Solar Charge Controller 7 AMP 12 VOLT 100 WATTS

[msungs]

Nice system. Great video. You got a like. Do you have a junction box between your solar panel and the charge converter? How do you hook-up the male and female from the junction box to the charge converter directly? Do you have to buy an MC extension cord and cut it in half to hard-wire it to the charge converter? Thanks for the help.

[dappa211]

what powers the Watt meter.. This might sound like a dumb question but Where does the device that tells the wattage gets its power from

[thydusk666]

@dappa211 It takes the power from the same current that it measures. You got something simple like: left side-IN, right side-OUT. The Turnigy watt meter is sold directly by HobbyKing.

[BelismartShop]

you are great!!!

And we are good!

2012,Happy New Year!!!

I wish you a Happy New Year, Merry Christmas,I hope you everyone and we have more cooperation with

BeliSmart!!!

[LOPEZdJUNGLIST]

nice vid codec is slow buffer probs with the dribble of bandwidth youtube allows

[AdamW582]

Can I use this set up with the Solar Panel system from Harbor Freight? looking at the system to use as a back for my truck camper.

[carlojpf2]

Nice video I am on the planning stage of setting up a solar charged battery for my home to power up my refrigerator and probably a couple of lights and my desktop PC please help me how to choose a charge controller and inverter

1. is my inverter is 1000watts does it mean my charge controller should also handle 1000 watts?

how do i know if my refrigerator and other appliances works w/ a modified sine inverter?

thanks in advance

[usmcoth]

What is the difference between charge controllers and charge regulators?

[andruha11234]

@davettalashley I agree with you, I would probably save more money just turning crap off when I'm at work than buying solar panels! It's just that I never do that even thought I know it would save me money! I already have a kill-a-watt and i was very surprised that my tv tuner was using like 20 watts on idle! Other stuff wasn't using a big enough amount for me to care.

[Robin18us]

The only problem I see is chemclouds are reducing the efficiency of solar cells by 30% or more.

[tomfreeston]

Can someone explain what the load wiring is for?

[8digitPDX]

This charge regulator is very similar to the one that came with the 1995-2001 version of the solar panel kit which got replaced by the newer model that has the digital readout and all of the plugs. The issue is that fairly low amp/watt capacity for the money. The charge controller rarely gets below $24 even with the best 20% coupons when it is on sale. It will safely run only 6 15 watt panels and I seriously doubt the thin wires on the "load" part will handle much of an amp draw.

[wifebeater756]

i have the same charge controller and never really used the load wires what do thoose do if i put a light on the load wires will it still send the same amount of current to the battery i never new how that worked

[lotosteck]

Lotostechnology sells a great Solar Charge Controller

Lotostechnology

1180 mioraloma Way

Sunnyvale Ca 94085

408-865-1544

Jasonperter@yahoo.com

[lotosteck]

lotostechnology sells a great Solar Charge Controller

Lotostechnology

1180 mioraloma Way

Sunnyvale Ca 94085

408-865-1544

Jasonperter@yahoo.com

[lotosteck]

Lotostechnology sells a great Solar Charge Controller.

Lotostechnology

1180 mioraloma Way

Sunnyvale Ca 94085

408-865-1544

Jasonperter@yahoo.com

[purplemutantas]

@davettalashley Heck yea! I have a small panel (12V, 170ma, 3W), a charge controller like you see in this vid, and my 8AH battery should be coming soon. It's not much, and given the low current on the panel, it will probably take ages to charge the battery, but it's a start. For now I plan to use it during power outages. I can at least charge my cell phone and power a 12 volt LED light. As I can afford to do so, I can upgrade my system. I am thinking the next upgrade should be a better panel.

[PuciferSam]

Just for your info....Harbor Freight's Sunforce 30 amp Charge Controller (Lot # 94790 ) went from $79.99 in 2010 to now Jan. 2011 to $119.99. That is regular price without any discounts. I hope that not all solar related products go up like this one has. I was hoping prices would decease as more products and manufactors can to the market place. I usually like HF but in this instance you might want to shop around first.

PuciferSam

[AReptileMan]

Hello I just got one of the Harbor Freight 45W kits for my B-day I also got that battery over charge protecter #96728. Im not sure as to how to hook it up if you could help that would be great. it has 3 set of wires coming off it Battery, Solar, Load I do not know if I need to hook it up before or after regulator. What is the load hooked to?

