Tweet
Off the bat I have
two 10w mono and poly panels (one of each) wired in parallel
One 7amp charge controller (eBay $30)
Three 12v 10a SLA scooter batteries (3 years old)
I have the panels mounted in mostly full sun from 10am to 6pm
At night I've been running some led lights and the voltage droops to around 12.4 - 12.5 by dawn
Most days it's back up to full charge (13.4 cutoff) by noon so 2 hours if that.
Feeling pretty happy about that today I ran some stuff to use up some battery to see if it could keep up because it seems like a waste. I got it down to 12.8 around 1pm and noticed it wasn't charging very much when the sun is at the peak. The panels are mounted along a fence and have nothing but air below and around them.
So I don't really know where to start. I covered up the panels and a bit later tried them cool and it was still acting weird. I was taking voltage from the panels and I would see 13v then pop up to 18v then back. Blips of 16 and 18. Should I look at the controller? Should I separate the panels? I'm looking for a step by step of the things I should test. I know full well that I should have better panels, better batteries and a better charge controller but times are tough. If this is what you had to work with, how would you proceed?
(I do have another charge controller that I bought last summer when this same thing happened. Should I angle them to get the most out of the morning sun? What would you do?
two 10w mono and poly panels (one of each) wired in parallel
One 7amp charge controller (eBay $30)
Three 12v 10a SLA scooter batteries (3 years old)
I have the panels mounted in mostly full sun from 10am to 6pm
At night I've been running some led lights and the voltage droops to around 12.4 - 12.5 by dawn
Most days it's back up to full charge (13.4 cutoff) by noon so 2 hours if that.
Feeling pretty happy about that today I ran some stuff to use up some battery to see if it could keep up because it seems like a waste. I got it down to 12.8 around 1pm and noticed it wasn't charging very much when the sun is at the peak. The panels are mounted along a fence and have nothing but air below and around them.
So I don't really know where to start. I covered up the panels and a bit later tried them cool and it was still acting weird. I was taking voltage from the panels and I would see 13v then pop up to 18v then back. Blips of 16 and 18. Should I look at the controller? Should I separate the panels? I'm looking for a step by step of the things I should test. I know full well that I should have better panels, better batteries and a better charge controller but times are tough. If this is what you had to work with, how would you proceed?
(I do have another charge controller that I bought last summer when this same thing happened. Should I angle them to get the most out of the morning sun? What would you do?
Comment