Need Weatherproof Charger for Renology 100W panel

[k1jos]

I have a remote antenna system mounted on a small 4'x8' utility trailer that I will power with a Renology 100w monocryst. All the solar chargers I have seen require ventilation and protection from elements. I am only charging a 60AH VMAX deep cycle, will my Renology charger overheat if I place inside one of those plastic battery containers or even a sealed NEMA enclosure?
Any suggestions appreciated

jerry

[inetdog]

I have a remote antenna system mounted on a small 4'x8' utility trailer that I will power with a Renology 100w monocryst. All the solar chargers I have seen require ventilation and protection from elements. I am only charging a 60AH VMAX deep cycle, will my Renology charger overheat if I place inside one of those plastic battery containers or even a sealed NEMA enclosure?
Any suggestions appreciated

jerry

It will definitely overheat. The only question is whether it will overheat enough to cause damage. Inside a metal enclosure there might be enough heat conduction to the enclosure itself for that to act as a heat sink and allow the CC to stay cool enough to escape damage. Is the Renology CC a PWM or MPPT unit?
Paradoxically, a PWM CC, which wastes more panel power, may actually convert less of the panel input power into heat than an MPPT CC.

Too close to call, but I would expect an unventilated plastic battery container to be worse.

[SunEagle]

I have a remote antenna system mounted on a small 4'x8' utility trailer that I will power with a Renology 100w monocryst. All the solar chargers I have seen require ventilation and protection from elements. I am only charging a 60AH VMAX deep cycle, will my Renology charger overheat if I place inside one of those plastic battery containers or even a sealed NEMA enclosure?
Any suggestions appreciated

jerry

I wouldn't use a sealed enclosure. You can find vented enclosures that are rain and weather proof. They are used all over the place here in Florida which gets a lot of rain.

[k1jos]

I wouldn't use a sealed enclosure. You can find vented enclosures that are rain and weather proof. They are used all over the place here in Florida which gets a lot of rain.

Thanks, I will get a vented (fan blowing out, air pulled in) metal enclosure and mount it to the back plate.

[SunEagle]

Thanks, I will get a vented (fan blowing out, air pulled in) metal enclosure and mount it to the back plate.

Actually depending on the amount of heat you need to remove some enclosures only require vents on the side and a way to let the heat out without letting in moisture without using a fan.

[PNjunction]

Another option is to use the weatherized Morningstar Sunkeeper 12A / 12v pwm controller.

It is encapsulated, and is intended to screw into the holes in the j-box of the panel, although, it would always be better to get your controller closer to your batteries, than making a long run from the controller to the battery.

The absorb threshold is fixed at 14.1v, and the float is at 13.7v. While 14.1v might be considered too low for a vmax agm in cycling use, (that is more typical of a gel cycling spec voltage), if you are not doing daily cycling, then you might get away with this if you do more float than cycling. If you DO a lot of cycling, then 14.1v is too low and will eventually sulfate the agm.

While it has internal temp compensation, I'd rather use the optional external remote temperature probe placed on one of the battery terminals itself.

Just a thought ...