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travlinroy avatar image
travlinroy asked

2x 200 watt panels only output 5 amps, either one by itself will putout over 10 amps

I had one gopower 190 watt panel, the victron 100/30. It would regularly show 190 watts, up to 19 volts and close to 10 amps. After adding a Renogy 200 watt panel, the victron shows about the same watts, 38+ volts, but max I've seen has been 5 amps.

I tested each panel by itself and each will be close to 10 amps from the panels, when I connect them in series I only get the ~5 amps max. with 38-40 volts. I switched the new extension cable to a known good cable with the same results. When I tested with the know good extension I bypassed the in roof wiring just to be sure it was not the issue.

I am charging a Renogy 100ah lithium that will accept the 10 amps from either panel.

I have also noticed that the solar input voltage and watts fluctuates constantly, I do not know if this is a new symptom or not. I have reset the controller to factory, completely disconnected it from power and batteries, nothing seems to change the behavior.

Any ideas of where to look for the issue, or how to test further?


thanks!

Roy

MPPT SmartSolar
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Alexandra avatar image Alexandra ♦ commented ·
Very simply looks like you can't pair those two panels.

Do they have different vocs and imps?

Other than a wiring connection problem like incompatible mc4 connectors (so not a good connection) or a diode problem.

Did you try them in parrallel not series?

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travlinroy avatar image travlinroy Alexandra ♦ commented ·
they are close -

gopower vs renogy

voc is 24.09 vs 23

imp is 9.54 vs 10.42

my first thought was wiring, but individually they work with the same wires, only together do they not produce as expected. I've not heard of the potential for panels to not be compatible, I thought as long as they were close I may loose a little from a higher producing panel...

I did not try parrallel, I will need to get the connectors for that.

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pwfarnell answered ·

Is it a SmartSolar and if so do you have the "limit charge current" setting on the battery page as anything other than the default 30A as this would limit the output.

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travlinroy avatar image travlinroy commented ·
good question, but yes it is a smartsolar, and yes the max charge is set to 30 amps
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travlinroy answered ·

an update - I eliminated the GoPower and purchased another of the same Renogy panel. I also ordered a new extension cable. Putting these in series with either the old or new cable nets the same results. I currently see 191 watts, 36.07 volts, 5.3 amps from the panels (per the Victron Connect app). The app shows the controller is putting out 14.36v and 13.2 amps. That's about as good as it got yesterday the entire day. Something seems to be limiting the draw. When it is in Absorbtion mode I can alter the voltage and see the panel amp output reading change so the controller looks like it is certainly adjusting.


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pwfarnell avatar image pwfarnell commented ·

If you are in absorption then the battery is limiting what it will accept. If your absorption voltage is 14.4V, then at the particular point in time, the batteries can only take in 200W or so. What happens if you put a load on the system at the same time, the output should increase to cover this. What if you let your batteries discharge further so they can accept more current. You can only check how your panels are working when the MPPT is in bulk, because in bulk the panels are the limiting component and the battery can accept more current than the panels are producing at maximum.

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travlinroy avatar image travlinroy pwfarnell commented ·

thanks for the suggestions - the values I listed were while it was in Bulk and the battery was at about 60%. I only mentioned Absorption as an example that the controller seems to adjust the charge.

I ran the battery down to about 40% over night so I am going to see what it does today.

As for wiring, the controller wiring goes directly pos to the battery, neg to the grounded side of the Victron SmartBVM shunt.

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