ranges (between the 3 speed selection wires). Anyways, I have 5 or 6 Dell power supplies. If it fails, then no big loss. If it works, GREAT! Too bad MPPT didn't pan out, but what about a cheapy PWM? Keep us posted.
I'm getting ready to do some experiments with this -- not many videos I could find, which tells me it is either stupid easy (and I'm just too much of a novice) or just plain not a good idea. I'm planning on giving it a try... I trust my nice MPPT SCC than I trust the cheap 12v 20A lifepo4 charger I found online. I'd rather pipe that output from the charger through the SCC! I look forward to seeing your results. Do you happen to have a link to Will's video that you and a few of the other commenters have mentioned? I've searched and can't find it.
I've been looking for that video for the past few days as well and I'm not having any luck. I'm hopefully going to start experimenting on this more in the next month or so. Thanks for the comment 👍
I actually have no idea. I wouldn't think so b/c why would a laptop need that? It really does seem like it though. Why else would the power supply just shut off... Thanks for the comment
@@OffGridBasement Plug the charger in without connecting a load. That will "prove" the presence of load detection. I reckon it's more like overload detection and prevention. I considered a PWM controller as others have mentioned, but I think your battery will pull more than the rated output of the laptop psu, and it'll cut out just the same. I feel it's purely a current overload protection on the laptop PSU. If you have a DC power supply with a Constant Current mode, it would probably work best, as any attempt to overdraw will be safely limited, although voltage usually drops to achieve this. Maybe you would need a PSU capable of supplying the voltage AND the current the Renogy can pass through? It's an interesting concept and issue.
For me it worked with a 19v 8A power supply, but i had to connect in parallel one solar panel. Because the solar controller is MPPT it was converting volts to amps and it was charging at about 16 amps. Without the panel, the charge controller will charge only intermitent. Now i dont know if the power supply voltage can damage the solar panel, i test it just for 10 minutes.
Did you notice a difference from having the power supply and not, when having the solar panel in parallel? Just wondering. I wouldn't think it would cause any issue to the panel. Panels should have protections against that. Thanks for the comment and the info!
@@OffGridBasement well, the solar panel was in closed doors, so no amps were flowing in, the moment i connected the power supply, i got 15 to 16 amps coming in.
Hi , I wanna help you guys out with this one.I have been experimenting with this for so long and I think I got some idea that could help.I live in Rome and I'm a great supporter of offgrid project. Lemme me go to the point ;19v @4.7,6or 7amps is fine.The short happens because he hadn't any diodes or resistor to the adapter...as a newbie we made that mistake... first add diodes on each side of the laptop adaptor just as you will do in the solar panels. I used 4 diodes 1n5406 , two in parallel on each side,add 4R7 @ 20₩ resistor .directly connect the.adapter to the battery and start charging. Hookup the multi meter to moniter the voltage.the battery will charge.My 4s battery pack made of 18650s are doing well with this charger(132 cells in parallel each in the series).each series holding 4.0v..I calibrated my controller to have the battery charge at 16v.The adapter will get extremely hot, supper hot and will fail if you don't unplug it after 2 or 3 hours. To let it run continuous you have to work on the cooling system...now you have an idea !!!
Good experiment 😄👍. I think it would work with a power supply with variable/adjustable voltage. The MPPT is trying to adjust the voltage which the laptop power supply doesn't like.
Hmmmm, does the charger not have a load sensing circuit? 2 things that stop it from working, load sensing and ac ripple, so if its not pure dc charger ? hmm dont know? just throwing a stone in the bush, so we can load it with a small resistor to make it think it has a load so it switches on and secondly if it has some ac ripple we can slap a capacitor over the output to the controller to reduce the ripple.
I believe it is load sensing. I think the charge controllers were trying to pull too much causing the charger to turn off. I really should start messing with resistors and capacitors to see if it would work. Thanks for the info and the comment.
you need to use buck boost converter and than try. connect first adapter to boost converter and set voltage and amp output, and than connect to charge controller. it can charge the battery.
