Your setup looks like moving south will level the panel out. As such, I would assume that actuator should be moved to the other side so that you can actually get South/South-East sun correctly. Changing the wires to make the directions correct is fine for east to west when that's full range of motion, but that degree tilt from south to flat going north is a different cookie.
Thanks Taddy. I wish the controller has the option to stop the actuator at full extended & fully retracted position, I am using this controller on a much larger home built platform so my actuator doesn't have a built in limit switch, & I couldn't figure out what kind of external limit switch I have to use.
Thanks you for this video😃, I need some clarification regarding the E, W, S, and N values mentioned in the tracker’s specifications. Could you tell me what these values represent? Specifically, are they related to angular positions or tilt angles for the solar panels in relation to the East, West, South, and North directions, or do they have a different meaning?
Excellent. I want one. I wonder how much more anergy you can harvest as opposed to nailing them to a roof. I'm guessing a lot. This is just my opinion, but I would put pipe insulation on the strut to nerf it where it sticks out at eye level.
Thanks for this video. Made it really easy to set up. One thoughts I wonder if the lock time starts once the wind reduces below the V2 threshold. Usually when a storm passes, you’re good. But I could see bands coming thru. After 10 minutes of things being calm it goes back then another strong band comes in and it has to flatten out again. 🤷♂️
Tad great informative video I have a question I want to change the high wind position to get the tracker vertical and have the edge pointing north. Hail is our biggest threat here in Texas. I will have a reflective wall behind the tracker so wind will be minimized. Goin home to flat at night is fine. Thank you for the video information
Thanks for the video. Great to see how these get installed. I am curious why in all of the other pictures/videos, the N-S actuator is on the S side of the main pole, yet yours is mounted on the N side. What was the reasoning for this?
Good question! I put it on backwards the first time. Then the second time I put it on the right way in the video I showed that I did the wrong way towards the end of the video
Not so much space, so mine is installed almost to a fence on its west side. So in the afternoon it starts shading the panels, those that are lower due to the sun tracking. To avoid that i should adjust TX value lower to establish a limit near T5-T11 so it doesn't point further west to avoid the fence shade.
I don’t think that’s possible. This unit is very simple and not very smart. As long as the sensor detects enough sun it’ll track that way. Maybe if you turn the V3 sunshine limit up it might turn off sooner, but then it’ll need even more light to turn it on in the morning.
Interesting that you have to actually calibrate it for cardinal directions. I would think it would just use its tracker to detect where the sun is the strongesr and move each actuator accordingly to face the panel in that direction.
@@TaddyDigest hahaha. I’ve watched the 3 videos on your assembly of the solar tracker, unless I missed it, I didn’t see anything about how the battery got connected.
Why do you measure the time from west to east? In the manual, it says "time needed to move eastwards in wind protection". Wind protection is when panels are flat, tracker looks like T. Should you not measure from flat position to east?
@@TaddyDigest Sorry, my mistake, i have read the manual again and did not see the pictures how it moves. I thought the tracker knows the wind protection position but it can only count the seconds from east moving to west to know then it reached T position. Then it makes sense to measure from farest west to farest east (worst start position when storm arrives) and then back from east to T. And because it can not move to north more then flat, only measuring from south to north and set the last measure to zero, i think it got it now 🙂
I’ve had mine set for about 5 mos, and have a question. Is your tracker backwards? I noticed that it tilts to the north, and I’m assuming you’re in the northern hemisphere where we get most of our sun from the south.
I believe you're misunderstanding the delay value of the duration of weak sunlight. Correct me if I'm wrong, but if you set it for 600 seconds then it will go back to night mode. Because there is no sun. I'm pretty sure that's how long it will wait to see if the Sun appears again if not it will go back flat for night mode. Please reply back and let me know if you think different. Because after 600 seconds mine went flat but once the sun appeared again in the west it started tracking again.
You’re right. On a cloudy day the V3:sunshine limit might temporarily detect low voltage and that will start the 600 second countdown. If the clouds move it’ll reset. If it goes longer than 600 seconds it’ll go flat, and the display will say “waiting for sunshine.” As soon as V3 goes up again it’ll start tracking again.