Thanks a lot.

[andruha11234]

@davettalashley not worry about bills? lol who will pay the 20k for those solar panels?

[MSCompuServ]

The low gauge on those wires are going to lower the watts you get due to the wire resistance. Get at least 10-8AWG for safety. Higher is better to improve current flow in the wire.

[CLEANTECHNEWS]

Nice Demo, a 7 Ah Battery you show should not be charged with 4 Amps, best limit charge to 1 Amp or better O.7 Amp for battery lifeteme, means a 10W Solar panel is sufficient.

[ohmslaw111]

Hey Dan, I just bought one for use as a blocking diode/regulator for a hand generator. Seems to work good, TY for the video. HF my toystore.

[seriouslyWeird]

i mean, it's cool and everything. but isn't it easier (and cheaper) to just charge it in the socket?

[andruha11234]

@koulailat as long as it doesn't produce more that 7 amps, you can

[Bobster986]

Great Vid Dan!

[ometec]

Dan Thanks for friending me on Facebook

I really like your solar bits, please do more (like the long promised multi HF solar kit video)

Thank you again

[cambigfoot88]

i seriously cant beleive this i just bought one yesterday and then this LMAO!

[andruha11234]

@koulailat are you asking if you can charge a 55amp hour battery with a 7 amp controller? if so, yes.

[tpboles]

@koulailat - Sure you can. You can have as many AH as you want. Just keep in mind the higher the AH the longer it will take the panel(s) to fully charge the battery.

[embeddedprogrammer]

Dan, minor comment you want to change "BY A CHARGE REGULATOR!" to "BUY A CHARGE REGULATOR!" in your description for this video

[ABOSOLUTEKNOWLEDGE]

great video for a basic setup

most people would need somthign more serious doe

lets say 2kw setup

[locouk]

Photonicinduction shows how to charge these batterys with an arc welder.

watch?v=jfoxRwssqR8

The fastest charging known to man!

[doug2877]

Great tips ;)

[chetopuffs]

You might want to compress your videos a bit more be for uploading.

[0urGaia]

Love you to do a video on creating a generator to charge the batteries from cheap whipper snipper engine (when the sun ain't shining).

[Glockmog]

Hey Dan, I always like watching your videos. I don't find many other people here on youtube who are so persistent and involved in helping our planet and also lowering our energy bills by spending time and effort into educating us the viewers how to become more efficient. I've been a subscriber for about a year and I just thought I'd tell you what great work you and your wife are doing. Keep at it! W're waiting for more vids! Cheers.

[themanyone]

That's cool. I saw some plans to make your own charge controller, too. It would be nice to have a flexible solar panel for travel.

[squirrelbong]

wow dan you just confused the hell out of me.in your comment box, you talk about how you fried a battery "BY A CHARGE REGULATOR" typo right by=buy ?!? might wanna fix that, it's a confusing one. ;) great vids keep it up.

[perazaroberto2]

say thankyu .you home land coppy me good .

[andruha11234]

whats the point of solar panels if it takes like 20 years to make the money you spend back?

[j0rdanimal]

@andruha11234 After that 20 years, you no longer have to spend money on them. Hurp durp.

[burchified]

@andruha11234 Solar panels are a dead-end technology. The most you stand to gain is 10% of the solar energy.

[GREENPOWERSCIENCE]

@andruha11234 solar includes increasing efficiency. Most paybacks are around 5-6 years now.

[andruha11234]

@GREENPOWERSCIENCE 5-6 years is still a lot of time!

[BlueRidgeMarine]

@andruha11234 @greenpowerscience

Believe me young man. the older you get,the faster 5-6 years become.

Heck I have t shirts older than that. Back in the 70's solar was made of very crude materials compared to today. The pay off was never considered due to the high cost and availability of materials. With folks like Dan, you will see this 5-6 years decrease very soon, as efficiency and knowledge continue to grow. Good point you made.

[andruha11234]

@BlueRidgeMarine I guess that makes sense, but I just don't see it as a wise investment. Maybe when the time to make your money back in electricity decreases to maybe like 1-2 years I will invest...

[IdahoViewing]

@andruha11234 The payoff time is not only accorded to the cost of materials. It is also gauged against the cost to the materials used to generate the electricity.

Have you seen the cost of a barrel of oil go up lately?

1-2 year payoffs are just around the corner.

When the generating materials are GONE then either you have solar or wind power or nothing. That is IMMEDIATE payoff.

