I am considering putting 5 of these on my RV's roof for off-grid camping. I already have a 2800 watt PSW inverter and 6 AGM batteries. Will a Morningstar MPPT 60 watt controller be adequate for all five panels at peak output?
1378537
a morningstar 60 &lt;AMP&gt; controller will not be big enough, this is what I have for just 3 of the panels, and it is maxed out. Have you looked to see if you can put 5 on top ? I have a 35 foot RV but there are a lot of things up top that get in the way... Anyway, get the 80 amp morningstar and maybe just 4 panels. The grapesolar and the morningstar have worked very well for me. I would also suggest the remote panel(s) good luck !
1378034
If you are living in a RV, spend the extra money and get a MPPT charge controller. I found a cheap priced one made by Tracer. They make a 10, 20, 30, and 40 amp. They are a lot more efficient than a PWM controller.
428699
The MPPT-45 is really too small for 1KW solar pushing down to 12V. 600w of solar is the peak for that setup. So you need to get the FM-80 by Outback (1250w capacity) Thanks,
752590
it really will depend on the specs from the panels you choose but i would say if they are similar to something like the renogy 100 watt panels you could run at least four for sure and possibly more depending on the actual output from each panel. if i was running more than 400 watts of panels i would probably start looking at some of the mppt charge controllers so you can get the most out of your system.
765122
Hi -- I am an electrical engineer and I use this panel to keep the three full size 12V deep cycle batteries wired in parallel on my camper charged. It does a really good job and I do not use a charge controller. I mount the solar panel vertically facing south so that in the summer when the sun is high in the sky and the temps are warm it receives less solar input, but in the winter the sun angle is low and I get relatively more charge and any excess battery heating will be less of a concern. The panel seems to be very good quality and has held up fine outside in Park City UT for over 9 months. The current from the panel in full sun should nominally be 5w/12v = .42 amps, which may be a little high for trickle charging a small motorcycle battery. Check for your battery specs on line. By mounting the solar panel vertically it will generate less current in the summer and avoid overheating. You can also probably mask the panel with tape to reduce output if needed. Also, I don't think charge controllers are too expensive for this size panel so that is an option. Hope this helps. ---Dan in Park City UT
1771956
This controller will handle up to 30amps. So for example, I have 3 panels at ~145w each (~7.5 amps) that are connected to each other and run to this controller. Since I'm only bringing in max around 22 amps, then this one controller is plenty. I could actually add one more panel to it of the same size as my current and it should continue to work fine. To answer your question though, yes, if your panels are large enough to put you over 30a with two panels, then run them side by side and connect the two controllers to the same battery bank without issue.
883032
You should look at running 2 - possible 3 100 watt panels, if an upgrade for future look at 10 gauge panel wire, it seems your running 12 volt, but your inverter and charger will depend. I've got a 40 amp 12/24 charger but batteries will run at 12 bought in a kit with 6 100 watt panels but told to only run 5 as my 60 amp also takes 1600 watts if at 24, but running at 12 so 800 watts mix up and I was sent a 12 both are mppt, you can probably run 5-6 100 watts if you have 2/ 25 amps combined, if not mppt they will keep charging but at a lower rate will destroy your batteries if not in use all the time, go with 10 gauge wire you will be happier.
34730
I have six 100 watt Renogy panels wired for 24 volts. The meter that came with this controller reads almost 40 volts. It varies from 30-40 volts depending on battery state of charge (I am using six deep cycle batteries...12v). It works great. Additionally, I have pulled 34 amps down from the high sun which equates to around 815 watts. My unit has NEVER shut itself off. When the batteries are fully charged it will still provide power to your accessories. I am using an DC-AC inverter...so, it really doesn't matter.
467335
You've probably checked on line, but this is a good site to referencehttp://www.chargingchargers.com/tutorials/solar.html25 milliamps is really small, and may not generate enough watts to bring the controller into play.I connected the controller to a largish solar panel, output approx 20 volts, for keeping my boat battery topped up.. the combination seems to work well at this level.Hope this helps.
2242774
You need a charge controller pretty much for any solar panel over 10 watts. I like the ones that have a digital voltage meter and built in float mode. Lots of choices for controllers in the $20 range Panel has held up well so far on my sailboat.
