2 Ecoflow 110 panels for Ecoflow River Max power input drops to 40-50 Watts

[John Gowland]

Just got my first solar generator which I have been thinking about for a few years.
I got the Ecoflow River Max, I know there are better ones, but this suits me. Keep my small CFX 25Lt fridge powered while I sleep on trecks out in the bush. And to keep my three drones charged, the wonderful Mavic Mini 2, the fun as hell DJI FPV and the brilliant camera on the Mavic Air 2s.

Had the river a few days of testing and great to date. It’s been pulling up to 130 Watts. Bit low really thought it could get to the 200 max.
Today I moved the 2 Ecoflow 110 panels to face the sun and the input dropped to 40-50 Watts. Watts going on?
Rebooted everything, checked the connections. All I can think of is the heat, the panels are in a 36 in the sun and maybe 60c in the bright Australia sun.
I have the River unit in my house and its 40c so I engage the fan, keeps it cooler.
Any ideas for an old fart, new to solar generators?
Thank you in advance.
John

 

[GXMnow]

What was the state of charge of the batteries?

When the batteries get close to full, the charge controller will reduce it's current draw to prevent overcharging the batteries.

If the batteries are not close to full, then it would be a poor connection, shadows on the solar panels, or maybe a cell got damaged. Even the so called flexible solar panels can get a crack in them which will hurt their output ability.

 

[John Gowland]

The battery was around 75%, but it had been that the day before and kept charging at the same rate.
Thank you GX. I am going to try it tomorrow and see how I go.

 

[Browneye]

Great unit - I just got the Delta Mini. Terrific technology.

I have a 160W folding hard panel 'suitcase' that charges about the same - 130-150W, if they're pointed directly at the winter sun. If there's any cloud cover at all they'll drop to a 100W or less. Any shading at all and they'll drop to 30W.

Current taper doesn't generally happen till much closer to full - the last 5% or so. I cap mine at 95%.

Temperature could be a factor, but not that dramatic. You could try one panel connected at a time and compare - always possible for a wiring failure, connection, etc.

 

[John Gowland]

Thanks Chris will try that and let you know.

 

[John Gowland]

Thank goodness all is well up to 150W max. I don't see why it can. not get up to 200W as advertised.
The problems I have had here in Perth, Australia. Most vendors, campers, batteries have no idea what a solar generators is.
Back and forth all day, because an outlet, Anaconda, has just got them and have no idea what you need to get the Max to work with the
Ecoflow panels.
Thanks for your help. Wish I had sussed the forum out before I bought my gear.

 

[Bud Martin]

Thank goodness all is well up to 150W max. I don't see why it can. not get up to 200W as advertised.
The problems I have had here in Perth, Australia. Most vendors, campers, batteries have no idea what a solar generators is.
Back and forth all day, because an outlet, Anaconda, has just got them and have no idea what you need to get the Max to work with the
Ecoflow panels.
Thanks for your help. Wish I had sussed the forum out before I bought my gear.

So what was the cause of the issue?

 

[John Gowland]

Not sure Bud. It was very hot in the Australian summer. They may have throtelled back? I hope so. But they are back to the 160W, which is a relief all the going back to the veder.
Thanks for asking.

 

[Browneye]

It's rare you'll see PV's put out their full rating - the spec rating is done in ideal conditions you're not likely to duplicate. I was actually quite surprised to get 130W out of my 160W panels, they are polycrystalline, but low and behold I saw nearly 150 the other day testing out solar charging on the delta mini. With 30' leads to boot.

I never quite understood when the old guard here would always say to get used to using watts, and now I'm starting to do that. It's universal, you don't have to take into account the voltage when comparing amps/current, and amp-hours. It's a more pure energy measurement.

 

[GXMnow]

995 of the time, you will not get full power in the real word, but I did have a few times where the nice white clouds were in just the right place. The panels were getting direct sunlight, at nearly the perfect angle. AND the sun was also bouncing off the clouds and that scattered light was also hitting the panels. Any reflective surface can make this happen.

Imagine parking an RV with a big window, or even glossy paint facing towards the equator. You put the solar panels between the sun and the RV. Direct sunlight is hitting the panels and making 80% of rated power, the drop being from the panels being hot, and maybe moisture in the air. But then the sunlight that is hitting the reflective surfaces of the RV are reflecting down onto the solar panels as well. Sure, it has lost some energy, and it is not at a perfect angle, but it still helps illuminate the panels. Maybe the ground in front of the panels is nice white concrete. That can also bounce some sunlight up onto the panels as well. Check out this video.

He demonstrates getting over double the energy out of a solar panel, and 50% over it's rating.

 

[John Gowland]

Thank you very much for your support. I feel OK now knowing I am getting 130W, and looking forward to experiment of increasing that.