Solar question
Do solar panels require a controller. The PO of our camper made this solar briefcase and said he used it to charge the camper batteries, laptop, phone etc. I've never used solar panels but I thought y...
Forum Discussion
Buy a cheap controller off Amazon, better to have and not need then need and not have.
This is the one I use for 100-200 Watts of Solar - mine has a digital display of volts and amps:
Sunforce 60032 30 Amp Solar Charge Controller - $80
this can be used for up to 120 watts of solar
Sunforce 60031 10 Amp Digital Charge Controller - $30
For you setup, you can probably get away with something like this:
Sunforce 7 Amp Charge Controller - $16
or this:
10A 12V/24V Solar Charge Controller Solar Panel Battery Regulator Safe Protection - $9
for the difference in price I would get the $30 at a minimum one for a basic portable setup. Not a FT setup, but good for a portable one at around 100 watts.
Watts / volts - AMPS so 100 Watt panel / 12 v = 8 amps in theory
In reality you might see 6 amps at best.
if those are HF 15W panels you will at best see around 2 amps of charge so a little controller is fine. I used a 40w portable panel for a long time and if you are stingy with battery usage it is enough to keep thinks charged up and let you top off each day.
Dave
This is the one I use for 100-200 Watts of Solar - mine has a digital display of volts and amps:
Sunforce 60032 30 Amp Solar Charge Controller - $80
this can be used for up to 120 watts of solar
Sunforce 60031 10 Amp Digital Charge Controller - $30
For you setup, you can probably get away with something like this:
Sunforce 7 Amp Charge Controller - $16
or this:
10A 12V/24V Solar Charge Controller Solar Panel Battery Regulator Safe Protection - $9
for the difference in price I would get the $30 at a minimum one for a basic portable setup. Not a FT setup, but good for a portable one at around 100 watts.
Watts / volts - AMPS so 100 Watt panel / 12 v = 8 amps in theory
In reality you might see 6 amps at best.
if those are HF 15W panels you will at best see around 2 amps of charge so a little controller is fine. I used a 40w portable panel for a long time and if you are stingy with battery usage it is enough to keep thinks charged up and let you top off each day.
Dave
