How Big is to Big

[John1397]

Is a 10 watt solar panel with 17 volts at .56 amps to much for a 7ah battery and if so could one cover say one half of the panel so it does not produce as much energy?

John

[Wy_White_Wolf]

Is a 10 watt solar panel with 17 volts at .56 amps to much for a 7ah battery and if so could one cover say one half of the panel so it does not produce as much energy?

John

What are the battery manufactures specs on the battery for charge rate? Usually listed like C/10, where C = AH capacity. At C/10 max charge rate would be .7amps.

(PS .56 amps into a 7AH lead acid battery should be fine.)

No you cannot just cover 1/2 the panel.

WWW

[russ]

Is a 10 watt solar panel with 17 volts at .56 amps to much for a 7ah battery and if so could one cover say one half of the panel so it does not produce as much energy?

John

If you cover half the panel it will produce next to nothing.

[billvon]

Is a 10 watt solar panel with 17 volts at .56 amps to much for a 7ah battery and if so could one cover say one half of the panel so it does not produce as much energy?

It is not "too much." You DO need a charge controller i.e. you can't just hook it up directly. The regulator can be extremely simple; you could build one yourself with parts from Radio Shack. Covering half the panel will not work.

[John1397]

Could one build a voltage regulator like using a zenor diode just so it keeps the voltage regulated at say 14 volts or whatever voltage would be enough as it seems 17 volts from solar charger seems like a lot for a battery?

John

[lokman]

I think 17 volts is lot for solar battery. If you think you need more volts you can add extra power from any other solar systems.

[Legacy]

you could look for a good price on this little number and get something
that is good quality and usable if you have to expand a little

http://www.morningstarcorp.com/en/sun-guard

[John1397]

I am thinking it would be better to add a car battery as I could have more storage and would not need to worry about over charging and my total load will only be 250 ma for 24 hours per day and would a car battery be as good as a deep cycle battery for such small amount of current draw?

John

[billvon]

I am thinking it would be better to add a car battery as I could have more storage and would not need to worry about over charging and my total load will only be 250 ma for 24 hours per day and would a car battery be as good as a deep cycle battery for such small amount of current draw?

No.