Solar panels from Solar Camper Solutions

[kave]

If your batteries dont go above 12V while charging them with solar they are either broken or you are running too much stuff from the batteries, maybe the fridge is broken so it takes too much?
I would look at the power reading first, how much solar panels have you got? Rogers panels usually gives about 80% of their rating, so if you have one panel of 100w you will never get more than 80w in more or less 90 degrees to the sun. At this time of year it will never happend unless roof is up and carefully aimed at the sun.

 

[KGCali]

Have you checked the cube fuse on the rear battery hasn't blown?

 

[dspuk]

I did that. Only thing running was/is the fridge. Absolutely nothing else. I never used to worry after 1 day about my power on a hot day. I'm going to remove this system . It doesn't work. Had nothing but stress and worry since I fitted it. Equivalent van. Same fridge. Same temp settings, all fine. It doesn't work ,anyone else? Fancy apps etc. It doesn't work. My batteries havee never performed so bad since fitting. It's being removed when I get home

I’d say this is a case of the most obvious answer is the right one and your controller is goosed from the last escapade. It’s a pretty basic setup really, so not much to go wrong. Panel, controller or fuses at the battery side. If you run the engine and it’s charging fine so should the panels. I swapped my Victron for a ePever a month ago and with either controller, in this weather, it will run my Cali indefinitely.

 

[Cali Phillip]

I know. Problem is I can't remove the sodding controller as the puk code to change it is on the back. The 3m tape has hold of it too securely

I had this problem and cursed I hadn't noticed it, luck art was not 3M tape but tape and 2 screws, still a pain.

 

[Cali Phillip]

That looks normal to me. This time of year I don't see much above 55W unless my panel is angled at the sun

Last week with 200W of RD solar with just the fridge see graph below day 4 was on parking part under a tree hence low yield. Temperatures 25C max, roof down and this is Scottish Highlands.
12.35V will be fridge on load with no solar although could be volt drop due to vehicle system load on leisure batteries, nit uncommon to see -20A at times driving.

 

[California_Ocean]

@flying banana

Sorry to see you're having problems with your setup, hope the following will help.

My assumptions are 100W solar panel, Cali Ocean with a standard compressor fridge, probably with the same Secop 101N0650 controller and BD35F compressor as mine. Location Doncaster.

I measured my fridge for my energy budget when deciding how much solar to install ...



With the compressor running it was using 40.8W. The device pictured is quite cheap on Amazon, just connect it for 24hours and it will tell you how much energy the fridge has used.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0B96F6RH8/?tag=vwcalifornia-21

The compressor doesn't run permanently, it cycles on and off throughout the day, which will result in an average daily consumption of somewhere between 0.3kWh and 0.5kWh. The variation depends on your settings, the ambient temperature inside the van, and the fridge contents (a full fridge is more efficient once it has got down to temperature as it has more thermal mass).

If you want to charge the batteries, then your solar firstly has to deliver all the energy for the fridge before anything will go into increasing the charge state of the batteries - overnight the fridge draws current from the batteries, in the morning the solar fires up and it has to replace the energy lost overnight and simultaneously supply the fridge during the day to stop it depleting the batteries even more. If the solar is sized such that you can be off-grid indefinitely with a good contingency for poor weather, then in good sun, you should get the batteries back to 100% by around 11am to mid-day. This is my experience from both my boat and my camper van.

In Doncaster, a 100W panel connected to a MPPT 75/15 at this time of year will be delivering an average of around 0.2-0.275kWh ... not enough to run the fridge - you can check this from the history tab on the Victron Bluetooth App.

MPPT Calculator - Victron Energy

MPPT Calculator - Victron Energy

www.victronenergy.com

... this will leave nothing to raise the charge state of your batteries. If they are 50% depleted already then you are cycling your batteries in the lower 50% of their capacity which will kill then pretty quickly. Always try to cycle Lead Acid without letting them drop below 65-70% if you want them to last.

Your solar is fine IMO, 48W is easily within the expected range for a 100W panel at this time of year and the MPPT is delivering 3.7A in Bulk mode. A 100W setup will not allow you to permanently stay off-grid while running the fridge 24/7 ... it will simply give you a bit more time before needing to run the engine or use an electrical hook-up. I would recommend doing an energy budget for your van, (worst case scenario) mine looks like this ...



The fridge is by far and away the biggest consumer.

A healthy off-grid solar setup should look like this on the history tab ...



The white bit is the Bulk phase, if your history shows only white then your batteries are not fully charging either they are fooked or you are using 100% of your solar output for your loads.

The light grey bit is Absorption, which is a constant voltage, variable current phase - the last phase of charging.

