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I have fried 2 charge controllers! Please help!!

The information all of you have given me his amazing. Thank you for not shutting me down and calling me a dumb ass from the get-go. ?

First I’m going to connect two panels and series and connected to my new charge controller. Just so I have the confidence that I’m not totally incompetent.

pollenface said:
On the contrary, everything was hooked up incorrectly ;)

2000w of pv is fine for these controllers. If you READ the manual Epever state that they are more worried about you wasting money on having more panels connected than neccessary and suggest pv power 1.5x the charging power as an example of overpaneling, 2s5p seems a likely scenario enabling you the use of all 10 panels.

Use this table to calculate your VOC at your coldest hypothetical environmental temp (eg. @ 40-32F multiply voc by 1.1x) and make sure your final calculation is UNDER the max input voltage of your controller.

PV-Voltage-correction-factors.png


I'm sorry for your loss but consider it a learning experience :)
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Wow! I wish I would have met you guys two weeks ago. I have one question for you Pollenface.

You state 5 panels in parallel and 2 in series = 7 panels? Or 5 panels in parallel and two sets of panel in series = 10 panels??
 
MushroomMan67 said:
The information all of you have given me his amazing. Thank you for not shutting me down and calling me a dumb ass from the get-go. ?

First I’m going to connect two panels and series and connected to my new charge controller. Just so I have the confidence that I’m not totally incompetent.


Wow! I wish I would have met you guys two weeks ago. I have one question for you Pollenface.

You state 5 panels in parallel and 2 in series = 7 panels? Or 5 panels in parallel and two sets of panel in series = 10 panels??
Click to expand...
Oops…9
 
MushroomMan67 said:
Oops…9
Click to expand...
MushroomMan67 said:
The information all of you have given me his amazing. Thank you for not shutting me down and calling me a dumb ass from the get-go. ?

First I’m going to connect two panels and series and connected to my new charge controller. Just so I have the confidence that I’m not totally incompetent.


Wow! I wish I would have met you guys two weeks ago. I have one question for you Pollenface.

You state 5 panels in parallel and 2 in series = 7 panels? Or 5 panels in parallel and two sets of panel in series = 10 panels??
Click to expand...
I meant to say a total of 9 panels. I just want to be absolutely sure because you said I could utilize all 10 but it’s not adding up.
 
Al D said:
You're looking for a CC that can handle at least 2kW. If you connect in a 5p2s, the current parameters can be 30A or greater. If 10p1s, you'll need a 60A or better.
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Will this work?
 

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Al D said:
Your charge controller can only accept 1040W. With ten 200W panels, you have double the rated power input that your charge controller can handle. You have too many panels.

You are able to put 3 in series and still be under the 150V. Your panels are 24V nominal, but have a VOC of somewhere near 40V (assuming they deliver 5.2A as you stated).

In order to get the most power into the charge controller, I would recommend 5 in parallel. That allows the max power and you're still within the voltage and current ratings of your charge controller.
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Thank you very much. We are coming up with the same conclusion. However, I might just up my charge controller. Will this work?
 

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With a 60 amp controller, at 24v, you will be limited to 1440w. It would be better, but would still underutilize your panels.

For 2000w at 24v you would need a charge controller capable of ~85a to fully use your PV power.

If I had 2000w of solar, I would go with a 48v system, or use two separate SCC's. One SCC for each 5p string. Two 40a controllers would work, but be slightly overpaneled, or two 50 amp controllers would leave headroom. There's other totally valid ways to do it, but that's how I would, given the circumstances.
 
Biasjo said:
5 wired in parallel x 2 then take those 2 parallel strings of 5 and put them in series.
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I believe you stated this backwards. When combining panels, it is best to create strings of panels in series first, In this case it would be two panels in series. Then combine those strings in parallel.

The reason for doing it this way is it makes the required fusing of the panels simpler. When you have more than two strings in parallel, you need a fuse for each string to protect against fire starting on the panels themselves. This is because if a panel has a fault, the current from all of the other panels could go backwards into the faulty panel and overheat it.

If the panels are put in parallel first and then parallel sets put in series, you would have to fuse each individual panel to achieve the required protection, and that would get messy.
 
hankcurt said:
I believe you stated this backwards. When combining panels, it is best to create strings of panels in series first, In this case it would be two panels in series. Then combine those strings in parallel.

The reason for doing it this way is it makes the required fusing of the panels simpler. When you have more than two strings in parallel, you need a fuse for each string to protect against fire starting on the panels themselves. This is because if a panel has a fault, the current from all of the other panels could go backwards into the faulty panel and overheat it.

