Can solar charge controller control power

[moehao]

You need a solar panel with an Open-Circuit voltage of at least 17V in order to charge a 12V battery. The typical panel that would be used with your charge-controller would have an OC Voltage of ~21V.

Your Charge-controller is not designed to charge a Li-Po anyway. It is designed to charge only 6-cell Lead-Acid Sealed batteries which has a very different V vs state-of-charge property compared to a Li-Po. Replacing the panel with one that has a higher OC voltage could cause the Li-Po to explode/catch fire. You really need a charger designed specifically for Li-Po.

I agree with Mike.
The charge controller thinks the battery is already low at 11.1 v so it keeps the load turned off.

Hi,
So is it means if i want to make my system work, then the only way is change my Li-Po battery to a Lead Acid sealed battery?
i've been try a similiar system by using NiCD batteries and my system is not working also.
So, is solar charge controller can only work with Lead-Acid Sealed battery?

Thank you

 

[N11778]

look in your solar charge controller instructions some of them you can adjust the voltages.

thought.... you can add one extra cell to a 12v nicad pack and end up with a battery pack that mite work with the controller.

nicads are 1.2 volts full so an extra cell will increase the voltage to 13.2 volts which is real close to a led acid battery I have done it and it has worked for me give it try with your nicads.

 

[moehao]

sry, it was a NIMH battery I used last time

 

[moehao]

look in your solar charge controller instructions some of them you can adjust the voltages.

thought.... you can add one extra cell to a 12v nicad pack and end up with a battery pack that mite work with the controller.

nicads are 1.2 volts full so an extra cell will increase the voltage to 13.2 volts which is real close to a led acid battery I have done it and it has worked for me give it try with your nicads.

Hi,
The solar charge controller I using this time is unable to be configured. The instruction manual just mentioned different lights for different situations.
Last time, I was using 6V system and 6v/12v solar charge controller last time. I used 3 1.2v NIMH batteries(that mini solar charge controoler only can set to 3 or 6 1.2v battery) and set the solar charge controlller correctly accordiing to the instructions, but the system was unable to power a motor also. The problem is quite similiar to the problem i facing this time.


Thank you

 

[MikeMl]

...
So, is solar charge controller can only work with Lead-Acid Sealed battery?

Yes, for the model you have chosen. Perhaps, there is a model specifically for charging LiPo, but it would be quite different from the one you bought.

 

[moehao]

Yes, for the model you have chosen. Perhaps, there is a model specifically for charging LiPo, but it would be quite different from the one you bought.

Hi,
But I searched at online store, there are just mentioned that the solar charge controller is in PWM or MPPT and the required voltage and ampere only.
So how can I differentiate that the solar charge ccontroller is specifically for charging LiPo or not?

Thank you

 

[MikeMl]

Solar chargers of the type you bought are exclusively for use with Lead-Acid storage batteries.

One idea might be a proper solar panel (20Voc) and a small Sealed Lead Acid battery tied to your existing controller. Then buy a LiPo charger specifically made to start from 12Vdc to charge your specific LiPo. Connect that to the Load output on your existing solar charger.

Look on EBay or other FarEast Importers...

 

[moehao]

Solar chargers of the type you bought are exclusively for use with Lead-Acid storage batteries.

One idea might be a proper solar panel (20Voc) and a small Sealed Lead Acid battery tied to your existing controller. Then buy a LiPo charger specifically made to start from 12Vdc to charge your specific LiPo. Connect that to the Load output on your existing solar charger.

Look on EBay or other FarEast Importers...

Hi Mike,
To clarify, The work of solar charge controller is collect the power from solar panel and then use the power to charge the battery, then the controller will use the power in the battery to power my load, and I no need to connect battery direct to my load. is it?

Thank you

 

[MikeMl]

Go back and look at the picture you attached to post #4. It shows where to connect the panel, the battery, and the "load"

The panel you have will not work with this controller; you need one that outputs ~20V in bright sun!

The only battery you can connect to your controller is a 12V SLA; not a LiPo!

The "load" connection is for what ever you want to power with 12Vdc, in your case this is where you would connect a LiPo charger (not the LiPo battery).

