Upgrading to a New MPPT Controller: Trailer Boondocking
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- Опубліковано 4 сер 2019
- Listening to several recommendations from my viewers, I purchased an MPPT solar controller to improve my power generation while camping off the grid. Also included is a demo of series vs parallel solar configurations.
Products mentioned in this video*
EPEVER Solar Charge Controller: amzn.to/2GLJQGN
RENOGY ETFE 100w Solar Panels: amzn.to/2XjxSL3
TISHI HERY 100W ETFE Panels: amzn.to/2IisC65
ALLPOWERS 20A PWT Charge Controller: amzn.to/2yD3LDf
ALLPOWERS 100W PET Solar Panels (NOT Recommended!) amzn.to/336nEAN
For a list of all my videos, please use this link: / @slimpotatohead
My Equipment (Amazon Affiliate Links*):
Main Camera: Sony A7Sii: amzn.to/2J9voXk
Camcorder: Sony FRD-AX33: amzn.to/2khCRMT
4K Sports Camera: amzn.to/2Dtsygn
Zoom Field Recorder: amzn.to/2WrLZQU
Shotgun Mic: amzn.to/2kOJqqY
Merlin 2 Steadicam: amzn.to/2X67unS
Tripod: amzn.to/2Xb3EKg
Editing: Powerdirector 17: amzn.to/2KqY8gC
Sports Chair: amzn.to/2OkN7PL
How I get around:
Trailer: 2004 Aliner with around 80,000 miles of hard use. Includes propane stove, hot shower, toilet, refrigerator, 200W solar, three 12V batteries (one AGM, one deep cycle, one lithium-ion)
Tow Vehicle: 2010 Jeep Liberty, 6 cyl 3.7L gas engine, 4WD, over 140,000 km
* Amazon Affiliate Links provide me with a very small percentage of the sale with no additional cost to the buyer. Please support Slim Potatohead by using my links for any Amazon purchase. Thanks!
I've been a subscriber for about 6 months now. I decided to go back to your day one video and start my Slim Potato head marathon. I truly appreciate you going through all the trials and tribulations of solar for boondocking. You have taken the chances that we probably wouldn't have done. You've explained everything very thoroughly and given a bit of humor to boot. The information you have provided is invaluable. Maybe one day we will pass on the road. Thank you for your insights!
loved the casual toss away over the shoulder ! ...lol
i am not a camper - skuze me, traveler - but a boater, and I always pull up to a marina that has shorepower. My idea of "roughing it" is a Super 8 motel. So, my boat has a 7.5 kw generator to run 28 k of ac/heat. That said, I really enjoy your extremely practical solutions, that keep you in budget, but also work. This video is the best so far. Technical, but simple. Thanks you so much for showing and explaining in detail how a solor panel works, and the difference it makes to have two or more in series or parallel. Just like Christmas tree lights! I hate those lights in series... never know which bulb is bad. Obviously, after your fine instruction, the same thing goes for solar, although not nearly as much testing required to see which bulb went bad. But just the fact that when in series and the whole system shut down, would be enough for me to say that parallel is a no-brainer. If it were raining for two days in a row, I surely wouldn't want to have to get outside to test and repair/replace one of the panels. I know, I know... if it were raining two days in a row, then nothing would work, anyway. But you know what I mean. Thanks much, again. Keep it up. I try to watch most of everything you do, and always give you a thumbs up.
Hi, Everyone is restricted by what you can afford at the time but sometimes better is best even if it costs more. Peace of mind and long term durability is worth a lot. I like your videos and feel free to call in when in Australia. Regards Mark
Your little edit at 17:03 is a testament to your perfectionism, hahaha. Dude, you’re one of a kind. I thoroughly enjoy your videos, travels, information, positive attitude, and sense of humour.
I am electronic tech from USN 30+yrs. I appreciate your comments and it was good see your blunt illustration of plugging your panels in serial verse parallel. I have solar panels in the windows of my town home. I believe I have them all plugged in serially as the MPPT can take in higher voltage & higher voltage is more efficient. Noticing your panels shut down all together if one were blocked by little shade, well I do have problem of shade. So thank you for your great common sense illustration. Jeff
Imagine a world where self-sustaining solar-powered nomads could roam the protected lands and actually help preserve them!
