Will this charge controller fit my system

[bendaro]

I have a 30w panel, 2 12v 18ah batteries in series, and the charge controller is 24v 10ah. I know the controller is okay to use with the panel but not sure if the load part will work because of the 18 ah battery bank. Please advise. Thanks!!

[Mike90250]

What is the load you are trying to power. Be warned, the "load" terminals on charge controllers are only intended for small lighting loads.

[bendaro]

For a gate opener that draws 3amps

[SunEagle]

Doesn't the gate opener already come with a controller with the rated output contacts. All you have to do is supply a battery and some type of charging system (solar or float charger).

[bendaro]

It did but a buddy gave a set of 18ah batteries. It came with a set of 15ah that are now dead. Also unable to find specs sheet on solar charge controller that came in package.

[bendaro]

Also I appreciate that you are trying to help me. Thank you

[Wy_White_Wolf]

It'll work just larger than what is needed. I'm more concerned as to whether the 30 watt panel is high enough voltage to charge a 24V system.

WWW

[bendaro]

It seemed to work good until the batteries gave out. I was concerned about burning or frying the controller with the bigger ah in the new batteries

[bendaro]

Would adding a 10w panel be a good idea?

[SunEagle]

Having a couple of different wattage panels will not help you. Better to just have a panel and CC to match the batteries. If you use the gate opener a lot then 30 or even 40 watt may not be enough to keep a 24volt 18Ah system fully charged. It is hard to know how deeply you discharge the batteries each day and how much usable sunlight you get to recharge them. My guess is that 30 watt really wasn't designed to charge a 24volt battery system. You need about 36volts from the panels and a small 30watt one probably will not delivery that.