Yes. You are correct. That really is the only way to get it to work. The power supplies go into voltage over protection. Without something to regulate, it just won't work. Thanks for the comment!
My 85 watt MacBook pro charger would work, but I had to limit the output current to battery to keep the power to a level the macbook charger could tolerate.
u need a charger not a powersupay to make it work, powersuply will shutt down on current as u told in video, charger have max current it can deliver and will not stop charging :)
Try parallel Ling them, try MPPT, if not, then the computer supply have a built in circuit protection., I would try and e-bike charger. Using mppt, 24 volt it.
Interesting, ya I have a couple of unneeded power supplies around to try it with, they are from windows 7 and 8, not vista, maybe the internal/ safety/ sensing is different, don't know. The other thing could be a sensor/requirement in the Renogy controller. I'll have to try some time. Also I checked some of the other commenters, especially interested in using cordless power tool battery charges with a solar controller for regulation, I have several extra of those? Thanks for the video once you get it figured out post it . Thanks again for you vids and time!!
Yes! I believe we've found out that there needs to be a voltage regulator in-between the laptop charger and the charge controller. Either that or using a more sophisticated charge controller that can lower the charge amps to accommodate the power supply. I think it's better to just purchase a actual battery charger.. Thanks for question!
What I did is to use a cheap buck boost converter which will convert one voltage to another , so can ( a ) charge a 12 v battery from a 24 v battery or ( b ) with a little of setting the output voltage charge a 24 v battery form a 12 v battery @ about 60 watts so I need a 400 watt buck boost . Also it is constant current and constant voltage so you can limit the current . 50 watts ? I'm in the UK and we are meant to be in the middle of the summer with a heatwave , but for the last 3 days I've max-ed out at 150 watts for a 2k array I fell your pain !!!!
I've heard of that. Someone used it to reduce the amount of electricity needed to run their washing machine. Good idea. Is it hot and humid, but not sunny? That would be the worst!
This is probably because the old laptop chargers switched off because the battery is fully charged or when the battery voltage is to low and they charger senses the battery is damaged. (cannot reach higher than 10.5 Volt when charging for lead acid batteries. Also play around with the LVD=low voltage disconnect and LVR= low voltage reconnect of the charge controller the low voltage disconnect must be lower on the charge controller than the low voltage disconnect on the laptop charger.
You need a dumb charger or a PWM solar charge controller. I've succeeded with my renogy Voyager PWM and a modern laptop charger. 3.6A over 13.x volts though. Takes forever to charge a 100Ah. The logic being a dumb laptop charger, which is rare, is basically a constant voltage power supply. It can survive the MPPT "search". Smart ones will senses that the voltage is out of spec and will turn itself off. PWM doesn't do the MPPT search, and will take whatever the AC adapter can offer at max current, then trim off the excessive voltage to match what the load needs. Finally laptop Ac adapters usually aren't designed to run at full output for more than an hour before ramping down (laptop battery getting full), so the cooling is typically insufficient for our application. I had to put another 12v fan on it to cool.
@@OffGridBasement those going for 10 dollars from China will work. I've seen a lot of success videos from southsast Asia. Ironically, it's because people in those parts dont bother with MPPT because of the price.
I actually did a follow up video with a PWM and it still doesn't work. You need to be able to limit the Amps going into the Charge controller. Here is the follow up video if you are interested. ruclips.net/video/cqurR1rbrZY/видео.html
Laptop power supply shut down by over current protection I think.If Solar charger controller charging 20A that amount of current laptop power can't supply
I made another video trying out other methods and none of them worked either! Here is that video: ruclips.net/video/cqurR1rbrZY/видео.html Basically I got nothing. It just started getting too complicated for what it's worth. Thanks for the question and comment.
This works but it will take a longer time to fully charge.....try using a PWM charge controller and that should do the trick. You can get a battery charger and connect it directly to the charger controller (MPPT) that should work too. Also you need to know this, the total Amp Hour of your batter divided by 100 gives you the rating for the best charger or power supply you should get
I will try a 10amp pwm. Also, I personally don't think the best way to charge a 100ah battery is with a 1amp charger. Maybe divide the watthours by 100. Thanks for the comment!