MPPT controllers are efficient but very noisy radio-wise. I had an MPPT controller on my last RV, it created havoc on AM (MW) shortwave (SW), ham radio bands and wiped out most VHF including the 162 MHz Weather Band even after shielding and ferrite chokes on the leads.. So be cautious if you are a ham, CB'er or listen to AM or SW. Thanks Slim.
Thanks for straight forward information Slim. Always like your videos. Happy Trails
" Simple Solution" priceless Made my day!! Keep up the good work.
Someone needs to make that into an animated looping GIF!
MPPT is the way to go Slim. I am full solar power at my home and have the old PWM system and the new MPPT system. Functions as advertised. I look forward to your postings every week. Would love to be doing what you are doing. It will come, someday. Safe travels to you and if you are ever in WEST VIRGINIA stop in and camp on my land for free. I think you will like it. ALMOST HEAVEN WV
Thanks. As usual with Slim - high quality, good information, entertaining. Again, thanks for all your work we appreciate.
I've watched countless vids on solar...once again you've taken what can be an intimidating subject and made it understandable...thanks! Looking forward to updates. Journey mercies.
I love how you have an *anesthetic eye* .. in other words you just don't pile crap on top of crap..👍
Thank you-it is always a treat learning from your experience!
Great video again! I might not understand everything but I'm learning thanks to you!
Great video Slim. Thanks.
Excellent video! I especially appreciated the parallel vs series demonstration and the effect of a shade.
Great video as usual Slim. Much of the system makes more sense to me now. Thanks for the easy to understand explanations.
Slim you make amazing videos. Capturing scenery or providing instruction, your videos are always enjoyable. Much appreciated!
GREAT... I wish I had seen all this great info earlier... but still very helpful for the future
Thanks Slim always enjoy your videos keep up the great work. I am very happy with my Epever MPPT controller you wont be disappointed.
One of my faves. I’m a solar newbie. Love your experiments and explanations!
Very easy to understand and I'm glad it was a pretty painless upgrade! Looking forward to your long-term review!
Thanks Slim. I love your upgrade videos.
Enjoy your videos so much - with honest and humble approach. The way you capture nature and the beauty surrounding us can’t be beat. Thanks
Your usual first-rate video, SP, and I loved the parallel vs. serial test! It really helped me understand that aspect of solar. Looking forward to the next production!
Great video, I'm glad you made the demo on the panels, I always wondered about the difference in hooking them up pairell or series, Good advice, Thanks for all you do.
I really got a charge out of your video very straight forward and informative Where as other videos I’ve watched have been rather long and revolting great work
Very good Slim.
Thank you so much for the great information Slim!
This is an amazing way to start the week off. Just grabbed some popcorn and laid back for another Slim's awesome video.
Slim love your solar videos! I'm a newbie to solar and love your simple attitude of "let's learn and research this together"
Excellent work and descriptions. Love the tests of the controller, series and parallel. Looking forward to more like this along with notes from the field. Lord bless your travels!
Thanks for a good video. I'm actually beginning to understand this stuff because of your videos.
SP, another excellent video on real world results of 200 watts with an MPPT controller. Thanks for sharing with us. Al
Just installed this epever two weeks ago a good upgrade and this MT50 is super good
Good job Slim.
I live vicariously through you. Lol. This is very useful information and fun experimenting with solar
First time I've seen someone demonstrate the impact of Series vs. Parallel. Really drives home the difference. Thank you. I think I'll remember that one.
Excellent video which removes some of the mystery and misunderstanding of solar. The comparison test was such a great way of showing the practical differences and taught me quite a lot. Thank you for giving up your time for the rest of us to learn.
Great Explanation, it always humbles me in the way you easily modify things, maybe you don't give yourself enough credit.
And best of luck with your newer Jeep!
Always good videos, Slim. Been working on my own rig for a few days. Nothing as technical as yours. Thanks!
Glad you explained at the end parallel and series as I had no idea what it meant. And off topic, I like your fence it looks nice and very sturdy.
Your videos are the most enjoyable of all the stuff I have watched regarding traveling about and camping. Your camera work is excellent (thank you) and the information gleaned from the content is always useful.
