Ampster
Renewable Energy Hobbyist
As others have said, you can get the Amps either way you wire them. That is the purpose of the charge controller to convert the Watts from the panels into the volts and Amps needed by your batteries.
800 watts solar need a parallel branch connector?
- Thread starter datsolardude
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datsolardude
New Member
I understand this, I'm still wanting to go parallel
Ampster
Renewable Energy Hobbyist
You can still use a 30 Amp Y capble for now with just two panels. In the future with more current, your best bet would be a combiner box with fuses or circuit breakers. I agree with the other posters who have said that modern panels with diodes reduce the likelyhood of shade being a problem. The advantage pointed out is that the MPPT controller will wake up earlier a perform better on overcast days. You cannot change the weather but you can move your RV if shade is a problem.
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Hardergamer1
New Member
I understand you whish to go with parallel, and you can with good MC4 Y type conecters, but I tell you why it's much better even if you have shading to go with higher voltage.
Shading wont stop your system making power as most if not all modern panels have bypass diodes which will let the rest of the panel (S) work fine, and as the system has higher voltage it will wake up the MTTP charge controller earlier in the morning which will produce power earlier, and carry on working later on in the day, and it will keep on working when the panels have shading or badly overcast raining, but for me its the efficiency losses you will get by going with higher amprage instead of higher voltage, which means you will need to spend more money on much larger cables from the panels Y connecters to the charge controllers, but you will still have more efficiency losses.
Good luck, Aaron.
Shading wont stop your system making power as most if not all modern panels have bypass diodes which will let the rest of the panel (S) work fine, and as the system has higher voltage it will wake up the MTTP charge controller earlier in the morning which will produce power earlier, and carry on working later on in the day, and it will keep on working when the panels have shading or badly overcast raining, but for me its the efficiency losses you will get by going with higher amprage instead of higher voltage, which means you will need to spend more money on much larger cables from the panels Y connecters to the charge controllers, but you will still have more efficiency losses.
Good luck, Aaron.
Texas-Mark
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Any particular reason? Not sure why you would not want to go the easier and arguably cheaper way to get the same result.
datsolardude
New Member
Because I want to make sure that both panels are going to be running smoothly if I have one panel shaded at all i don't want to lose efficiency as would happen with a series wiring where one panel effects the whole array. I want the ability to produce maximum results when it's possible for my RV.
Dagoth Ur Does Solar
Solar Enthusiast
The price you pay for going parallel is that your wiring and connectors need to be able handle the higher amperage. This is the tradeoff, and at a certain point it becomes unrealistic to keep wiring panel after panel in parallel.
You'll find the characteristics of most basic MPPT controllers guide you toward having strings of panels in series.
Hardergamer1
New Member
If you was using much older panels shading in series would be a problem, but this has changed now with diodes fitted, here is some testing to show you..
datsolardude
New Member
But all it takes is one panel in the array to effect the whole system. And what's the point which panel's i bought? 10bb 400 watt to just go series? I paid a lot for the panels. I don't care if I have to pay more for the wiring. I just need to know how to do it. Because I can't find any parts that will allow me to go parallel with the main
No no no Everybody is getting sidetracked by other questions, no one seems to answer. I do know what I'm doing and I just can't find the part I'm looking for. I don't want advice on series VS parallel. I've built a other systems and this one is different than previous builds and it seems like nobody has the answer. They wanna tell me to do things different and it's not helping
crossy
Solar Addict
@datsolardude why not just make up a suitable 3-way Y lead (so you can go to 3P) with fused MC-4 connectors on one end and a suitably fat lead to go in your controller on the other. Should be a 5-minute job.
Some adhesive-lined heatshrink over the joint to keep the weather out and the job's a good-un
Some adhesive-lined heatshrink over the joint to keep the weather out and the job's a good-un
datsolardude
New Member
Found the solution Joinfworld Heavy Duty 500A Bus Bar Waterproof Power Distribution Block with 2*5/16"(M8)+2*3/8"(M10) Studs 48V DC Automotive Marine Battery Terminal distribution Block with Cover - Negative&Positive https://a.co/d/9f4zCY3
ShaneC
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You have repeatedly ignored all actual answers to your question and requests for more info so we can help you properly. You most likely do not need anything more than a 30A Y split. Give us the spec for your panels. The fact that that wasn't the first information you gave us proves you do not know what you are doing.
Edit: just saw your other thread with the panel info. I'm sorry but I think you really ought to have asked here before buying. $600 for a 400w panel is crazy. I paid £100 each for my 405w. Max current is 12.9A a standard 30A y split is fine.
Edit: just saw your other thread with the panel info. I'm sorry but I think you really ought to have asked here before buying. $600 for a 400w panel is crazy. I paid £100 each for my 405w. Max current is 12.9A a standard 30A y split is fine.
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datsolardude
New Member
OK so one thing I'm trying to understand with the y slit is if I'm capable of producing a full 60 amps from both panels, does the 30 amp rating apply to the total? Or is it 30 amp per branch? Also I was looking for something higher with the possibility of using these soare panels I have from other builds. Sorry if I'm being complicated, trying to figure this out while working 12 hours shifts ?
datsolardude
New Member
Also this is about the closest I can find on Amazon but I can't find anything for just two panels
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datsolardude
New Member
Also I payed $500 for 10 bb panels I'd been shoping around for quite some time and this is what I'm going with for this build.
crossy
Solar Addict
Just use two of the legs and leave the others open ready for more panels.
But, two panels in parallel are never going to produce more than about 30A (15A each) at about 30V flat-out downhill with the wind behind them.
The magic that makes that into 60A at 14V into your pack occurs in your MPPT controller.
So, a simple 30A MC-4 Y will do the trick for a 2P, easy and cheap.
datsolardude
New Member
I don't know how your getting only 12.9a with 400 watts, I had a different set up 400 watts with the newpowa and renogy 200 watt and I was getting 20-25amps sometimes 28 amps peak, so that's why I'm trying to set this the way I'm doing it. Doubling that output puts me at 60 amps.
crossy
Solar Addict
That would be at about 33V on the solar side of the MPPT => About 30A into a 12V pack.
The 30A only happens on the battery side of the MPPT, the solar side would still be 13A or so.
You have to consider POWER (Volts x Amps) not just current, the voltages are different.
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Texas-Mark
Solar Addict
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Everyone keeps trying to tell you that the current on the panel side is different from the current on the battery side because the voltage is different on each side. Voltage goes up, current goes down. That is why going series on the panel side is a better option 99% of the time.
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