Newbie looking for Solar advice

[Rene]

I think the small simple controllers have their place. If you are going to setup your panels at ground level they make a lot of sense. If you need a rock bottom low cost setup, they fit the bill. A lot has changed price wise and feature wise with controllers in the last 5 years!

[Perry J]

Originally Posted by Byron Kinnaman

I'm going to disagree with your charge controller size. I use a 6 amp controller and it does the job just fine. The charge controller needs to be no bigger than the maximum charge current. In my case that 4 amps. The smallest charge controller I could find is 6 amps.
You don't need to use the "Load" function on the charge controller. Just connect the battery the controller and solar panel. That is all.

I'm glad to see there are others who, like me don't see the need to over build, over complicate and over spend on a simple solar array.
John

[Gchilds17]

I bought one of CEA Solar systems in January right after they had a discount after Quartzite. It is a 120 watt system for $600. I had looked into building my own system from components - panel, controller, wiring, etc. It would have been cheaper than the system I bought. They even shipped for free. The system had everything including a padded aluminum case. All I had to do was connect the wiring to the battery. I am very pleased with my purchase and highly recommend.