Captain Rick
Member
Thanks @VanDamMan. I think I would still prefer to go down the fixed on the roof solution if I can get it to work out. I already have far too much 'van clutter' but I haven't closed my mind to anything yet
Solar Panel selection
- Thread starter Captain Rick
- Start date
No worries ....it’s what ever works for you....but I still had the conundrum of maximising power but ensuring it still worked with the Ctek
Hope you find your utopia
Yes if you wire panels in parallel their voltage remains the same. If you wired two 23V panels in series it would be 46V
I think the best option is to stick with your panel of choice and use a Victron MPPT controller. It will add to the bill but anything else is going to be a compromise.
Captain Rick
Member
I must be particularly thick headed this morning as I can't work out from the Victron website which controller I should use, whether it replaces the Ctek D250SE or whether it sits alongside the Ctek, doing a different job. Please, someone, help me to clear my foggy brain!
Have a look on Martyns website Travelvolts. I think its the 100/30 mppt controller i used but im sure @travelvolts will clear it up for you. I should think it will run alongside the C-tek but again, Martyn will tell you that also,you'll get there in the end @Captain Rick ,good luck!
Yes, as Martin says, it will be the 100/30 for a panel that size. It will operate independently of the Ctek. Connect directly to the target battery. You have to bear in mind that an aweful lot of the electrical kit that we fit in our vans is primarily targeted at the marine market. It follows that any information published on manufacturers websites may be biased in that direction too.
I fitted the c-tek D250SE and a single 150w panel from Photonic universe to my van in January 2018 and have had no problems since with its operation. The panel is 3m bonded to the roof. It also charges my starter battery when the leisure battery is full as well which is excellent for the winter period when we are not out and about in it as much. We travel for a couple of weeks around Europe with no power concerns mainly wild camping in aires but every three days we stay at a camp site and hook up which helps charge up as well.
As @travelvolts has said, you seem to be going all round the houses in order to accommodate the limitations of the Ctek, better just get a separate Victron MPPT and then you can pick whatever panel you want, as well as being able to monitor it better.
Captain Rick
Member
You are quite right but I would prefer to use the ctek for two reasons: 1. I don’t have space for another unit, and 2. I like the ctek facility of charging the starter battery from the solar panels when the leisure battery is fully charged thereby keeping both batteries charged. I’m sure I’ll find the right compromise, though. Eventually!
P
Phil_G
Guest
I'm with the 'separates' camp. If the Ctek ever fails, you've nothing. Victrons are really small and since they are BLE you dont need to see any LEDs or anything so they can be hidden away. Mines inside the wardrobe at the back of the van. You can charge your starter battery with any solar setup, so I wouldnt let that influence the choice 
Awesome setup, I wish I'd gone for 300W over the 140W I have.
Andy - I'd be interested to learn of that setup if possible?
Sure, I’ll try and dig out the post. Like many things, I nicked the idea from someone else on here using a Votronics trickle charger which I think @Dellmassive dismantled and found to be little more than a current limiting resistor. I used the load output of the Victron which you can program to only output once the leisure battery is charged
All in this thread Solar Panels B2b And Smart Alternators ...
I am sure i will be corrected if i am wrong but i think @Captain Rick that you can run the C-tek along with a Victron and as mentioned above,they are really small units.As for the charging of the starter battery when the leisure battery is full,i use a Votronics trickle charger as mentioned by @andys above,i think it was about £25
I might be wrong but the ctek might trickle charge the starter even with a separate solar controller? I vaguely remember a thread mentioning it recently? That’s what my votronic controller does anyway, it’s effectively like having one of those separate trickle charge boxes installed.
Think it’s only the later DSE model of the Ctek that does this, the older one needed the stupidly priced Smartpass.
Edit. Wait wasn’t it you I nicked this idea from in the first place @t0mb0?
