DonPhillipe
New Member
- Joined
- Jul 13, 2020
- Messages
- 103
I am looking for the highest performing low cost controller that has a remote panel read-out (not bluetooth only because I don't want to find my phone and start up an app when I can just glance at the meter and since I look at the SOC so often). I want it to provide a quality charge via my JBD BMS to the 4 likely recycled 280aH cells I found at a bargain off Ali and suggested as a viable solution for the low-end guy (me) by the owner of this blog.Epever is just one option
I guess I got confused here because I though that the Xtra line of EPEVER controllers has something regarding lithium charging that e.g. the Tracer line was missing???
(Here's some brief notes on my logic thus far ....
My criteria was as follows when I started 7 months ago,
- portable (for use on the road in the camper)
- more cycling storage than my lead/acid (dual GC2 batteries 230aH published/115aH usable)
- affordable cells (the Ali cheap Chinese 4s 280aH qualified)
- affordable support system (the cheap Epever SCC and JBD BMS qualified)
- low end system (no portable wiring closets, no sacrificing of my 250 sq ft living space to 20-50% full of electronics)
- no B2B (wanted to be able to jump my engine using the existing 200A bridge relay back to chassis battery)
- no B2B (wanted to take full advantage of 150A alternator without compromising back down to 30A with a B2B and with investing $$$)
- no 24/48V systems (wanted to use existing 12V architecture without additional point of failure with a large buck converter)
- no 24x7 inverter-use needed (wanted to use existing 12VDC architecture and periodically coffee/microwave is only inverter use)
- remote panel meter as primary indicator (didn't want to fire up bluetooth everytime for SOC - I look at it too often)
Now Victron doesn't offer any or "offers minimal" of these and I'll leave it to those with the cash and room to play. My opinion of them is not great after that 500RPM alternator burn-out trick they used to sell their products (most alternators turn around 1500 RPM and are better designed than that lab rat)
At this point the fun part is starting to fade and I just want to get back on the road. I've basically have all the equipment installed now if I can just figure out how to configure it properly. I thought what was being said here is that the Epever Xtra controllers had something that was more easily configurable to work with these three, the 280aH cells, the JDB BMS and Epever. If anyone can help, I'd appreciate it. Starting to even consider taking all this out and just making room for 150 more lbs. using 4 GC2s instead of the dual GC2s I had before that were starting to hit the critical low SOC each day. I guess my main mistake was thinking that more had comped together a good working system out of this component-set. I'm already starting to see that my unchanged daily consumption of energy routine is taking a full day to recharge when compared to the old dual GC2 which was topped back up to 100% by noon each day. It's currently taking all day to get me topped back up and that doesn't seem like a good thing.
P.S. I now see that the 12V "drop ins" would have been a much better solution and even at $1000US + each, if you include time and all the later issues that come up, even though this is a price point well beyond what most camper owners are hoping to pay, in the long run there is not a lot of money saved when you count all the time that this setup requires to implement.