solar charge controller

I got rid of 60w heaters that produce light as a by-product.

pianotuna wrote:
How long can you hold your hand on a 60 watt light bulb without it burning you? Power dissipation is necessary or the life of the controller may be short.

200-watt charge controller gots 60 watts dissipation? Heat corned beef on rye...

Addiction.

My charger with display (another brand) is on the bedroom wall, 'cause ventilation of basement compartment, even though not perfect, is still bad enough to allow humid marine air in. Mice and rainstorms don't make basement a perfect place either. By now the symptoms are almost gone, but in the first few months I used to go to bedroom and have a look on the screen every time I entered the trailer. Was seriously considering moving it to basement for this reason alone.

Thanks God, didn't purchase the adapter for connecting it to laptop. This would've sure aggravated the disease.

Working temperature -25ºC ~ +55ºC, 5.9" clearance (150mm)

http://www.epsolarpv.com/en/index.php/Product/pro_content/id/166/am_id/136

With a $5 communication cable you can hook to a laptop and make graphs



Temp sensor for install in different envir than batt

http://www.renogy-store.com/ViewStar-Charge-Controller-Temperature-Sensor-p/ctrl-vs-ts.htm

Almost, Thanks for the link in the installation. Mine didn't come with that, just a small pamphlet, which is why I said "nada". I was actually going to call them tomorrow for the I stallion guide.
Thanks
Bill

30A is way overkill for 200W array. 15A would suffice in most scenarios, and 20A would be plenty. But, since this is what you have...

Read the manual. 35 pages is not exactly "nada". Installation instructions are on the Page 8

Do it properly. Attach it to the wall or to the floor, wall is preferable with this type of heat sink.

You hang it on a string, then you drive back home and forgot about it dangling there, banging against the walls.

With heat sink at the back you should leave at least 5-6" clearance from top and bottom. Clearance from the sides is less important. This is what the manual recommends, and this was recommendation for my totally different controller though also 30A and with similar heat sink design.

It all boils down to heat build-up. You don't tell the array specs, so I will "assume" 200W has 12-ish amps Isc current. This is a low current, any volume of few cubic ft would suffice. BUT... if it's 105 outside, and the compartment is on the small-ish side and facing South, he's not gonna like it. There is probably max temperature somewhere in the manual, check for yourself. If you add more panels in future and still keep it in a small hot space, you might push it too far - too much heat to handle.

To stay within 2% voltage drop, #10 cable to battery would work up to 12-13ft distance. For longer distance you'll need #8 cable.

As people here suggested, you should install it in some place accessible, because it might need adjustments or you might need to see on the screen what it's doing. Or get a remote display, it looks like they offer it as an option. Then you put a display inside and the controller anywhere within 12ft from battery. Or put a controller inside, within 12ft cable run from battery.

You will have to come up with some quick-disconnect thingy, unless you install controller in such a manner that terminals would be VERY easily accessible (and even then it would be a pain, with occasional sparks, loose contacts, wrong polarity etc). Before I got around to installing panels "properly", in other words - permanently on the roof, I was running it as a portable. Panels leaned against trailer wall and controller loose on the floor of cargo hold. It was a pain.

Billinwoodland, with the LCD readout and all the programability of the viewstar, is it too far to put it somewhere easily view-able? I can hardy open the garage without checking the panel & battery volts/amps.

My 10A version is currently only seeing .5A from a shaded 60 watt panel charging 2 7ah gate opening batteries, the controller sees 100F daily lately in the garage but since it doesn't 'buck' voltage I don't see it ever getting hot.

With a bigger battery, I plan to use the default settings in storage and 'other' camping, jacking abs time to max.

Well charge controllers don't need ventilation but need a little air flow. I would say that if the compartment is of any size at all you won't have a problem. My controller has never even been warm to the touch even running 14.8 volts inside a 100+ degree trailer.

The ViewStar is an excellent controller. You can also just dangle it from something up above using a shoelace (not kidding!) instead of putting it against the wall if that will let it get more air around it.

If really need more venting for that cargo bay, you can also put a "cable hatch" in the door. This can be closed while on the road to keep water and dust out, open while camping, and still lets you close and lock the door.

I have one for passing wires in to my inverters and for the solar controller to panel out on the ground outside wires. Also acts as an air vent. Works great.

The ViewStar is an excellent controller. You can also just dangle it from something up above using a shoelace (not kidding!) instead of putting it against the wall if that will let it get more air around it.

If really need more venting for that cargo bay, you can also put a "cable hatch" in the door. This can be closed while on the road to keep water and dust out, open while camping, and still lets you close and lock the door.

I have one for passing wires in to my inverters and for the solar controller to panel out on the ground outside wires. Also acts as an air vent. Works great.