Does a MPPT Controller draw current at night?

[noelex 77]

Originally Posted by thomm225

Interesting?

Maybe if you are totally bored out of your mind.

Maybe you can monitor your CMOS Battery for your BIOS in your computer also is you really want some excitement.

It is an important number to measure in my view. Parasitic draw can easily creep up.

120ma is on the low side for some boats, but this still almost 3AHrs a day. Fine if this power is doing something productive, but worth trying to reduce as much as possible if not.

If leaving the boat for an extended period it is particularly important to know where this draw is coming from. Power sources (especially shore power) can become disabled. If this happens the combination of parasitic draw combined with the batteries self discharge rate can flatten even a large battery bank.

[goboatingnow]

Agreed , which is why I says it’s interesting to know. Anyboat owner owner with a boat with significant electronics and other electrical devices should be aware of the number , if only to then ignore it.

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by noelex 77

It is an important number to measure in my view. Parasitic draw can easily creep up.

120ma is on the low side for some boats, but this still almost 3AHrs a day. Fine if this power is doing something productive, but worth trying to reduce as much as possible if not.

If leaving the boat for an extended period it is particularly important to know where this draw is coming from. Power sources (especially shore power) can become disabled. If this happens the combination of parasitic draw combined with the batteries self discharge rate can flatten even a large battery bank.

It's simply tech/engineer tunnel vision.

Some tech's and engineers can get so absorbed with one simple circuit, system, or problem it overshadows everything else and they become blind to the rest.

Most have many other worries when leaving a boat unattended for a while rather than the minimal current draw of one of their solar controllers.

[gonesail]

Originally Posted by GILow

unless your boat is powered by a small string of AA batteries it's nothing to lose sleep over.

how about AAA? asking for a friend

[seandepagnier]

Consider this 20 milliamp current. Now multiply it per device (I have 5) Now multiply by the next 20 (or longer) years of life. It ends up more than 200 kilowatt hours.

The power lost to quiescent draws like this is typically a small fraction of the total power but not worth ignoring especially as there may be many devices.

It ends up wearing out all the batteries more. This is why solar chargers should draw micro amps, and really no excuse not to if there is no power going in. a typical microprocessor now can run code at 100khz using 20 microamps at 1.8 volts. When it sleeps the power draw is 0.1 micro amps. The only reason it needs more power is if it has to maintain a wireless capability, in which case, a single button on the mppt device to "wake" it would do, and also improve security.

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by thomm225

It's simply tech/engineer tunnel vision.



Some tech's and engineers can get so absorbed with one simple circuit, system, or problem it overshadows everything else and they become blind to the rest.



Most have many other worries when leaving a boat unattended for a while rather than the minimal current draw of one of their solar controllers.

Yours is a silly attitude , as you add more electronics and other things you can get accumulations of standby currents that all add up. I’m not saying one should be obsessed by it but you should know the number so you can decide to ignore it ( or not )

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

Yours is a silly attitude , as you add more electronics and other things you can get accumulations of standby currents that all add up. I’m not saying one should be obsessed by it but you should know the number so you can decide to ignore it ( or not )

Of course it's not a silly attitude.

Some folks just get overly concerned with the little things.

If you want to get deep into the small things that's fine if you have nothing else to do, but there are just so many other things you could be doing.

About the last thing I'd be concerned about is how much power my controller is drawing of all things.

[boatpoker]

Originally Posted by thomm225

Of course it's not a silly attitude.

Some folks just get overly concerned with the little things.

If you want to get deep into the small things that's fine if you have nothing else to do, but there are just so many other things you could be doing.

About the last thing I'd be concerned about is how much power my controller is drawing of all things.

Perhaps if you had some years of cruising experience and anchoring for months at a time in remote locations you might change your mind.

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by boatpoker

Perhaps if you had some years of cruising experience and anchoring for months at a time in remote locations you might change your mind.

Doubt it.

(I don't plan to ever be at anchor for months on end unless I make a change after I retire and start getting really into the cruising thing. Over the Winter though, I did ripped out the PO's counter top and ice box giving me the starboard settee back and almost 1/3rd more space below. This should improve life on the boat quite a bit)

But I might carry a few more spares and have more than just 2 six volt Golf Cart batteries and 155 watts of solar panels.

Especially since I have no other power source which brings up another problem.

I'd like to have wind vane steering but will wait until I at least sail Round the Outer Banks on the outside before buying one. (or get a quality electric autopilot better than the Raymaine or Simrad tiller pilots I have now)

If I don't make that sail, I won't need a wind vane autopilot but that is the plan for my shakedown cruise when I retire in 2-3 years

I'll be sailing solo also

My Raymarine autopilot seems to not like it when it has a heavy load on it for 5-7 hours....

[GILow]

Originally Posted by gonesail

how about AAA? asking for a friend

NiCd or NiMH? Might make a difference.

I had some 400AH FLAs that acted like AAAs.

[GILow]

Originally Posted by noelex 77

It is an important number to measure in my view. Parasitic draw can easily creep up.

120ma is on the low side for some boats, but this still almost 3AHrs a day. Fine if this power is doing something productive, but worth trying to reduce as much as possible if not.

If leaving the boat for an extended period it is particularly important to know where this draw is coming from. Power sources (especially shore power) can become disabled. If this happens the combination of parasitic draw combined with the batteries self discharge rate can flatten even a large battery bank.

Agreed.

Gas alarms are a real bugger. My twin sensor system draws 220 mA, and a further 600 mA when the gas solenoid is on. That’s the better part of 20 AH in 24 hours.

[boatpoker]

Originally Posted by thomm225

Doubt it.

So do I

[hlev00]

Yes they do. Don’t forget to disconnect them when storing over the winter without the panels connected. A couple of months adds up. Do ask me how I know.

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by boatpoker

So do I

Right because if I was anchored for a few months I might get overly fascinated with things like the current draw of my controller or freak out because my batteries are off by .1 volts from normal.

This isn't a healthy thing and hints at low stimulation for the brain.

Therefore if I do cruise far and wide, I will be on the move most of the time.....

[boatpoker]

Originally Posted by thomm225

Right because if I was anchored for a few months I might get overly fascinated with things like the current draw of my controller or freak out because my batteries are off by .1 volts from normal.

This isn't a healthy thing and hints at low stimulation for the brain.

Therefore if I do cruise far and wide, I will be on the move most of the time.....

The voice of experience !