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Old 06-25-2012, 10:31 AM   #1
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Name: William
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Charge Controller Source?

Where can I find a cheap charge controller? I see people on this forum grabbing 15 A mppt for $25 and PWM for less than $20 but I can't seem to find any deals like that. Best I can find is a 10 A mmpt on ebay for $36.

Thanks for any leads,

Bill
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Old 06-25-2012, 12:47 PM   #2
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As little as $10 with free shipping.

solar controller | eBay
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Old 06-25-2012, 01:11 PM   #3
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Cheap is what you apparently get from a cheap controller. If you're going to have solar panels connected to the battery for even a few hours, it's a good idea for the controller to have an automatic "float" mode. That will keep you battery at full charge without over charging and with a de-sulfate mode keep the battery in good shape. Many of the cheap ones don't list how they prevent overcharge if mention it at all. Others will cut charging at some voltage. At a minimum you want it stop charging at some predetermined voltage.
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Old 06-25-2012, 01:55 PM   #4
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Thanks for the quick replies. Norm, in another post you mentioned getting a mppt type for about $25. Can you share the particulars on that one?
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Old 06-26-2012, 11:04 AM   #5
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I like Norm’s charge controller especially at its cost. I am using Morningstar MPPT 15 with its monitor which most of the time it is set to view panel’s voltage. The Link10 monitor is usually set to view current flow. High panel’s voltage, which I often see, such 20V or higher gives good appreciation for value of MPPT controller. At 20V PWM controller would be wasting 40% of generated energy. I believe this is Norm’s charge controller manual http://koneze.com/pdf/Manual_CM30.pdf and it doesn’t have panel’s voltage viewing option.

If I would ever install solar panels again I would choose Norm’s flex panels, VHB tape, and MPPT charge controller, most likely Morningstar.

George.
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