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Solar Charge Controller Question

Old Seabee

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Joined
Apr 2, 2024
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Idaho
Hi, New guy here. I recently acquired three Renogy 160watt panels. I now need to get a charge controller. I will be wiring them in series. Since I will be dealing with 480 watts total I'm thinking that I'm going to need a 40 amp controller. It also needs to be waterproof since this going to be for an RV and will be portable. The controller will have to live outside probably on the ground. Thanks, Jim
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You have your 12v amperage calculation correct. The Victron 100/50 would be a popular recommendation to match with these three panels. Or a 100/30 with some clipping. But I'm not sure if they're waterproof.
 
Check Epever. I believe you can get a 30A MPPT that is IP68 rated.

I'm not aware of anything larger than the 30A for outdoor by itself.
 
I suggest looking at Epever BP series, 30a would be sufficient. They are okay, but are pre-programmed to Equalize 14.6v for 120min, boost/absorb 14.4v 120min, float 13.8v, temp compensation -3mv/degC.

You would need an RS485 adapter and mt50 for programming.
 
I agree with EPEVER or EPSOLAR ... Amazon has good prices .. make sure you get the MT-30 remote monitor (its like 30 dollars) ... it will make programming a breeze ... or you can program via your computer .... program through the actual SCC is a huge ass-pain ....
 
Silly question, but why must the SCC be outdoors? You want to keep the voltage high until you convert it to battery voltage and you'll want to do that as close to the battery and inverter as possible.
 
You mentioned the RV, so I'll assume that these panels are going to be mounted flat on the roof? In that case, I'd de-rate their output to just 60% of nameplate, especially since you are in a more Northern area. In the real-world, what that means is that what goes into the battery is likely never to exceed [ (160W X 3panels)/12.5Vcharging ] X 60% = 23A. So, your 480W of panels is likely to be no more than 290-300W in the real-world

What you might want to do instead is buy a fourth panel, and wire them 2S2P instead of 3S1P. You can't wire four in series if you buy a cheaper controller that only supports 100V. A somewhat more expensive 150V controller will.

Another alternative is build some kind of mount on the roof of the RV so that the panels can be better angled towards the sun. Of course though, that means the mount has to be movable if you want to park the RV wherever you please.

By the way, I did my Master's at UofI, and lived in the Moscow/Pullman area for more than a decade.
 
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