Batteries?
Tuned
Joined: May 2016
Posts: 385
Likes: 197
From: San Diego
The pic of the Coleman unit is a solar charge controller capable of 7a dc output, don’t think that is an mppt style which are much more efficient.
The pic of the Parallax device is simply a battery charger.
120vac input and 45amps DC output.
Its like the kind you would find in someone’s garage, most camper,trailers come with a unit similar to that.
On another note that charge controller you have will only work with with about 150w of solar, any more panels than that is useless as the output is limited to 7a which is quiet low.
As far as Inverters go they take DC input from your battery’s and convert it to 120vac.
Just remember there is a 10/1 ratio on amperage usage.
Meaning if your using 120vac at 5amps you are depleting your battery’s at 50amps.
The pic of the Parallax device is simply a battery charger.
120vac input and 45amps DC output.
Its like the kind you would find in someone’s garage, most camper,trailers come with a unit similar to that.
On another note that charge controller you have will only work with with about 150w of solar, any more panels than that is useless as the output is limited to 7a which is quiet low.
As far as Inverters go they take DC input from your battery’s and convert it to 120vac.
Just remember there is a 10/1 ratio on amperage usage.
Meaning if your using 120vac at 5amps you are depleting your battery’s at 50amps.
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Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Feb 2023
Posts: 1,924
Likes: 817
The pic of the Coleman unit is a solar charge controller capable of 7a dc output, don’t think that is an mppt style which are much more efficient.
The pic of the Parallax device is simply a battery charger.
120vac input and 45amps DC output.
Its like the kind you would find in someone’s garage, most camper,trailers come with a unit similar to that.
On another note that charge controller you have will only work with with about 150w of solar, any more panels than that is useless as the output is limited to 7a which is quiet low.
As far as Inverters go they take DC input from your battery’s and convert it to 120vac.
Just remember there is a 10/1 ratio on amperage usage.
Meaning if your using 120vac at 5amps you are depleting your battery’s at 50amps.
The pic of the Parallax device is simply a battery charger.
120vac input and 45amps DC output.
Its like the kind you would find in someone’s garage, most camper,trailers come with a unit similar to that.
On another note that charge controller you have will only work with with about 150w of solar, any more panels than that is useless as the output is limited to 7a which is quiet low.
As far as Inverters go they take DC input from your battery’s and convert it to 120vac.
Just remember there is a 10/1 ratio on amperage usage.
Meaning if your using 120vac at 5amps you are depleting your battery’s at 50amps.
Hotshot
Joined: Oct 2015
Posts: 19,711
Likes: 12,853
From: Wyoming
Figure out how much solar you can put on the roof first. Then get a solar charge controller for that amount of solar. If you can't get enough solar on the roof, deploy some on the ground. You may be far enough north that in the winter you need a buttload of solar to get enough power from them to charge the batteries.
When I think of quality solar charge controllers, Coleman isn't a brand that comes to mind. As stated already, it's probably a PWM controller, not an MPPT controller. If you have a small amount of solar, PWM is OK. The more solar you get, the more likely you'll want to be using an MPPT solar charge controller. Solar panels should be matched, they should all have the same specifications. You can implement panels with different specifications (differences in voltage and amperage) but you'll pay the price of the set of panels operating at the lowest common denominator.
LiFePO4 batteries do not like being charged below 32°F. The closer you get to 32°F the lower the charge amps need to be. I run warming pads on my LiFePO4 batteries (that I built myself) to ensure they are always above 32°F and ready to take a charge.
I've camped down to -8°F in my non-four season toy hauler. It was a struggle to keep it warm and the pipes unfrozen.
When I think of quality solar charge controllers, Coleman isn't a brand that comes to mind. As stated already, it's probably a PWM controller, not an MPPT controller. If you have a small amount of solar, PWM is OK. The more solar you get, the more likely you'll want to be using an MPPT solar charge controller. Solar panels should be matched, they should all have the same specifications. You can implement panels with different specifications (differences in voltage and amperage) but you'll pay the price of the set of panels operating at the lowest common denominator.
LiFePO4 batteries do not like being charged below 32°F. The closer you get to 32°F the lower the charge amps need to be. I run warming pads on my LiFePO4 batteries (that I built myself) to ensure they are always above 32°F and ready to take a charge.
I've camped down to -8°F in my non-four season toy hauler. It was a struggle to keep it warm and the pipes unfrozen.
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