Old engle and Solarex MSX 60

Sorry but there is no such thing as "best" solar regulator , bit like best 4x4 or best fridge debates , $s equals features in regulators and 1 of the better ones is a Steca, it will tell you how much power in and how much out , cost for a pl20 is now somewhere inbetween $200 and $250 , dont skimp on wire size and in good conditions your pair of panels should give you round 5 to 7amp per hr , if your Engle is one of the older green and cream jobs it will use on average 3 to 3.5amps per hr , get yourself a 1/2 decent battery like a Fullriver 100amp hr AGM for all the 'free" power to reside in and all your beers stay cold.

Scotty.
I have 3 x Solarex MSX53 panels, they would be coming up to 10 years old, as is the Engel fridge. No problems with the panels over this time.
The fella from Solarcharge, from where the panels came from gave me some specs on solar panels and Engel fridges. To run the fridge on Freeze - constant 3.5 amp load I would need 4 of the 53 watt panels.
With just one 60 watt panel, you shouldn't need a regulator as the fridge load will regulate the input and the overall fridge power consumption will exceed that of the solar panel input. With two panels, a regulator will be required.
One of the cheaper solenoid type regulators may suffice. These simply measure the battery voltage and turn off the solar input if the battery voltage is already high. Better types will regulate the input current to suit the state of charge on the battery.
You will get what you pay for.

G'day Scotty76, Don't know about being the best, but I have just bought a new regulator for my set up it is a SBC - 7120 PV (Solar) Charge Controller. Has a digital read-out
LCD Displays Charging & Battery Status

There are a number of other features, to many to list. But so far this regulator has been successful for me

There are other brands and I have had varying degrees of success with two of them. The only one I have had any problems with has been the Sunsei brand, lasted 3 weeks didn't break down but overcharged to 16.2 volts instead of the 13.7 continuous it was meant to be set at.
Hope this helps

andy

Scott,
Look at a STECA solar regulator as mentioned above.
They operate just like a 3 stage battery charger - not a single charge, on/off battery charger.

Link: Site Link

Various regs are listed above, with benefits and prices.

Get an AGM Aux battery as they recharge much faster and will safely discharge much lower than any wet cell battery.

welcome to the band of solar 'free power' users

G'day Scott
We run a current model 40 litre Engel on 2 x 40 watt solarex panels through a cheap Solsum 6.6 regulator. The reg has no bells or whistles on it but it does the job. 80 watts of power is tons for our Engel. We stay put for a month at Cape Leveque each year and have cold beer and champers each day.
Cheers
Peter