swiftk77
New Member
I am a VERY newbie to solar, although I have been consider it for my RV! A few weeks ago I had a driveway gate installed and it came with a solar kit, but it just isn't charging the batteries and I don't know if it's the panel or the charge controller. The panel is a small 20 watt @ 24 volts, but the max power current (Imp) is only 0.56 amps. Everything tests out with my multi-meter, I get anywhere between 36-41 volts during peak sun and the amps remains pretty close to 0.56, but my two 12 volt small seal lead acid deep cycle batteries aren't getting charged. I called the gate company and it was clear within 5 mins that I knew more about solar than they did, and that was after an hour of googling. So the question I have is, "will 0.56 amps enough current to charge the batteries"? Do I need to get an extra solar panel to double the amp output? Should I just get a larger 24 volt panel; such as 100 watt to get ~5amps instead?
Thanks and sorry for the novice question!
Thanks and sorry for the novice question!