Tracer BN, low charging current/power

[dison4linux]

It is probably losing more self-discharging at night than you are adding during the day.

It's not adding any during the day, that's the whole point of this thread.

 

[Brewman]

I would buy one of the discount panels Will links on his website.

 

[dison4linux]

Folks, I don't think we're getting anywhere here...
I'll order the 50W panel and report back when I get it, unfortunately it looks like it'll be a couple week.s

 

[Deleted member 165]

I wod refer you back to Mr. Sandals correct reply.

 

[dison4linux]

An update:
I couldn't stand to wait until mid-July to receive the 50W panel for testing, so this morning I begged a friend of mine to disconnect his 100W panel and bring it over. The results were exactly the same, in the app it showed the panel voltage over 20V and the current around 50mA. Now I was certain something was up with the controller. I decided to disconnect the battery for 10 minutes to let the controller "reset" and after re-connecting the battery and 10W panel the thing fired right up. Unfortunately its fairly overcast today, but I'm still getting over 6W out of the 10W panel and the battery voltage is increasing rather than decreasing. Good thing I didn't go ahead and order that 50W panel. I'm not sure what the controller was confused about before being reset. Does anyone know if there are any sort of firmware updates that can be done by the end user for these Tracer BN controllers? I see there is a version number displayed in the App, but I'm not sure if its something that's burned in once from the factory, or if its meant to be updated by the end user.

Long story short: rebooting the controller fixed it.

 

[Bob142]

An update:
I couldn't stand to wait until mid-July to receive the 50W panel for testing, so this morning I begged a friend of mine to disconnect his 100W panel and bring it over. The results were exactly the same, in the app it showed the panel voltage over 20V and the current around 50mA. Now I was certain something was up with the controller. I decided to disconnect the battery for 10 minutes to let the controller "reset" and after re-connecting the battery and 10W panel the thing fired right up. Unfortunately its fairly overcast today, but I'm still getting over 6W out of the 10W panel and the battery voltage is increasing rather than decreasing. Good thing I didn't go ahead and order that 50W panel. I'm not sure what the controller was confused about before being reset. Does anyone know if there are any sort of firmware updates that can be done by the end user for these Tracer BN controllers? I see there is a version number displayed in the App, but I'm not sure if its something that's burned in once from the factory, or if its meant to be updated by the end user.

Long story short: rebooting the controller fixed it.

Glad you got it all working. If that controller keeps giving you trouble and it's still returnable (along with BT box), you might consider getting the Victron SmartSolar 75/10 for the same money. Built in Bluetooth and higher quality.

 

[dison4linux]

Glad you got it all working. If that controller keeps giving you trouble and it's still returnable (along with BT box), you might consider getting the Victron SmartSolar 75/10 for the same money. Built in Bluetooth and higher quality.

Thanks Bob,
It looks like the Victron is over $100, and I got the EPEver stuff for $40+$20 so I think I'm still ahead there a bit.
The two main reasons I got the EPEver was Will Prowse mentioning he liked it and for the RS-485 communications bus so I can use a project like this to keep an eye on it at a range much greater than Bluetooth.
Thanks,
Jon

 

[Bob142]

I got the EPEver stuff for $40+$20

Nice, good prices. I'm seeing it on eBay and Amazon for $86.

 

[tictag]

Turn it off and back on again! LOL. Glad you fixed it.

The only reference I can find to updating firmware is that you must use their "Solar Station" software, together with a a method of connecting your SCC's RS485 port to your PC e.g. their USB to RS485 converter ( CC-USB-RS485-150U ). Whether there are any firmware updates available is anybody's guess.

 

[6269ed]

Greetings, I just replaced a cheap PWM charge controller with a Tracer 1215BN. I have the BlueTooth box so I can monitor the stats on my phone.
At the brightest hottest part of the day I'm seeing 0.05A / 1.1W charging current and the panel voltage being 21.5V which is near open circuit voltage for that panel.
The mode shown is currently "Boost" I've never seen it go into "Bulk" charging which I think it should be because the battery voltage is 12.2V (flooded).
I have tried using the "default" settings for the controller (Sealed) and also changed the setting to "flooded" which is where it is currently.
Are there any other settings I can change to get it to pull in more juice from the solar panel? I've tested the short circuit current of the panel and I can get over 0.6A in full sun... more than 10X greater than the current I'm pulling in from it now, and almost 8X greater power.

I have heard others say that a 10W panel isn't enough for this controller to act correctly but I want to confirm that is true before I drop $100 bucks on a bigger panel, as I don't really need any more than 10W to keep this battery topped off.

In the current state, the battery self-discharges faster than the controller is charging it. I'll upload a screenshot from the App.

Thanks,
Jon

I was under the impression that if you're solar panel is under 25 watt's you don't need a SCC just hook it up directly to the battery

 

[tictag]

I was under the impression that if you're solar panel is under 25 watt's you don't need a SCC just hook it up directly to the battery

The rule of thumb for lead-acid batteries is C/10 Watts e.g. no more than a 10W panel for a 100AH battery, 20W for 200Ah etc.

 

[6269ed]

The rule of thumb for lead-acid batteries is C/10 Watts e.g. no more than a 10W panel for a 100AH battery, 20W for 200Ah etc.

Ooops I stand corrected