Solar Charge Controller
Looking at solar and seeing different options for controllers. What's the difference between PWM and MPPT?
Forum Discussion
wbwood wrote:
Just saw that Renogy has the same stuff on eBay but for a little less, still with free shipping.
What would be the recommended length of cable for a portable set up? Would 20' suffice or would just go ahead and go longer right from the start?
how/where do you camp?? If your almost always are near direct sun and out of trees/shade, no need for long cable.
Where we camp, that's seldom the case. However, with either PWM or MPPT, AND having the controller near the battery (NEVER at the panel). you can have LONGGGGGG cable runs. I have two 50' and one 25' cable. Each is 30A power cords, with the ground paralled with the neutral since you only need two conductors. I run the panels in series with a MPPT controller. (240W total, 3 panels)
Our Daughters in Laws have have two 50' #12 sections with a PWM controller. same thing, with the ground and neutral shorted together.
In each case when we need the 100ft cable, current loss is minimal, a few tenths of an amp over a 10ft run or so based on some experiements we did.
I made up cable sections using the anderson 50A connectors. very robust, low resistance connectors. then roll out what I need.
This lets us pick our best campsite and then run cable for the panels rather than have the cable/panel dictate our camp location.