HMM, what you need is an MPPT charge controller And a power supply that is 56 volt, unless that I a 12 volt battery, then you need 14 volt. Power supply. I just topped off my 24 volt battery system using my 48 volt e-bike battery?????? Top out put is 500 watts.
The guy Freely Roaming did a video on this as well. I dont remember will doing a video on this. I purchased an expert power 20 lfp battery charger. But I also experimented with various options and will be making a dedicated video soon on how I have tried to charge these. I also grabbed the powerwerx mppt charger as an alternative charging option from my solar panels when my power stations get full.
I also has a 5521 to battery clamp from a solar panel and I plugged in a 15v 3amp power adapter from one of my lfp power stations and that seemed to work but I didnt wait long enough to see if it would fill it up. I didnt know enough to keep waiting on it.
I'm starting to get the feeling there is a safety feature in the laptop PS. Some people are saying the controller is trying to pull too many amps so the PS is shutting down. I believe I need to have a controller that limits the input amps. Thanks for the comment!
Freely roaming used a battery charger, which is a dumb charger or a constant voltage power supply. He makes mention of using a laptop Ac adapter on his MPPT but never actually did it.
@@AskIveSolar I would go as far saying freely roaming is not being truthful. I've disputed to him that he is mixing up his (dumb) battery charger and a regular (smart) laptop charger intentionally. He removed my comment and kept his misleading article intact. Even captioned a photo of his modified battery charger as a modified laptop charger.
Here is your. ruclips.net/video/8UqMdvWYSnA/видео.html We've been using power supplies for quite so many years, you just need to boost up the power it'll work
Hi there, great video thanks, i note that this video was made many time ago... i really appreciate if you can share any progress with this option. Context: I'm from Ecuador and probably you heard about our energy crisis in my country. I'm a solar installer but here we have a big problem now. So I'm trying to do the same for people who can't have enough money to install a good solar system on their houses, I'm trying to give a economical option to them. So I'm wondering to do a backup system without solar panel. Any comment, advice or suggestion I will appreciate it. Thanks a lot
I know I'm late to the party, but i solved your problem without needing a PWM charge controller. It is 100% an issue with the charge controller trying to pull too many amps from the charger. I know it doesn't seem like it, as watching the charge controller it doesnt appear to be pulling many amps. But simply limiting the charge controller to the amperage of the power supply will fix your issue. I have done this with sevral chargers, and this solution fixed every single one of them. Something to keep in mind is that the battery is a lower voltage than the power supply you are using. So, for my personal example, I can pull 9 amps from my 20V/6A charger. (20V × 6A = 120W, 120W ÷ 12.8V = 9.375A) This has been consistent across multiple 19 and 20 volt chargers I used. Of course, this all requires you use a charge controller that allows you to limit the maximum amperage. And, obviously this isnt ideal. Swapping the charge controllers maximum amperage every time you go from wall power to solar is annoying. But it does function. And it is also the cleanest, least fluctuating power my charge controller has ever seen. I was struggling a lot to figure this out, but ignoring several more complex solutions I cane up with this idea. Turns out it isn't as complex an issue as I had thought it would be. I know this may be irrelevant to you now, but im hoping someone trying the same may come across this comment and find it helpful.
I had that same problem with a laptop power supply, it looked like it had a positive wire and 2 shielding cables surrounding it, turns out the outer shielding wire is the negative, the other shield wire is a sense wire, when that smaller sensor wire is connected to the positive cable, it works perfectly
Thanks for the info!
He he, I was trying the exact same thing and ran into the exact same issues. A solution is to put a buck converter in between so you can supply a constant current. I tried it with both an MPPT and a PWM and it works. I used a 19.5V 12.5A laptop charger and was able to get 16.6V 11.1A into the MPPT, resulting in 13.7V 12.9 A to the battery. I could have probably pushed it a bit futher if I tried by adjusting the pots on the buck to their limits, but I didn’t want to create too much heat, and was just satisfied to prove the concept. I used a 20A rated buck converter ($20 AUD from Amazon)
Thank you for the info! It's nice to see someone actually got it to work.