Very frank and informative video. Super useful and thanks for a great job. Wishing you a much success.
This was the first of your videos I have seen. I found it easy to understand and very informative so I subscribed. Hoping for more good videos.
Thanks David. I hope to give you a variety of ideas. Welcome abord!
Thank you, Slim! I was sure hoping you were going to make my day and you did. I now understand what an MPPT is and means. Thanks for your work and sharing it in your videos. You are appreciated.
You did a great job on explaining your solar setup and I learned some new things.
I really enjoy your videos! You are very funny! I love seeing all of your adventures! Keep me coming!!
Thanks Slim! always a pleasure visiting with you! 👍😎😎
Best solar video yet🌞
You crack me up! Love your videos, I have learned so much from you, thank you.
Thanks slim,answered many questions, nice and straight forward 👍
Good morning bud, good to see you.
Great explanation of Series vers Parallel. I finally understand the difference now. thanks :)
Well done Slim. Great info, Thanks for the video.
I have 3 Epever Tracer AN controllers and they've worked perfectly from day 1.
A fun and interesting look at solar. Thanks
Hi SLIM. Good INFO BUT OVER MY HEAD 😊HAVE A HAPPY SUNNY DAY
Thx for the real world demo. You should enjoy better performance from the new gear. Safe travels.
Grreat video Slim, very interesting and informative. Thank you.
Hi Slim,very valuable Information! Thanks a lot,and keep doing these Videos :-)
Best Whishes,Marc
Nice demo on panel shading. We have 200w of Renogy panels in parallel on the Trailmanor with their rover MPPT controller. Can barely tell they are there when opening up. Works like a charm. Renogy has a remote for the rover now so some component shuffling will insue. Thanks for posting. Safe travels.
As always, a wonderful video that I can understand. Thank you.
Educational and fun. Thanks Slim. Cheers!!!
Great information really enjoy your videos
Good stuff. I have a 10 Amp MPPT controller of same brand. It seems to work fine.
I have no use for the information, but I just enjoy watching your videos! lol Keep up the great work!
Thanks, Slim! Very interesting!
Slim, this was a very good simple explanation of your system. Thank you. I now have a much better idea of the differences in functions of Parallel and Series work. I know that in many of other videos I've seen about the MPPT controller people have chosen, few understand its technology. But, its increased and enhanced performance cannot be denied.
Great video, I also installed an MPPT and it works much better than the old PWM in Denmark, we do not have so much sun, thanks for the instruction cool.
Nice job... Good Luck 👍
No BS, why I love your channel. You've just done what I've been considering with the MPPT controller. YES, $$ is a large factor, and I will surely be watching for updates. Thanks for all you do for this "not so smart" person.
I’ve had the old version of your tracer for years. Works like a charm. Mine is common negative tho. You tell them apart by the color of the buttons on the controller. Mine are yellow like on the my-50 remote unit while yours are green. Both are great units.
good job Slim....
Bravo Slim. Nice concise and to the point information. The demonstration with series or parallel wired output was superb. I totally agree Acronyms suck. To lazy to spell it out so let's just use the first letter of each word.
Thanks for the video! Looking forward to your updates on the solar setup on the road :-)
Thanks! Very formative, as usual!
i like the light weight flexible panels i am a small woman,,and the lighter is better..and since i found your channel you have given me so much knowledge.. i appreciate all your videos..thank you for all the information on solar..
Within the last 10 months I I've replaced two controllers with MPPT units . (Xantrex with external resistors and a much smaller Generic unit) ALL of the lesser units gave poor performance and even ruined batteries (accumulators) !
I'm having WONDERFUL results with MUCH better "depth of charge" !
I've two 220 watt 12v panels in parallel and two 8-D flooded lead-acid batteries @525 AH each in parallel .
I had gone through a few lesser controls....all bad .
Happy trails , Slim !
The epever/epsolar/tracer units are solid.
There are some fine PWM controllers still available these days yet due to their incredible reliablity, are very expensive and used mainly for lighthouses, road signs and street lights. Most of us are better served by MPPT controllers.
Excellent content
Thanks Slim, that was interesting.
Ahh, interesting. It makes good sense to think about what works when 1 panel isn't at 100%. Looks like the extra size of the controller didn't lose you much space either. It will be interesting to learn along with you as you travel. Cool.
