15, 20 or 30amp regulator...

Hi Lia

From what I understand the amperage is what the regulator can deliver on its load terminals.
Personally I don't use the load terminals, mine is not mounted permanently I only charge the batteries with mine.

Lia,

It comes down to how much current your goint to draw through your reg and how much you are going to put in.

I am currently running a Steca 15 amp reg, with 2 x 80w Sharp panels. I have been getting up to 9.3 amps in to the reg in good sun.

I run:
Compressor Fridge - 5 amps
CD Player - >1 amp
8 x LED Lights - about 2 amps if all on
Range hood - 2 amps
Water Pump - 3.5 amps

So if I have everything on at once I guess I will be cutting it close.

We have been living full time in the van now since July and have been fine. Not once have the batterys(2 x 100ah AGMS) dropped bellow 80% SOC.

Hope this helps

Matt

Its pretty easy if you use one of the solar calculators under members fileswap.

Matt

No Dramas,

If you are unsure what size to get, it better to go with the largest capacity you can afford.

Matt

How big a solar panel/array are you intending to use ?

The Morningstar SunSaver MPPT (15amp) controller will accept up to 200 Watts solar input (12 volt battery), or 400 Watts (24v batt)...

Morningstar SunSaver MPPT

With the exchange rate as it is right now, these are very affordable if purchased from any of several sources in the Good ol' U S of A (you'll even find 'em on ebay)..

I'm using one of these, and am extremely happy with it :)

:)

Hi Lia,

What size Solar panel have to got

Lia, regardless of which amp capacity you get, you won't cook the battery. The amp rating is the maximum capacity, not how much it forces into the battery.

As mentioned earlier basically get the most amps you can afford. The rating of 15A, 20A or 25A etc is the maximum that the charger can handle.

The capacity you buy will determine the maximum solar Panel Capacity you can use.

For MPPT chargers it will work out like this at peak performance.

15A means that you can use up to about 180 watts of solar panels.
20A means that you can use up to about 240 watts of solar panels.
25A means that you can use up to about 300 watts of solar panels.

You could get say a 25A charger with only say 80W of panels and it will all work perfectly. Getting the larger capacity in the charger will allow you to add more panels later.

What is the MAXIMUM amount of Solar Panel power you expect to be getting in the future ?

If you don't expect to be getting more than 250 watts of Solar Panels, then there is absolutely no point in getting anything bigger than a 15 amp solar regulator.

I could impress you with lot's of technical information explaining why, but I think this is the answer you want.

OK! Ive found a morningstar 30 amp with monitor and temp. snesor for US$215. Its PWM not MPPT, but I can live with that.

Thanks for advice.