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Old 07-13-2020, 12:17 PM   #1
rickst29
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Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Reno, NV
Posts: 1,318
Default Upgrade from 80-watt factory solar to 280 watts (using 2 controllers)

This video is mostly about wiring up a pair of Battle-Born LFP batteries, with a big Inverter. (This requires very large wires and fuses). He included a coulomb-counter battery monitor shunt, which is always needed with LFP batteries, and he also added a new PD "Power Converter" board section to charge the Battle-Born batteries at higher voltage.

But this video starts with an interesting scheme to upgrade the 80W factory solar panel. He did 3 changes on the Solar side:
  1. He replaced the factory "PWM" Solar Controller with a newer "MPPT" Controller.
  2. He added 2 x 100-Watt Renogy Glass panels.
  3. The 100W panels are wired into a second new Controller (MMPT, a very good "Victron" unit).
By using two controllers, he was able to keep the existing 80 Watt Solar Panel.

His other alternative would have been: Keep just the Solar wire, use two "Y" adapters with 3 new Solar panels (identical to each other at 100 watts each), into just one new MPPT Solar Controller. The total power and total costs would have been about the same trading the cost of a new panel for the cost of the separate "Renogy" Solar Controller.

I think it's a 2720, although it might be a bigger model. The video is beautifully narrated and photographed, very professional. https://youtu.be/Y_AGOqHyff0
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