Solar Charge Controller

wbwood wrote:
So the link I posted to the kit is decent?

Check Solar Blvd. Amazon rarely have decent prices on mid-size solar kits. The kit itself unlikely is "decent", and neither are low-priced kits from Solar Blvd or separately purchased cheap PWM controllers. This is all a bottom quality and features, at least as controllers go. If you care about your batteries, get a PWM with adjustable setpoints and remote temperature compensation.

Another thing to understand is that such "kits" are made for God only knows what purpose, other than unloading questionable items on a newbie that doesn't know much about solar and wants a turn-key solution. Brackets are not suitable for RV (too long to explain). Hardware, if any included, is not stainless. MC4 cables are usually too short and sometimes too thin, like gauge 12, while it should be - preferably - gauge 10, even for PWM where V-drop is less important. Cable for controller-battery is never included, and its gauge is a separate issue. Fuses, breakers, disconnects - are never included.

IMO, such a kit is OK as a quick portable setup (and even then you need a controller-battery cable), and the matter of controller quality and features remains an issue.

This topic has went far beyond the OP question about the difference btw MPPT and PWM - as noted, there are many things here that he needs to learn. Too many. The topic should've been titled like "How do I do all this solar thing", for example. Though then there would've been fewer members willing to answer. Jack Mayers is a good source. Handy Bob's blog is an easy and amusing read with few useful tips, but not a 101 on solar.