Wanted to share I have been using a low cost 30 amp PWM charge controller to do experimenting with a 100 watt panel. It seems to work really well it even has a timer that's fairly easy to use if you want to have the light shut off after a predetermined amount of hours. It's cheap enough to keep as an extra in a faraday cage. ( I got a few for bartering ) $14 with shipping from ebay about the 9th one down ohbuybuybuy | eBay
Features: 30A Solar Charge Controller Street Light Regulator 12V 24V Autoswitch Panel 720w Overcharging protection Can be used for all panels Overdischarging protection Short and Open Circuit protection Full specification available if required Fail Safe and cannot be damaged by accidental wiring mistakes Advanced design with simple plug and play technology. No need for complicated adjustments Full LED status indication: State of Charge(SOC) Red-Flat Battery: Amber-Low charge: Green- good charge: Green Flashing- Full Charge Model number: 30I Rated solar input: 30A Rated load current:30A System voltageC 12V/24V Over load、short circuit protection: 1.25 rated load current 60sec 1.5 rated loads current 5 sec over load No load current ≤ 6mA Charging circuit voltage drop ≤ 0.26V Load circuit voltage drop ≤ 0.15V Over voltage protection: 17V;x2/24V Working temperature: Industry stage -35 ~ +55°C Boost voltage : 14.6V; 2/24V (keep 10min) Direct charge voltage: 14.4V;x2/24V(keep 10min) Float voltage: 13.6V ;x2/24V Charge return voltage: 13.2V ;x2/24V Temperature compensation: -5mV/°C/2V (Boost charge、Direct charge、Float charge、charge return) Lower voltage indicate: 12.0V ;x2/24V Over discharge voltage: 11.1V(no load)-real-time modified voltage by the discharge rate: x2/24V Over discharge return voltage:12.6V ;x2/24V Control mode: PWM charge mode modified discharge by the discharge rate Specifications: Original box: NO Color: Black Item size: 140*88*25mm Net weight: 147g Package weight: 163g Packaging content : 1 x 30A Solar Charge Controller
I bought three "Chinese made" PWM controllers to test, after I had been using American designed / made units. This included Morningstar and Midnite solar charge controllers. It didn't take much, from the time I first "felt" them in my hands, to know they were not quality made units. Out of three, only one is still running today, but is not reliable enough to trust with good quality batteries. I just don't get it. People will pay top dollar for their batteries, hundreds of bucks. But, then, they want to skimp on the very unit that plays a major roll in the life of those batteries. You want a reliable, quality PWM controller? Go with a Morningstar Sunlight controller. Or, go with the new Midnite Brat. Both are excellent little units and are reasonably priced. In fact, I bought my Sunlight 10L-12v used, off eBay.
Morningstar controller. Or, Midnite Brat.,Agreed .... and the specs I posted above are stretching ! I wonder why @Seepalaces jumped into solar harvesting . Seen the new Midnight inverter SYSTEM coming out ? My Cells are 15g kept up with a 12g system Paul your on the dime.
It's great to see your interested in RE @Seepalaces Remember one thing with this RE thinking , NO two systems are alike unless they are beside each other . What works for Paul & his setup ,will never work for for me because different latitudes & heights with a temp factor. And you will never get the MPG of what they say your vehicle could deliver , 300watt solar panel on earth @ sea level datum is 15% less .Always include your loss factor , unlike MPG don't take in drag / headwind etc . Every conversion from sunlight to current of DC then AC are all losses of % of inefficiency .. See, never Nosy & always ask questions , I always had my hand UP never out! As with the OP , I have a few of those , Part time but for 10 bucks , I gave them a try against my North American made units . I would use them with junk 12V batterys & if they were at the end of a driveway where stealing factor is high. Sloth
Your the first person that I know of that has had a problem with one of these. I know of a few of these that have been running for years without a problem. I have one that I use when ever I'm experimenting with the same one for years. It's been dropped, hooked up wrong, rained on and hook up to way to many watts and it still works as it should. This is the style converter that comes with most "solar kits" 300 watts or less. Even Renogy uses them and they say they have no problem with them and they give a good warranty I wouldn't give a good review on something unless I had tried it out myself and had good luck with it. Renogy 300W Watt Solar Panel Kit 3 100W 12V 24V Mono RV Boat Charge Controller Actually I have learned a lot mostly not to believe anything about solar unless I have tried it my self
Well, you may trust controllers like these with hundreds, or even thousands of dollars worth of batteries. That is certainly your prerogative. As someone who has experienced 2 out of 3 failures, I wouldn't. If we ever encounter a true SHTF situation, I want the best quality my money can buy, running my systems. Either way, best wishes to you and your projects.