You need to put a resistor across 50 to 100 ohm resistor to keep power supply on .Some times all you need is a 1k resistor 1 watt is enough .It's got an auto shut off via current sensing.I have used a Milwaukee M18 as the solar cell as well.works fine.The m18 will put a 4 amp current to a 12v lead acid battery at 20 volts
Please give it a try. OP!
I think I'll try that. I'm also going to try using a PWM charge controller. Thanks for the comment!
@@OffGridBasement look up my video on RUclips .you'll see me charging via m18
That resistor will be in parallel connection ? To plus and minus ?
@@stefanflorin288 .Start with a 3 k 1 watt resistor in parallel with the supply +- .We have issues with some panel mounted 5v/12v/24v Mukti tap switch mode power supplies .Start off with a 3 k ohm resistor .They do get quite warm .I use capton tape to isolate it from the PCB traces ..You don't want to draw too much current .just enough to keep it triggered in the run mode .Every manufacture of power supplies is different .We buy many no name power supplies from digikey they are all open and meant to be enclosed in panels..We also buy Schneider 5vdcc 12vdc and 24 VDc. From 50 watt to 200 watts.Amazing some models can take up to 600 vdc/Ac input output is always on .No load sensing but they do have voltage adjustment and overload sensing .
The power supply doesn't have enough current. MPPT's are like buck converters; they convert an input power to an output power. i.e., 36v 10A in will become 12, 30a. So if you have a 30a MPPT, you'll need say 24v at 15a, minimum. More sophisticated MPPT's will limit their output current regardless (to a point) of input power. Tracers and Victron are examples of this.
I bought a Victron Smartrsolar 50a MPPT and use the Bluetooth app to limit the output current to 40a and then use a 36v 20a power supply to run it.
The MPPT is looking for a sweet spot for max power input and the laptop power supply will shut down as it is trying to regulate voltage.
Thanks for the information and the comment.
Pls, I'll like to know what a Buck converter is.
There are two different types of converters I've used. A buck converter reduces the voltage. Ex: 24v @ 5A will be reduced to 12v @ 10A. Same wattage. A boost converter does the opposite. 12v @ 10@ will be boosted to 24v @ 5A. Hope this helps!
Somewhat different application, as I will need a 12 to 24v charger/converter for my Suburban/camper build I will try running the converter from one or two 120v to 12v desktop power supplies powered by a generator, or shore power, rather than the alternator of the engine. Utilizing a high amp three way switch. This should work as the better converters have an adjustable output, thus limiting the max required input? I'll find out by next spring when I set that up!
That would be nice to have something that can regulate the output. Spring won't come fast enough!
@@OffGridBasement Yep,LOL
Yes I bought a 15 volt, 30 Amp (450 Watt) power supply to feed a charge controller from generator or wall outlet.
Make sure not to overcharge! 😁
@@OffGridBasement That's what the DC-DC charge controller is for!
Thanks for the video.
It looks like you over load the power supply. Can the charging current of the Rover be adjusted to 5A?
I don't believe you can adjust the charging current. I know you can with victron, but not the rover.
Are you exceeding the amp rating of the PS units? A 10A charge controller will try to draw 10A, which likely exceeds the amp capacity of a laptop PS.
The amp ratings of the laptop PS were 6.7amps and 7.7amps respectively. I'm surprised the charge controller didn't even should more then .5amp before the laptop PS would shutdown. Is the CC not showing the amp draw fast enough before the laptop PS freaks out?
@@OffGridBasement The current will ramp up almost instantly, so the charge controller may not display the actual or peak current before the laptop PS cuts out. You could try putting an ammeter in series but that may not see the peak current either. Do you have a bench PSU or something else with constant limiting? Is there a setting on the charge controller that can limit the input current to 5A?