[8digitPDX]

@GREENPOWERSCIENCE

For RV applications, the "payback" can be a matter of weeks when you consider the cost difference between a primitive campsite vs the cost of a campsite with full RV hookup, or a campsite with sanitation hookup only. $50 per month vs $350 per month on the lower end, $350 per month vs $750 per month during tourist season in more desirable areas. Then there is fuel savings vs noise issues on using a generator in "boondock" RV camping.

[8digitPDX]

@GREENPOWERSCIENCE

I have a power system in my camper trailer that involves 6 of the Harbor Freight panels, the charge controller seen in this video, two deep cycle 12 volt batteries and various mounts and wiring. Running two 750 watt inverters (one is off unless needed, thus only running one cooling fan which sucks some power off the panels all the time), system cost is in the $900 range. The cost difference between parking with utilities vs totally off grid is roughly $300/mo.

[terry735001]

@andruha11234 i jumped on CL and find alot of solar panesl and a SW inverter and have been off grid for all most 2 years and it payed for it self in 1.5 years and only have 5000$ in the system if you go all the way off grid you make your money off it faster

[andruha11234]

@terry735001 not bad.. how about winter? (I live in chicago.. so a lot of the time solar panels would be covered with snow)

[qcages]

@andruha11234 It's not just about saving money. It's also about creating your own electricity from the sun, and not being dependent on electricity produced by burning coal or other fossil fuels. And the payback is much less than 20 years! And when that payback date finally comes around, you will be saving money INDEFINITELY from then on. Sounds pretty nice, huh?

[andruha11234]

@qcages thats not true... the lifetime of a solar panel is between 20-25 years.

"For example, a 10-kilowatt residential solar system costs about $77,500. After a state rebate of $38,000 and a $2,000 federal tax credit, the out-of-pocket cost to the homeowner is $37,500. Annual savings of $1,500 on bills. " = 25 years to pay off.

A 175 WAtt panel costs $550.00+. 175 watts time 6 hours a day of useful sunlight = 1000 Watts a day = 10-15 cents = 15 years to pay off. Batteries not included.

[souleeze]

@andruha11234 The point for me is that in the event of an emergency I know I'm good to go..it is an investment for security I could care less about the thing paying for itself..people get to focused in things paying for themselves and loose sight of the bigger picture..self preservation and independence from this control freak government we have..being independent from their control is an important thing to many people especially now days where our dollar is becoming worthless.

[andruha11234]

@souleeze You can never be independent from your government... If they want, they could put a huge tax on solar systems.. I heard its already done somewhere as its another source of income for the household!

ps. don't be hating on me.. Im just wondering, im not saying its bad or not worth it. it just doesn't seem worth it buying a solar panel that won't do me much good. And from what I can see, most people buy them to lessen their electricity bill

[iamzid]

@andruha11234 never say never. i'm just saying. thats the sort of talk that makes people give up.

[souleeze]

@andruha11234 ..Also you can go solar effectively for much less than 30k 20k or even 5k. The point is..your now in control of your electricity(solar electric), heat (solar heater) etc etc..that is something worth it weight in gold. Imagine god forbid a major crisis , another terrorist attack that left our grid down for months and your next door neighbor had a solar system capable of running his home for the month or more the grid was down.. bet you wouldn't be thinking it was not worth it then.

[IdahoViewing]

@andruha11234 Also, once the electricity is OFF then the payback is IMMEDIATE!

[purplemutantas]

@IdahoViewing Absolutely! I am starting in solar with a small setup. For now my plan is to use it when the power goes out. I can at least charge my cell phone and run an LED light.

[woodburyadpost]

@andruha11234 Plus it helps the enviroment and starts to get us away from making the other countries rich with the oil.

[andruha11234]

@woodburyadpost few solar panels is NOTHING... and won't make any difference.

Plus, who cares about the environment?

[MultiJamie12345]

@andruha11234 people who don't want die in 20 years care about the environment

[andruha11234]

@MultiJamie12345 nothing is going to happen in 20 or even 50 years, even if no one cares about the environment.

[GREENPOWERSCIENCE]

@woodburyadpost good point:-)

[IranTruthTube]

@woodburyadpost nothing about getting poor countries rich, but I'm sure you mean getting dictatorships rich ;-)

[eturnerx]

@woodburyadpost That would be a great sentiment except that only China has the rare-earth metals used to make most of this gear.

