I am using this controller with a do it yourself solar panel , do I need a diode on the panel , or this controller can protect the panel at night
186552
Its been my experience that leaveing it plugged in after dark the charge likes to feed back through the carge controler and heat up why i dont know but it does i would reccomend unplugging it as soon as it gets daark just to be safe..it does get kinda hot!
186553
You will still need a diode on your panel to prevent the battery from discharging overnight.
186554
It is my understanding, the purpose and design of the controller is to prevent discharge of the battery at low solar panel outputso No you do not need diode.
99420
No. You do not need a charge controller until you exceed 15watts of power. The discharge protection is a simple diode that prevents the battery from draining back out to the pane at night. But because of that diode, DO NOT START THE CAR WITH THE PANEL STILL CONNECTED TO THE BATTERY! You will destroy the diode and weaken the panel's charging ability.
1708384
All solar panels should use charge controllers. For this controller you need at least a 5-10 amp controller to support this panel.Let us know if you need any further help.Regards,AW
686192
Yes this will work. The whole purpose of having this controller is so that once a battery is "fully charged" (at ~14V), this will "disconnect" or "shut-off" the charging so you don't get the battery up to levels like the 17.5V you mention (where it will damage the battery). Even if the solar power is at levels like ~30V (while it's not charging the battery), this will still function blocking the solar power from getting to the battery until the battery voltage comes back down to 13V where it again lets the "charge" power thru.
1948001
I believe the new 30 watt panels have 2 wires pre attached that go to the battery. It is possible for this low wattage and current model, that you may not need the controller. Ask Renogy 800-330-8678
880317
Many years ago i was told in powering my boat, any solar panel 50 watts or less would be ok without a controller. Over that and it may fry the battteries. Yes you can godirect, but you have to moniter and be tne controller.
712397
No..... and maybe.... The point of using the controller is that with small loads less than the rated amperage, when the battery is fully charged, your load is being supplied with power from the solar (bypassing the battery). This allows the charge controller to float charge the battery and also power your device.... If you are drawing lots of power through an inverter, then yes, you will need to connect directly to the battery.... Just FYI - the unit I got had an UN-replaceable fuse.... I had to create a work around to solve the problem....
2131190
It has multiple options. It can turn the load on when there is no sun to the panel and run from 1 hr up to 14 hrs if the battery will last. One of the options (17 i think) powers the load at all times. Provided the battery has power. I was unable to have the controller provide power directly to the load without a battery.
1234655
Per the product description "and protects against accidental reverse battery drain" so it must have a diode in it. I use it to keep my hunting truck battery charged that I drive only every couple months in the off-season and it works great.
876569
We recommend using a 45-50 A fuse with this particular kit since the charge controller is rated at 40 A. This size fuse will ensure fuses won't be blowing all the time if your system is approaching the fuse current quite often and it will also protect the charge controller by keeping it from operating out of the 40 A range by too much. Typically our customers do not use fuses because it is quite rare that the current ratings will be exceeded. However if you do wish to use them, the most important location is going to be between the charge controller and the battery. If over current does occur it will most likely never be on the solar panel side. For maximum protection you can place one on both sides of the controller.
1813044
Yes. My solar panels are wired to a controller and a deep cycle 12 volt battery is also wired to it. The controller regulars 12 volts for this bulb. I've bn using it for almost 2 years and it works very well.
594755
Without a controller and a battery, the answer is NO because this panel will put out almost 40 volts under no or a light load. With a controller and proper battery, it will do a fine job up to it's rated power.
1506607
It seems to prevent discharge at night. I'm using several with a solar panel to maintain battery charge on infrequently used equipment and the battery charge has been maintained.
63415
Tisa,I use my 20w panel to keep 2 batteries charged up. The batteries operate my garage door opener.You need to wire the 20w panel to the 7w Ramsond solar controller and the controller connects to the batteries. Its simple and all is explained with controller and solar panel instructions.
1591720
First off from what I can see the load side is for use to run a low wattage street light that would come on when the solar panel quits charging do to darkness. You can set the controller for a few hours or all night if your batteries can run that long. Then when the sun come back the light gos off. Just run off your batteries and forget the load side. It's to control a street light at night.
925843
It needs a voltage regulator to keep from overcharging the powerpack. I have the cheap 10 amp ($15) controller. Output from this panel can exceed 20 volts in strong sunlight.
2041279
Don't know, as I used it with a MPPT controller, which does have blockbusterng diode.