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diy solar

200 w renogy suitcase should I go mppt

tacomtime

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May 13, 2021
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I have the renogy 200 w eclipse suitcase panel with a 200ah lifepo4. The renogy comes with a built in pwm 20a voyager charger. Is it worth me getting a 20 or 30 amp victron smart solar mppt charger. Will I see an increase in charging?
 
Generally yes, but I have a different suggestion that involves no cost.

I have an older 100W version myself. The first thing to know is that the placement of charge controller right on the back of the panel is the *worst* place to put it, not only from a heat standpoint, but from an efficiency standpoint. It is merely convenient from a "suitcase" point of view.

I notice that like mine, there is a hinge-plate on the controller. In use, one is supposed to swing that down away from the panel, not leave it pressed tightly to the panel with the velcro that is on the back.

CAUTION: Depending on how hard-core the velcro is, it can be on very tight - so much so that when I swung mine down for the first time, I was very afraid of breaking or cracking the panel itself. I had to apply a lot of TLC just to get it loose.

Why swing it down? Heat from the back of the panel degrades the controller, AND gives a false reading to the ambient temperature sensor used for temp-comp with lead-acid batteries.

Cut to the chase:
It is likely your batteries are not being charged in the shade of the panel itself, but somewhere else away out of direct sunlight. The best place for the controller is near the batteries, not the panel.

So, if you don't mind, an instantaneous improvement can be had by a little re-wiring. Remove the existing controller from the back of the suitcase and run cable from the panel to the now free controller some length away. The shorter the better. Now place the batteries close to the controller, perhaps no more than 6 feet of cabling between the controller and batteries. Physically shorten or put on new connectors if you have to.

Now you are getting a better handle on voltage drop issues, and should see in the end, a much more efficient charge.

If you can, use larger-gauge wire than what comes with the suitcase itself - but yeah, from a practical standpoint that might be too heavy to lug around. Just do the best with what you got.

Tip: my Renogy controller (since replaced by a Genasun) didn't come with LFP specific settings, so I had to make sure that my temperature-compensation was set to ZERO - effectively disabling that. No temp comp necessary with LFP.
 
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