Anyone have any experience with the Renogy 100W 12V Solar Starter Kit?

[imjonny]

I'm VERY new to this and would love some insight. Does anyone have any experience with the Renogy 100W 12V Monocrystalline Solar Starter Kit? I'm reading some reviews online and they say it's a great starter kit.

Some downsides:

- Doesn't recharge that fast
- Getting it to recharge again after it has run out of juice overnight. (Having the panel supplying power once the sun is up)
- Cheap controller
- No real instructions


On the other hand, some people are reporting that the above issues are not something that is happening to them. I really don't know what to believe as my source is just reviews from Amazon. Would love some insight!

[Logan005]

do not waste your money, spend the next few months reading the forum and you will learn the equipment needed your particular application. 100 watt's won't even charge a 35AH battery, much less a 100 ah battery, If you have grid power you should consider a grid tie system with grid tie panels. even if off grid, grid panels are cheaper and work great with real MPPT charge controllers.

[tcd77]

Renogy panels are good panels. I have a 100w and a 50w panel and both perform very well. It all depends on what you want to do with them. They will recharge a battery just fine, but it depends on the load you want to put on the battery. For example, if you are running some LED lights, or small fans, or a laptop for a couple of hours off of a 35AH battery, then it should work fine. Anything more than that you'll want more panels.

[Logan005]

I'm VERY new to this and would love some insight. Does anyone have any experience with the Renogy 100W 12V Monocrystalline Solar Starter Kit? I'm reading some reviews online and they say it's a great starter kit.

Some downsides:

- Doesn't recharge that fast
- Getting it to recharge again after it has run out of juice overnight. (Having the panel supplying power once the sun is up)
- Cheap controller
- No real instructions


On the other hand, some people are reporting that the above issues are not something that is happening to them. I really don't know what to believe as my source is just reviews from Amazon. Would love some insight!

why knowingly buy a kit, you know contains a cheap controller? Why buy a kit that you know is too small and not easily upgradeable? why spend good money on a junk 12 volt panel? will be some nice looking stuff to add to your garage junk pile.

[Sunking]

Some downsides:

- Doesn't recharge that fast
- Getting it to recharge again after it has run out of juice overnight. (Having the panel supplying power once the sun is up)
- Cheap controller
- No real instructions

So what is your concern? Every word is accurate.

- Doesn't recharge that fast

Depends on what size battery and how much you use in a day. It is like saying 1 gallon of gas does not get you far, ot to much for a lawn mower gas tank. 100 watt panel is a Finite number and does not generate very much power. Way more than enough to charge a cell phone or flashlight, but will not charge a laptop in a day

Getting it to recharge again after it has run out of juice overnight. (Having the panel supplying power once the sun is up

This one is funny and goes right to the root of IGNORANCE. It means the idiot operating the system has no clue about solar or how to use it. It is like jumping in a car, and driving it until it runs out of gas, then complaining about a gas station is no where in site.

Cheap controller

Of course it is cheap, it is in a kit. It is a small PWM controller with no room for growth that turns your 100 watt panel into a 60 watt panel.

Kits are made for Idiots or Pigeons to be plucked. For an Off-Grid battery system one most know exactly how much power they need to generate in a day, the location it will be used in, any shade issues, and time of year use. There is NO KIT on the market that will work. A system that actually works must be designed and matched up. Kits come in two sizes. 95% of them are To Damn Small, and the other 5% are To Damn Big.

Take your pick pigeon.

[Itripper]

I have a Renogy 100 watt kit on my travel trailer. It has worked flawlessly for 2 1/2 years. It is cheap to buy and works. It allows me to boondock for up to 5 days vs 1-2 without it before needing a generator to recharge battery. It is a 3 or 4 stage smart charger. Yes there are much better setups, but for the entire system price it can't be beat. It came with instructions, only time it will shutdown is if the battery voltage gets too low overnight according to the instructions that came with it (below 11 volts I think), this has never happened to me.

- Doesn't recharge that fast -- about 4-5 amps @14.4 volts during midday
- Getting it to recharge again after it has run out of juice overnight. (Having the panel supplying power once the sun is up) -- Never had this problem 2 1/2 yrs (controller is designed to not charge if battery voltage is too low, such as a dead cell)
- Cheap controller -- yes, but has worked flawlessly
- No real instructions - There are simple instructions included, it is very easy to self install.

It is an excellent value for the price, all wiring, controller, hardware mounts, panel for under $200, it has been much better than nothing for me. Of course i would like to upgrade to a better setup later, but this set up has served me very well for occasional camping in my trailer.