anyone recognise thes solar controler?

SeaJay · Member

anyone recognise thes solar controler?

outlaw40 · Guru

Hi Seajay congratulations on the new rig, try taking the two screws out that hold the controller to the wall i am pretty sure you will find some information on the back of the unit. hope this helps

-- Edited by outlaw40 on Sunday 29th of April 2018 06:40:37 AM

-- Edited by outlaw40 on Sunday 29th of April 2018 06:42:44 AM

boobook · Newbie

Cant help with the controller information, but (no offence meant) if the 17.0v. shown is the charge voltage to the battery/s, then I would be concerned as to how long the battery/s will last.

Mike

SeaJay · Member

thanks outlaw and Mike, it took some searching but I found some info on the web, I have it set to 13.8v now and cutting out at 12v

Papou · Senior Member

Yep had one in my Van and it died in the butt quite quIck :), chucked it out for a local one . See if i can suss out the user manual; for you and photo copy or post to you whichever is easier..
Though i would be upgrading for abetter one , you can find them on fleabay quite cheap also . Made in China from what i gather though most products are today ..

SeaJay · Member

yes I know its a Cheepie, if you can recommend one that has an input for the 240v 8a charger as well as the solar panels and auto switches between both I would be interested

Jaahn · Guru

SeaJay wrote:
thanks outlaw and Mike, it took some searching but I found some info on the web, I have it set to 13.8v now and cutting out at 12v

Hi seajay smile

Two things to say;

First, 13.8V is not high enough to fully charge lead acid batteries. You would need more than that depending on what your batteries are.

Second, the cutout voltage only applies to the load terminals and yours have nothing connected to them so your batteries are not protected from over discharge.

For that cheap unit, most of the complicated settings would be to set the "lighting use" on these cheap regulators in case you are confused about what it all means. Yours is not using these terminals so do not bother.

You need a regulator/charger with a three stage charging protocol as a minimum to get good battery charging and long battery life no matter how it is being supplied with power.

Jaahn

PeterD · Guru

SeaJay wrote:
yes I know its a Cheepie, if you can recommend one that has an input for the 240v 8a charger as well as the solar panels and auto switches between both I would be interested

You do not feed a 240 V charger through a solar controller. They are stand alone devices. You connect the controller and the charger directly to the battery.

valiant81 · Guru

Hi all;

I have the same solar controler in my caravan ( 30 Amp version with 240 Watts of solar on the roof . Found the owners manual in the paperwork from my caravan. Have attached 2 photos.

cheers!! Valiant81

-- Edited by valiant81 on Sunday 29th of April 2018 10:10:32 PM

SeaJay · Member

Thanks Jaahn, silly of me not to realise the cutout wouldn't work, thanks for pointing that out. What max charge rate would you recommend? its going into a 100ah AGM battery. There is a separate 240v 8a charger in there as well, one of these https://thunderauto.com.au/product/8-amp-8-stage-battery-charger/ is it ok to run both the 240v charger and solar into the battery at the same time?

Thanks also to Valiant81 but the pics didn't seem to come thru?

I did find a .pdf of a similar solar charger

SeaJay · Member

just found these .pdf files on the chargers and there a bit better to read, do you think its worth re-wiring the output thru the solar controller so that the cutout can be set?

PeterD · Guru

From those user manuals you supplied it looks like the device is a simple fixed voltage regulator and a multi-stage one. I make that decision as there is only a float voltage given. There would be an absorption or charging voltage together with a float or maintenance charge voltage specified if it were a multi stage device.

It is also a dual 12/24 V regulator. That 17 V on the picture in your first posting makes me think it may be set up for use on a 24 V battery. This can happen if it is connected up incorrectly. Remove the solar panel leads first and then the battery leads. leave things disconnected for a while and put a load on the batteries to remove the surface charge (bring the battery voltage to under 13 V.) Then reconnect the system. You should always connect the battery first when installing a system. This sets up the working voltage of the regulator. If you have the load connected through the regulator connect that next. The last thing to be connected is the panels. When disconnecting things remove the cables in the reverse order, battery always last.

Give this a try and see if the charging voltage comes lower. If the regulator is currently set for 24 V operation the disconnect/reconnect procedure will reset it to 12 V. If not you will have to find out how to adjust the charging voltage lower.

Jaahn · Guru

SeaJay wrote:
just found these .pdf files on the chargers and there a bit better to read, do you think its worth re-wiring the output thru the solar controller so that the cutout can be set?

Hi SeaJay smile

Looking at those manuals I agree with Peter(I think he meant) that it is a single fixed voltage charger. My advice is to throw it away and buy one with a proper 3 stage charging protocol, bulk, absorb, float. Also the ability to set the voltages too or suitable set voltages for your battery They are cheap on ebay. Get a larger amp unit than you need now so you could put another panel or two on also later.

Not sure about the voltages on that 240V charger ?? Who sets these up. Some body guessing from a computer in the dark?? See what your battery manufacturer says for charging voltages and select the best fit from the selection.

The 240 charger and the solar regulator usually can be both connected to the battery and charge ok together without a problem.

Jaahn

SeaJay · Member

I ordered one of these, the MPP 430 Duo Digital plus remote LCD Solar Computer S Votronic www.solar4rvs.com.au/combo-mppt-solar-charge-controllers-and-remote-lcd