A desktop power supply won't work as the highest voltage rail in one is only 12v +- a few % per Microsoft specs, but possibly a Dewalt 20v, if could keep it triggered?
Would be possible to wire some of the sets together in a power supply to achieve 20v? I know a desktop supply has a 12v plug and also some 4 or 5v plugs.
@@OffGridBasement Only with a 12v to 24v converter, then kinda defeating the purpose, lol. I believe the other plugs on a desktop are 3.3v and 5v. The other problem I realized is limiting the power draw from the chargers/power supplies, the solar panels self limit to a maximum with no problem. but a power supply/ charger depending will put out all it can until it maxes out and/or to overload shutdown. I'll need to think about it, It certainly can be done with the addition of a custom micro circuit board. But it's been a long time since I've done that type of work and I didn't do that much, but a lot of electrical work. Just connecting two 12v desktop power supply out puts in series to get 24v, would fry both, so likely I wouldn't try it? I'll think about it, maybe see on some forum?
@@OffGridBasement For a desktop power supply the, they are sized over maximum computer draw so no need to have a limiter, other than emergency shutdown ect.
For a cordless tool/computer charger, they again are sized for purpose. I think it's going to somewhat hard to make a charge controller limit power draw when they are self limited by the solar panels?
MAN! You just gave me an idea. I have made a permanent magnet motor from and old AC blower motor. I've been trying to figure out an easy way to clean the power coming from it. Running it with a drill gives me a few different voltage ranges (between the 3 speed selection wires). Anyways, I have 5 or 6 Dell power supplies. If it fails, then no big loss. If it works, GREAT! Too bad MPPT didn't pan out, but what about a cheapy PWM? Keep us posted.
Glad I could help inspire an idea! The cheap 10amp PWM is the next idea. I think the 30amp Rover is just trying to pull too much.
Can you remove the short circuit protection circuit from the charger
I'm not sure. I figured it was built into the circuitry. thanks!
I'm getting ready to do some experiments with this -- not many videos I could find, which tells me it is either stupid easy (and I'm just too much of a novice) or just plain not a good idea. I'm planning on giving it a try... I trust my nice MPPT SCC than I trust the cheap 12v 20A lifepo4 charger I found online. I'd rather pipe that output from the charger through the SCC! I look forward to seeing your results.
Do you happen to have a link to Will's video that you and a few of the other commenters have mentioned? I've searched and can't find it.
I've been looking for that video for the past few days as well and I'm not having any luck. I'm hopefully going to start experimenting on this more in the next month or so. Thanks for the comment 👍
I use an old Dell 180 watt charger that works great. Only had to limit the current output of my Victron 100/50 MPPT to 12 amps.
Thanks for the info and the comment.
Does power supply they have load sensing inside of it
I actually have no idea. I wouldn't think so b/c why would a laptop need that? It really does seem like it though. Why else would the power supply just shut off... Thanks for the comment
I believe if you add a small lightbulb It should since the load has stay on
@@OffGridBasement Plug the charger in without connecting a load. That will "prove" the presence of load detection.
I reckon it's more like overload detection and prevention.
I considered a PWM controller as others have mentioned, but I think your battery will pull more than the rated output of the laptop psu, and it'll cut out just the same.
I feel it's purely a current overload protection on the laptop PSU. If you have a DC power supply with a Constant Current mode, it would probably work best, as any attempt to overdraw will be safely limited, although voltage usually drops to achieve this. Maybe you would need a PSU capable of supplying the voltage AND the current the Renogy can pass through?
It's an interesting concept and issue.
For me it worked with a 19v 8A power supply, but i had to connect in parallel one solar panel.
Because the solar controller is MPPT it was converting volts to amps and it was charging at about 16 amps. Without the panel, the charge controller will charge only intermitent. Now i dont know if the power supply voltage can damage the solar panel, i test it just for 10 minutes.
Did you notice a difference from having the power supply and not, when having the solar panel in parallel? Just wondering. I wouldn't think it would cause any issue to the panel. Panels should have protections against that. Thanks for the comment and the info!
