I have removed 3 solar regulator controlers and now have 500watts of solar going through my silent wind hybrid controller on a cloudy day today i was getting input of 10 amps and was shutting down each time it hit 14.4 volts i guess that was because my batterys where already charged.

Nah Tony, it is a powerflex controller and it was old when JC was playing forward for Jerusalem.
I need a new one. I'll get a 20 or 30amp one so it is not going to work at the top of it's capacity.
Thanks a lot mate!

For an easy 20w or more set up, these are a good little regulator.

www.solaronline.com.au/morningstar-4-5a-solar-regulator.html

fishmonkey said..
hey Trek, do you know anything about these new Projecta DC-DC chargers?

http://www.projecta.com.au/Products/DCSolarBatteryCharger.aspx

they also have an 25A MPPT solar controller in them. you can pick them up for about $280 which seems like a good deal if they are decent...

Its specifications are a bit hard to understand. It seems to say the solar input is limited to 23V? If it is its too low for all but small solar panels. Have a look at the graph in the picture. You can see they all develop a lot more than 23V.

Hi....i am a new user here. I understand that MPPT charge controllers are superior in that they are more efficient but I am wondering how MPPTs perform in comparison to PWM controllers when applied to smaller solar arrays, say, under 200 watts?Money is not the deciding factor for me in which controller I purchase, however, if an MPPT controller were to net me significant (relative of course) gains I'd be more inclined to purchase an MPPT controller.Does a PWM controller outperform an MPPT controller if applied to smaller systems (e.g. 110 watts of panels)? So I guess my main question is, is the advantage of an MPPT controller only seen if connected to larger arrays?

LulaNord said..
Hi....i am a new user here. I understand that MPPT charge controllers are superior in that they are more efficient but I am wondering how MPPTs perform in comparison to PWM controllers when applied to smaller solar arrays, say, under 200 watts?Money is not the deciding factor for me in which controller I purchase, however, if an MPPT controller were to net me significant (relative of course) gains I'd be more inclined to purchase an MPPT controller.Does a PWM controller outperform an MPPT controller if applied to smaller systems (e.g. 110 watts of panels)? So I guess my main question is, is the advantage of an MPPT controller only seen if connected to larger arrays?

Hi Lula, PWM is a method of power conversion with very low loss. Like a 24V to 12V or a 12V to 24V converter would utilize PWM. Its a system where the DC from a battery or solar panel gets converted into AC so it can be stepped up or down with a small high frequency transformer inside, and then converted back into DC.

Any real MPPT regulator actually utilizes PWM internally even if they don't mention it to convert the volts and amps ratio coming in from the solar panel to one more suitable for charging batteries. But a PWM regulator is not automatically an MPPT regulator.

So depending on the manufacturers confusing way of explaining their product they could be describing the same thing a different way. You need to look at what volts and amps the regulator claims it can handle coming in and what it claims it can put out to really compare.

Have a read of sirgallivants thread "powertech 3735 mppt controller".