childcarepro
New Member
- Joined
- Jul 5, 2020
- Messages
- 101
Hi, I need some help!
In 2014, I installed the following in our 19' Airstream Bambi:
- Bogart Engineering SC-2030-RV PWM solar charge controller (I bought two, installers mounted both but only connected one)
- Bogart Engineering TM-2030 battery monitor w/ 500A shunt
- Six 100W 12V flexible solar panels wired in parallel (assuming, since 12V battery bank)
- 4 Crown CR-235 flooded lead acid batteries in 12V series-parallel configuration (2820Wh)
- Magnum MS2012 2000A 12V PSW inverter/charger
It has been in outdoor storage for years, and I did not maintain the batteries. The batteries totally dried out, so I replaced them with two 138Ah LiFePO4 batteries (3180 Wh) just before a trip last weekend. Out in the Borrego desert, no shore power, I thought the batteries would charge right up. But the solar didn't seem to produce anything; the TM-2030 was showing negative amps WHILE the sun was out and only the inverter on (my brother-in-law borrowed the rig and didn't know to turn it off).
Batteries charge beautifully using shore power and the TM-2030 is working fine (shows 70-80 amps at 120V 15A at home). I opened up the installation and the SC-2030 has a green light, the inline circuit breaker to the battery is in the on position, solar terminals show only 13.8V. I looked at the panels and they were moderately dirty. After cleaning, we went from about 0.1A to 2.2A at 13.4V, so 29W out of 600W worth of panels. The panels have become quite milky white rather than clear, so the cells look medium gray instead of black. And there is partial shading on almost every panel from the power cables. Still, I vaguely recall in the past getting up to 28A (about 380W) when it was first installed, pretty good considering the constant partial shading.
Has anyone had loss of power from milky flexible panels? Is it worthwhile to refinish them? Or as @Will Prowse says, are these panels simply cooked from overheating? I don't see any visible melting or damage.
Is there an easy way to test each individual panel without disassembling the whole thing?
Thanks in advance.
In 2014, I installed the following in our 19' Airstream Bambi:
- Bogart Engineering SC-2030-RV PWM solar charge controller (I bought two, installers mounted both but only connected one)
- Bogart Engineering TM-2030 battery monitor w/ 500A shunt
- Six 100W 12V flexible solar panels wired in parallel (assuming, since 12V battery bank)
- 4 Crown CR-235 flooded lead acid batteries in 12V series-parallel configuration (2820Wh)
- Magnum MS2012 2000A 12V PSW inverter/charger
It has been in outdoor storage for years, and I did not maintain the batteries. The batteries totally dried out, so I replaced them with two 138Ah LiFePO4 batteries (3180 Wh) just before a trip last weekend. Out in the Borrego desert, no shore power, I thought the batteries would charge right up. But the solar didn't seem to produce anything; the TM-2030 was showing negative amps WHILE the sun was out and only the inverter on (my brother-in-law borrowed the rig and didn't know to turn it off).
Batteries charge beautifully using shore power and the TM-2030 is working fine (shows 70-80 amps at 120V 15A at home). I opened up the installation and the SC-2030 has a green light, the inline circuit breaker to the battery is in the on position, solar terminals show only 13.8V. I looked at the panels and they were moderately dirty. After cleaning, we went from about 0.1A to 2.2A at 13.4V, so 29W out of 600W worth of panels. The panels have become quite milky white rather than clear, so the cells look medium gray instead of black. And there is partial shading on almost every panel from the power cables. Still, I vaguely recall in the past getting up to 28A (about 380W) when it was first installed, pretty good considering the constant partial shading.
Has anyone had loss of power from milky flexible panels? Is it worthwhile to refinish them? Or as @Will Prowse says, are these panels simply cooked from overheating? I don't see any visible melting or damage.
Is there an easy way to test each individual panel without disassembling the whole thing?
Thanks in advance.