[aaronready1]

@andruha11234 , you'll find out when the power goes out.....your electric bill rises constantly and isn't going back down...or a bill like california's where the power company remotes your thermostat and power usage! its freedom !!

[andruha11234]

@aaronready1 c'mon electricity isn't expensive.. and i live in chicago, don't know about califronia's law and stuff

[pauluminous]

@andruha11234

Instand payback if you live out in the boonies and the power company will charge you close to $10.000 to get a power line to ur property.

[andruha11234]

@pauluminous yes, if you live where there is not power lines, solar panels would be perfect... But I was talking about living in a city...

[plumberx]

@andruha11234 I do understand what your talking about. BUT! Independency lost of power from the grid. Storms, You name it. Its a good start of the future. We may not see great things now, but think of the future of the kids. This should have been going on years ago and we wouldn't have the energy problem we have today. Great video and great infromation.

[rocklayer2]

Nice to see your dipping into solar panels again!  Thanks for the video Dan:)

[JohnKapsis1985]

112th

Nice Dan Thank you!

[the1stbuilder65]

4th



[cdltpx]

Dan I have a camper that I have a 110 power cord run to right now but want to use a solar panel system to power the 12v side of the camper .All I want to power is a laptop a fan radio some led lights It has some 12 volt car style bulbs for lights in it now but if I am going solar I know it is cheaper to get efficient led than to buy greater solar and battery. Would you go HF panel $150 or try for the other panels might use 3 hours a day of juice. If I need a fan during the day I get attic fan.

[GREENPOWERSCIENCE]

@cdltpx Get a 2 deep cycle batteries and go with 80 - 100 watt panels with a charge controller. If you are in areas that have a lot of leave fall (this time of year) Keep em clean or go with Harbor Freight Amorphous. Your camper's charger is incorporated into the 12v inverter (most systems) so keep than in mind, you may not be able to charge solar only through the 12v system.

[cdltpx]

@GREENPOWERSCIENCE What I need to do is find some folks that have what I do and have gone solar. See I recently bought this camper and have not tested it not sure how to operate everything sure I could just call an electrician and have power in an hour but I want to have a place that could stand alone if service is interrupted. Heck cant go wrong with a HF kit I can start with that find out how they work if I need to expand I can go from there already have a decent batt used for the boat.

[souleeze]

@GREENPOWERSCIENCE I seen someone post a comment about the Harbor Freight Amorphous panels saying that this type of panel being thin film and just its characteristics etc only lasts about 3-4 years and they degrade fast...is this true? Also I'm working on a solar can heater and am thinking of using a bilge blower with 240 cfm to exhaust the hot air into the living space..In a 4x8 size box with tin cans would that much cfm implode the cans and is it over kill? Also do you know if those are loud.

[8digitPDX]

@GREENPOWERSCIENCE

Is there any danger of a power system conflict if I have the solar system integrated with the pre-existing trailer wiring on the 110v side? I clipped the cables from the factory 12 power charger and am running separate 110v plugs and circuits out of my batteries. I figured that if someone plugged the trailer in with the inverters feeding to the existing 110v system might make a problem with grid compatibility until I spring for a grid tie inverter of sufficient wattage.

[0urGaia]

@cdltpx, the spiral tube florescent with electronic ballast is said be capable of producing between 114-124.3 lumens per watt so you might want check out the LED's you getting, some arn't as efficient, many providing between 20-60lm/w.

[Richmunnich]

@cdltpx You can buy 12 volt lights, but for the other stuff, radio,computer, and fan you would need an inverter. The computer is gonna be the hog pulling high amps off the batteries so I'd say minimum 1200 watt inverter on two deep cycle batteries (min each100AH). The charge controller that comes with the 45 watt HF kit should do. Although it's only a 1.5 amp charger you may want to upgrade to the 7 amp charge controller Dan is showing here.

[cdltpx]

@Richmunnich When I was OTR I use to use a 12v 300watt inverter for the computer I would watch tv on it only used it max 1.5 hours truckers work a lot. As for heating I would use a DC12v electric blanket they will keep your toasty in freezing weather here (Interstate-10) we may see max 10 nights below 32 we will get back above soon as sun is up. I just hooked up a fresh batt the camper has 2 good roof fans built in. Need to clean it I may sleep in it soon as I get potty hooked up.

[roccman2003]

ty!!!

[hunter2379]

1st!!