OregonTRX4 wrote:
Well here is my progress. I wired the panels with 10g wire to the controller. The wire is about 48ft long. The wires from the battery to the controller are 4g and about 21" long. So now I just need sun to see how it works and if I am getting enough voltage to the batteries. Should work ok I hope.
My next question, do you guys with mobile systems use a spool or something when wrapping the wire up? Also, are you guys using switches or what so that you can disconnect the panel from the controller before you connect the battery to the controller?
March 31st is pretty early in the year, try getting a voltage reading and an amperage reading now that it's the end of April. You might be pleasantly surprised at the output of that 160W panel now.
I have experimented with several charge controllers now, the RJSpecial you show there is a pretty much set it and forget it setup, it tries to get 14.4V to the batteries.
That said, I find that the cheap chinese programmable variety that you can adjust the voltage on to 15.0V do a much better job of truly topping your batteries off to closer to a 100% charge, WHEN CAMPING, but I think the RJSpecial at 14.4V does an OK job. I say OK, because my voltage seems to fall off a lot quicker off of 12.65V or so, when charged to 14.4V, whereas when I use my chinese special that I've bumped the voltage up from 14.4V to 15.0, my battery seems to start out at 12.73V. My point is this, with daily usage, every little bit to keep your starting voltage in the evening as high as possible is a good thing.
What you really want to know is what the specific gravity is of the battery at the end of the sunlight day with that RJSpecial charger.
1.270 to 1.280 is where you should be.
Glad to hear that the Solar Blvd 160W folding panels are working out for you so well.
For others, it appears, they are back in stock.
Solar Blvd 160W folding portable solar charging panel
