Switching From Pwm To Mppt Solar Charge Controller | Rockwood Minilite 2109s Solar Update
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- Опубліковано 28 січ 2024
- In this video we go over upgrading from a PWM to a MPPT Solar charge controller on a Rockwood Minilite 2109s. The reasoning we had to upgrade stems from our Go Power PWM solar charge controller almost caught fire while we were camping. We noticed the night before that we were having a 11 amp parasitic draw on the batteries, which is highly uncommon when you aren’t using much to any power. We woke up to dead batteries and after jumpstarting our solar charge controller we still noticed the same issue. By the end of the day we noticed that the solar charge controller was smelling burnt and that’s when we noticed the LCD screen burning out and the charge controller being excessively hot along with the wiring, which we then disconnected the system for the rest of the trip.
Once getting home we did some reach and it could have been the charge controller or the solar panels. After individually checking the panels we figured the charge controller was the issue.
Thus now we are upgrading to what we feel is the best solar charge controller on the market , the Victron Smart Solar Charge controller. To allow us the ease of disconnecting the panels at any time we also installed an isolation switch / circuit breaker to give us that extra security in case we have this happen again. We also show you how to use a Farrell connector and why you might want to use this with your next wiring install and also show you how to custom mount this in your 2109s Rockwood Mililite.
Overall the system looks to be running well and we can’t wait to get back out this next year and flex our solar and our new Victron MPPT solar charge controller.
Affiliate Links for products used:
30 Amp Victron MPPT Solar Charge Controller: amzn.to/3Okjmiv
Pharrell connector set: amzn.to/3uam432
Isolation switch: amzn.to/3HBFXTP
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Hi thanks for the video so glad you showed this. I upgraded 2 years ago to 2x100amp Lithium batteries, 2000 watt inverter, 380 watt Solar Panels, & Victron Bluetooth shunt. And yes my Go Power Solar Panel has still frequently been giving me trouble and recently the 20amp fuse just went out and I had to replace it. So next month switching to Mppt 100/30 Solar Controller, changing the fuse from 20amp to 30amp and also adding an Isolator.
I have a small 23ft Thor Gemini 23 TW and not very much storage space at all so have to give up my medium size Storage bay to add the mppt and isolator. Had already given up half the storage area last year when NRVTA Solar Tech person moved my Bluetooth shunt to the storage bay and also added a VE direct shunt he was very displeased with the way the previous Solar Company had setup everything. So the only thing in there now is my Viair Tire compressor so will have to find a new location for this 😬. I hoping after this modification I can understand better what my Solar Panels are doing. The last thing the tech wants me to consider is downsizing from a 2000 watt inverter to a 1500 watt inverter. The Solar company that put it in 2 years ago put it in a place that really doesn’t have adequate breathing space so now I have to make sure if I have my inverter on longer than 20 minutes open the drawer and cabinet door where it’s located to give it more air.
You will love the mppt controller. Always a good idea to give more ventilation space. 1500 watt inverter should be sufficient depending on what you are using. Looks like you are building a great setup. Thanks for sharing your experiences.
Anybody who has this PWM solar charge controler installed by Rockwood I highly recommend getting rid of it. Ours worked fine until we upgraded to lithium batteries then it started acting up. I couldn't regulate the raw voltage coming from the solar panels and was sending too many volts the the battery and inverter.
Our battery is a single 300ah from LiTime so we went with the same brand on the MPPT and it's been flawless so far 👍
That makes a good point. Maybe the lithium side of the controller is just not as adequate ? Glad your new MPPT is working well for you.
@LouieTeffeteller - OMG, sounds almost exactly like my situation. I went with one extra panel which brought me to 390 watts and the LiTIme 230ah battery. Was your GoPower controller doing the dreaded "overvoltage" display flash and audibly clicking an internal relay? GoPower technical support told me that that was because of the way the LiTIme BMS functions. My only option was to add more battery capacity or increase my loads so that extra current had somewhere to go. Seriously? Come on. They also told me that is ok to have that display flashing and, "it'll be fine when I turn on some loads." That didn't really sit well with me. I just turned the setting on the controller back to "sealed" for now and live with a little less voltage pushed to the battery. Looks like it's time for MPPT. Did you mount yours in a similar spot to the video? I have heard that the MPPT should be closer to the battery, but his sounds like it's working quite well so far.
@danmech123 Yes it was doing that over voltage thing. I put the new mppt in the same spot as the old charge controler. It worked fine with some slight modifications.
@@LouieTeffeteller - Great. Thank you!
