Hello,
We have a small off grid Solar setup for the cabin up north. The cabin has been around since the 40s so we have propane stove and refrigerator. It was decided to stop wasting propane on the lighting a few years ago, so we slowly started putting together a 12v lighting system.
Last year we had a 18w solar panel and one donated battery with a coleman 7a solar regulator. Which was not enough to keep up with demand. We had 12v incandescent bulbs (7 or 8 amps of load). We also only get 5 to 6 hours of good sun.
This year a larger 12v solar system was donated consisting of 4 20w panels and we still had the 18w panel. These were all hooked in parallel and I installed a new solar30 regulator.
When I hooked the panels up I measured with my voltmeter and saw 23v. Which I thought was high but wasn't sure.
We also installed fluorescent and LED bulbs so the total load is only 2 to 3 amps with all the lights on now.
We hooked everything up and it worked great.
The problem we are having now is the battery seems to be getting overcharged. One went bad right away and I assumed it was just old age. But now another new battery is bad and several of the lights have failed.
My question is what is wrong with the system? I know the solar30 is a pwm and is supposed to stop charging at 13.6 volts (this is user selectable). The battery is a deep cycle. Should this be just a regular car battery? It is around 70ah sized. Let me know if you need any more information from me.
Thanks in advance!
We have a small off grid Solar setup for the cabin up north. The cabin has been around since the 40s so we have propane stove and refrigerator. It was decided to stop wasting propane on the lighting a few years ago, so we slowly started putting together a 12v lighting system.
Last year we had a 18w solar panel and one donated battery with a coleman 7a solar regulator. Which was not enough to keep up with demand. We had 12v incandescent bulbs (7 or 8 amps of load). We also only get 5 to 6 hours of good sun.
This year a larger 12v solar system was donated consisting of 4 20w panels and we still had the 18w panel. These were all hooked in parallel and I installed a new solar30 regulator.
When I hooked the panels up I measured with my voltmeter and saw 23v. Which I thought was high but wasn't sure.
We also installed fluorescent and LED bulbs so the total load is only 2 to 3 amps with all the lights on now.
We hooked everything up and it worked great.
The problem we are having now is the battery seems to be getting overcharged. One went bad right away and I assumed it was just old age. But now another new battery is bad and several of the lights have failed.
My question is what is wrong with the system? I know the solar30 is a pwm and is supposed to stop charging at 13.6 volts (this is user selectable). The battery is a deep cycle. Should this be just a regular car battery? It is around 70ah sized. Let me know if you need any more information from me.
Thanks in advance!
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