1873946
I think you need to check your controller specs, but I know some controllers may just shut off to prevent damage. Also note these panels are higher voltage which may not be compatible with your controller. I bought a charge controller that won't work with these because the voltage may go up to 45V on these panels. Now I run two of these with the Morningstar MPPT 45A charge controller. Morningstar has a calculator on their site that will confirm whether a planned setup will work with their charge controllers or not. I am planning on adding one more panel to my setup. The 45A MPPT charge controller can handle 3 of these panels. Good luck! I think you need to check your controller specs, but I know some controllers may just shut off to prevent damage. Also note these panels are higher voltage which may not be compatible with your controller. I bought a charge controller that won't work with these because the voltage may go up to 45V on these panels. Now I run two of these with the Morningstar MPPT 45A charge controller. Morningstar has a calculator on their site that will confirm whether a planned setup will work with their charge controllers or not. I am planning on adding one more panel to my setup. The 45A MPPT charge... » Read More I think you need to check your controller specs, but I know some controllers may just shut off to prevent damage. Also note these panels are higher voltage which may not be compatible with your controller. I bought a charge controller that won't work with these because the voltage may go up to 45V on these panels. Now I run two of these with the Morningstar MPPT 45A charge controller. Morningstar has a calculator on their site that will confirm whether a planned setup will work with their charge controllers or not. I am planning on adding one more panel to my setup. The 45A MPPT charge controller can handle 3 of these panels. Good luck! « Show Less
352792
Throwing in my two cents. Get two for this. It'll work fine for awhile for you the way you want to do it, but ultimately, your battery is going to lose charge 'cause you will be running close to max on the panel all things considered unless you are in bright sunlight all the time. Plus, over time, your battery is not going to charge as efficiently. My 100W Grape tests at 5 amps in good sunlight. But then there's nighttime....:-) I run an off grid system, and am going to get a second panel just because of those cloudy days. An MPPT controller will help maximize your charging too. I haven't gotten one of those yet. Throwing in my two cents. Get two for this. It'll work fine for awhile for you the way you want to do it, but ultimately, your battery is going to lose charge 'cause you will be running close to max on the panel all things considered unless you are in bright sunlight all the time. Plus, over time, your battery is not going to charge as efficiently. My 100W Grape tests at 5 amps in good sunlight. But then there's nighttime....:-) I run an off grid system, and am going to get a second panel just because of those cloudy days. An MPPT controller will help maximize your charging too. I haven't... » Read More Throwing in my two cents. Get two for this. It'll work fine for awhile for you the way you want to do it, but ultimately, your battery is going to lose charge 'cause you will be running close to max on the panel all things considered unless you are in bright sunlight all the time. Plus, over time, your battery is not going to charge as efficiently. My 100W Grape tests at 5 amps in good sunlight. But then there's nighttime....:-) I run an off grid system, and am going to get a second panel just because of those cloudy days. An MPPT controller will help maximize your charging too. I haven't gotten one of those yet. « Show Less
1258375
I'm using this controller to charge a bank of 4 12 volt batteries and my solar panel is rated at 30 watts and 17.5 volts. It seems to be working fine but I don't know if the controller lists any maximum input voltage or not. One would think it would be capable of handling a wide range of voltage just because of the nature of most solar panels but that is simple logic and simple logic doesn't always apply.
94032
This model will handle a maximum of 100 volts of DC output from your solar panels, so your 48 volts is well withing its limits. If your system uses 12 volt batteries, which is most common, and your panels produce no more than 130 watts of maximum power (260 watts if your electrical system is 24 volts) this controller will do the job well. This is a great little controller and I'm totally satisfied with it, and the price is very fair.
1332100
The charge control can handle up to 7A. Your 30 watt panel puts out ~1.68A at high noon. You should be fine with one charge controller charging two or more batteries and it would require more charge time. Just make sure you hook up your batteries correctly. Personally and for convenience I would much prefer to get two charge controller with two solar panels for the two batteries so that I could avoid having to move and or reconnect the batteries. A larger solar panel can would benefit you quite a bit if you need to drawn power from the battery each night. Hope you are using deep cycle batteries.
693461
I've heard that the controller that comes in this kit only handles a max of 60 watts. The excess is bled off. But if you get two kits and connect the two panels together, you could attach a higher wattage controller to the system. Then just use your two kit controllers as portable power sources that can be hooked up to any auto battery.
1509654
I highly recommend using a charge controller with any solar panel to eliminate problems that you are speaking of. After I started using a charge controller I have not had any problems at all. Even on a 5 watt panel I would use a charge controller.