Victron Solar Controller

[Pollypenny]

So basically it pretty much doesn't matter which battery type I pick as I then choose all the settings after that?

 

[Pollypenny]

...and also need to make sure the cable it the right thickness but what should that be as the cabling I'm using came with the panel? Maybe that's why the controller was overcharging my battery leading me to believe the controller was faulty and thus dumping it to buy the Victron?

 

[Raul]

So the one that says 'Gel Victron deep discharge (2)'?
If I ditch the wire from controller to battery for thicker wire, do I also need to ditch it from the controller to the solar panel as that seems to be hardwired into the panel so not quite as simple to replace?

Wire to panel can stay as carries higher voltage and less amps. To the battery needs thicker as is more amps and voltage drop. Voltage drop needs to be kept under 1% loss, as the values entered in controller needs to reach the battery. Cable thickness depends on length. I would try 4mm2 if the run is under 3m.
Flooded values
Bulk / absorb14.4v
Float 13.8v
Max absorb time 8hrs.
Pick option 2 and edit as needed.

 

[Pollypenny]

Wire to panel can stay as carries higher voltage and less amps. To the battery needs thicker as is more amps and voltage drop. Voltage drop needs to be kept under 1% loss, as the values entered in controller needs to reach the battery. Cable thickness depends on length. I would try 4mm2 if the run is under 3m.
Flooded values
Bulk / absorb14.4v
Float 13.8v
Max absorb time 8hrs.
Pick option 2 and edit as needed.

Thank you for this. Do you happen to know the AWG size of the cable needed from the controller to the battery? The run is only about one metre at the most.

 

[Pollypenny]

Wire to panel can stay as carries higher voltage and less amps. To the battery needs thicker as is more amps and voltage drop. Voltage drop needs to be kept under 1% loss, as the values entered in controller needs to reach the battery. Cable thickness depends on length. I would try 4mm2 if the run is under 3m.
Flooded values
Bulk / absorb14.4v
Float 13.8v
Max absorb time 8hrs.
Pick option 2 and edit as needed.

I’ve just had a reply from the Ebay seller of the solar panel and original charger which is where all the cabling has come from and he says the current cabling is suitable for 10amp. So out of interest how many amps does the cable need to be able to carry to run from a 15 amp victron controller to my leisure battery, is it literally 15 amps?

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[ChrisL]

Thank you for this. Do you happen to know the AWG size of the cable needed from the controller to the battery? The run is only about one metre at the most.

AWG is an American standard, in the UK and Europe cable is normally measured in mm², Raul recommended 4mm² which equates to 12AWG. 4mm² can carry up to 25amps I believe but remember you also have to consider voltage drop otherwise the battery may not see the voltages you have set. Raul by the way is a Solar installer, so is worth listening to.

 

[Pollypenny]

AWG is an American standard, in the UK and Europe cable is normally measured in mm², Raul recommended 4mm² which equates to 12AWG. 4mm² can carry up to 25amps I believe but remember you also have to consider voltage drop otherwise the battery may not see the voltages you have set. Raul by the way is a Solar installer, so is worth listening to.

I am completely clueless when it comes to anything electrical so taking into consideration voltage drop means nothing to me I’m afraid and would need explaining in order to help me choose the right size cable? Thank you for confirming the AWG though as I do have this Available which I bought on eBay with an XT60 connector and it was buying this that made me realise my current cable was definitely not 12AWG as it’s way thinner, but doesn’t have any size printed on it. However, it came with the solar panel and Dokio controller and on the back of the panel it claims the cabling is 12 AWG which it clearly isn’t.

 

[Raul]

Again, you are confusing the run from panels with the run to the battery.

 

[ChrisL]

"I am completely clueless when it comes to anything electrical so taking into consideration voltage drop means nothing to me I’m afraid and would need explaining in order to help me choose the right size cable?"

Okay, I don't know if this will confuse you further or not but it's the best if not exact analogy I can think of, if it doesn't help just ignore it. But Raul has already suggested what size cable to use from the controller to the battery.

Analogy:
Think of a tank of water sitting on a table (this is your source of energy = solar panels) now imagine there are two taps (= solar controllers) with pipes (=cables) coming out of them, one large one, one small one, then imagine two buckets on the floor (= batteries) the large pipe will offer less resistance to the water then the smaller pipe and will fill its bucket more efficiently then the small pipe will fill its bucket. Resistance = voltage drop.
Does that help explain the concept at all?