@@OffGridBasement well, the solar panel was in closed doors, so no amps were flowing in, the moment i connected the power supply, i got 15 to 16 amps coming in.
Hi , I wanna help you guys out with this one.I have been experimenting with this for so long and I think I got some idea that could help.I live in Rome and I'm a great supporter of offgrid project.
Lemme me go to the point ;19v @4.7,6or 7amps is fine.The short happens because he hadn't any diodes or resistor to the adapter...as a newbie we made that mistake... first add diodes on each side of the laptop adaptor just as you will do in the solar panels. I used 4 diodes 1n5406 , two in parallel on each side,add 4R7 @ 20₩ resistor .directly connect the.adapter to the battery and start charging. Hookup the multi meter to moniter the voltage.the battery will charge.My 4s battery pack made of 18650s are doing well with this charger(132 cells in parallel each in the series).each series holding 4.0v..I calibrated my controller to have the battery charge at 16v.The adapter will get extremely hot, supper hot and will fail if you don't unplug it after 2 or 3 hours. To let it run continuous you have to work on the cooling system...now you have an idea !!!
Good experiment 😄👍. I think it would work with a power supply with variable/adjustable voltage. The MPPT is trying to adjust the voltage which the laptop power supply doesn't like.
it will be interesting to see if the laptop power supply would work with a PWM charger.
Thanks for the info!
I''m sure I could probably get a PWM for pretty cheap to find out! Thanks again!
I agree mppt is not your friend in this case. PWM might work.
Add a big diode. Works for me. Avoid small diode😊
laptop charger have protection which disabled temporarily some reason
Thanks for the info and the comment!
Hmmmm, does the charger not have a load sensing circuit? 2 things that stop it from working, load sensing and ac ripple, so if its not pure dc charger ? hmm dont know? just throwing a stone in the bush, so we can load it with a small resistor to make it think it has a load so it switches on and secondly if it has some ac ripple we can slap a capacitor over the output to the controller to reduce the ripple.
I believe it is load sensing. I think the charge controllers were trying to pull too much causing the charger to turn off. I really should start messing with resistors and capacitors to see if it would work. Thanks for the info and the comment.
you need to use buck boost converter and than try. connect first adapter to boost converter and set voltage and amp output, and than connect to charge controller. it can charge the battery.
Yes. You are correct. That really is the only way to get it to work. The power supplies go into voltage over protection. Without something to regulate, it just won't work. Thanks for the comment!
My 85 watt MacBook pro charger would work, but I had to limit the output current to battery to keep the power to a level the macbook charger could tolerate.
So it's really all about limiting the current. Thanks for the information!
i want to try using a 18 volts transformer 10 amps using a 50 amps bridge rectifier to convert ac to dc and adding a 35v 100000uf capacitor
You my friend are going WAY beyond anything I was trying to attempt. Good luck to you!
what you have to do is series the laptop power supply and it will work
What about parallel? Would that work as well? Also, do you think a smaller PWM 10amp CC would work?
@@OffGridBasement i dont know
u need a charger not a powersupay to make it work, powersuply will shutt down on current as u told in video, charger have max current it can deliver and will not stop charging :)
Thanks for the info. Legit power supply is the way to go.
Try parallel Ling them, try MPPT, if not, then the computer supply have a built in circuit protection., I would try and e-bike charger. Using mppt, 24 volt it.
Thanks for the info and the comment.
Interesting, ya I have a couple of unneeded power supplies around to try it with, they are from windows 7 and 8, not vista, maybe the internal/ safety/ sensing is different, don't know. The other thing could be a sensor/requirement in the Renogy controller. I'll have to try some time. Also I checked some of the other commenters, especially interested in using cordless power tool battery charges with a solar controller for regulation, I have several extra of those? Thanks for the video once you get it figured out post it . Thanks again for you vids and time!!
Thanks. I'm still working on it. Trying with a PWM controller soon.
Any progress?
