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Has anyone attempted to use the com port on the HQST charge controllers to access status information? I have one remotely located that I would like to be able to keep an eye on it. The phone app is fine but I have to drive out to the location to use it. I have a remote wifi arrangement that...

I think that might be left over functionality. I have a small epever unit that has a third set of terminals for a DC load. I don't think it was capable of much. Maybe just some lights. Look one of the small EpEver's like the 30amp and you can see what I'm talking about. My larger 50 and 60...

I haven't seen that behavior either. That would be scary but likely not fatal. Btw, the shunt isn't going to lose you any significant voltage. Ohm's law: V = I * R. The resistance of the 75A shunt I mentioned is R = V / I or 0.0075 / 75 = 0.001 ohm's. So take that resistance and let's...

EPEver has a unit to coordinate the controllers; two actually: PT-ADP-PORT and PAL-ADP-50AN. I think the second one is a replacement. The nice thing about the first is it has one central connection for the battery sensor. They are also supposed to use the same settings. Not sure how that...

Hi fafrd. Do not use a BMS between your charge controller and your batteries. Every charge controller I've ever seen out there tells you to never disconnect the controller from the batteries while the array is connected to the controller. Will mentions this in his videos. Buy new batteries...

Hey jnrhome. I just noticed something that might help. I reconnected an MT50 to controller #1 and tried to change a parameter. It gave me a parameter error no matter what I did. EPEver has a list of rules in the manual about what parameters have to be greater than what other parameters. In...

Hi Fafrd. I would recommend the EPEver controllers. We have finally learned how to live with one another. I just replaced my cheap MakeSkyBlue third controller with a 5420AN 200V model. I don't have the third array up yet, but the Blue produced so much interference my monitoring circuits...

Yesterday, I experienced what you have been talking about with the controller not using your changed settings. I had bumped up both the boost and float values. The controllers went into float at the old setpoint. I went down and rebooted them and they switched back into boost mode. That's an...

That is strange. Mine seems to overreach as soon as it there is a hint at hitting the target voltage. How out of whack do your cells get? I have a little cell monitor that I connect to check but don't leave it attached. Mine get about 30mV out at most and come down to 8 to 10mV when charged...

Mine switched back to the inverter. I checked at lunch the transfer switch is set to 27 and 24 respectively. I'll have to adjust for it not reading the voltage right. I disabled my relay to control the transfer switch when I started to have issues. I'll have to go back. I don't have the...

Sounds like we are on the same page. I like your idea for setting boost and float. After a few sunny days, today is cloudy with rain forecast this afternoon. The transfer switch moved to building power at about 8:45am after the plant lights kicked in. The battery dropped to 24.4v. I know...

I'm learning something about these controllers. The settings are not well suited to systems with a continuous load on them. They work fine if you use your batteries at night and recharge them during the day. Here's how I'm seeing it now, let me know what you think. First the boost only lasts...

Okay. That's weird. Something to try. Go to the forth option in the MT50 menu and go through all the settings. See if anything looks off. Make note of the boost reconnect voltage and the low voltage reconnect. Did you get any warnings...little red light and message on the screen? I...

A couple of things come to mind that might help. First are your panels in series or parallel? If in parallel you might not have enough voltage for the mppt controller. If you can remove both charging and load from the batteries, give them a half hour and take a voltage reading. Are they...

How are you making the changes? I assume you are using the software, right? You hit update, it says save successful, right? Have you tried to reload them to see if they took? Have you looked on the MT50 to see if they are reflected there? I'm also concerned that I'm doing it right as well...

I have to ask...what's with the loctite? If you aren't mobile then why do you need loctite for a battery bank that isn't going to move? Wouldn't a good nut, flange nut or double nuts be adequate?

Sounds good. Maybe just let it run a bit and see if you've got enough panels or not. Well, I've just kind of reconfirmed my problem. I lowered my boost voltage to 27v. The arrays hit it early on then kept that voltage for about an hour or so before turning off. They both went to zero and...