Now read the following which comes right from the maker of your controller:

Product Description

Color:5A 12V/24V
Function:
. Always keep the battery on fill voltage condition.
. Prevent the battery from over-charging.
. Prevent the battery from over-discharging.
. Prevent the battery from reverse charging to solar panels during nights.
. Reverse Polarity Protection for Battery
. Reverse Polarity Protection for Solar Panels
. When the battery voltage is low, the controller will automatically cut off the load from the system. If the voltage of battery is back to normal and the load will restart working.
. Thunder protection
. According to the battery voltage grade, the controller can automatically set charge-off voltage, the load-off voltage, the load- restore voltage. (The parameter is default under 25¡æ condition, locked by the CPU procedure, cannot adjust.)
. The controller will automatically compensate the temperature of the charging voltage according to the changes of ambient temperature.

Warning:
Before connecting to the solar panel, please connect the controller to the battery; do not use solar panel supply power to the loads directly.
Notes:
Do not use lamplight to charge the solar panel (lamplight is too weak to charge)
DC power source to replace the solar panel will cause troubles to controller.
Choose the suitable wire which diameter should not be too small, please refer to the parameter.

Note the two Functions in the list above that I underlined.

 

[moehao]

Go back and look at the picture you attached to post #4. It shows where to connect the panel, the battery, and the "load"

The panel you have will not work with this controller; you need one that outputs ~20V in bright sun!

The only battery you can connect to your controller is a 12V SLA; not a LiPo!

The "load" connection is for what ever you want to power with 12Vdc, in your case this is where you would connect a LiPo charger (not the LiPo battery).

Now read the following which comes right from the maker of your controller:

Product Description

Color:5A 12V/24V
Function:
. Always keep the battery on fill voltage condition.
. Prevent the battery from over-charging.
. Prevent the battery from over-discharging.
. Prevent the battery from reverse charging to solar panels during nights.
. Reverse Polarity Protection for Battery
. Reverse Polarity Protection for Solar Panels
. When the battery voltage is low, the controller will automatically cut off the load from the system. If the voltage of battery is back to normal and the load will restart working.
. Thunder protection
. According to the battery voltage grade, the controller can automatically set charge-off voltage, the load-off voltage, the load- restore voltage. (The parameter is default under 25¡æ condition, locked by the CPU procedure, cannot adjust.)
. The controller will automatically compensate the temperature of the charging voltage according to the changes of ambient temperature.

Warning:
Before connecting to the solar panel, please connect the controller to the battery; do not use solar panel supply power to the loads directly.
Notes:
Do not use lamplight to charge the solar panel (lamplight is too weak to charge)
DC power source to replace the solar panel will cause troubles to controller.
Choose the suitable wire which diameter should not be too small, please refer to the parameter.

Note the two Functions in the list above that I underlined.

Hi Mike,
Very thankful for your comments.
May I know why i need a 20V solar panel for this 12V/24V controller but cannot use my current 12V solar panel?
You mentioned that I have to connect a LiPo charger to the load connection before. However, is it for the case of using LiPo battery or ...
If i change my battery to a Sealed Lead Acid Battery, can i just connect my motor to the load connection?


Thank you.

 

[MikeMl]

Solar panels deliver their rated current only when their terminal voltage is about 75% of their open circuit voltage. It takes ~14.5V to fully charge a 6-cell SLA, so the panel must deliver an Amp or two at a minimum of 14.5V. This requires that the unloaded, open-circuit panel voltage be at least 14.5/0.75 = 19.33V. Most panels rated for this service would have an open-circuit voltage of 20V to 22V. Your existing panel will deliver zero current @12V (its open-circuit rating).

If you do not use the LiPo, and instead connect a 12V Sealed Lead Acid Battery to the solar controller, and connect you motor and its remote control circuit to the "load" terminals of the solar controller, then you can start the motor while the SLA battery voltage is >11.5V (almost fully discharged). The motor will run for a few minutes until the battery discharges below 11.5V. If the panel is in bright sun, after about 30min, the solar controller will have recharged the SLA until it is at 12.5V, at which point the motor may start.

It is my impression that the motor will draw more current than the solar panel can provide, so you will be able to run the motor for much less time than it takes to recharge the battery. The more current the solar panel can produce, the shorter the recharge times.

 

[moehao]

Solar panels deliver their rated current only when their terminal voltage is about 75% of their open circuit voltage. It takes ~14.5V to fully charge a 6-cell SLA, so the panel must deliver an Amp or two at a minimum of 14.5V. This requires that the unloaded, open-circuit panel voltage be at least 14.5/0.75 = 19.33V. Most panels rated for this service would have an open-circuit voltage of 20V to 22V. Your existing panel will deliver zero current @12V (its open-circuit rating).

