Wanted MPPT Solar controller
- Thread starter kaelc
- Start date
Rain City
Crew Member
How do the battery monitors work? Is it wired or Bluetooth? Do they get connected to the batteries or the panels?
kaelc
Crew Member
There is a good YouTube by pys, I’d go for smart shunt with Bluetooth on a big boat
Rain City
Crew Member
I have a medium boat. Thanks
Sir Reel
Well-Known Member
It comes with a shunt that you attach at the batTories. I then ran wires to the panel above my lower helm and mounted the gauge. Once Setup you can monitor everything off your phone via Bluetooth.
this is the battery monitor
and this is the solar MPPT monitor. I have 2 x 170 watt Panels.
Last edited:
Rain City
Crew Member
Very cool
CiscoCat
Active Member
Try https://www.wegosolar.com/. They can help with your MPPT on the Island
Within the last month I did a complete new Victron inverter/charger setup on my Whaler. I cant recommend Victron enough. Im so happy with it. The connectivity and the amount of control to geek out on is amazing. You are able to see in real-time on the App or MFD the battery history, charge status, ac/dc load and my favorite is the estimated time until battery empty. Through the inverter it allows to show the status of that battery bank. Then I used a smart shunt on my house battery. I can see both of these on the same screen. It was all fairly easy to install.
kaelc
Crew Member
Nice is yours a 235 Conquest? What size controller and panels did you go for?
CiscoCat
Active Member
Unfortunately I haven’t gotten to that part yet. My boat is a 280 Conquest. Im only charging the inverter bank from shore power and planning for longer trips to juice up off of my Honda EU2000. I have room on the hard top for some panels but im debating making a stainless rack for storage or kayaks. I might not do panels on her. I have 500ah worth of AGM’s.
Rain City
Crew Member
The Honda just really isn't an option for any reasonable charging I found. It works to boost thing's while cooking or making coffee etc. but man they wind up when trying to put a charge to that size a system. Plus the dirty looks you get from all the racket can sometimes ruin your day. The better on board diesel generators seem to be far nicer, clearly a whole other level of pain dollar wise. Maybe you could consider some of those briefcase style panels that you plug in while at anchor to maintain things. Just a thought.
kaelc
Crew Member
Yeah the Honda 2200i looks to be good for charging about 150ah batteries if you are not running any load, and would take 5 hours from 50% running at peak amperage. I still may go that route or the generac 2500 to run my hot water and also my AC in my camper.
Love to have enough juice from solar to run all my electronics and autopilot, and keep things topped up when at anchor in the summer and running a small fridge, although we fished from sun up to sun down often!
Victron looks to be the marine “standard”. I have an Epever like @charlie415 in my camper, but want to go with the same marine brand as my new charger.
Love the 280 Conquest. I hope my buddy hangs onto his so we can do some Tuna runs in it, he just repowered with twin 300’s.
Brando
Well-Known Member
Renogy makes some pretty decent looking charge controllers that are compatible with their Bluetooth module to monitor everything. https://ca.renogy.com/renogy-li-rov...MI5qSmuM2v9QIVHx-tBh2PqgVGEAQYASABEgKrbPD_BwE
Sir Reel
Well-Known Member
Thats the nice thing about solar. It charging while your fishing! I have 2 x 170 watt felixible panels sewn into my bimini and 4 Rolls AGM 6 volt golf cart batteries. This supplies all the power I need while fishing, crusing, or at anchor. Went 6 days without shore power and never went below 87% charge while running fridge, freezer, downriggers, and electronics. I am usually back up to 100% by 10am. AGM's do charge much faster and reach 100% quicker so is one advantage over flooded batteries and an advatage when using solar. However using an inverter to run a microwave or other high amperage AC device does draw the batteries down quickly. The invertor is not efficent doing that but fine for occasional use.
My solar and battery monitor setup minus the batteries was about $1500. I see the panels have gone up in price a lot.
I paid $375 last year now $462
SunPower SPR-E-Flex-170 – Solacity
DISCONTINUED: SunPower SPR-E-Flex-170, 170 Watt 48-cell flexible PV module (for 24V battery charging), 29.4V 5.84A, MC4 connectors #SPREFlex170 #SunPower
www.solacity.com
Charlie415
Crew Member
Sunpower are first class panels. Their seconds are everyone else's firsts. You get what you pay for. If the panel is flexible and going on the Sunbella don't go cheap Chinese. Seen panels fail within a couple years and damage the fabric.Thats the nice thing about solar. It charging while your fishing! I have 2 x 170 watt felixible panels sewn into my bimini and 4 Rolls AGM 6 volt golf cart batteries. This supplies all the power I need while fishing, crusing, or at anchor. Went 6 days without shore power and never went below 87% charge while running fridge, freezer, downriggers, and electronics. I am usually back up to 100% by 10am. AGM's do charge much faster and reach 100% quicker so is one advantage over flooded batteries and an advatage when using solar. However using an inverter to run a microwave or other high amperage AC device does draw the batteries down quickly. The invertor is not efficent doing that but fine for occasional use.
My solar and battery monitor setup minus the batteries was about $1500. I see the panels have gone up in price a lot.
I paid $375 last year now $462
SunPower SPR-E-Flex-170 – Solacity
DISCONTINUED: SunPower SPR-E-Flex-170, 170 Watt 48-cell flexible PV module (for 24V battery charging), 29.4V 5.84A, MC4 connectors #SPREFlex170 #SunPower
kaelc
Crew Member
thanks you two... I must have spent 4 hours trying to get a good deal on Sunpower panels, went for a couple bankrupt/seconds Sunpower panel https://www.solaronline.ca/product/110w-flexi-monocrystalline-solar-panel/ pretty good price wanted to do a third but already into this Electrical retrofit for way more than I budgeted for...who am I kidding budgeting and owning a boat don't go together.Thats the nice thing about solar. It charging while your fishing! I have 2 x 170 watt felixible panels sewn into my bimini and 4 Rolls AGM 6 volt golf cart batteries. This supplies all the power I need while fishing, crusing, or at anchor. Went 6 days without shore power and never went below 87% charge while running fridge, freezer, downriggers, and electronics. I am usually back up to 100% by 10am. AGM's do charge much faster and reach 100% quicker so is one advantage over flooded batteries and an advatage when using solar. However using an inverter to run a microwave or other high amperage AC device does draw the batteries down quickly. The invertor is not efficent doing that but fine for occasional use.
My solar and battery monitor setup minus the batteries was about $1500. I see the panels have gone up in price a lot.
I paid $375 last year now $462
SunPower SPR-E-Flex-170 – Solacity
DISCONTINUED: SunPower SPR-E-Flex-170, 170 Watt 48-cell flexible PV module (for 24V battery charging), 29.4V 5.84A, MC4 connectors #SPREFlex170 #SunPower
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