Awesome new MPPT controller with bluetooth control for $99 (2 Viewers)

[Enigma]

How is the app supposed to be setup on these things? I'm electrically challenged and finding the instructions a little lacking. The battery options don't seem to have anything for a regular old lead acid, unless those ones at the end of the list are?.

My old PWM never had anything hooked up on the load portion, so I plugged this one in the same way. The instructions say to hook load up first, but since I don't have any I skipped that and just plugged the power in and then the wires for the solar.
The blue light blinks slowly which according the manual is normal and means it has power.
Hooked up my panel this afternoon and....nothing...a big zero for solar input. Not sure what's going on.

 

[george_tlc]

Measure the voltage with a meter at the Solar +/- inputs to verify panel/wiring is all good.

If you don't want to use the Load +/- the it's fine to just leave them unconnected.

Have you got the app 'connected' to the unit? It ships pretty well set for normal 12V SLA out of the box.

cheers,
george.

 

[Enigma]

All good now. Apparently I got sidetracked when I was disconnecting the old one with a neighbour talking to me and put the wrong colour tape on my leads......

 

[george_tlc]

cheers,
george.

 

[Enigma]

What's the max load you could hook up to one of these?

 

[george_tlc]

15A (hence the part number 75/15)....

And you can always read the manual

https://www.victronenergy.com/uploa...-75-10-75-15--100-15-EN-NL-FR-DE-ES-SE-ul.pdf

cheers,
george.

 

[Josie'sLandCruiser]

Hi all,

I bought one of the SmartSolar 75/15 MPPT last month. I have tried it out on a few times on the occasional sunny day (not frequent this time of year!)

I am having trouble getting the "load" function to work. The app tells me the voltage at the panel, watts produced, and the voltage of battery, along with amperage going to the battery. But the status of the load function says "off" despite the settings being either "always on" or "conventional algorithm 1".

The battery charge seems plenty high, and I have tested the cable to the load (an Engel fridge) to ensure it works.

Any thoughts/suggestions?

Edit: I contacted the vendor about this problem and they sent me a replacement SmartSolar 75/15 controller, which works fine. Unfortunately Victron offers little in technical support.


Thanks,

Alan

 

[Riverrunner]

I purchased this and received it yesterday. I have a 100w foldable solar suitcase, but the most I'm seeing is 30w in direct sunlight. Shouldn't I expect to see something closer to 100w?

 

[Semi Hex]

I would like to think that seeing your voltage, that your battery might be close to being fully charged, which means the your system is on float at a very reduced rate.
IOW’s If the battery is full, the excess won’t go into the battery, hence the low numbers.

 

[Josie'sLandCruiser]

Yes, like Semi Hex wrote, the MPPT will meter how much current goes to the battery depending on it's charge state.

Create a load on the system (turn on the head lights while the engine is not running) then test the production from the solar panel and the amps going to the battery.

I found on a sunny day I could get over 70 watts from the panel when there was a load to feed.

Regards,

Alan

I purchased this and received it yesterday. I have a 100w foldable solar suitcase, but the most I'm seeing is 30w in direct sunlight. Shouldn't I expect to see something closer to 100w?View attachment 1663458

 

[Semi Hex]

So there was a little glitch in the system and it stopped working. I only realized the issue when I tried to use my inverter. I had to unplug the dongle, battery, panel and reconnect them before it worked again. You can see that it took two days to recharge. I had upgraded to the Victron 30 but everything should be the same as the 15. The weather was sunny the entire time except at night

 

[LS1FJ40]

With a 160w Renogy lane which controller should I purchase? Is the 75/15 adequate? Or do I need something different?

Another question: my Morningstar controller is mounted under the hood. I read where you guys mounted this inside because it isn’t waterproof. Is that correct?

 

[LS1FJ40]

Disregard, answered my ow. Question by, shockingly, reading the product description!

 

[Otter]

Installed the new controller, 75/15 Blue solar, with my 100w renogy panel. Can't seem to get more than 4-6 Watts on the app reading. I'm in full sun, battery is hovering around 12.5, and panel voltage has been up to 18+ several times. Any ideas?

Fridge has been running at 32 degrees F with just a couple bottles of water, so there should be a decent draw.

 

[Semi Hex]

If you could check a couple of things: is the led lit on float, did you set the unit to your battery specifications, is your panel dirty and is your unit stuck (unplug and set up again).

 

[TrickyT]

What happens when you create a bigger draw, say turning on the headlights or putting the fan on high?

 

[Otter]

If you could check a couple of things: is the led lit on float, did you set the unit to your battery specifications, is your panel dirty and is your unit stuck (unplug and set up again).

The blue led is lit. I'm running a flat plate agm, and I have the unit set to spiral agm (I couldn't really see a diddiffere in the specs).

How do I know the unit is stuck?

 

[Otter]

What happens when you create a bigger draw, say turning on the headlights or putting the fan on high?

I've tried that and nothing changes.

 

[Cruiserdrew]

So you're not getting anything off the panel. Check wiring, make sure you got the polarity right and that your connections are good. Do you have another panel to swap in temporarily to make sure the controller is working? Also be sure it's updated to the latest firmware version.

 

[Cruiserdrew]

I *might* know your problem. First off your panel voltage is really low. It should be 16-18 volts. (Thats where the maximum power point is). So again look carefully at the panel, there's a problem somewhere. Measure the panel voltage not connected to the controller. Should be 22 volts.

But the problem-I seem to remember with this controller, there has to be at least a 3 volt difference between the battery and the panel for the panel to provide any real power. So with the panel at 14 volts and the battery at 12.5, it won't work. Something is up.

Are you certain the battery leads to to the battery input and the solar leads to the solar input? It's easy to confuse. Go back through everything. Here is what I would do:

-Disconnect the solar from the controller-measure the panel no-load voltage with a meter Should be 22ish volts
-Disconnect the controller from the battery. Measure battery voltage with a meter
-Reconnect the battery to the controller. Pull up the phone app, make sure the output is turned on and the firmware updated
-Reconnect the solar to the controller and see what happens.

If that fails, you'll need to go through your settings. I'll come back with a screenshot.