I am working on my second project, a solar powered pond pump.
I do not plan to run past dark, so do not need a large battery. (Running a 3s). In fact I would be fine just running teh pump directly off the panel if the charge controller would just limit the voltage to the 12.6 v +0/-2 range. When panel voltage exceeds 12.6 the charge controller would step the load down to 12.6. (Pump will run above 12.6 v, but on the 3s battery at 12.6 the pump speed works perfect.) Finally, when the panel voltage is below 10, the load is off.
Unfortunately, most of the user vids for this controller are not in English.
When I received the charge controller, the first thing I noticed was the available load mode options. The available timer optionsare to set run time in evening after the panel voltage drops below set voltage.My plan was to run the load X hrs in morning after panel voltage approached the 12.6v target.
I believe I solved this issue bypurchasinga separate digital timer to control the pump on off time independent of panel voltage. The charge controller will just run the load mode as constant on 24 hr/day.
independent of pannael voltageThe second thing I noticed was that the manual did not have much detail about the lithium Battery Mode.
There is a lithium charging point voltage setting. I assume this is the peak charge voltage where charging cuts out.Default is 14.4 v which may make sense for a lead acid, but not a lithium14.4 would be to high as 12.6 is the max voltage of a 3S. Not sure yet how much flexibility there is for peak voltage ina 3s BMS.
The next setting is Over discharge return voltage setting. I assume this is the voltage when load turns back on after the load has been cut because voltage dropped belowthe min setting.If running from the panel during daylight hours, I should not hit any low voltage setting[/size][/color]
The next setting is Over discharge voltage setting. I assume this is the low voltage when the load turns off to save the battery. Again, if running from the panel during daylight hours, I should not hit any low voltage setting
Link to PDFmanual is here. Seems like this is an old charge controller as the manual can also be found on website of big box stores dating back 4 years. The mfg date code is 2018.
https://fsolarme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/User-Manual.pdf
This next manual looks very similar and has more details on several ofthe programming options.
https://www.abctech.cz/img.asp?attid=87724
I do not plan to run past dark, so do not need a large battery. (Running a 3s). In fact I would be fine just running teh pump directly off the panel if the charge controller would just limit the voltage to the 12.6 v +0/-2 range. When panel voltage exceeds 12.6 the charge controller would step the load down to 12.6. (Pump will run above 12.6 v, but on the 3s battery at 12.6 the pump speed works perfect.) Finally, when the panel voltage is below 10, the load is off.
Unfortunately, most of the user vids for this controller are not in English.
When I received the charge controller, the first thing I noticed was the available load mode options. The available timer optionsare to set run time in evening after the panel voltage drops below set voltage.My plan was to run the load X hrs in morning after panel voltage approached the 12.6v target.
I believe I solved this issue bypurchasinga separate digital timer to control the pump on off time independent of panel voltage. The charge controller will just run the load mode as constant on 24 hr/day.
independent of pannael voltageThe second thing I noticed was that the manual did not have much detail about the lithium Battery Mode.
There is a lithium charging point voltage setting. I assume this is the peak charge voltage where charging cuts out.Default is 14.4 v which may make sense for a lead acid, but not a lithium14.4 would be to high as 12.6 is the max voltage of a 3S. Not sure yet how much flexibility there is for peak voltage ina 3s BMS.
The next setting is Over discharge return voltage setting. I assume this is the voltage when load turns back on after the load has been cut because voltage dropped belowthe min setting.If running from the panel during daylight hours, I should not hit any low voltage setting[/size][/color]
The next setting is Over discharge voltage setting. I assume this is the low voltage when the load turns off to save the battery. Again, if running from the panel during daylight hours, I should not hit any low voltage setting
Link to PDFmanual is here. Seems like this is an old charge controller as the manual can also be found on website of big box stores dating back 4 years. The mfg date code is 2018.
https://fsolarme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/User-Manual.pdf
This next manual looks very similar and has more details on several ofthe programming options.
https://www.abctech.cz/img.asp?attid=87724