 

[Tombola]

I’ve just had a reply from the Ebay seller of the solar panel and original charger which is where all the cabling has come from and he says the current cabling is suitable for 10amp. So out of interest how many amps does the cable need to be able to carry to run from a 15 amp victron controller to my leisure battery, is it literally 15 amps?

4mm is plenty over a 1 metre length, for the cost difference and future proof in case you decide to up the controller

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[Peavy]

Looks like it should be removed if you are using the app for settings. I'd be happier with it removed to be honest as it looks like something that will be easily knocked and is quite fragile



View attachment 930083

Remove jumper only if you want to configure the LOADS output through the app, not the main parameters.
If you don't use the LOAD output, you don't need to do anything with the jumper.

 

[Pollypenny]

Again, you are confusing the run from panels with the run to the battery.

I think I am understanding it all now and the issue has been that the 160W Dokio panel and 20A Dokio controller I bought came with all the cables to connect panel to controller and controller to battery. So having now bought the Victron controller and wanting to set everything up correctly I believe the cables supplied are way too small to attach controller to battery and I need 4mm² (12AWG). I've checked the back of the Dokio panel and it does state "for field connections use minimum 12AWG copper wires" (see pic) so assume that 'field' is referring to the connection to the battery? Either way they sent all the cables to connect to the Dokio controller (now discarded in favour of Victron controller) and to my battery (see pics). So in summary can I leave the cables from panel to controller as they are and just replace the ones from the controller to the battery for 12AWG (4mm²) ones and I am good to go? I also have wire cutters so am I right that where it shows 4mm² is that the size 4mm² wire should be and not the wire including the plastic sleeve? If so then the wire I currently have attached to my Victron (see pic) is about 2mm², which again shows it is way too small for a battery connection. Have I cracked it and if so do I get a prize?

 

[Pollypenny]

"I am completely clueless when it comes to anything electrical so taking into consideration voltage drop means nothing to me I’m afraid and would need explaining in order to help me choose the right size cable?"

Okay, I don't know if this will confuse you further or not but it's the best if not exact analogy I can think of, if it doesn't help just ignore it. But Raul has already suggested what size cable to use from the controller to the battery.

Analogy:
Think of a tank of water sitting on a table (this is your source of energy = solar panels) now imagine there are two taps (= solar controllers) with pipes (=cables) coming out of them, one large one, one small one, then imagine two buckets on the floor (= batteries) the large pipe will offer less resistance to the water then the smaller pipe and will fill its bucket more efficiently then the small pipe will fill its bucket. Resistance = voltage drop.
Does that help explain the concept at all?

Thanks Chris that's a great analogy. My only question would be how would I know what the voltage drop is - how is that measured? Not that it matters as I now know the correct wire to use, but I am always keen to learn more

 

[ChrisL]

Thanks Chris that's a great analogy. My only question would be how would I know what the voltage drop is - how is that measured? Not that it matters as I now know the correct wire to use, but I am always keen to learn more

In order to check voltage drop you would need a multi meter set to DC volts in the 20 volt range then measure the voltage at the output of the solar controller and also at the battery terminals the difference if there is any will be voltage drop, assuming that there is plenty of sun on the solar panels. Also note that cable is measured by the area of the conductor not the diameter so 4mm² cable is not 4mm diameter.

 

[Pollypenny]

In order to check voltage drop you would need a multi meter set to DC volts in the 20 volt range then measure the voltage at the output of the solar controller and also at the battery terminals the difference if there is any will be voltage drop, assuming that there is plenty of sun on the solar panels. Also note that cable is measured by the area of the conductor not the diameter so 4mm² cable is not 4mm diameter.

Thanks for the explanation re voltage drop. Understood re cable size and will edit my comment there so as not to cause more confusion, thank you again.

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[Raul]

Voltage drop can be calculated if you know certain parameters; in your case the controller can push max 15A at 14v into the battery, any higer voltage, the amps will decrease, as well as the Watts.
So, with 14v at 15A = 210w with 4mm2 cable to battery over 1m voltage drop is 0.154v or 1.1%. That drop is at full power, less when panel pushes less.
As you see I did recommend you 4mm2 cable to the battery, and leave alone the cable to the panel.

Cable in mm2 is the cross section area, not diameter, thats why you may get tricked, and nothing to do with the insulation.

