davidmac Posted June 2, 2021 Share Posted June 2, 2021 Hi, my 2007 Rapido has an 80w solar panel, a sunseeker controller and a Fox D1 display monitor. Yesterday in bright sunlight multimeter readings on the controller terminals were pv 19.6v, battery and load 12.5v. The Fox displayed 12.6v and 0.00 current input, the motorhome control board also read 12.6v for both batteries. Could the sunseeker controller be passed it’s best, and would it be worth replacing it with a Voltronic bluesolar mppt 75 1 15 ? Thanks for any guidance. Regards David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BruceM Posted June 2, 2021 Share Posted June 2, 2021 I’d not have expected your solar regulator to be outputting any charge (current) unless there was a need for it, eg to charge discharged batteries or because you had applied a load to the 12v circuits (eg heating on, all lights on etc). So I suggest that you test again with a load on the circuit and see what happens. I can’t comment on your suggested regulator (Victron Bluestar), I’m more a fan of the Votronic mppt range. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
747 Posted June 2, 2021 Share Posted June 2, 2021 I'm another Votronic fan. I had a good quality pwm controller (Schaudt) but the Votronic performs much better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ocsid Posted June 2, 2021 Share Posted June 2, 2021 davidmac - 2021-06-02 2:05 PM Hi, my 2007 Rapido has an 80w solar panel, a sunseeker controller and a Fox D1 display monitor. Yesterday in bright sunlight multimeter readings on the controller terminals were pv 19.6v, battery and load 12.5v. The Fox displayed 12.6v and 0.00 current input, the motorhome control board also read 12.6v for both batteries. Could the sunseeker controller be passed it’s best, and would it be worth replacing it with a Voltronic bluesolar mppt 75 1 15 ? Thanks for any guidance. Regards David NO, the Sunseker was far from past its best, it was doing exactly what it was designed to do. You were seeing that the batteries were fully charged and it had decided not to abuse them. Also, as the batteries were fully charged having a higher performance charge controller would make then absolutely no difference, there was nowhere to stuff more energy. Some of the Morningstar PWM Sunseekers are very good quality controllers. If going MPPT you really need a higher voltage power point panel, or another of the same wired in series, to exploit its benefits. Panels should match controllers or controllers match panels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikefitz Posted June 2, 2021 Share Posted June 2, 2021 The system should have indicated a float voltage at least on the battery in the order of 13.5 volts. It could be a faulty connection or fuse in the circuit between the D1 display and the controller (Fox100?). Updating to a MPPT controller will yield 20% to 30% more power from the panel, The range of smart controllers from Victron perform well and via the app are easy to set up and indicate all charging values with a 30 day history of charge conditions. The Victron 75/10 or for only £10 more the 75/15 would easily operate with the 80 watt panel and offer expansion to 150 watts for the 75/10 or 220 watts for the 75/15. The comment about needing a higher voltage panel or two panels is series for a MPPT controller is not quite correct. Although a higher OC input voltage than that given by a 36 cell panel has slight benefits, they are marginal and not worth worrying about. The additional advantage of a controller like the Victron is that all charge pentameters are user programmable if required and the built in range of profiles suite all battery types, Unlike most/all alternatives the Victron has an adaptive control process that examines the battery condition when it 'wakes up' and sets the charge profile for the day. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ocsid Posted June 2, 2021 Share Posted June 2, 2021 mikefitz - 2021-06-02 6:12 PM The system should have indicated a float voltage at least on the battery in the order of 13.5 volts. It could be a faulty connection or fuse in the circuit between the D1 display and the controller (Fox100?). Mike My Sunseeker, according to their supplied metering system, drops the charge current to zero, to two decimal places. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidmac Posted June 2, 2021 Author Share Posted June 2, 2021 Hi, thanks for all your replies. The root cause of my question is that both batteries, habitation and starter are Varta LDF 90s which according to the late Allan Evans should have a resting voltage of about 12.8v seem to be resting at 12.5/6v. Over the winter when I put the motorhome on hookup for a day they would rest at 12.8v, dropping to12.4v after about three weeks. Regards David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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