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Post Info TOPIC: Retro Fitting an MPPT controller.


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Retro Fitting an MPPT controller.


Job has begun, no room inside the van for this large unit, so have used what was the outside TV system compartment. Removed the TV arm, all wiring etc.

Ventilation is required, have a 75mm duct from the fridge vent side, through the wall for the vent inlet, and may mount a 12v fan to assist airflow, and have the two vent outlets in the door.

At the moment the package is fitting well.



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You could mount it on a couple of aluminium angle sections running top to bottom each side to increase heatsink surface area.

& Some adhesive heatsinks on flat areas https://au.rs-online.com/mobile/c/hvac-fans-thermal-management/electronics-heating-cooling/heatsinks/?applied-dimensions=4294433062



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I mounted the regulator on 20 x 20 aluminum channels to enable a stronger attachment to the wall, and to give greater clearance around the back of the unit.

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Good idea to get as much exposed surface area as possible. If it is running a bit hot you can always add some more surface area later on.

If you add a fan look at air flow within the space to get it to work as efficiently as possible, maybe some baffles to guide air flow.

Look at the Noctua industrial fans, they are not the very highest in air volume but they are extremely efficient. I have a 120mm one in my fridge replacing the original 80mm. Higher pressure & more efficient.



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Procrastination, mankind's greatest labour saving device!

50L custom fuel rack 6x20W 100/20mppt 4x26Ah gel 28L super insulated fridge TPMS 3 ARB compressors heatsink fan cooled 4L tank aftercooler Air/water OCD cleaning 4 stage car acoustic insulation.



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The GSL has its own internal thermostat controlled fan. Just make sure the GSL fan can not draw its own hot air back through the unit.
Wishing you the best of luck with this unit, when the smoke came out of mine the third time, I gave up. I have since been contacted by others who had similar experiences. Maybe the later design/build is better, it was the internal heat that killed mine, the heat didn't transfer to the outer casing so by the time it felt too hot outside it had already suffered internal damage. If you are not running it close to the 60 amp capability it might be ok, the model I had didn't seem to be able to cope with the continuous high current.

T1 Terry

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All fitted and wired up, charging but the skies have been very overcast, so no dramatic results.

I have learn't a few things though, and I am a bit suspicious that this may have fried a few regulators. The wires go into this unit too far, so one can put the bared wires in to far, and the clamping screw is tightened on the insulation. This gives a no connection to the batteries, so the load has no where to go, I did this and lucky me the day was very overcast before I discovered my mistake. There was a connection but very min, and the connection had gone by next day leaving me scratching my head. All good now though.

The other thing which all of that brought home to me was, to put an isolating switch on the panels, so they can be isolated before doing any work on the house batteries. Otherwise you can fry the regulator.

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"iana said 04:06 PM Apr 25, 2019" Great to see that you have successfully performed what an active technician would regard as an uninteresting "fault find and remediate" .. Good for You! The Electronic Technician is no more a GURU than another person , or you yourself ,who kindly shares knowledge because none of us owns Science and shame on those that pretend a scant knowledge of Science inflated to huckster tax Hoover level . See Tim Flannery. My rant aside .. my congratulations still hold. Electronics isn't difficult is It ? Next time you solve an Electrical fault you will be much better equipped. The next maintenance issue you may encounter might be a bit more complex but having solved the previous problem you have one more leg up the ladder. My distrust and "outing" of these "Gandalf the Greys" of Solar power are a nuisance and an impediment to folks incorporating a not very challenging technology into thier everyday lives.

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"iana said 04:06 PM Apr 25, 2019" Great to see that you have successfully performed what an active technician would regard as an uninteresting "fault find and remediate" .. Good for You! The Electronic Technician is no more a GURU than another person , or you yourself ,who kindly shares knowledge because none of us owns Science and shame on those that pretend a scant knowledge of Science inflated to huckster tax Hoover level . See Tim Flannery. My rant aside .. my congratulations still hold. Electronics isn't difficult is It ? Next time you solve an Electrical fault you will be much better equipped. The next maintenance issue you may encounter might be a bit more complex but having solved the previous problem you have one more leg up the ladder. My distrust and "outing" of these "Gandalf the Greys" of Solar power are a nuisance and an impediment to folks incorporating a not very challenging technology into thier everyday lives.

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Just an up-date on the system. We are living much more comfortably when using non-powered sites etc. Yesterday had the highest current coming in ever at 28 amps, if my multimeter is reading correctly across the shunt. The next hurdle will to see how the system performs in hot - hot weather conditions, so far, the conditions have been ideal, plenty of sun shine, cool breeze over the panels.

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