Where to mount a mppt solar controller?

[Allstone overland]

Can anyone give me an idea and or photos to see how you mounted the controller in your truck.

I have a Colorado zr2 and I need to figure out where to mount the controller.

Any help would be awesome. Thanks

 

[Ducky's Dad]

My Go Power controller will probably go into the cupholder cutout in the back seat trans hump. Might have to grind a little, but looks like it will work. Not a Colorado, though.

 

[Allstone overland]

My Go Power controller will probably go into the cupholder cutout in the back seat trans hump. Might have to grind a little, but looks like it will work. Not a Colorado, though.

What about heat ? Was thinking under the dash either in the passenger or driver footwell .

 

[Herbie]

Unless it has a remote temperature sensor, my understanding is that charge controllers should always be mounted near the battery, since knowing the ambient temp near the battery is critical to getting the charge characteristics correct.

 

[Ducky's Dad]

What about heat ?

That's part of the beauty of the Go Power controller. It's good to 185F per their specs. Mine is the PWM 30amp two-bank controller, so almost perfect for my situation. Lots of controllers allow fitting of remote battery temp sensors, but most controllers just shut down when the electronics get to 114F-134F. The only exceptions I found were Go Power and RedArc.

Should note that my trans hump mount will not expose the controller to outside air temps, because there is a body panel under the hump, and the hump is only about three feet from the house batteries.

 

[john61ct]

Near the battery. Minimize voltage drop, and temp should sense the same as the batt to adjust voltage.

 

[Allstone overland]

thats why i was thinking under the dash in the footwell, just want to know if it will heat my cab.

so a mppt with a temp sensor under the footwell, or a waterproof PWN mounted near the battery?

are the mppt controllers better than the pwn ?

 

[Ducky's Dad]

are the mppt controllers better than the pwn ?

Depends on your setup. For a single panel and relatively low amps, PWM is fine and seems to be the best bang for the buck. MPPT controller is marginally more efficient, but that won't make enough difference on a small system to justify the extra cost. On a larger, more complex system, MPPT usually makes sense. Is MPPT better? Yes. Is MPPT worth the extra money? Often, no.

 

[krick3tt]

I keep the controller inside until I deploy it, then it mounts near the battery while I am camped. Not meant to be exposed to weather or moisture laden environment. I use quick connectors to make the union of controller to battery and panel. Close to the battery allows it to monitor temps of the area around the battery. On a hot day I am sure it picks up a bit of heat from the bonnet as the vehicle sits in the sun.

 

[Allstone overland]

well im going to have the system permanently mounted, and hopfully running all the time with my arb mounted in my truck bed.

So what about a waterproof PWM charger mounted under the hood ?

 

[devero4]

Don't take this wrong, please. If I were you I would do some more research on controllers, both MPPT & PWM. Like others here have already said, closest to the battery is the absolute best location. Also, think of harvesting sunlight just like fishing. You could have an amazing lure (the panel) but if you don't have a good reel (the controller) to get the fish back to the boat, that's a missed opportunity. Regardless of system size, an MPPT controller with 3 step charging will perform better in shaded conditions and be a better choice for the long-term health of your battery, especially with an AGM application. Cheap out on the panel if you gotta, being that it is the arm. But remember that the controller is the heart and the brain.

 

[Lost Roadie]

Wanting to keep the controller out of the engine bay or cab I mounted mine in the bed, right next to the house battery being fed by the panels on the RTT.

Panel that I can can choose to run the fridge off the house or deep cycle starter battery.

 

[NatersXJ6]

What type or brand of panels are those on your RTT? They appear to be semi-flexible? How are they working out, and how did you attach them?

 

[Lost Roadie]

What type or brand of panels are those on your RTT? They appear to be semi-flexible? How are they working out, and how did you attach them?

The panels are Renogy 100w that I bought as factory refurbished from Renogy via eBay.

They are attached with 3M 5952 VRB tape around the outsides and strips of 2" adhesive velcro running the lengths of the panels in between the "ridges" of the RTT. They aren't quite flexible enough to exactly follow the counters of the tent so the velcro provides additional attachment in the middle where they wouldn't reach the lower profile VRB tape.
In addition on the front and back of the panels I used some Butyl RV roof tape to help seal the attachment. I also cut off all the MC4 connectors and just soldered everything together in parallel to keep the roof cleaner.
So far so good, for a potential of 200 watts I've seen 189w captured when the sun is optimal.

Hope that helps!

 

[Allstone overland]

Don't take this wrong, please. If I were you I would do some more research on controllers, both MPPT & PWM. Like others here have already said, closest to the battery is the absolute best location. Also, think of harvesting sunlight just like fishing. You could have an amazing lure (the panel) but if you don't have a good reel (the controller) to get the fish back to the boat, that's a missed opportunity. Regardless of system size, an MPPT controller with 3 step charging will perform better in shaded conditions and be a better choice for the long-term health of your battery, especially with an AGM application. Cheap out on the panel if you gotta, being that it is the arm. But remember that the controller is the heart and the brain.

i understand but with an mppt i would have to mount it in the cab to keep it out of the elements. if i use a waterproof pwm i could mount it outside the cab and not worry about the elements theoretically.

my question im posing to the community is what have you guys done, what are your results, and what would you have done if youd change anything.

so... so far im at. either mppt on the drivers side inside firewall/footwell ....or pwm mounted int the engine bay next to the one/only battery im planning on having(diesel zr2 comes with a 95ah deep cycle, which after will be replaced by an ODYSSEY Extreme Series Marine Battery Model 31M-PC2150ST) , or waterproof pwm in the bed with a secondary battery being fed by the solar panel fitted on the rear of the roof rack.

just looking for input before blood,sweat,tears,money, and time are spent.