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4 panels to 10 amp controller?

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  • 4 panels to 10 amp controller?

    am i able to wire 4 panels in series. 300watt panels at 36.1 volts and 8.3 amps each so a 36.1 volts and 33.2 amps. Can i wire this into say a 10 or 20amp controller as this is all i need to charge my batteries is about 8 to 16 amps depending if i do 12v or 24v. will a charge controller step down the amps? or will i just fry a controller because its output amps are under the input amps?

  • #2
    Originally posted by Shane.R13 View Post
    am i able to wire 4 panels in series. 300watt panels at 36.1 volts and 8.3 amps each so a 36.1 volts and 33.2 amps.
    If you put them in series it will be 144.4 V at 8.3a
    in parallel it would be 36.1V at 33.2a

    You are going to want an MPPT CC which would likely required either all series or series /parallel.

    Originally posted by Shane.R13 View Post
    Can i wire this into say a 10 or 20amp controller as this is all i need to charge my batteries is about 8 to 16 amps depending if i do 12v or 24v.
    it depends on the specifications of the charge controller. They are rated on the OUTPUT amps though which will depend on the battery voltage.

    Originally posted by Shane.R13 View Post
    will a charge controller step down the amps?
    an MPPT one will


    Originally posted by Shane.R13 View Post
    or will i just fry a controller because its output amps are under the input amps?
    they are rated on the output amps.
    OutBack FP1 w/ CS6P-250P http://bit.ly/1Sg5VNH

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    • #3
      4S would be 144.4 Vmp & 8.3 amps and likely close to 170V on a cold morning, ruining your 150V charge controller.

      Going 2S2P would yield 72.2Vmp @ 16.6A and would likely stay under 100V on a cold morning. A MPPT controller will convert that to
      24V @50A or 12V @ 100A, but few 100 A controllers exist, Classic 150 is good for 92 A, PT100 is good for 100A, but I don't know if it has a 12V range
      Powerfab top of pole PV mount (2) | Listeroid 6/1 w/st5 gen head | XW6048 inverter/chgr | Iota 48V/15A charger | Morningstar 60A MPPT | 48V, 800A NiFe Battery (in series)| 15, Evergreen 205w "12V" PV array on pole | Midnight ePanel | Grundfos 10 SO5-9 with 3 wire Franklin Electric motor (1/2hp 240V 1ph ) on a timer for 3 hr noontime run - Runs off PV ||
      || Midnight Classic 200 | 10, Evergreen 200w in a 160VOC array ||
      || VEC1093 12V Charger | Maha C401 aa/aaa Charger | SureSine | Sunsaver MPPT 15A

      solar: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Solar
      gen: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Lister

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      • #4
        Sorry i messed up my post i meant tosay putting the panels in parallel not series.

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        • #5
          my issue is i have 4 panels and 2 small batteries (50 amp hours). i'd like to be able to charge them with all 4 panels until i can obtain larger amp hour batteries. so if my panels are out putting 33 amps and i only require 10 amps or so will a 10amp controller step 33 amps down without blowing it self up?

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          • #6
            Are you kidding?

            If it is a PWM controller, you must wire the panels in parallel and when in parallel the Input current and output current is 32 amps at any battery voltage. 32 is greater than 10.

            If the controller is MPPT makes no difference if the panels are in series parallel. The output current at full power depends on battery voltage. At 12 volts = 100 amps 24 volts = 50 amps. 100 and 50 are greater than 10

            PWM Output Currrent = Input Current and should never be used.

            MPPT Current = Panel Wattage / Battery Voltage.

            The only way to limit the current is with panel wattage. I assume you have a MPPT controller or should. So if your batteries can only handle 10 amps is real easy to find the Panel Wattage.

            Power = Volts x Current

            12 volt battery x 10 amps = 120 watts
            24 volt battery x 10 amps = 240 watts.

            Guess what?

            So what you can do is get a 10 amp PWM controller and use 1 panel to get 8 amps to your battery. That way you can throw 3 panels away, and if you use a 12 volt battery will turn your 300 watt panel into 8 amps x 12 volts = 96 watts. Got any problem with any of that? I don't

            Problem solved.
            Last edited by Sunking; 04-16-2018, 05:23 PM.
            MSEE, PE

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            • #7
              Got it. Thanks.

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              • #8
                Originally posted by Shane.R13 View Post
                my issue is i have 4 panels and 2 small batteries (50 amp hours). i'd like to be able to charge them with all 4 panels until i can obtain larger amp hour batteries. so if my panels are out putting 33 amps and i only require 10 amps or so will a 10amp controller step 33 amps down without blowing it self up?
                will some of the better MPPT charge controllers can limit the charging current BUT if you could afford one of those then you could afford more batteries.

                Your best bet is to NOT use all the PV modules till you have more ah.
                OutBack FP1 w/ CS6P-250P http://bit.ly/1Sg5VNH

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by ButchDeal View Post

                  will some of the better MPPT charge controllers can limit the charging current BUT if you could afford one of those then you could afford more batteries.

                  Your best bet is to NOT use all the PV modules till you have more ah.
                  Thats what i figure i'm gonna have to do. Thanks.

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