Looking for 10-20A charge controller that runs from panel instead of battery

[bigbfan]

Hello,

This is my first ever solar project. Pls bear with me.
We are doing a project at a farm that pumps rain out from a barrel into drip irrigation. Project works well except that we are finding that due to cloudy weather our battery is draining pretty often, and since the charge controller we are using powers from the battery, we are in catch22 as it never starts even when the sun is out. We used car battery starter to jump start the battery and then everything works until next time the battery drains. We are looking at getting bigger batteries but I feel we should also invest in a charge controller that powers form the panel instead , else we are always chasing our tail. Or a charge controller that can be run from an alternate source. Any pointers ?


Below is our charge controller that we are hoping to replace: it’s a 10A charger .

SUNER POWER Waterproof 10A Solar Charge Controller - Intelligent 12V/24V Solar Panel Battery Regulator https://a.co/d/bs3cydq
Our batterry is a standard lead acid rechargeable 35Ah battery
Our panel is a 50W panel: Suner Power panel.

Thanks

 

[Bud Martin]

Hello,

This is my first ever solar project. Pls bear with me.
We are doing a project at a farm that pumps rain out from a barrel into drip irrigation. Project works well except that we are finding that due to cloudy weather our battery is draining pretty often, and since the charge controller we are using powers from the battery, we are in catch22 as it never starts even when the sun is out. We used car battery starter to jump start the battery and then everything works until next time the battery drains. We are looking at getting bigger batteries but I feel we should also invest in a charge controller that powers form the panel instead , else we are always chasing our tail. Or a charge controller that can be run from an alternate source. Any pointers ?


Below is our charge controller that we are hoping to replace: it’s a 10A charger .

SUNER POWER Waterproof 10A Solar Charge Controller - Intelligent 12V/24V Solar Panel Battery Regulator https://a.co/d/bs3cydq
Our batterry is a standard lead acid rechargeable 35Ah battery
Our panel is a 50W panel: Suner Power panel.

Thanks

1) What is the spec of the pump? is it 12Vdc pump?
2) What is the spec of the 50W panel? 50W seems to be too small to charge the battery back up and running the load at the same time.

It looks to me you need to have a battery low Voltage load cutoff when the battery gets too low otherwise the battery will be ruined due to draining down too much.

 

[bigbfan]

I am new to this so apologies.
Yes the pump is a 12VDC pump.

Here is the panel with the kit we bought: :

SUNER POWER 50 Watts Mono Crystalline 12V Solar Panel Kits - Waterproof 50W Solar Panel + Upgraded 10A Solar Charge Controller + 3-PCS SAE Cable Adapters for Car RV Marine Boat Trailer Off Grid System https://a.co/d/09bwxrX

I am looking at adding another 35Ah battery in parallel. How much will that help ?
Also how do I implement a load cut of at low voltages ? I don’t think my controller has that feature :-(

Puneet

 

[Hardergamer1]

Like Bud said, it sounds like your solar panel is too small, I have a similar setup using the linked charge controller which is powered from the solar, but I have 300w of panels powering a 12v 3a pump, with a low voltage cut-off of 12.5v pulling power from 2x 110ah LA deep cycle batteries, but it sounds like you are asking too much from your setup.
What amps is your pump pulling? or wattage.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/100...ef16775611160477933e5d44!12000020529840166!sh

 

[time2roll]

Look for a controller with a load control output. This will allow the controller to cut power to the pump before the battery is flat dead. Controller will continue to operate at a minimum idle until the sun is on the panels again and the battery voltage recovers. Then the pump comes on.

https://www.morningstarcorp.com/products/sunsaver/

 

[Hardergamer1]

I know you are in the US but this is what i'm using for a low voltage battery cut off, as you never want to take a LA battery below 12v ish, as it will damage them in 5-10 discharges.

XH-M609 DC 12-36V Battery Over Discharge Protection Module Low Voltage Cut-Off.​

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Battery-Voltage-Disconnect-XH-M609-Protection/dp/B08BCMH1FY

 

[Hardergamer1]

Look for a controller with a load control output. This will allow the controller to cut power to the pump before the battery is flat dead. Controller will continue to operate at a minimum idle until the sun is on the panels again and the battery voltage recovers. Then the pump comes on.

https://www.morningstarcorp.com/products/sunsaver/

They look good but super expensive, especially for a 10a controller at £200.

 

[Hardergamer1]

I just add, looking at your other thread, you have to plan this out, first your pump is 120w, but pumps can pull 10x this on start up, and a standard LA battery is not meant for deep cycling, you really need a LA deep cycle battery (110ah+) or Lifepo4 (much better), then you need to work out how much power you are using and then buy the needed size battery and solar system, which is going to be much bigger than you think to run that pump. Or you be like you said "chasing your tail"

 

[time2roll]

They look good but super expensive, especially for a 10a controller at £200.

About $100usd on amazon since the OP is in San Jose CA.