30v Solar Panel Control Options

[Colin Hughes]

I am going to have access to some Sharp 230w solar panels. I'd like to use one for charge my second battery when I'm in camp and parked for a few days. Right now I have Surepower 1314 that controls the charging on my mail and aux battery (used for ARB fridge, camera battery, cell phone, ipad recharging, led tent lights) and this works fine when I'm moving daily. The Sharp panel is 30v and I need to get it down to 12v but everything I've seen so far doesn't seem to be able to handle this panel for portable use. Any ideas or suggestions? My plan is to carry the solar panel inside my Maggiolina RTT and bring it out and hook it up when I'm set up at extended base camps.

 

[762X39]

It appears that the Surepower 1314 you have only switches between the two batteries, charging the aux battery when the main battery is fully charged (cmiiw). What you need is a mppt charge controller between the Sharp panel and your batteries. They typically have an input range (in your case the range needs to be up to 36 volts) and they take the excess voltage (in the simplest terms) and transfer it to more charge current (a power converter I guess) at a voltage suitable to charge your 12 volt batteries.Hope this helps.

 

[4x4junkie]

I use this controller for my setup which I suspect would work fine for that panel also:
http://www.morningstarcorp.com/en/sunsavermppt

It says 200W max input for a 12 volt setup, although those ratings typically are for under perfect ideal conditions (high-noon at the earth's equator). Unless that's where you're located, it should easily process whatever power that panel can generate (has current protection built in also, so no worries even if it does go over for a moment at high-noon).

I've connected up to 240W of panels to mine before and it just barely hits it's max 15A rating. The unit hardly gets warm if it's in a ventilated space.

 

[Colin Hughes]

Thanks, I'll do some more research as I'm now pointed in the right direction.

 

[mattm01]

I've been looking at either the Morningstar MPPT or the http://www.solar-electric.com/sb1524ix.html

Morningstar is slightly cheaper but the BlueSky looks to have a 2nd configurable output (2amp) that would let me charge two batteries at once. Kinda of cool. Anyone have any experience with the BlueSky SB1524X?

 

[wrcsixeight]

When I saw your link to the 1524ix I thought it was a typo.

I was not aware BS had a new product out.

I have the sb2512i and the IPN pro remote battery monitor. They have worked well for almost 5 years now.

Wish I had bought the ix model which has a temp sensor.

Any complaints I have are more to do with the monitor than the CC. The pro remote allows one to set the acceptance voltage and duration. depending on a number of factors, sometimes my panel cannot maintain this acceptance voltage when the fridge cycles on. So while I have it set for an hour at 14.5, some days it spends 3 hours in that range.

Makes the batteries use more water