The dark grey/blue bit is Float - which means the charge cycle has completed and your MPPT is just supplying a float voltage.

I suspect that from what you describe your leisure batteries may well be on their way out, but it is not a solar problem IMO.

Hope this helps.

 

[flying banana]

@flying banana

Sorry to see you're having problems with your setup, hope the following will help.

My assumptions are 100W solar panel, Cali Ocean with a standard compressor fridge, probably with the same Secop 101N0650 controller and BD35F compressor as mine. Location Doncaster.

I measured my fridge for my energy budget when deciding how much solar to install ...

View attachment 114185

With the compressor running it was using 40.8W. The device pictured is quite cheap on Amazon, just connect it for 24hours and it will tell you how much energy the fridge has used.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0B96F6RH8/?tag=vwcalifornia-21

The compressor doesn't run permanently, it cycles on and off throughout the day, which will result in an average daily consumption of somewhere between 0.3kWh and 0.5kWh. The variation depends on your settings, the ambient temperature inside the van, and the fridge contents (a full fridge is more efficient once it has got down to temperature as it has more thermal mass).

If you want to charge the batteries, then your solar firstly has to deliver all the energy for the fridge before anything will go into increasing the charge state of the batteries - overnight the fridge draws current from the batteries, in the morning the solar fires up and it has to replace the energy lost overnight and simultaneously supply the fridge during the day to stop it depleting the batteries even more. If the solar is sized such that you can be off-grid indefinitely with a good contingency for poor weather, then in good sun, you should get the batteries back to 100% by around 11am to mid-day. This is my experience from both my boat and my camper van.

In Doncaster, a 100W panel connected to a MPPT 75/15 at this time of year will be delivering an average of around 0.2-0.275kWh ... not enough to run the fridge - you can check this from the history tab on the Victron Bluetooth App.

View attachment 114186

MPPT Calculator - Victron Energy

MPPT Calculator - Victron Energy

www.victronenergy.com

... this will leave nothing to raise the charge state of your batteries. If they are 50% depleted already then you are cycling your batteries in the lower 50% of their capacity which will kill then pretty quickly. Always try to cycle Lead Acid without letting them drop below 65-70% if you want them to last.

Your solar is fine IMO, 48W is easily within the expected range for a 100W panel at this time of year and the MPPT is delivering 3.7A in Bulk mode. A 100W setup will not allow you to permanently stay off-grid while running the fridge 24/7 ... it will simply give you a bit more time before needing to run the engine or use an electrical hook-up. I would recommend doing an energy budget for your van, (worst case scenario) mine looks like this ...

View attachment 114187

The fridge is by far and away the biggest consumer.

A healthy off-grid solar setup should look like this on the history tab ...

View attachment 114188

The white bit is the Bulk phase, if your history shows only white then your batteries are not fully charging either they are fooked or you are using 100% of your solar output for your loads.

The light grey bit is Absorption, which is a constant voltage, variable current phase - the last phase of charging.

The dark grey/blue bit is Float - which means the charge cycle has completed and your MPPT is just supplying a float voltage.

I suspect that from what you describe your leisure batteries may well be on their way out, but it is not a solar problem IMO.

Hope this helps.

Great info there. I'm going to run with the solar disconnected. See how i go. And yes always showing bulk on the history . I just seem convinced the batteries performed better on their own.

 

[Ch1pbutty]

So parked 1 day. Full hot sun. Only got 12v. Mppt constantly showing bulk. Batteries 50 percent. They were better than this without solar. Is my mppt knackered after its incident losing the sand? 11.9v on cali display. I would expect 12.7v at least by now?

View attachment 114136

Looks like controller is not working correctly given that it’s been sunny all week. Should be on float after a few hours. What reading does the ‘history’ tab show?

 

[California_Ocean]

Looks like controller is not working correctly given that it’s been sunny all week. Should be on float after a few hours. What reading does the ‘history’ tab show?

It will achieve float if the batteries are not heavily discharged ... my Ocean has 2 x 75 Ah leisure batteries .... 150 Ah in total, flyingbanana will probably have the same.

48W from the 100W solar panel is producing 3.7Ah of available charge current - which is about right for a flat, 100W panel in Doncaster in September .... if the batteries are at 50% then the missing 75Ah required for a full charge will be replaced over 75/3.7 = 20.27 hours.

The sun don't shine that long, so they will never be fully charged in a day, and depending if the fridge or anything else is running then there will be even less left to go to the batteries and the charger will stay in bulk.

The MPPT will move out of bulk (constant current, rising voltage) when the battery voltage has risen sufficiently to start the absorption (constant voltage, falling current) phase.