Yes! I believe we've found out that there needs to be a voltage regulator in-between the laptop charger and the charge controller. Either that or using a more sophisticated charge controller that can lower the charge amps to accommodate the power supply. I think it's better to just purchase a actual battery charger.. Thanks for question!
What I did is to use a cheap buck boost converter which will convert one voltage to another , so can ( a ) charge a 12 v battery from a 24 v battery or ( b ) with a little of setting the output voltage charge a 24 v battery form a 12 v battery @ about 60 watts so I need a 400 watt buck boost . Also it is constant current and constant voltage so you can limit the current .
50 watts ? I'm in the UK and we are meant to be in the middle of the summer with a heatwave , but for the last 3 days I've max-ed out at 150 watts for a 2k array I fell your pain !!!!
I've heard of that. Someone used it to reduce the amount of electricity needed to run their washing machine. Good idea.
Is it hot and humid, but not sunny? That would be the worst!
This is probably because the old laptop chargers switched off because the battery is fully charged or when the battery voltage is to low and they charger senses the battery is damaged. (cannot reach higher than 10.5 Volt when charging for lead acid batteries. Also play around with the LVD=low voltage disconnect and LVR= low voltage reconnect of the charge controller the low voltage disconnect must be lower on the charge controller than the low voltage disconnect on the laptop charger.
Good point. Thanks for the comment.
You need a dumb charger or a PWM solar charge controller.
I've succeeded with my renogy Voyager PWM and a modern laptop charger. 3.6A over 13.x volts though. Takes forever to charge a 100Ah.
The logic being a dumb laptop charger, which is rare, is basically a constant voltage power supply. It can survive the MPPT "search". Smart ones will senses that the voltage is out of spec and will turn itself off.
PWM doesn't do the MPPT search, and will take whatever the AC adapter can offer at max current, then trim off the excessive voltage to match what the load needs.
Finally laptop Ac adapters usually aren't designed to run at full output for more than an hour before ramping down (laptop battery getting full), so the cooling is typically insufficient for our application. I had to put another 12v fan on it to cool.
Thanks for the info. I'm thinking about getting a cheap pwm just to see for myself.
@@OffGridBasement those going for 10 dollars from China will work.
I've seen a lot of success videos from southsast Asia. Ironically, it's because people in those parts dont bother with MPPT because of the price.
The power supply has a built in mechanism to trip when it draws too much. Need a bigger charger.
Thank you for the info and the comment.
I've seen this type of experiment mentioned on a few solar forums. Everyone says this will only work with a PWM charge controller.
I actually did a follow up video with a PWM and it still doesn't work. You need to be able to limit the Amps going into the Charge controller. Here is the follow up video if you are interested. ruclips.net/video/cqurR1rbrZY/видео.html
Laptop power supply shut down by over current protection I think.If Solar charger controller charging 20A that amount of current laptop power can't supply
I believe you're correct. I would need some sort of limiter to make it work. Thanks for the comment.
HOWdy O-G-B,
Thanks for the LEG-WORK
Sorry it didn't WORK
COOP
...
I got some ideas from other comments. Might try some of them out. Thanks for the comment Coop!
Well, its been 1 year...What did you discover?
I made another video trying out other methods and none of them worked either! Here is that video: ruclips.net/video/cqurR1rbrZY/видео.html
Basically I got nothing. It just started getting too complicated for what it's worth. Thanks for the question and comment.
Bummer
I know!
This works but it will take a longer time to fully charge.....try using a PWM charge controller and that should do the trick. You can get a battery charger and connect it directly to the charger controller (MPPT) that should work too. Also you need to know this, the total Amp Hour of your batter divided by 100 gives you the rating for the best charger or power supply you should get
I will try a 10amp pwm. Also, I personally don't think the best way to charge a 100ah battery is with a 1amp charger. Maybe divide the watthours by 100. Thanks for the comment!
Yea, you should calculate on 10% and not 1% ? Like a 10ah charger on a 100ah battery, right ?
i try it b4
Ok.
