Feedback on this solar kit?
Hello, I see Harbor Freight has this kit on sale for $140. Yes, I know it's probably the cheapest cheesiest thing I could probably buy because it's from HF, but it's my first endeavor into solar charg...
Forum Discussion
BFL, you know I'm not into cheap stuff ;) ... Could've bought a dozen of controllers like those for what I paid for my MPPT. Though a dozen of them wouldn't still do the same job.
I mentioned that ASC mostly because it works, and has a temperature compensation. Here is another one that looks even better, also with temp comp, and 3 stage: Morningstar 6A. They claim it to be weatherproof, a good thing for portables. No personal experience with either one.
O&S: explanation of PWM vs MPPT from MS website is too simplified. The little dirty secret here is that with panels over 200W you can't have a PWM controller because those panels are 24V nominal. It's not just that MPPT is "better" for larger panels because it gets you 20% boost, while with smaller panels it gets you 5% boost. It is that with larger panels you HAVE to have MPPT, otherwise you not only don't get the "boost", but will also lose half the power.
I mentioned that ASC mostly because it works, and has a temperature compensation. Here is another one that looks even better, also with temp comp, and 3 stage: Morningstar 6A. They claim it to be weatherproof, a good thing for portables. No personal experience with either one.
O&S: explanation of PWM vs MPPT from MS website is too simplified. The little dirty secret here is that with panels over 200W you can't have a PWM controller because those panels are 24V nominal. It's not just that MPPT is "better" for larger panels because it gets you 20% boost, while with smaller panels it gets you 5% boost. It is that with larger panels you HAVE to have MPPT, otherwise you not only don't get the "boost", but will also lose half the power.
