Hello,
I'm fairly new to this. I own two PV panels (each 38Vmpp, 9.7A Isc, combined 740Wp) with a Hoymiles grid-tie micro inverter because sadly that's all my local laws allow in my garden apartment. This works ok.
Recently I also purchased a Victron SmartSolar 100/20 with the intention to have a little backup power in the unlikely event that the grid goes down while the sun is out. I would just manually disconnect the grid-tie inverter and connect the Victron then.
By my calculations the 100V Voc limit is ok down to -13.0°F/-25°C if I put the panels in series, the 20A current limit should also ok if I choose to put them in parallel, plus my orientation/tilt is somewhat suboptimal to begin with.
My batteries were going to be two 12V/54AH FLA acid car starter batteries, they're reused from my classic car (thus completely free) and I figure with 500Wh@40% DOD they'll still be good to charge a phone/laptop and a few LEDs during an unlikely emergency. I can't justify an expensive LiFePo4 battery that may not be used for years.
Now the situation is that I was gifted an "Ecoflow River" solar generator a few weeks ago. This device's solar charging capability is very limited at 200W (with max 25 Voc and max 10A).
My question: Is there an efficient way to charge the Ecoflow with my existing panels and the Victron SCC?
Or does attaching a MPPT controller to the output of another one generally not work for reasons related to the power tracking algorithms?
Any ideas would be welcome before I sell the Ecoflow and buy a small Victron Phoenix 24/375 or 12/375 inverter instead.
I'm fairly new to this. I own two PV panels (each 38Vmpp, 9.7A Isc, combined 740Wp) with a Hoymiles grid-tie micro inverter because sadly that's all my local laws allow in my garden apartment. This works ok.
Recently I also purchased a Victron SmartSolar 100/20 with the intention to have a little backup power in the unlikely event that the grid goes down while the sun is out. I would just manually disconnect the grid-tie inverter and connect the Victron then.
By my calculations the 100V Voc limit is ok down to -13.0°F/-25°C if I put the panels in series, the 20A current limit should also ok if I choose to put them in parallel, plus my orientation/tilt is somewhat suboptimal to begin with.
My batteries were going to be two 12V/54AH FLA acid car starter batteries, they're reused from my classic car (thus completely free) and I figure with 500Wh@40% DOD they'll still be good to charge a phone/laptop and a few LEDs during an unlikely emergency. I can't justify an expensive LiFePo4 battery that may not be used for years.
Now the situation is that I was gifted an "Ecoflow River" solar generator a few weeks ago. This device's solar charging capability is very limited at 200W (with max 25 Voc and max 10A).
My question: Is there an efficient way to charge the Ecoflow with my existing panels and the Victron SCC?
- Attaching the Ecoflow to the panels directly would be a good idea to observe blue electronics smoke
- Attaching the Ecoflow to one 12V battery charged by the Victron limits charging to 120W (built in 12V/10A limit of Ecoflow)
- Attaching the Ecoflow to two 12V batteries in series charged by the Victron is likely going to push me over the 25V limit (worried what happens then, so haven't tried this yet)
- Attaching the Victron directly to the Ecoflow with fixed 24V absorption/float will charge it (tried this!), but the power output keeps oscillating between 200W (expected) and zero (not good) every 15 seconds or so.
Or does attaching a MPPT controller to the output of another one generally not work for reasons related to the power tracking algorithms?
Any ideas would be welcome before I sell the Ecoflow and buy a small Victron Phoenix 24/375 or 12/375 inverter instead.