Creggh
New Member
Hello. First-Timer here. I have a Growatt 3000TL LVM-48P with 6 -250 total of 1500 watts. PV panels are wired in series. I have 16 Data Safe AGM batteries wired in series and parallel. At 48v I have roughly 380 amp hours worth of batteries (see attached pics). I have an Igen 4500 westinghouse generator wired in.
When I originally purchased the Growatt from Signature solar in 2021, the tech told me to wire all the 6 panels in series and then connected them into the growatt. I run about 200 watts 24 hours a day. Just a Star Link 24-7, a few lights, and a Cpap machine at night. 6 solar panels facing south. When I get up in the morning I'm down to about 47 volts or less. At the end of a summer day I might be charged up to 49 volts. It is a constant battle. I run the generator for a few hours at night, and that doesn't seem to charge it too much, maybe to 50 Volts.
So I bought 4- 370 watt panels last week. I then contacted Signature solar and spoke to a tech. First thing he said was I can't run both sets of panels because they are different watts and voltages? Okay I get that. So I gave him my setup and he said I should not be running the 6-250 watt panels in series? Even though that is what I was told to do by the other Tech. He then calculated which panels were better for my system, either the 6-250 watt panels or the 4-370 watt panels. He advised I should run the 6-250 watt panels. 3 in a series and 3 in a series and use a combiner and then plug it in? He advised I could have damaged the Growatt by running too much voltage through it. He said the Maximum PV array open circuit voltage is 145 vdc?
So now I'm even more confused. I'm a DIY guy and can put anything together but I don't really understand the numbers. I wanted to add panels so my batteries would charge quicker. And after speaking to the tech people I'm not feeling confident I'm getting the right answers
First, is 2 strings of 3 into a combiner plug the correct way?
Second, How can I add panels?
Any help is greatly appreciated.
When I originally purchased the Growatt from Signature solar in 2021, the tech told me to wire all the 6 panels in series and then connected them into the growatt. I run about 200 watts 24 hours a day. Just a Star Link 24-7, a few lights, and a Cpap machine at night. 6 solar panels facing south. When I get up in the morning I'm down to about 47 volts or less. At the end of a summer day I might be charged up to 49 volts. It is a constant battle. I run the generator for a few hours at night, and that doesn't seem to charge it too much, maybe to 50 Volts.
So I bought 4- 370 watt panels last week. I then contacted Signature solar and spoke to a tech. First thing he said was I can't run both sets of panels because they are different watts and voltages? Okay I get that. So I gave him my setup and he said I should not be running the 6-250 watt panels in series? Even though that is what I was told to do by the other Tech. He then calculated which panels were better for my system, either the 6-250 watt panels or the 4-370 watt panels. He advised I should run the 6-250 watt panels. 3 in a series and 3 in a series and use a combiner and then plug it in? He advised I could have damaged the Growatt by running too much voltage through it. He said the Maximum PV array open circuit voltage is 145 vdc?
So now I'm even more confused. I'm a DIY guy and can put anything together but I don't really understand the numbers. I wanted to add panels so my batteries would charge quicker. And after speaking to the tech people I'm not feeling confident I'm getting the right answers
First, is 2 strings of 3 into a combiner plug the correct way?
Second, How can I add panels?
Any help is greatly appreciated.