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--- electrical [2026/07/05 18:33] – jmct
+++ electrical [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.
@@ Line 7: / Line 17: @@
 ====== 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.
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 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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 The MidNite controllers and the battery bank are connect to a {{ :dcdisconnectuserguide-42813.pdf | Trace Engineering DC Disconnect}}.
+====== Battery Health Checking ======
+[[batterylist|batterylist]]