...there is cheap grid to battery charger ...try that..this is pwm for solar..its hard to explain
Thanks for the comment.
HMM, what you need is an MPPT charge controller And a power supply that is 56 volt, unless that I a 12 volt battery, then you need 14 volt. Power supply.
I just topped off my 24 volt battery system using my 48 volt e-bike battery?????? Top out put is 500 watts.
Nice work using your controller as a buck converter. Good thinking.
The guy Freely Roaming did a video on this as well. I dont remember will doing a video on this.
I purchased an expert power 20 lfp battery charger. But I also experimented with various options and will be making a dedicated video soon on how I have tried to charge these. I also grabbed the powerwerx mppt charger as an alternative charging option from my solar panels when my power stations get full.
I also has a 5521 to battery clamp from a solar panel and I plugged in a 15v 3amp power adapter from one of my lfp power stations and that seemed to work but I didnt wait long enough to see if it would fill it up. I didnt know enough to keep waiting on it.
I'm starting to get the feeling there is a safety feature in the laptop PS. Some people are saying the controller is trying to pull too many amps so the PS is shutting down. I believe I need to have a controller that limits the input amps. Thanks for the comment!
Freely roaming used a battery charger, which is a dumb charger or a constant voltage power supply.
He makes mention of using a laptop Ac adapter on his MPPT but never actually did it.
@@AskIveSolar I would go as far saying freely roaming is not being truthful. I've disputed to him that he is mixing up his (dumb) battery charger and a regular (smart) laptop charger intentionally.
He removed my comment and kept his misleading article intact. Even captioned a photo of his modified battery charger as a modified laptop charger.
Here is your. ruclips.net/video/8UqMdvWYSnA/видео.html
We've been using power supplies for quite so many years, you just need to boost up the power it'll work
Thanks for the info and comment.
Why not just use battery charger??😂😂
Has anybody tried this using an old fashion dum battery charger?
Not sure. I believe it depends on the voltage that battery charger puts out. I feel like it would do more harm than good. Thanks for the comment.
Hi there, great video thanks, i note that this video was made many time ago... i really appreciate if you can share any progress with this option.
Context: I'm from Ecuador and probably you heard about our energy crisis in my country.
I'm a solar installer but here we have a big problem now. So I'm trying to do the same for people who can't have enough money to install a good solar system on their houses, I'm trying to give a economical option to them. So I'm wondering to do a backup system without solar panel.
Any comment, advice or suggestion I will appreciate it.
Thanks a lot
The amperage needs to be limited in order for this to work. I don't feel it is a viable option. Sorry I can't help further.
I know I'm late to the party, but i solved your problem without needing a PWM charge controller.
It is 100% an issue with the charge controller trying to pull too many amps from the charger. I know it doesn't seem like it, as watching the charge controller it doesnt appear to be pulling many amps. But simply limiting the charge controller to the amperage of the power supply will fix your issue. I have done this with sevral chargers, and this solution fixed every single one of them.
Something to keep in mind is that the battery is a lower voltage than the power supply you are using. So, for my personal example, I can pull 9 amps from my 20V/6A charger. (20V × 6A = 120W, 120W ÷ 12.8V = 9.375A) This has been consistent across multiple 19 and 20 volt chargers I used.
Of course, this all requires you use a charge controller that allows you to limit the maximum amperage. And, obviously this isnt ideal. Swapping the charge controllers maximum amperage every time you go from wall power to solar is annoying. But it does function. And it is also the cleanest, least fluctuating power my charge controller has ever seen.
I was struggling a lot to figure this out, but ignoring several more complex solutions I cane up with this idea. Turns out it isn't as complex an issue as I had thought it would be. I know this may be irrelevant to you now, but im hoping someone trying the same may come across this comment and find it helpful.
Thank you very much for the great information and the comment!
Intel specs not Microsoft, sorry.
👍
Tt
Thanks for the comment.
set controller maximum charge voltage to less than the power supply otherwise you overload the psu
Thanks for the info and the comment.