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electrical [2025/08/10 23:50] – ToDo checked: Check the calibration of the State of Charge on the MidNite Classics jmctelectrical [2026/07/06 21:30] (current) – jmct
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 +====== Power Flow Diagram ======
 +
 +The high level view of how power is stored/distributed is in the diagram below.
 +
 +{{ :camp-electrical-flow.png?1000 |}}
 +
 +In the following sections we'll have more details about each of the constituent parts. 
 +
 +
 +
 The electrical system is mainly solar powered and stored in an array of batteries. The electrical system is mainly solar powered and stored in an array of batteries.
  
 ====== Solar Panels ====== ====== Solar Panels ======
  
-The solar panels are [[Conergy_PE_240P-260P_TD_ENG_2014-02-25_LR.pdf| Conergy 260P]] panels. There are six panels on each side of the car path.+The solar panels are {{ :conergy_pe_240p-260p_td_eng_2014-02-25_lr.pdf | Conergy 260P}} panels. There are six panels on each side of the car path. 
  
 ====== Batteries ====== ====== Batteries ======
  
-There are 12 [[GNBFClassicMCTetc.pdf|NCT-13 Lead Calcium batteries]]. These are all wired in series. This makes the battery bank a 24V system.+There are 12 {{ :gnbfclassicmctetc.pdf |NCT-13 Lead Calcium batteries}}. These are all wired in series. This makes the battery bank a 24V system.
  
 When charging there is a near-constant gurgling sound. This is relatively normal but the constancy could point to the batteries nearing their end of life. When charging there is a near-constant gurgling sound. This is relatively normal but the constancy could point to the batteries nearing their end of life.
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 The solar panels provide varying voltage/current depending on the amount of sun they are getting. Because of this, you can't just wire them directly to the batteries, you need a controller that ensures that they are connected to the batteries when they have sufficient voltage to charge the batteries. The solar panels provide varying voltage/current depending on the amount of sun they are getting. Because of this, you can't just wire them directly to the batteries, you need a controller that ensures that they are connected to the batteries when they have sufficient voltage to charge the batteries.
  
-Because there are two arrays of solar panels, Ken made the good decision to use two separate charger controllers. Each one is a [[10-001-1_REV_U_Classic_Manual_19Jan2022.pdf|MidNite Classic]] (I am pretty sure, that they are Classic 250. I am unsure if they are the SL (solar only) or the 'normal' ones.+Because there are two arrays of solar panels, Ken made the good decision to use two separate charger controllers. Each one is a {{ :10-001-1_rev_u_classic_manual_19jan2022.pdf |MidNite Classic}} (I am pretty sure, that they are Classic 250. I am unsure if they are the SL (solar only) or the 'normal' ones. 
 + 
 +===== Different output of charge controllers  ===== 
 + 
 +It is common to see one of the output controllers doing a lot more work that the other. Here's an example from a particularly sunny day: 
 + 
 +{{ :charge-controller-side-by-side.jpeg?600 |}} 
 + 
 +While their input is relatively similar (66.3V vs. 63.7V, respectively), their _output_ is very different: 0 Watts/0.3kWh vs. 401 Watts/6.9kWh, respectively (it's a happy coincidence that the lower input controller is actually providing more output because the input, as long as it is above the 27V threshold, is irrelevant for the differing output. 
 + 
 +The output differs because the controllers 'back off' when the charge of the batteries is near their capacity. In this case, the controller on the right is observing a slightly lower voltage and is using the power from its panels to charge and/or hold the batteries at that voltage. The other controller sees that the batteries are at or above their voltage threshold and determines that there is no work to do. 
 + 
 +This is expected behavior mid day when the batteries are nearly fully charged. 
 + 
 +==== Sanity Test ==== 
 + 
 +In the morning when there is sun but the batteries have been drained over night, we should see both controllers providing output. The following is a photo from a morning charge on an overcast day: 
 + 
 +{{ :wiki:midnite-controller-charging.jpeg?600 |}} 
 + 
 + 
 +===== State of Charge =====
  
  
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 met. Never fully rely on the SOC %; it is just a good, quick referenc</blockquote> met. Never fully rely on the SOC %; it is just a good, quick referenc</blockquote>
  
-<todo #jmct:2025-08-10>Check the calibration of the State of Charge on the MidNite Classics</todo>+<todo>Check the calibration of the State of Charge on the MidNite Classics</todo> 
 + 
 +====== DC Dicsconnect ====== 
 + 
 +The MidNite controllers and the battery bank are connect to a {{ :dcdisconnectuserguide-42813.pdf | Trace Engineering DC Disconnect}}. 
 + 
 + 
 +====== Battery Health Checking ====== 
 + 
 +[[batterylist|batterylist]] 
electrical.1754869837.txt.gz · Last modified: by jmct