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nah alls good $20 for a 20 amp and it says MPPT controller
What about the connections on the back of panel they would be the only iffy ones
but have used them for years. maybe Ill try my smaller panel and see what that says.
OK just took a measurment at the battery outlet on the reg and came up with 17.5 volts
Yeah, they say MPPT but they are full of kaka.
Nothing wrong with that tho, I have several.
$20 is fair enough for what you have (assuming it works).
For others reading this thread a good rule of thumb to suss out if a Reg is MPPT or not is to have a look at the input voltage specs.
Most MPPT regs will take 60, 75 or even 100 volts of panel.
Non MPPT will specify a max voltage of 21 or so for a 12 volt reg
Ebay price for an acceptable quality 10 Amp genuine MPPT Reg will cost about $100 to 300 for top of the wozza, 15 to 20 Amp units about $125 to 400
If you actually have the device then hook the system up and measure the voltage at the solar panel input terminals and the battery output terminals.
If they are the same or within say .2 of a volt that is a normal reg
If the input is 1 or more volts higher then it is a version of an MPPT reg
Last edited by the evil twin; 23rd January 2015 at 08:47 PM.
Dolphins are so smart that within a few weeks of captivity, they can train people to stand on the very edge of the pool and throw them fish.
I'll go to Jaycar tomorrow and see the guys GGGGGGRRRRRRRrrrrrrrrrr
Did Jaycar sell that Reg to you as an MPPT?
If they did mention to them that they are looking to get their arse hauled thru consumer affairs or worse.
They are absolutely, definitely, 110%, surer thing than Phar Lap not an MPPT device.
Dolphins are so smart that within a few weeks of captivity, they can train people to stand on the very edge of the pool and throw them fish.
not from Jaycar just want it working,
What I have is a solar controller .
What I need is a solar regulator.
Big difference in price well at Jaycar
Pic is a 10 amp Jaycar reg I removed from my 20 watt panel.
The other reg acts the same regardless of panel size
Solar light on green all led's red x 3 and the load light on as I run a car radio out the back
small panel puts out 19 v approx
Here's the weird bit panel on its own puts out 19v thats fine then I plug the controller in and
take a measurement at the first 50 amp plug and it reads 13.45 v
I've unplugged everything and using the battery via the CD player so I'll try later on ,
Last edited by threedogs; 24th January 2015 at 11:52 AM.
04 ST 3lt auto, not enough Mods to keep me happy, but getting there
Whilst not technically 100% correct Controller and Regulator are thrown around without distinction these days in labels and explanation.
For our purposes there are two methods of harnessing the solar power commonly employed.
1 - Usually referred to as Common, PV, PWM etc.
These are the original and much cheaper design.
They work by a simple process of taking whatever voltage is available from the panel and regulating it to the appropriate voltage and applying it to the Battery.
IE when the panel is connected to the device the panel voltage is reduced.
2 - MPPT
These are newer technology and significantly more expensive (genuine ones that is).
They are a DC/DC converter but in the opposite sense to the Redarc and CTEK devices we use on our battery systems
Redarc/Ctek take the fixed voltage, higher current vehicle supply and convert it to higher voltage, lower current to get optimum charge to the Aux batteries.
Solar panels are the opposite to the vehicle in that it is the panel supply that has significantly higher voltage and a a fixed current so MPPT devices use this "extra voltage" to convert the output to fixed charging voltage with a higher current.
That means the panel in an MPPT system is not in common with the battery (loosely speaking) because there is a Toroid and Buck Supply or similar doing a DC DC conversion inside.
Bottom line
Lets say a panel is putting out 19 volts and not connected to a controller.
If you connect the panel to a solar system up and it is charging;
-In a common system the panel voltage will read almost the same as the battery voltage at the device terminals (lets say 13.45 and, oh, 13.2 in the example above)
-In an MPPT system the panel voltage at the device will read higher than the battery voltage, from slightly higher up to 16 or 17 volts depending on the battery SOC.
It is this ability by MPPT to harness the higher voltages and generate a higher charging currents from the same solar panel that leads to the increased efficiency.
Dolphins are so smart that within a few weeks of captivity, they can train people to stand on the very edge of the pool and throw them fish.
@ ET I try it on another battery I had which was down a bit,
went and checked it this morning and it was showing 12.8v
It started of f on 12.2v, I'm going to try it via the 50 amp plugs
I have front and back of the patrol and see what happens.
But on those results I think I can put this to bed.
thanks for your time and input
04 ST 3lt auto, not enough Mods to keep me happy, but getting there
Originally Posted by threedogs
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