If the panels are put in parallel first and then parallel sets put in series, you would have to fuse each individual panel to achieve the required protection, and that would get messy.
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You are absolutely correct.

I’m at work so did this on the fly.
I deleted the post so he can refer to yours..

The point I was trying to make is it is 10 panels not 7 or 9.


Thanks!!
 
MushroomMan67 said:
Thank you very much. We are coming up with the same conclusion. However, I might just up my charge controller. Will this work?
Click to expand...
This could work if you arranged your batteries in a 48V configuration. Your inverter will have to be able to work with 48V though.

If you're looking to keep the 24V configuration, you will have to find a different CC to take full advantage of your panels.

@A.Justice
If you look carefully, the panels are not producing only 24V, they are closer to 40V at around 5A. The CC max current input can be 30A if in 5p2s configuration, and 60A if all panels are in parallel.
 
hankcurt said:
If the solar panels are the Mega200 Max panels on Rich Solar's website, they have all of the temperature coefficients in the manual for the solar panels. I attached the manual from their website. A clip of the temperature data is:

View attachment 108909
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I normally go as far as looking at the data of the website, downloading a manual for the additional info that imo should have been on the webpage... didn't think about it ;-)

So his minimum temperate is -3F = -20C
put that in the calculator at https://ausinet.com.au/max_voc_min_vmp/
One panel will give a voltage of 51.32 Volt under lowest temp conditions, so 3 in series is absolutely no-go.
Screenshot from 2022-08-27 15-59-20.png
 
fromport said:
I normally go as far as looking at the data of the website, downloading a manual for the additional info that imo should have been on the webpage... didn't think about it ;-)

So his minimum temperate is -3F = -20C
put that in the calculator at https://ausinet.com.au/max_voc_min_vmp/
One panel will give a voltage of 51.32 Volt under lowest temp conditions, so 3 in series is absolutely no-go.
View attachment 108953
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Since you converted the temperature to °C, I think you have to also convert the coefficient. The coefficient is -0.29% per °F, and a °C is 9/5 larger than a °F, the coefficient become -0.522% per °C. The end result, using the calculator you suggested is 56.06 volts open circuit.

So it doesn't really change the result that with a 150v limit on the charge controller, he is still limited to two panels in series. But for those of us stuck in the illogical unit system, I thought it would be helpful to understand how to use the calculators that are written for metric units.
 
hankcurt said:
Since you converted the temperature to °C, I think you have to also convert the coefficient. The coefficient is -0.29% per °F, and a °C is 9/5 larger than a °F, the coefficient become -0.522% per °C. The end result, using the calculator you suggested is 56.06 volts open circuit.

So it doesn't really change the result that with a 150v limit on the charge controller, he is still limited to two panels in series. But for those of us stuck in the illogical unit system, I thought it would be helpful to understand how to use the calculators that are written for metric units.
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This is the first datasheet that I see that gives Voc temp correction numbers in F instead of C, and you are 100% correct in your calculations/explanation. Good eye for detail. Totally missed that!
 
A.Justice said:
With a 60 amp controller, at 24v, you will be limited to 1440w. It would be better, but would still underutilize your panels.

For 2000w at 24v you would need a charge controller capable of ~85a to fully use your PV power.

If I had 2000w of solar, I would go with a 48v system, or use two separate SCC's. One SCC for each 5p string. Two 40a controllers would work, but be slightly overpaneled, or two 50 amp controllers would leave headroom. There's other totally valid ways to do it, but that's how I would, given the circumstances.
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With each panel being:
Max Power Current (lmp) 5.32A
Short Circuit Current (Isc) 5.83A

10 panels in parallel would be
53.2A lmp / 58.3A Isc.

Wouldn’t 60A be enough?
 

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This is the only way you should connect your panels.
Sorry for the quick & crude drawing.
pic.jpg
 
I think I found a good charge controller for my panels. I’m posting the specs of my panels. Will this work if I connect them in series? I only ask because they are already wired and on the side of the house.
 

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MushroomMan67 said:
With each panel being:
Max Power Current (lmp) 5.32A
Short Circuit Current (Isc) 5.83A

10 panels in parallel would be
53.2A lmp / 58.3A Isc.

Wouldn’t 60A be enough?
Click to expand...

No. Because the 60a means charging current, not PV current. So your battery is 24v, and the controller can charge at 60a this means 24v x 60a = 1440w
 
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