 

[Pollypenny]

Voltage drop can be calculated if you know certain parameters; in your case the controller can push max 15A at 14v into the battery, any higer voltage, the amps will decrease, as well as the Watts.
So, with 14v at 15A = 210w with 4mm2 cable to battery over 1m voltage drop is 0.154v or 1.1%. That drop is at full power, less when panel pushes less.
As you see I did recommend you 4mm2 cable to the battery, and leave alone the cable to the panel.

Cable in mm2 is the cross section area, not diameter, thats why you may get tricked, and nothing to do with the insulation.

Thank you Raul, really appreciate all the time you have taken to advise me. I will order the new cable and hopefully get all set up ready for an off grid trip away next week.

 

[Pollypenny]

Voltage drop can be calculated if you know certain parameters; in your case the controller can push max 15A at 14v into the battery, any higer voltage, the amps will decrease, as well as the Watts.
So, with 14v at 15A = 210w with 4mm2 cable to battery over 1m voltage drop is 0.154v or 1.1%. That drop is at full power, less when panel pushes less.
As you see I did recommend you 4mm2 cable to the battery, and leave alone the cable to the panel.

Cable in mm2 is the cross section area, not diameter, thats why you may get tricked, and nothing to do with the insulation.

One last question, should I be using a 20amp or 25amp inline fuse on the cable that runs from the controller to the battery? I have read on one website that it should be 20amp and on another 25amp and would like to get this right too please.

 

[Raul]

20A for a 4mm2 cable is enough, your controller will push max 15a anyways.

 

[Pollypenny]

20A for a 4mm2 cable is enough, your controller will push max 15a anyways.

Thank you

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[Pollypenny]

Now I am worried about the wire in the cable as it doesn't look anything like the wire that is required according to the Victron manual. Thoughts please?

 

[Raul]

Wire looks good to me, it’s a fine stranded tinned copper. If the ends go into a clamp terminal, used it as it is. If it goes into a screw terminal needs a ferrule crimped on. Otherwise the screw tip will just split the strands.

 

[Pollypenny]

Wire looks good to me, it’s a fine stranded tinned copper. If the ends go into a clamp terminal, used it as it is. If it goes into a screw terminal needs a ferrule crimped on. Otherwise the screw tip will just split the strands.

They are going into the Victron MPPT controller which looks to be clamp terminals, but I have since cut the ends off so they now look like this. Hope this will still be ok?

 

[Tombola]

They are going into the Victron MPPT controller which looks to be clamp terminals, but I have since cut the ends off so they now look like this. Hope this will still be ok?



View attachment 931490

thats fine

 

[Pollypenny]

thats fine

Thank you. Although the junction boxes I have for the inline fuse are screws, albeit with blunt ends, so do I need to get some ferrules for this?

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[Raul]

Thank you. Although the junction boxes I have for the inline fuse are screws, albeit with blunt ends, so do I need to get some ferrules for this?



View attachment 931494

Or change them to something better. Screw on strands are not good, only solid core.
Wago do some for stranded cables.

 

[Pollypenny]

Or change them to something better. Screw on strands are not good, only solid core.
Wago do some for stranded cables.

I'm now running out of time to get this ready for an off grid trip next week so need something that I can buy locally ideally. Would ferrules not be sufficient and if not are you able to direct me to the type of connector I need please as first google has me a bit lost already?

 

[Pollypenny]

Or change them to something better. Screw on strands are not good, only solid core.
Wago do some for stranded cables.

Is this the right sort? No idea if 32A is correct but the rest of the description sounds right...

WAGO 221 Series Reusable Electrical Wire Cable Connectors Compact UK | eBay

WAGO SERIES 221. REAL AND ORIGINAL FROM WAGO PRODUCER. Power Distribution & Circuit. Cables & Cable Accessories. We’ve got you covered on all things electrical. Dispatched from the UK. Our Promise. WIRE TYPE: 1, 2, 3 or 5.

www.ebay.co.uk

 

[Raul]

Yes those wago will work,
Ferule its good but you need a crimper, and ferule you can get on line. Wago you can get at your local toolstation or screwfix.

 

[Pollypenny]

Yes those wago will work,
Ferule its good but you need a crimper, and ferule you can get on line. Wago you can get at your local toolstation or screwfix.

I have a crimper but no ferrules and Screwfix only sell the Wago connectors in bulk which is a shame as they are only a 5 minutes drive from me. Toolstation aren't local. Anyway, I will work something out either way and thank you again for all you help and patience. It really is very much appreciated.

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