@@patrickralston1246 it’s separate. I have a small panel and the battery hooked to a cheap charge controller from harbor freight. I hooked the load port on the charge controller to the tracker controller. Works like a charm
So i just set mine up today. It never seems to go into SA. Says theres 3 modes. SL, SA, and MT. It always seems to be in SL. Whats up? I set everything up right, all wires landed right. Sensors in right places. And exited out of MT mode obviously.
did you found a solution? i finished my setup today and it is in SL mode too, it is nearly dark now and it should turn at least to sleep position. Auto-Mode should be SH and not SL, not sure what is going wrong
Wilkommen! You are in the northern hemisphere so your N/S actuator needs to be on the south side of the tracker. Other than that there are no specific parameters for Germany. However, I’ve heard that some controllers are wired backwards. So, even if your tracker is installed correctly it’s N/S movement will be backwards. You just need to unscrew the wires in the controller and reverse them. Also, if you’re sun sensor isn’t installed on the NE corner of the array and oriented the right way it will not go in the right direction. In the manual the pictures show the sun sensor wire going in one direction, so just mirror that direction. Viel Gluck.
You time it from all the way west to all the way east. Half of that value should take it half way back west, or flat. It doesn’t always work out that way, so I time it from all the way east to flat. It’s going to change over time so you might have to adjust it. If your battery is low or there are high winds it’ll slow the tracker down, so it might not stop perfectly flat and you’ll have to do it manually.
Your setup looks like moving south will level the panel out. As such, I would assume that actuator should be moved to the other side so that you can actually get South/South-East sun correctly. Changing the wires to make the directions correct is fine for east to west when that's full range of motion, but that degree tilt from south to flat going north is a different cookie.
Thanks for a great info video, helped me get mine programmed and up and running!! Thanks!
Thanks!
You're welcome my friend.Thank you so much for your support
Thanks Taddy. I wish the controller has the option to stop the actuator at full extended & fully retracted position, I am using this controller on a much larger home built platform so my actuator doesn't have a built in limit switch, & I couldn't figure out what kind of external limit switch I have to use.
Great explanation!!! Good job!!!
Thank you!
Thanks you for this video😃, I need some clarification regarding the E, W, S, and N values mentioned in the tracker’s specifications. Could you tell me what these values represent? Specifically, are they related to angular positions or tilt angles for the solar panels in relation to the East, West, South, and North directions, or do they have a different meaning?
They mean East West South North
Excellent. I want one. I wonder how much more anergy you can harvest as opposed to nailing them to a roof. I'm guessing a lot.
This is just my opinion, but I would put pipe insulation on the strut to nerf it where it sticks out at eye level.
They say you get an extra 40% more solar over stationary panels
Thanks man, very helpful in our setup👍👍👍👍
Thanks for this video. Made it really easy to set up. One thoughts I wonder if the lock time starts once the wind reduces below the V2 threshold. Usually when a storm passes, you’re good. But I could see bands coming thru. After 10 minutes of things being calm it goes back then another strong band comes in and it has to flatten out again. 🤷♂️
Tad great informative video
I have a question
I want to change the high wind position to get the tracker vertical and have the edge pointing north.
Hail is our biggest threat here in Texas. I will have a reflective wall behind the tracker so wind will be minimized.
Goin home to flat at night is fine. Thank you for the video information
Thanks for the video. Great to see how these get installed. I am curious why in all of the other pictures/videos, the N-S actuator is on the S side of the main pole, yet yours is mounted on the N side. What was the reasoning for this?
Good question!
I put it on backwards the first time. Then the second time I put it on the right way in the video I showed that I did the wrong way towards the end of the video
Not so much space, so mine is installed almost to a fence on its west side. So in the afternoon it starts shading the panels, those that are lower due to the sun tracking. To avoid that i should adjust TX value lower to establish a limit near T5-T11 so it doesn't point further west to avoid the fence shade.
I don’t think that’s possible. This unit is very simple and not very smart. As long as the sensor detects enough sun it’ll track that way. Maybe if you turn the V3 sunshine limit up it might turn off sooner, but then it’ll need even more light to turn it on in the morning.
Interesting that you have to actually calibrate it for cardinal directions. I would think it would just use its tracker to detect where the sun is the strongesr and move each actuator accordingly to face the panel in that direction.
I'm just calibrating the time that it takes to move
It will track the sun automatically
Do you have a video showing how you hooked up your battery/maintainer to this solar tracker?
I've got a few videos that do explain that, but I will do another 14 you
@@TaddyDigest hahaha. I’ve watched the 3 videos on your assembly of the solar tracker, unless I missed it, I didn’t see anything about how the battery got connected.
