From: muratlanne@gmail.com   
      
    wrote in message   
   news:01ff8adc-8a86-45e1-8a39-a387dcb4fa19@googlegroups.com...   
   Hi, I was wondering if this would be the correct place to ask   
   questions about new off-grid setups. I'm working on a small cabin   
   after losing my house to a fire and I cant get grid-juice. I have 2   
   100watt panels, a p20l, and a 12v 100ah battery, but I cant seem to   
   get the battery above 11.5 during the day and it dies nightly (its 4   
   days old). Central New Mexico, so lots of sunshine.   
   I am running 1-2 small (8-12w) LED bulbs, a wifi router and   
   occasionally my surface pro 3. Also charge my cell phone. I don't   
   understand the setup completely, and my math is flawed as a rule, but   
   it seems like I should have plenty of power unless I'm using the   
   surface a lot.   
      
   If this is the wrong place, please direct me to an appropriate forum!   
      
   Thanks,   
   -T   
   ====================================   
      
   I found the P20L tricky to use although effective, and added volt and   
   amp meters to show what's really happening. For one thing you have to   
   connect the battery first so it can configure itself for 12V or 24V,   
   before connecting the panels. It's unclear what triggers the Equalize   
   function that overcharges the battery for a short period before   
   switching to the appropriate float voltage.   
      
   A cheap Harbor Freight multimeter can show the charging current from   
   one 100W panel but two will overload it. I haven't yet found a good,   
   inexpensive, easy to use lead-acid battery status meter, although a   
   backlit digital voltmeter that shows 2 decimal places is nearly   
   enough.   
   -jsw   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)