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Looking for a good MPPT Controller for a 48V lifepo4 battery

Tachyon

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Mar 28, 2020
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I have 16 Calb 200Ah Lifep04 batteries and 4 350W solar panels (to be increased). I am looking for a reliable MPPT controller with the following specs.
a) on grid charging (prefer 120V but will consider 240V)
b) solar charging with ample room for V input
c) 5Kw ac output (pure sine wave)
d) optional wind generator input as well
e) expandable to 2 or more MPPT controllers

Also, if expanded to 2 MPPT controllers, do the 48v batteries have to be identical? I recently found a great deal on 16 320 Ah Lifepo4 batteries and was hoping that the 2nd MPPT would adjust to the the different current draw. I realize the BMS for each of the 2 batteries would be different however I was not sure that the MPPT would compensate? My experience tells me NO but this (battery backup) is a new field for me so there is a learning curve and need a little help from someone more experienced in this field.
Any help will be appreciated. Likely would purchase from Ali express as I'm from Canada and the US shipping and dollar difference is a killer.
 
When it comes to equipment, Victron take a lot of beating.
The only thing that lets their range down a bit is the lack of MPPTs that handle more than 150V operating voltage.
This rather limits the solar panel configurations to maintain good efficiency.
If they made an MPPT that operated from 150 to 250V and 20A, it would be so useful.
Keep in mind the power loss through the cables which connect the Panels to the charger.
Example, 0.5 Ohm cable run with 10A current flow is 50W of loss, 20A is 200W of loss (Power loss = Amps squared * Resistance)
This is quite important to keep in mind, as you do not want to throw away power needlessly.

Your Description and Specification above is of a Hybrid Inverter, an MPPT is technology used to maximise power transfer from a variable source (PV) to a load (Battery bank).
Be wary of Chinese or other cheap, poorly documented and supported equipment.
It is cheap for a reason!
One thing you need to know about inverter and other switching power supply technology is that cheapening the build quality reduces both the reliability and the efficiency.
If an inverter datasheet does not state what the 'NO LOAD' power consumption is, it is probably not very good.
For example.
Victron state a 'No load' power consumption for the Multiplus2 of 11W (3000VA) and 18W (5000VA).
I recently tested a 3600W ECCO hybrid inverter and measured a 'No load' power consumption of 65 to 67W.
So that would be around 260Wh a day for the Victron and around 1.6kWh a day to power the other brand, that soon pays back the difference in price.
Are those battery cells CALB SE200, bought on AliExpress?
 
Yes, the batteries were bought on Ali Express.
Have you tested them?
How many Ah are you getting?

I got some from AliExp and ended up with 16 swollen cells that do around under 120Ah as a pack.
Note the serial numbers are all the same, which shows they have changed the labels to cover up how old they are.
 

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