Do these figures look right on my solar set up?

[chockswahay]

Hi team, I have now fitted the Solar panel that I bought off here a few weeks ago. The installation went well but I am just a little confused regarding the readings in the Victron. The fridge has been on since Wednesday when I fitted the panel, the batteries were quite well charged and I have driven a couple of short journeys since then. My concern is that despite blue sky and no shadows these performance figures seem a little low (?). The app has not yet shown anything above bulk charge (well it did briefly for about a minute earlier). The best power output even at mid day in clear sunshine was around 68w and generally it seems to be around 50w to 55w. Does anybody here see any thing odd? Any thoughts or comments would be very welcome, thanks team

(Pictures to follow from my phone)


The last two were around 17:00 today

 

[Betsycalifornia]

assuming that’s a single panel 100watt then that looks fine to me. Can’t say about your over head console photo, mine would be showing positive amps with the fridge on and a decent solar input, however it’s been very inaccurate at times, once showed crazy figures.

 

[P600BOO]

I take it that you have fitted a 100w panel?
What setting is your fridge on?
This is mine but the sun has just gone behind clouds and I have got nothing turned on.

 

[yossarian]

The history tab of the app is more useful than an instantaneous reading. Driving complicates the interpretation of what's going on.

 

[temporarysecretary]

I'm getting used to the readings on mine at the minute too. Not got a feeling for normal yet.

Currently running the fridge on 5 in Southern Spain and has stayed on. Not seen positive amps on the control panel on a T6 unless driving so I assume that's normal but as it seems to be working I've not dug deep yet. I Interpret the below history tab as not reaching float in the last 2 days as that's when I put the fridge on 5 from 4?

What is the best config for the battery tab on the settings?

 

[chockswahay]

Thanks team I reckon I’m overthinking this…….

These results today ….. no driving, fridge on all the time…..


I did actually see 100 w at one point

 

[chockswahay]

To answer a couple of questions..... yes one x 100w, fridge on setting 3. I haven't seen either Absorption or Float yet but maybe later or tomorrow perhaps. As for settings I have used Battery Preset 'Gel Victron deep discharge (2)' and Load output set to 'Battery life'

 

[chockswahay]

Here's a thought...... I connected the negative to the battery not the chassis...... does it really matter?

 

[Wannabecamperman]

Line loss will mean you'll never see 100w on that setup. Plus the flat panel rather than a tilt or tracking as the earth rotates means it's less than optimal other than when sun is directly overhead - so the input readings are fine.

The fridge is a compressor so has peaks and troughs when the compressor cycles on and off. This might account for the disparity between 0 draw and -3 amps. If you watch the control panel after closing the fridge having had it open for some time, this should force the compressor on and I'll guess show the 3 amp draw.

Can't help you re the negative as my solar goes into the Bluetti generator which has a far more precise input / output at any given time. I can't imagine that is the issue though.

 

[Betsycalifornia]

Here's a thought...... I connected the negative to the battery not the chassis...... does it really matter?

It does for the overhead console readings

 

[terryph]

Here's a thought...... I connected the negative to the battery not the chassis...... does it really matter?

Yes it does matter that the negative is connected to the battery as the control panel will not see the output from the solar panel. The negative should be connected to the chassis, the easiest place is the battery clamp bolt.

 

[chockswahay]

Ah, that sounds right, thanks chaps....... I will change it on Monday when I get home and report back. I used the terminal connection because the neg connector is only 6mm but thinking about it now I can probably just cut it and splay it out enough to fit the 10 mm on the chassis bolt

 

[chockswahay]

My wife has just pointed out that I am ‘going down another bunny hole’ on this ………. she’s right!

 

[Webbah_in_Switzerland]

My guess is if you open the roof with the panel angled towards the sun vs flat with the roof closed you’ll get better readings. Looks very normal to me if the roof is closed. This is why I also carry external panels that I can place outside at any angle if desired.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Peter84]

I've never seen more than 80 watts on my 260 watt panel. Should I be worried?

 

[chockswahay]

Update........

I reamed out the connector and fitted the negative to the chassis battery bolt. It now allows the VW overhead panel to show charge in from the solar.

Also out of curiosity I raised the roof to see the difference…… the van was lined up with the rear directly to the sun…… with roof down the output was 65w and with roof up 71w so looks like about 10% improvement (can’t say bothered tbh)

 

[dspuk]

Got to say I stopped looking at the numbers eventually. Drives you crackers. The batteries always full. Works for me.

 

[chockswahay]

Got to say I stopped looking at the numbers eventually. Drives you crackers. The batteries always full. Works for me.

I have to agree with you......... but for now it IS my new toy

 

[RockinNRollin]

Looks all good to me. You're pretty close to hitting absorption there. All depends on the weather, this is our history (200W system) over the last 4 days - we were away in the Lakes, charging ours and other 'phones (friends camping next to us) and fridge on 2. The rainy dull day at the start is obvious!

 

[Peter84]

Don't wanna hijack this post but I'm wandering if my figures are okay. Never seen it above 80 watt while I have a Solbian 236 watt panel connected to a Victron MPPT 100/20.

The Victron is connected to the positive and negatives of the rear leisure battery.

It's completely sunny here today and I've put the roof up facing south. On the middle of the day with the fridge on maximum and my laptop and phone connected to the 12 watt outlets it didn't go above 23 watts (Victron stays on "bulk"). Now turned off charging from solar to deplete the battery a little bit and check tomorrow.

Any clue on where to check?

 

[chockswahay]

Don't wanna hijack this post but I'm wandering if my figures are okay. Never seen it above 80 watt while I have a Solbian 236 watt panel connected to a Victron MPPT 100/20.

The Victron is connected to the positive and negatives of the rear leisure battery.

It's completely sunny here today and I've put the roof up facing south. On the middle of the day with the fridge on maximum and my laptop and phone connected to the 12 watt outlets it didn't go above 23 watts (Victron stays on "bulk"). Now turned off charging from solar to deplete the battery a little bit and check tomorrow.

Any clue on where to check?

@yossarian ? @RockinNRollin?

 

[yossarian]

Never seen it above 80 wat

Post a screenshot of your history with the Victron app.

connected to the positive and negatives of the rear leisure battery

This will cause a lot of problems on a T6.1. Plan to change the negative to the chassis ground as soon as possible.

Once you post the screenshot of your history we'll have a better idea of what's going on.

 

[Peter84]

@yossarian


This was during a weekend away with favourable sunny conditions. Used the fridge and electricity for charing mobile phones.

Had the installation done professionaly, they also added a fuse between the Victron and (I believe) the negative. Is this useful?

Unfortunately I have no easy access to the battery as I've a drawer installed that needs to be removed first so I'll probably try to change it this weekend.

 

[yossarian]

@yossarian
View attachment 127051

This was during a weekend away with favourable sunny conditions. Used the fridge and electricity for charing mobile phones.

Had the installation done professionaly, they also added a fuse between the Victron and (I believe) the negative. Is this useful?

Unfortunately I have no easy access to the battery as I've a drawer installed that needs to be removed first so I'll probably try to change it this weekend.

Looking at this I think it's likely your solar panel is faulty or is partially shaded by something. This is because you reported sunny conditions, your MPPT was not in a voltage limiting state (equalization or float) and the power produced was a small fraction of your installed amount.

To test if the wiring is also directly to the battery you could compare the charge indicated on the control panel with that indicated by the Victron App. If they are similar then no need to check the negative wiring to the battery.

Testing the solar panel can be done but it can be tricky and is easier if you have some genuine bench equipment.

 

[Peter84]

Thanks @yossarian, will check tomorrow