Solar panel without regulator?

[30boat]

You can get a perfectly satisfactory regulator for a shade over a fiver (e.g. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Solar-Cha...lator-Safe-10A-12V-24V-UK-STOCK-/360684563165 for £6.61 including postage) and at that price I can't see any good reason not to fit one.

Ordered one!

 

[Ric]

Is there any issues to be considered using a 30W solar panel, without a regulator, purely whilst at anchor/on a mooring buoy & being able to monitor what's going on via my Smartguage? The leisure battery is 85AH, and used for cabin lights/VHF/chartplotter/radio etc only, and in the marina is charged by it's battery charger on shorepower. A days use of various domestics will use about 30% of the power according to the Smartguage, so I'm just trying to mitigate that whilst away from the marina. Boat is east coast based.

This should be fine as long as you keep an eye on the smart-gauge. I actually do something similar myself. I have permanent solar panels screwed to the decks which feed batteries via a regulator, but I also have a roving panel which I can move around the boat when at anchor (very handy for picking up evening rays in the Med). This plugs into a through-deck plug which is also used for my Aqua-gen towed regulator, and feeds direct without a regulator.

I keep an eye on the smart-gauge and have not had any issues.

 

[VicS]

Probably OK if you're on the boat, but it doesn't take much to boil a full charged battery.

An entertaining video but at what point does it show the battery boiling ?

 

[Trop Cher]

Well spotted. Here, for example, is a PWM regulator for under a tenner: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/10A-PWM-S...ntroller-12V-24V-Auto-Switch-UK-/351078233835

Or you could get a MPPT regulator for under £7 http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/261416793...eName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649

 

[JumbleDuck]

Or you could get a MPPT regulator for under £7 http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/261416793...eName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649

Maybe. Other sellers seem to think that's a PWM one

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Digital-P...gulator-12V-24V-Autoswitch-240W-/310960141831

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Digital-P...80771446911?pt=UK_Gadgets&hash=item58a7bf307f

as do the manufacturers

http://www.ueiua.com/html_products/Solar-Charge-Controller-51.html

 

[VicS]

Maybe. Other sellers seem to think that's a PWM one

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Digital-P...gulator-12V-24V-Autoswitch-240W-/310960141831

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Digital-P...80771446911?pt=UK_Gadgets&hash=item58a7bf307f

as do the manufacturers

http://www.ueiua.com/html_products/Solar-Charge-Controller-51.html

The first two of your links seem to be to a different controller anyway ( 10amp PWM)

The third link describes it as an MPPT controller !

 

[Trop Cher]

What VicS says! ^^^

 

[JumbleDuck]

The first two of your links seem to be to a different controller anyway ( 10amp PWM)

Sorry, used wrong links. Those were to another product from the same company (http://www.ueiua.com/html_products/Solar-Charge-Controller(PWM)-55.html).

Try

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Automatic...r-Regulator-12V-24V-Auto-Switch-/291146693882

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-5A-10...ery-Regulator-Charge-Controller-/310965885789

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Automatic...r-Regulator-12V-24V-Auto-Switch-/281337042073

or

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5A-12V-24...harge-Controller-Auto-Switch-05-/281242131408

The third link describes it as an MPPT controller !

It's in product category Products > Solar Charge Controller（PWM) > Generic Controller (Home use). Where do you see it described as MPPT?

 

[VicS]

It's in product category Products > Solar Charge Controller（PWM) > Generic Controller (Home use). Where do you see it described as MPPT?

You are right it dosn't. I misread the page

The link Trop Cher gave must be wrong after all

 

[JumbleDuck]

You are right it dosn't. I misread the page

The link Trop Cher gave must be wrong after all

Thanks, Vic. I was worried that I had missed something obvious. There are a couple of sellers on Amazon punting out the same thing as MPPT, but then there are also a couple of sellers on eBay selling the real cheapie as PWM. Some rather ... relaxed ... approaches to the Trade Descriptions Act, I fear.