ebertoli
Hogging the sun!
I included stats for the solar panels and power station below. I also put the label of the solar panels in case I supplied the wrong info. I took a risk on this questionable power station because it's a big battery for a low price. I already have these solar panels on hand that I'd like to use to keep it charged up. I figure I should have researched more about the panels I had and their applicability with the power station I chose, but here I am. ??
I've been working at figuring out the best number and configuration of panels to get the max wattage input without inadvertantly frying something on the power station and it's not looking good to me with my limited understanding/confidence for the combo of panels with this power station's input specs. I'm pretty sure the instructions (what there are of them) say explicitly that the voltage must not be exceeded or the warranty is voided, but I'm not sure if that's the case for the amps or wattage input. I *thought* the charge controller might cut out if those got exceeded, but I don't know if that's a fact... It's more of an assumption on my part.
Can people who know something about this weigh in on how to connect the panels for the best solar input? It seems like connecting in series is not enough amps and connecting just 2 in parallel is over the amp input limitation. Someone told me about a device that can boost the amps that I might use for a series connection. A question I also have is whether there is some kind of option that would allow me to put them in a parallel or parallel series configuration with some device inline to protect it/trip if the amps did exceed 15 amps and the mppt of the power station won't manage that? They are old panels and I don't know what the amps are that are going in, but in full sun, the ecoflow I have says a single panel is only outputting about 160 watts and without being able to feel fully confident in my ability to read the amp meter, I don't think they're close to reaching their stated amp output.
Power station specs for solar input:
oukitel p5000
1 XT60 Port
15A
12V-120V
MPPT MAX 1000W
Solar panel specs:
44.4V open circuit voltage (VOC)
8.25A short circuit current
270 watts
Any feedback to help me figure this out is much appreciated.
I've been working at figuring out the best number and configuration of panels to get the max wattage input without inadvertantly frying something on the power station and it's not looking good to me with my limited understanding/confidence for the combo of panels with this power station's input specs. I'm pretty sure the instructions (what there are of them) say explicitly that the voltage must not be exceeded or the warranty is voided, but I'm not sure if that's the case for the amps or wattage input. I *thought* the charge controller might cut out if those got exceeded, but I don't know if that's a fact... It's more of an assumption on my part.
Can people who know something about this weigh in on how to connect the panels for the best solar input? It seems like connecting in series is not enough amps and connecting just 2 in parallel is over the amp input limitation. Someone told me about a device that can boost the amps that I might use for a series connection. A question I also have is whether there is some kind of option that would allow me to put them in a parallel or parallel series configuration with some device inline to protect it/trip if the amps did exceed 15 amps and the mppt of the power station won't manage that? They are old panels and I don't know what the amps are that are going in, but in full sun, the ecoflow I have says a single panel is only outputting about 160 watts and without being able to feel fully confident in my ability to read the amp meter, I don't think they're close to reaching their stated amp output.
Power station specs for solar input:
oukitel p5000
1 XT60 Port
15A
12V-120V
MPPT MAX 1000W
Solar panel specs:
44.4V open circuit voltage (VOC)
8.25A short circuit current
270 watts
Any feedback to help me figure this out is much appreciated.
