Need Help Getting Epever MPPT Trcaer 3210AN to Work

[Dreen]

Ok. I am frustrated.

Purchased this controller for our 192 watt 3 panel system to power our well pump.

It will NOT charge the batteries. I've completely disconnected and reinstalled this 5 times already. I'm at my witts end.

It shows the panels are putting out 22v. The batteries are at 22.7 volts. Our load is working in 117 automatic mode. The batteries are showing only 1/4 to half charge per the display on the CC. There is an arrow between the batteries and the load, but none between the panels and the battery.

I cannot get to any controls in the battery selection aside from picking the battery type. The it shows me a 20.0v indication. and won't allow me to modify that.

I am assuming that means that when the batteries reach 20.0v the panels will begin to charge the batteries?

That is actually the lowest amount of input that will allow our solar pump to run. But I would prefer to have the batteries begin charging at a higher voltage, like 22.0v

First question is am I wrong about when the panels will begin to charge (communicate) with the batteries?

Secondly, how on earth can I change that if that is the case?

I did take pics, but my camera stinks and the sun was too bright so there is a lot of glare on the display.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Bob142]

I’m going to make a bunch of assumptions based on your post. This will at least get the troubleshooting conversation started.

If your battery bank is at 22.7V you are using a 24V system. If your solar panels are reading 22V then your PV voltage is too low to start the Tracer to charge the battery bank. It sounds like you have 3 12V panels wired in parallel. You need to put your panels in series to get the voltage up high enough for your Tracer to start charging (and also to take advantage of it being an MPPT charge controller, but we’ll worry about what that means after your system starts working.)

 

[Dreen]

Thank you for making assumptions!

They are indeed wired in parallel. And they are these ancient Unisolar 64 panels.

Unisolar US-64 Solar Panel

Buy Unisolar US-64 solar panel for a variety of purposes including residential & commercial applications. Take a look at Unisolar US-64 solar module highlights.

www.solarelectricsupply.com

So if we wire them in series, they will retain the same amperage, but voltage will increase. And that alone may allow the charge controller to work as it is supposed to work.

Now, I have a question. Should we bring the batteries and charge them fully on our battery charger and then change the panel hook up and re-install the MPPT CC?

Really appreciate you taking a stab at what was apparently entirely too little information to make any sense of at all. Thanks!

 

[Bob142]

I checked the panel specs and yes, you absolutely need to wire them in series to get things working. I am confident that having them in parallel is your problem.
As for the batteries, are they lead acid? If so, you should get a charge in them ASAP so they don’t sit in a depleted state for very long. How big is your battery bank in amp hours?

 

[Dreen]

I checked the panel specs and yes, you absolutely need to wire them in series to get things working. I am confident that having them in parallel is your problem.
As for the batteries, are they lead acid? If so, you should get a charge in them ASAP so they don’t sit in a depleted state for very long. How big is your battery bank in amp hours?

Yes, they are 12v DC lead acid batteries. As near as I can figure, they are 135 ah each, but wired as 24v and I don't know if that affects the battery amp hours or not. And I have an idea of how ignorant that is.

So we haven't drained these batts to nothing, but we have been carting them between our charger and the well head when the Sun has failed to allow us to pump directly from the panels to the well pump. So I will get them in the morning, charge them to full and then re-install everything after changing the panels to series. Hopefully that will solve our issue.

And I have learned something about solar in the meantime.

Thanks for taking a chance and helping us out! I know that I know just enough to be dangerous. I'm determined to be teachable. Thanks!

 

[Bob142]

So we haven't drained these batts to nothing,

Based on lead acid voltage measurements as state of charge you actually have drained them to pretty much nothing (see lead acid table in this post). To keep your lead acids healthy, you should plan on only a 50% depth of discharge. The reason I asked about amp hours is so we could do a little math to figure out how your system will handle your load.

Putting your two 12V 135Ah batteries in series keeps the Ah the same but sums the voltage. So, with your battery bank at 24V and 135Ah, you have 3,240 Watt hours (Wh) of stored energy. However, with lead acid, you should only count on half, which means you have 1,620Wh available.

Your solar panel array is capable of a maximum of 192W (for simplification let's assume you'll get full power from the array even though you almost never do). You can check this site to determine how many full sun hours you get per day. Typically it's 4-5 hours. So your array in ideal conditions will generate 960Wh of energy in a day.

Now you need to determine how much energy your pump uses each day to determine if you are going to be able to replenish your batteries to full or will just keep depleting them and needing to recharge from the grid. (Since there are cloudy days too, you need some margin for that in your battery bank and solar charging capacity.) If you are consuming more than you can replenish, you need to determine if you need more panels or batteries or both.

 

[Dreen]

I can't find the wattage per hour of the pump listed in the book. But going to the maximum highest setting indicated in the manual, we would be using 1.9 amps per hour. Usually 2 to 3 hours of run time per day. And the calculation for that indicates 45.6 watts/PH. So about 140 watts per day.

What it says for our actual heighth is 1.3 amps per hour, but I figure it is best to use the highest possible because things are generally notoriously in efficient.

So please do correct me if I am wrong, but I think we should be alright on what we have without adding batts or additional panels. It would be terribly rare to have more than 4 cloudy days in a row here. And we are in the 4.5 to 5.5 hours of sun per day zone. MoZarks, as I call it.

From your comparison chart on the batteries....It seems the best thing to do would to be to go to lithium as soon as possible. It's just that the time/money continuum presents difficulties.

 

[Bob142]

So please do correct me if I am wrong, but I think we should be alright on what we have without adding batts or additional panels.

Based on your pump draw estimate it seems like you should be OK. Monitor it and keep us posted on how the reconfigured system is operating!

From your comparison chart on the batteries....It seems the best thing to do would to be to go to lithium as soon as possible.

Introducing lithium batteries as an option wasn't my intention with the chart reference. It was just a post I remembered having the lead acid voltage vs. state of charge table. As for possibly going to lithium, there's no hurry if your existing batteries handle your situation. Keep in mind that lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries can't be charged below freezing, where your lead acids can be. I don't know if low temps are a concern for you or not. Just something to consider down the road.

 

[Dreen]

Thanks so much for your help! It snowed so it's really sloppy atm. But I will get these changes done and report back on how this works.

Also appreciate you telling me that Lithium iron batts won't take freezing. We have that as a potential in every possible location for the batteries.

I say that as I am working on 2 other solar systems, one for two outbuildings and one for the barn and the house. Both I hope to tie in to an auto transfer switching system but hoping to be able to run most everything without the grid. Water first. Everything else later.

 

[Dreen]

Just an update. I got it all wired in series and hooked up and everything is working as it should! I am going to check the batteries a few times in the next couple of days, but it seems all is good and we have good flow into the tank. Yay!

So that little dufous issue of having the panels in parallel was the problem! Thanks so much!

 

[Bob142]

I’m glad you’re up and running. I saw another one of your threads where @Steve_S is helping you. You’re in great hands there. He knows his stuff and is very detailed in his explanations and advice. A bunch of us have learned a ton from him.

Keep posting questions and progress so we can all keep learning about off grid living. Good luck!