If you do not use the LiPo, and instead connect a 12V Sealed Lead Acid Battery to the solar controller, and connect you motor and its remote control circuit to the "load" terminals of the solar controller, then you can start the motor while the SLA battery voltage is >11.5V (almost fully discharged). The motor will run for a few minutes until the battery discharges below 11.5V. If the panel is in bright sun, after about 30min, the solar controller will have recharged the SLA until it is at 12.5V, at which point the motor may start.

It is my impression that the motor will draw more current than the solar panel can provide, so you will be able to run the motor for much less time than it takes to recharge the battery. The more current the solar panel can produce, the shorter the recharge times.

Hi Mike,
the solar panel i can get is just 12v only, because my surface area to locate the solar panel is not big .
Ya, the charging time will maybe longer than the run time.
My solar panel spec is 12V and 0.1A. Is this solar panel really cannot use at my system?
Is The battery used at the solar charge controller is just act like a power storage?
May I know why the solar charge controller cannot use LiPo battery but need to use sealed lead acid battery? because the LED at the solar charge controller is on when i connect with battery, and this mean the solar charge controller is taking the power from my battery right? and for power, the power from LiPo and from SLA is it shouldn't be any difference?


Thank you

 

[MikeMl]

Hi Mike,
the solar panel i can get is just 12v only, because my surface area to locate the solar panel is not big .
...
My solar panel spec is 12V and 0.1A. Is this solar panel really cannot use at my system?...

You really cannot use it. If you look at the specs, you will find that your panel puts out 100mA when its output voltage is ~8V, even though it may put out ~12V when unloaded. You can not charge a 12V battery with less than ~14V!

 

[moehao]

You really cannot use it. If you look at the specs, you will find that your panel puts out 100mA when its output voltage is ~8V, even though it may put out ~12V when unloaded. You can not charge a 12V battery with less than ~14V!

Hi Mike,
Thank you very much, i changed the battery to SLA battery and the motor can run already.
The solar panel is so happen to have 14V under the sun also.
Furthermore, I have another question. Will the solar charge controller cut down to a lower voltage for the load automatically? Or I need to add a resistor or regulator between it?
Bcos my speed controller can handle until 8.4V only.


Thank you

 

[MikeMl]

Hi Mike,
Thank you very much, i changed the battery to SLA battery and the motor can run already.
The solar panel is so happen to have 14V under the sun also.
Furthermore, I have another question. Will the solar charge controller cut down to a lower voltage for the load automatically? Or I need to add a resistor or regulator between it?
Bcos my speed controller can handle until 8.4V only.

No. The switch inside your solar controller is either on or off. When on, it supplies the battery voltage to your speed controller, somewhere between 14V when fully charged, and 11.5V when the battery is discharged. When off, it just disconnects your speed controller from the battery (zero volts).

 

[moehao]

No. The switch inside your solar controller is either on or off. When on, it supplies the battery voltage to your speed controller, somewhere between 14V when fully charged, and 11.5V when the battery is discharged. When off, it just disconnects your speed controller from the battery (zero volts).

Hi Mike,
Ok, Noted
Then I will find a 12V speed controller to do it

Thank you

 

[audioguru]

Your Li-Po battery has a 3-wires connector for charging from a balanced Li-Po charger. You are lucky the battery did not explode or catch on fire from charging it with the wrong charger.

 

[ChrisP58]

moehao,
I would suggest taking a step back and defining what you're really trying to do, and then choosing what are the best parts to fit your needs.

Right now, I think that you have some incompatible components that you're trying to make work together. While you may be able to get there, my experience is that I often find that, by the time I finish modifying this and tweeking that while I figure out what it is I really want. That I've wasted more time and money than if I'd given myself a time-out to re-think early on in the process.

 

[audioguru]

Your speed controller has a maximum voltage of only 8.4V because it is designed for a 2 cells Li-Po battery. Each cell is 4.20V when fully charged. But your Rhino battery has 3 cells so it is fully charged at 12.60V and each cell must be charged to 4.20V separately with a "balanced Li-Po charger". Your solar charge controller is designed to charge a "12V" lead-acid battery that is fully charged at about 13.8V.