Boost is set to 120 minutes. My float is much lower 26.4v until I adjusted things upwards at noon (26.6v now). Perhaps if I raised it? Not sure. According to the Tracer rules list it can be as high as the boost voltage.

Hi Bob. Sounds like you are on to something. Good test. Reading your post made me think of something. In the manual for my controller (Tracer 5415an) there is a section on array requirements. It has these little charts with cell count and Voc. It cross references with the battery bank...

Sounds like you are getting there. I think you are right. I did a test today that gives some insight into how these things think. Last night I changed the parameters on my controllers to make 27v the target. I adjusted everything else accordingly. This morning both arrays proceeded to shoot...

There is a lot to consider. To add to what Steve_S contributed, you also have to consider what reserve you want for those dark days. Unless you live in the desert SW, you may have a considerable number of them. Aside from getting through the night, how many hours/days do you want to be able...

Hi Bob, If the panels are in parallel they give you about 37.6V @ (5.36 * 3) or 16.08 amps. I'm using the "maximum power" numbers from the Rich Solar panels. With the 200 feet of 10awg you end up with a voltage drop of about 6.4 volts so that is limiting but not the problem. For your...

If I understand you correctly, you want to know how to size a controller? You need to look at your panels and how they will be configured. For MPPT controllers you want your voltage higher than voltage of your batteries. Look at the Voc rating of the panels for that. For currrent look at the...

Did you get another controller? I had mine go to under voltage warning a couple days ago. I had my relay disconnected from the inverter so it went very low before the inverter turned itself off. The transfer switch move the load to building power at 24v but there is still a draw from the...

Thanks for the feedback. I've been using a MakeSkyBlue 60a controller in place of my second EPEver 5415an (the offending one). The first EPEver and the MSB 60a seem to be working well together. I do notice something that seems odd when I reach battery capacity. Briefly I'll get 28.4 volts...

I haven't seen mine float so far. My boost is set to 28.4 and float at 27. I always have a load on the system so that might be why. I have made changes to the parameters and had them take immediate affect. I would lean towards something being wrong with your controller.

Glad you found a solution. Now that you mention it, I do remember the distinction in the software. I only did it once via the software. I'm made changes since using the MT50.

I like your solution. I'll have to look at those in the future. They look like great storage boxes. Let us know how it works out.

What you are seeing is one of the things that worries me about lithium. They are a lot more sensitive than lead acid. Your batteries might be alright. I'd definitely replace that controller. I'm just not sure what to do if I go to replace mine. Anything you are leaning towards? I'm not...

Evening update. Not good, but weird. I rebooted both controllers. They came back and did increase charge a bit but stayed with 27.9V. I increased the charge limit from 28.2 to 28.4V. Both reacted to that and briefly made an attempt at 28.4. The meter I have on the bank even came up to...

You have the opposite problem I'm having. Mine cut out before fully charging the batteries. I added another hundred watts of load to make it just over 200 watts continuous and it basically ignored it. I rebooted both controllers they came back a bit. I increased the charge limit from 28.2 to...

That sounds like a great project for solar. I envy your sunshine. Here in PA things are pretty dark in comparison. My solar output daily average for December, January and February is typically about 0.8 times capacity! I also like the LiFePO4s. I think they absorb charge better for some...

Update. I thought I had found the problem. The Tracers have a separate set of wires for monitoring the battery voltage. I think one was broken internally. I replaced the wires on both controllers. It ran fine yesterday but it was heavy overcast. Today we are having a rare full sun...

Here's what I'm doing now. It isn't done yet. My first and only graph so far is consumption by hour. Note the blue is inverter power and the brown is building power. I forced this transition for testing purposes so the time of day doesn't make sense. Note I use my power for constant loads...

I bought the logger from EPever. I exported the data and imported into LibreOffice Calc (like Excel but free) and built a pivot chart. I'm not running loggers on my controllers anymore. The first one had the battery holder shear off when I went to replace the battery. A second one just died...