Whats the best solar panel to get ?

[adrian5800 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close adrian5800]

PWMbis just a switch, nothing more.

It's a bit more complex than "just a switch" try turning a switch on and off at 25kHz

[Symo Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Symo]

It's a bit more complex than "just a switch" try turning a switch on and off at 25kHz

Fast switch is still a switch. All it does is connect the battery to the panel and disconnect again.

As a result the 17v on the panel drops to the battery voltage which is why a PWM is piss poor solution.

An MPPT does not connect the panel to the battery it processes the voltage and current and hunts for the most amps and then sends that to the battery. Often producing more than half as much output again. There also less loses due to the panel remaining at peak volts which also stops the drastic amp drop on 25+ degree heat.

There is little to no reason to use a PWM and 12v panel and EVERY reason to use 24v+ panel and MPPT.

[Bugswatter Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Bugswatter]

Max Voltage: 18V
Max Current: 10A

= 180W??

11.1 x 18 =199.8 watts if you use a 20 amp controller. 10 amp controller 180watts

[CVDH Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close CVDH]

Hey guys, Im just trying to cut through all the back and forth. Do you think the itechworld solar panel kit is good gear or not? I'm really just hoping to keep charge in my Engel battery box with a 120Ah Ritar battery which needs to run my 60L Engel and a few LED strip lights.

[slydar Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close slydar]

Yes, which is why you should run two or more 12v panels in series so as to eliminate both temperature, and cable size limitations. An MPPT will lose very little output with 24+v panels, there is no comparison.

thank you symo - finally someone who agrees with me on this subject!!! (I am a regular in myswag). another good reason - a lot of mppt controllers wait until the panel voltage (at the controller) is 5 volts above the battery voltage at startup (morning) before they start charging the battery - that could mean given the max output of the panel under load being 18 volts if you have yr panels in parallel (as some insist - "gets better output current... " ) you end up waiting until later in the day for your batteries to start charging than you would be if you have them in series and given the added fact that the absorption phase of most 3-or-more-stage controllers is limited to four hours on most controllers that doesn't give you a whole lot of the important absorption charge especially in shorter winter days. the four-hours is claimed to prevent overcharging but also in the case of winter it is pointless trying to drag an inefficient absorption charge out of panels that pdue to the lower intensity and angle of the sun probably arent getting enough light anyway - the reduced charge power in this phase (if it even reaches it if the bulk phase also never completes) can end up being little more than an over-voltaged 'float' charge which can do just as much harm to a battery as overcharging

[slydar Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close slydar]

Hey guys, Im just trying to cut through all the back and forth. Do you think the itechworld solar panel kit is good gear or not? I'm really just hoping to keep charge in my Engel battery box with a 120Ah Ritar battery which needs to run my 60L Engel and a few LED strip lights.

hi, sorry I wasn't ignoring your last post - frankly, for my money I would heed advice earlier in the thread to the effect that a good controller cant be bought for under $100 (even though they cited mppt). while this mob have rubbished mttp and interestingly pwm in spite of theirs being pwm they haven't demonstrated how theirs is better from a technical perspective and by that I mean showing charging curves etc.

depending on how often you open your fridge and how much solar you put up it could be ok as long as you can get enough sunlight but be warned it may not help the battery limp through the dreaded warm overcast days that I have seen so many people out shifting their panels around and anxiously looking skyward to see where the sun is in the hope they can squeeze a little more out of their systems to put something back in their batteries before the meat goes off

[Sludge Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Sludge]

These are what I have, maybe overkill but ah well.
http://www.aussiebatteries.com.au/so...-kyocera-cells

[CVDH Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close CVDH]

hi, sorry I wasn't ignoring your last post - frankly, for my money I would heed advice earlier in the thread to the effect that a good controller cant be bought for under $100 (even though they cited mppt). while this mob have rubbished mttp and interestingly pwm in spite of theirs being pwm they haven't demonstrated how theirs is better from a technical perspective and by that I mean showing charging curves etc.

depending on how often you open your fridge and how much solar you put up it could be ok as long as you can get enough sunlight but be warned it may not help the battery limp through the dreaded warm overcast days that I have seen so many people out shifting their panels around and anxiously looking skyward to see where the sun is in the hope they can squeeze a little more out of their systems to put something back in their batteries before the meat goes off

Awesome, thanks slydar. Much appreciated!

[krypto Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close krypto]

I've had one of these Mppt units (link below) for over 4 years and a couple of mates also use them. Great performance in cloudy conditions and definitely delivers more currentcurrent to my battery than the previous pwm unit that I had.

https://youtu.be/6q2ICp7acvA