Remote Temp Comp for Solar30 Controller?

Muddydogs wrote:

RoyB wrote:
Being we are just now looking at solar panels I am guessing TEMPERATURE COMPENSATION is something important to worry about???

i.e. you do not want your panels to overheat in the high SUN ????

Roy Ken

Actually the temp sensor is to keep your batterys from getting to hot during charging and to regulate the voltage going in depending on battery temp. has nothing to do with solar panel temp.

Roy, the temp comp just adjusts the set voltage for the as-is temperature. The set voltage ASSumes 80F so if the battery spec is to charge at 14.8 at 80F, and it is 40F, then the temp comp cranks up the voltage that is set to 14.8 to say 15.2 or whatever.

If the temp is 110F the temp comp will adjust the set 14.8 down to something less.

The idea is to give the battery the equivalent of the spec voltage it needs regardless of the actual temp. It is not just a solar controller thing, battery chargers like the VEC1093DBD have it too.

As seen in the link, the remote sensor should go on the neg battery post for best sense of internal battery temp. If that can't be arranged, then some stick on the side of the battery. Or failing that, you can put the controller with its own temp comp in a place that has the same ambient temp as the batteries.

Worst thing is to put a controller with its own internal temp comp sensor inside the rig where it is either warmer or colder than where the batteries are.

If a solar controller with the sensor in the controller and not remoted to the batteries, is in a warmer place than the batteries, and it set to start controlling (not let the battery voltage go any higher than that setting) then it will start controlling too soon. It will be set to 14.8, but adjust itself to 14.5 say.

So the batteries are actually wanting that 14.8 at their lower temperature, but they will never see it, only 14.5.