Budget MPPT recommendation - Epever BN 40A 150V - was Eco-Worthy 60A 150V MPPT

[Crowz]

Alpinejoe updated his firmware to fix the problem with his. My older 4215bn's never had the problem to start with but they are OLD.

 

[AlpineJoe]

Are all the panels the same make and model, and are they all on the same surface with no shadowing at this time of day?

This morning it's quite dark and grey with heavy rain. The 780w string going to the Epever was on 19v and only producing 19 watts while the other two strings were working more as expected. So I popped the PV fuse breaker to cycle it and yes indeed it came back on at 110v and started producing better power.

Reach out to Epever and ask them what the problem is. Don't accept an answer from them if they come back with a non-sense answer.

And I get you don't want to update the FW, but at least exercise their tech support and see what they come back with. I'm super happy that my purchase didn't become a waste. Knock on wood, I don't need to build that PV disconnect circuit now.

 

[Kiwi2000]

The 520w array is 4 130w panels in series. The 780w array is 6 130w panels in series. The 1500w array is 3 250w in series then paralleled with another 3 in series. All on the same roof facing the same direction and the time that photo was taken all were in the same light with no shading. No they are not identical panels because I didn't put solar on my house for the purpose of conducting scientific experiments with different SCC's. It is what it is.

I won't be reaching out to Epever at all. Tomorrow I'm ordering a Victron 150/60 to replace the 60A Epever. Therefore all the problems will go away and I'll have a much better user interface.

 

[Kiwi2000]

I just caught the Epevers in the act of throttling down again. 2pm so sun was high in the sky with no shading on any of the panels and the battery bank was on float. A 2000w element on the hot water cylinder cycled on and started putting a load on the system. I wanted to watch how all the SCC's would respond.

At first they were all doing their job well but then a small cloud drifted across and they all understandably reduced output. But then as the cloud left again and the power shot up, the two Epevers at both the same time throttle the voltage down to 14v.




About 5 minutes after the hot water cylinder had turned off and the load had gone, the Epevers let the voltage rise back up again to a more expected power output relative to their array size.

 

[AlpineJoe]

About 5 minutes after the hot water cylinder had turned off and the load had gone, the Epevers let the voltage rise back up again to a more expected power output relative to their array size.

That's just weird. I don't get why they would be doing that.

Today we had a lot of clouds too. I watched the power output vary up and down with the shadows going by. At no time did they drop down to battery voltage.

Here's the log from the smart shunt.

 

[Crowz]

That's just weird. I don't get why they would be doing that.

Today we had a lot of clouds too. I watched the power output vary up and down with the shadows going by. At no time did they drop down to battery voltage.

Here's the log from the smart shunt.

He hasn't updated his firmware and isn't this what you were having problems with before your firmware fix?

 

[Kiwi2000]

I was watching when it happened and they both did it at exactly the same time. Even though they are not networked together.

So it must be something they are programmed to do.

 

[AlpineJoe]

He hasn't updated his firmware and isn't this what you were having problems with before your firmware fix?

Mine was doing it right away at morning, even with no clouds.

 

[AlpineJoe]

I was watching when it happened and they both did it at exactly the same time. Even though they are not networked together.

So it must be something they are programmed to do.

How are your units wired up? I don't get why a heavy load on the output with affect them at all. Do you have anything connected to the load terminals on the controllers?

 

[Kiwi2000]

How are your units wired up? I don't get why a heavy load on the output with affect them at all. Do you have anything connected to the load terminals on the controllers?

No, the 50A and 60A and 100A Tracer AN series don't even have the load terminals. The battery outputs go to a busbar setup.

When I was watching it seemed to be the sun coming out from behind a cloud that triggered it. That was the exact moment it happened anyhow.

I'll see if I can get it on video tomorrow afternoon.

 

[AlpineJoe]

Today is sunny with patchy clouds. I watched the power production for a few hours while I was hooking up and testing my new Victron 24/1200 inverter. Production was up and down with every passing cloud and at no time did the two 4215BN controllers drop out of MPPT mode. Load was 700W continuous as I’m testing out charging my EV.

So I’d say that the FW update for the 4215BN is a success. But for anyone that wants to upgrade, contact Epever with your unit’s serial number. They may have changed hardware and the version they sent me might brick your unit.

 

[Kiwi2000]

Well I popped out to the shops just before lunch today and came home to find the 60A Epever had decided to take another nap.

It's a day of broken cloud so I suspect another sunburst triggered it to restrict down to 14v. I'll keep an eye on it to see how long it takes to come back up. It's been almost an hour so far of losing prime midday production as the battery bank is only on 88% SOC after a grey and rainy day yesterday.

At least it's even more justification for ordering a Victron 150/60 this morning to replace it with. I'll report back at the end of the day on how long it took to come back up and also the day's production from the Victron 520w string and 780w Epever string.

 

[Kiwi2000]

3pm and not only has the 780w string not come back up, but the 1500w string decided to take an afternoon nap as well.!

And no it's not because the battery bank has reached float yet. It should still be in bulk charge.

 

[Kiwi2000]

The 520w Victron made 2.26kWh for the day and the 780w Epever made 2.21.

 

[Crowz]

Any chance some of that might be a settings issue? What are the settings on the controller?

 

[Kiwi2000]

Boost 13.8

Float 13.7

Boost Reconnect 13.6

 

[Crowz]

Went out to the workshop to check mine and this is what I have mine set at.

Boost 14.2

Float 13.8

Boost Reconnect 13.2

 

[Kiwi2000]

Well the problem I was having with the 780w array went away as soon as I put a Victron SCC on it.

I'm still watching closely to see if it will be justified to swap the 100A Epever out early next year with a Victron as well.

Situations like this aren't doing it any favours. Totally blue sky without a cloud anywhere. Battery bank was on float then I took a shower and the 2000w hot water cylinder was running for an hour to reheat the water.

Once again the Epever decided to throttle down instead of meeting the load demand like both Victron SCCs did. (520w & 780w strings making 1300w PV available between the two) Notice their combined network power of 1000w. The Epever decided it was only going to contribute 250w towards the load.

 

[Crowz]

So you bought a scc in place of updating the firmware?

 

[Kiwi2000]

So you bought a scc in place of updating the firmware?

Updating the firmware to Victron firmware along with its accompanying hardware.