I had no idea that shading a series wired system would kill the power through an mppt controller! Excellent info. Thanks!
It's a bit more complicated than that. With enough voltage overhead (say 3 panels in series) MPPT can reduce voltage to bring shaded strings back online and make more power than parallel. With only two low voltage panels I'd run them parallel instead.
that epever charge controller is the best one i have ever owned to date.. i have a shed outside with 3x 100watt solar panels on it and i have had no issue with it.
one of your best!!! Thank you. I've not seen another bench-test comparison to show the parallel/series difference. I know that MPPT handles higher voltage, with the main advantage being smaller gauge wire, such as running to remote panels in your backyard. This is not really advantageous for short wire lengths in a camper scenario. I have understood that a series system would still be in charging mode at twilight, but now I see that's only true when all panels have the same light intensity, even in bright sun. That's really informative to see what a shadow does to a series system. Seems like shadows and short line lengths negate the added expense of MPPT.
Well done sir. No Bs, only a few acronyms. Plain & simple, just like me. Superb. For me, now comes the time to either buy recognised brand-name gear or take a punt on cheaper stuff.
Great video as always.
Acro Nerds!!!! Good one👍👍👍😁😁 Great presentation!!! And I love your explanation: Money!!!👍 I get that👍👍 Simple solution😂😂😂 You are cracking me up😂😂😂 No faith in warranties anyway😂😂👍👍👍 Love the honesty👍👍👍
Straight forward and simple to understand. Great video, Slim. Thanks for this one. I'm going to be buying a ETFE panel to replace my 90W Canadian Tire special with the 7W charge controller.
Sorry but Canadian Tire make the worst overpriced and outdated types of panels. Stick to Amazon. SP
@@SlimPotatohead No need to apologize Slim. I bought the panel many moons ago, before I really knew anything about solar (and before watching your channel). It's served it's purpose, but it's time to get real with our needs, as we transition from a tiny popup trailer with a single 12v battery to a Lance 1575 where I'll be installing 4x6V LiOn batteries in series. Looking at buying 4x100W panels and running them through a 40A MPPT controller and into a 2000W pure sine wave inverter. Like you, we are often boondocking, at the provincial campgrounds or wilderness sites in BC. Happy camping!
May there be plenty of sunshine in your future travels and shade a thing of the past.
I have been using that same MPPT controller for 3 years now with 4 100watt panels and it is outstanding. Good choice.
what does it power up or should i say what can it power ....?
Thanks for another awesome video!!
I learn so much from your videos, thank you.
Slim, you really shouldn't judge the charge controller by amps alone. The total power that you are putting into the battery is measured in watts - not just amps. A watt is the product of volts times amps. If, for instance, you compared 13.9 volts @ 6.3 amps to …. say 14.2 volts @ 6.2 amps, you would initially think that 6.3 amps is better than 6.2 amps, but if you consider this in terms of watts, you would see that the 13.9*6.3 yields 87.57 watts where the 14.2*6.2 is yielding 88.04 watts. The 14.2*6.2 is actually putting more power into the battery. That is why an MPPT charge controller is preferable because it manipulates the relationship between volts and amps to maximize the watts. Of course in your case, the difference is so minor, it really doesn't make any practical difference, and I am nit-picking, However, conceptionally, this is an important consideration when you start dealing with more panels.
> in your case, the difference is so minor,
It would be a bigger difference when the battery bank is deeply cycled.
[10/18/2019 - edited to add: because Vbatt is critical to PWM but not MPPT. 13.9*6.3 (87.57W) would become 12.2*6.3 (76.86W) max at ~50% depth of discharge , hamstringing the PWM. Even with a ~5% MPPT conversion loss MPPT would Vmp*6.3*0.95, or 95w max. Hopefully one's batteries don't spend much time at 50% DoD, but we can see where those "30% boost!!!!!!" marketing blurbs come from. In the case of 50% DoD batteries, MPPT could make 23.6% more power for energy-starved batteries. ]
Thanks for that explanation. Info nuggets like these are good to know and grasp.
Like how you compared parallel and series hook ups.
Thank you for the great information
Nice job! 👍😊
Thanks slim enjoyed take care aussie 👍