Why do you measure the time from west to east? In the manual, it says "time needed to move eastwards in wind protection". Wind protection is when panels are flat, tracker looks like T. Should you not measure from flat position to east?
good point
@@TaddyDigest Sorry, my mistake, i have read the manual again and did not see the pictures how it moves.
I thought the tracker knows the wind protection position but it can only count the seconds from east moving to west to know then it reached T position.
Then it makes sense to measure from farest west to farest east (worst start position when storm arrives) and then back from east to T. And because it can not move to north more then flat, only measuring from south to north and set the last measure to zero, i think it got it now 🙂
How did you permanently wire the tracker to the 12V power source?
I wired it to a battery
@@TaddyDigest Right, I guess where did you permanently put the battery? In a weatherproof box next to it or run a wire from a building?
Hi. How big is the foundation for the tracker? Have you had any problems with it in high wind? Thanks a lot! Thomas
The base is two and a half foot by two and a half foot, by two foot deep no problem so far
Taddy - do the solar panels help keep your battery source charged as well?
yes absolutely
Has anyone put 3-4 400w panels on this instead of the 195w?
@@jlmaster1 2 is all that fits
Any idea why mine wont go in night mode when low light at nite but if i cover the sensor it goes flat
It's either the controller or it's the position of the sensor check with eco worthy tech support
I’ve had mine set for about 5 mos, and have a question. Is your tracker backwards? I noticed that it tilts to the north, and I’m assuming you’re in the northern hemisphere where we get most of our sun from the south.
I will have it up in running very soon I will check.
@TaddyDigest my actuator is on the south side. I just set it up. My manual is different too. Less info
I believe you're misunderstanding the delay value of the duration of weak sunlight. Correct me if I'm wrong, but if you set it for 600 seconds then it will go back to night mode. Because there is no sun. I'm pretty sure that's how long it will wait to see if the Sun appears again if not it will go back flat for night mode. Please reply back and let me know if you think different. Because after 600 seconds mine went flat but once the sun appeared again in the west it started tracking again.
You’re right. On a cloudy day the V3:sunshine limit might temporarily detect low voltage and that will start the 600 second countdown. If the clouds move it’ll reset. If it goes longer than 600 seconds it’ll go flat, and the display will say “waiting for sunshine.” As soon as V3 goes up again it’ll start tracking again.
Do you know what is the diameter of the base on the Eco Worthy single axis tracker?
I'm not exactly sure
Ok thanks. Is the battery kept charged by the solar array or a separate solar set up?
@@patrickralston1246 it’s separate. I have a small panel and the battery hooked to a cheap charge controller from harbor freight. I hooked the load port on the charge controller to the tracker controller. Works like a charm
Im having trouble with my N, where it does not drive to N. It stays put on wind protection. Any suggestions?
It's the only drive south,west, and east
Make sure it's facing the right direction
So i just set mine up today. It never seems to go into SA. Says theres 3 modes. SL, SA, and MT. It always seems to be in SL. Whats up? I set everything up right, all wires landed right. Sensors in right places. And exited out of MT mode obviously.
I'm not sure.
did you found a solution? i finished my setup today and it is in SL mode too, it is nearly dark now and it should turn at least to sleep position. Auto-Mode should be SH and not SL, not sure what is going wrong
@@thomasspeicher8796mine does the same? Figure it out?
Hello,can you give me the parameter settings for germany .... I'm desperate,best regards.
Wilkommen! You are in the northern hemisphere so your N/S actuator needs to be on the south side of the tracker. Other than that there are no specific parameters for Germany. However, I’ve heard that some controllers are wired backwards. So, even if your tracker is installed correctly it’s N/S movement will be backwards. You just need to unscrew the wires in the controller and reverse them. Also, if you’re sun sensor isn’t installed on the NE corner of the array and oriented the right way it will not go in the right direction. In the manual the pictures show the sun sensor wire going in one direction, so just mirror that direction. Viel Gluck.
Why are you halfing T4 to flat??…. But go west to east with T3 ?? Wouldnt wind protection mean it goes flat ? Not all the west to east? Im confused
You time it from all the way west to all the way east. Half of that value should take it half way back west, or flat. It doesn’t always work out that way, so I time it from all the way east to flat. It’s going to change over time so you might have to adjust it. If your battery is low or there are high winds it’ll slow the tracker down, so it might not stop perfectly flat and you’ll have to do it manually.
You installed the actuators wrong
I know I had to redo it 😩
first
Nope I feel First even when I'm Last in Line.