 

[flying banana]

I'm going to have a look at the cube fuse at some point this week. To rule that out. I've also been 20 days away without hook up so looks like all is normal. I'll plug in at home and do some tests. I'm suspecting the batteries were at 80 % on arrival after driving but I did boost them using the heated seat trick

 

[KGCali]

I'm going to have a look at the cube fuse at some point this week. To rule that out. I've also been 20 days away without hook up so looks like all is normal. I'll plug in at home and do some tests. I'm suspecting the batteries were at 80 % on arrival after driving but I did boost them using the heated seat trick

On the cube fuse the voltages should be the same either side of the fuse, if they aren't it's blown. Good luck!

 

[flying banana]

On the cube fuse the voltages should be the same either side of the fuse, if they aren't it's blown. Good luck!

Yes cheers. I did check the fuse after fitting the panel and it was good

 

[Californication69]

I did that. Only thing running was/is the fridge. Absolutely nothing else. I never used to worry after 1 day about my power on a hot day. I'm going to remove this system . It doesn't work. Had nothing but stress and worry since I fitted it. Equivalent van. Same fridge. Same temp settings, all fine. It doesn't work ,anyone else? Fancy apps etc. It doesn't work. My batteries havee never performed so bad since fitting. It's being removed when I get home

Some light bedtime reading.
I had the same issue with one 100w panel.

Cube fuse & Leisure batterys & Solar

I’ve been experiencing strange issues with my Lesuire batterys, Solar, starter motor battery and fridge. Going to document my investigation as I go. Found so much information from this forum, so thanks to all. I’ve removed all USB cables from front USB. No 12v plugs occupied. Solar is removed...

vwcaliforniaclub.com

I have 3x 120w panels and Victron 100/20 now.
I can read previous days and see what’s going on now…

 

[flying banana]

checked the connectios and cube fuse. all good.on hook up and measured 13.6v either side of the cube, batteries are taking a lot of current even after 2 hours still 12A going in.looks like for extended journeys maybe a campsite plug in is recomended once a week or something.

 

[flying banana]

Just an update on what I've done and found at home. Charged batteries 48hrs on hook up. I have glued the mppt back together. Now in the sun getting a float reading. 1st pic without fridge in. 2nd with it on. It seems for extended stays away. Even with driving between. The 1 panel isn't enough in hot weather to cope with the fridge working hard on those beers. My batteries it seems were nearly or were completely depleted at busfest. In future I will keep a closer eye on it and maybe grab a hook up every few days.

 

[yossarian]

The history tab is very useful in trying to figure things out.

 

[Baldrick]

We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your great after sales advice and service Roger, above and beyond. You should know that you saved the day, despite there being only a couple of days before our summer off grid road trip. In a day and age where any customer service is exceptionally rare, let alone all your assistance, our thanks is due.

 

[Gliderbee California 6.1]

I'm going to have a look at the cube fuse at some point this week. To rule that out. I've also been 20 days away without hook up so looks like all is normal. I'll plug in at home and do some tests. I'm suspecting the batteries were at 80 % on arrival after driving but I did boost them using the heated seat trick

Sorry to revive and old thread, but I'm reading everything I can about Solar installations.

What is the "heated seat trick" ?

Thanks,
Stefan.

 

[Roger Donoghue]

That would be turning on the heated seat to put the alternator under load so it continues charging the batteries rather than backing off at 80% due to the regen braking requirement to leave the starter battery at 80%.

 

[yossarian]

Sorry to revive and old thread, but I'm reading everything I can about Solar installations.

What is the "heated seat trick" ?

Thanks,
Stefan.

This is the pre 6.1 hack equivalent to the "max charge" button on your 6.1.

 

[flying banana]

As said. Turning on heated seat forces the alternator into full charge while driving so the leisure batteries don't drain into the start battery when the blue motion alternator goes offline

 

[lohr500]

As said. Turning on heated seat forces the alternator into full charge while driving so the leisure batteries don't drain into the start battery when the blue motion alternator goes offline

Are you saying the leisure batteries can back feed into the starter battery?

 

[flying banana]

Are you saying the leisure batteries can back feed into the starter battery?

Yes. You can see it happening on the control panel with -ve amps .when driving they are connected via the split charge relay. When the alternator goes offline if the leisure batteries have more charge than the starter then they will start to drain into start battery. Take a look next time your driving.

 

[motoYAKA]

As said. Turning on heated seat forces the alternator into full charge while driving so the leisure batteries don't drain into the start battery when the blue motion alternator goes offline

Not having heated seats in my camper, do you get the alternator to behave itself by turning on the headlights instead?

 

[WelshGas]

Not having heated seats in my camper, do you get the alternator to behave itself by turning on the headlights instead?

Yes.