Hey everyone! I've just set up a Solopower SP1 20V 60W CIGS Solar Panel with a kickass battery box power station that includes a built-in MPPT Solar charger. The hitch is that the MPPT charger has a maximum voltage input of 24-25V, but the solar panel's open-circuit voltage (Voc) can reach 30V. I bought a step-down converter from Amazon, but it hasn't worked out as I hoped. I keep getting fault codes indicating either 'Solar input over voltage' before the step-down or 'output over voltage' after the step-down at the battery. Interestingly, the panel does charge in shady conditions, which means the voltage isn't hitting its peak and causing issues. I'm looking for a way to consistently keep the voltage below 20V to prevent the charger from going into protection mode while still using my current panels. I'm open to buying a full solution if it's worth it, and I really don't want to swap out the built-in MPPT charger as I'm sure that's going to be a pain. Happy to provide more details if needed. Thanks for any suggestions!
3 Answers
By the way, I love how efficient KickAss products are! Their chargers are amazing. Just saying, if you haven't tried their other products, you might want to check those out too!
You might also want to look for a good solar MPPT charge controller that works with AGM deep cycle batteries. Check for ones that have MC4 or Anderson inputs/outputs and aren't overly pricey. Since you're not interested in Bluetooth or fancy monitoring, keep it simple!
Right! I'll search for those options and see what fits best.
It sounds like you're in a bit of a pickle! Instead of replacing the MPPT charger, have you considered using an external MPPT? You could wire its output to an Anderson SB connector and tap into one of the direct 12V connections on your battery box. It might not be the cheapest option, but it could save you from a bigger hassle with the built-in charger.
That sounds like a solid plan! I'm all for external solutions too if it means keeping my setup intact.
Totally! I've heard they're really reliable. Might need to invest in one after figuring out this voltage issue.