Comments on: 10 Watt Solar Charger

By: kvusmc

kvusmc — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 15:06:49 +0000

Good Job I like It

By: Moses3282

Moses3282 — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 15:06:25 +0000

cool logman91. I guess you plug your stuff right into the batteries somehow. with my setup you plug everything in to the charge controller. It’s got a 4 amp fuse so I couldn’t run such huge powertools, of course….but look what you can do with 10 watts of power. I saw a 45 W solar charger from Harbor Freight for only $199 and was pretty impressed.

By: Moses3282

Moses3282 — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 13:26:53 +0000

answer part 2:
the 10 W panel in the video is rated at .67 amps and the charge controller is only rated at 4 amps. To know the wattage you have to know the VOLTAGE as well as the current. Maximum system current 4 amps (remember, the charge controller’s limit) times maximum voltage of about 12 volts is about 48 watts, which is a lot. more than what you need for something like a laptop.

let me know how it goes, kricotoy. don’t use all those 10 amps! that’s a lot of current.

Have fun, Jocelyn.

By: Moses3282

Moses3282 — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 12:42:12 +0000

answer part 1:
hi kricotoy,
well the good news is you can definitely build this charger or one like it with a 10 amp charge controller. the difference between a 10 amp and a 30 amp charge controller is that the 10 amp can handle 10 amps of current running through it, and the 30 amp can handle 30 amps of current. so, what you need to know is, what is the rated current of your panel and what is the current of the load? for small applications 10 amps should be more than adequate.

By: Logman91

Logman91 — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 11:27:27 +0000

those cloudy days and when i know i am going to be using it soon and i deffjnately have gotten my use out of my setup. I have even run a smaller microwave off this setup. Not for very long mind you but it deffinately works and it all has only costed me(for just the solar setup and batteries and inverters and charger) under $200. I bought the 2 panels, 1 battery, and the charger new. I got the 2nd battery for nothing(i garbage pick alot) and the inverters off craigslist real cheap.

By: kricotoy

kricotoy — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 09:14:54 +0000

how many what is u charge controller?
whats the diference in 10 and 30 amp?
i just bought on ebay by mistake a 10 amp
charger controller…:(

By: Logman91

Logman91 — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 05:45:46 +0000

I have 2 – 5 watt solar panels that i bought at harbor freight here in wisconsin and i have 2 deep cycle marine/rv batteries and i run a 1200 watt continuous/2000 watt surge off of them and i have this all in and on my toolbox in my truck. I am constantly running drills, dremel tools, even my desktop computer off of it and there was plenty of power. Doesnt charge as fast as i drain but i also have a charger that runs off a 100 watt inverter that plugs into my cigarette lighter of the truck for