So glad you figured that out before it burnt the camper down. That's insane that the power was running the reverse back up to the panels and draining the battery. That's a nice setup that you have there now, but that circuit breaker was one heck of a beast. I'll put a link to the ones that we used in our system and it's been working great- Kyle
We were so glad it wasn’t worse than it was Kyle. Thanks for the compliment. We are really enjoying having the Victron equipment and we are looking at adding a side solar setup as well to chase with. I guess it’s good to go a bit overboard when it comes to switches, lol. Glad you guys are doing well with your system. Hope your travels are going well. Thanks for the comment !!
Nice! So glad it worked well. 2022, 22FBS here, so extremely similar set-up. I've been considering the same thing especially since upgrading to lithium. My GoPower unit got very finicky after adding an additional panel (now 390W) and the 230ah battery. I had previously installed a breaker for the panels as I got tired of going on the roof to disconnect them for diagnostic purposes of my WFCO converter. That huge breaker box is a bit of overkill, but it's working for you. I'll be responding to @LouieTeffeteller in the other comments. It sounds almost identical to my issue.
Following up. I changed mine out yesterday and was able to fit it back in the same spot after enlarging the hole and 3D printing a cover plate. Funny, when I first watched your video, at 3:42, I figured maybe that was just one or more of the wire attachment screws rattling. Then after I removed mine, I snugged the screws, gave it shake, and it rattled just like yours.
We helped with Louie’s install as well. The switch is overkill and bit, but it does get the job done. Hopefully you have bettter success after swapping out the go power controller.
@@UniqueAdventurez - I haven't taken a boondock trip yet to put it to the test, but I can tell I like it much better already. Solid, good support (from my one phone call), and the Bluetooth w/history. All nice. THx.
@@danmech123 awesome . Almost 9 months in for us and I won’t be looking back . This is a way better product with better results. Thanks for checking in .
Nice install. From what I've been able to find, a PWM controller is never functionally superior to an MPPT - just cheaper. I currently have 120 watts but I hope to bump that up to 600 watts this year. Your switch/breaker is spot-on. My problem is I don't have anywhere to put it. I wish they made a smaller version!
Do you think you could crack that isolator switch open, discard the back half and flush mount the front part into the wall?
Great question Scott. We believe you could do this f your opening was big enough to accommodate the flat part of the box. They also sell the isolation switch’s without the box as well. They will come with a mounting rail that might make it a bit easier to mount. Thanks for all the great comments and support of the videos , we really appreciate it.
@@UniqueAdventurez You absolutely can. I'm guessing the breaker has a little metal DIN strip that it's mounted to inside that box. I ordered the breaker by itself and it came with that DIN strip. I fabricated a nice solid mount for the DIN strip and was able to have just the little square face and switches coming through that thin wall, just right of the GoPOwer controller. I 3D printed a faceplate to dress it up. Wish I could post a photo...hard to put into words that make sense here.
I’ve been wanting to do the same swap , but have questions. It looks like a wire for wire swap. I already put in the breaker. But the victron has a place for a ground wire. The GoPower does not. Do I need to run a new ground wire from victron to the frame??
We didn’t run the ground and we are having no issues. So far so good for the last 7 months.
We need to add some solar to our rig.
It’s great when you use great products . We had to learn the hard way !!
Wasn’t the controller under warranty? I’m supposed to pickup my 2024 2109 on Saturday.I’m not sure what controller it has, supposedly the controller is smart and able to tell the difference between what kind of batteries are used so I wonder if the newer models have a better controller?
Not sure , gat that point the factory trailer warranty had expired. I believe they still use the go power PWM controller. But the ‘24’s have it in a different location. The model may or may not be different. But depending on if you are looking into lithium, I would tell anyone to think about a MPPT controller as it is far superior than the PWM. Hope that helps and congrats on the new trailer . After 2 years we still love our 2109s.
What solar charge controller do you have . Do you have a PWM or a MPPT ? Was the isolation switch overkill ?
How did you fill the hole where the go power PWM was?
We are still figuring out what to place there, I’m thinking of maybe making a cleet mount and putting a picture or something there. Haven’t completely decided yet.
I have a similar gopower pwm that i want to get rid of. Unfortunately it is mounted in the hallway very noitceably. What did you do for the hole in the wall?
Great question. Our hole right now is covered by a picture til we can figure out what else to do with it. Luckily ours isn't in a wall (just behind a cabinet). If it was in an actual wall (which we have seen in trailers before) I'm not sure how I would approach that.
@@UniqueAdventurez thanks for the idea. I might do the picture trick with a piano hinge to hide the hole and put a solar disconnect switch hidden behind it in the wall cavity.