Good charge controller?

[Atokatim]

I am starting to tinker a little more with solar and would like to get a reliable charge controller for less than $50.  Currently, I have a 24V 18 watt solar panel that I plan on charging a 12v sealed battery which will run a pump for rain water distribution.  The pump has a pressure control switch which turns the pump on and off automatically when the pressure in the system adjusts based on usage.  I tried to build my own charge controller with a basic adjustable voltage regulator but I was not able to get any more than 720ma charging current due to the limitations of the regulator.  I would also like to expand the solar array to charge a bigger 12v battery bank for use on other items, so a home made charge controller does not seem to be economical to me.  Does anyone have any recommendations for a good charge controller I can purchase for less than $50?  I found some on Amazon, but I am really not sure what I should start with.  Thanks for any help!

[Atokatim]

I found this on amazon, but it does not have many reviews.

http://www.amazon.com/Controller-Regulator-Charging-Automatic-Functions/dp/B008I0IZ7O/ref=sr_1_20?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1351741061&sr=1-20&keywords=solar+charge+controller

Is this something I could start with or is there something better?

[birdhouse]

with the info provided, a Ghurd charge controller is going to be the best bet. 

ghurd.info.com is the site i believe.  he's a member here that gives a board, but ya gotta solder it yourself.  it has proven to be a very reliable CC in as big of a system as you want to run.  you just purchase more mosphets if you need bigger power regulation.

many here run them without issue, and at $14???  it is the best deal under the sun! 

adam

[Atokatim]

Hmmm.  That is awesome!  I will check into that and hopefully get in contact with him.

[OperaHouse]

  I tried to build my own charge controller

Do you think you could build one if you had a good circuit.  If you are driving a pump I would put some smarts in the system to prevent operation at low voltage.  You could probably use other smart functions in your system.  I would investigate an Arduino UNO.  I have one functioning as a charge controller, pump controller and data logger.

[Atokatim]

I never got into the arduino since it did not have the processing power I was looking for at the time of another project.  I use the Parallax Propeller for all my projects now since it can handle multiple tasks at once.  I did think about building my own charge controller, but I don't know enough about charging batteries to know where to start. 

I did get a charge controller from a local solar installer who said it just died on him and he did not know how to fix it.  I wound up replacing a regulator on the charge circuit and a diode on the battery voltage display and got it working again...I think....  I have a 24V solar panel and am charging a 12V sealed battery.  Once everything was connected though the charge controller, I tested it with a meter and saw that the output voltage to the battery was pulsing from 12V to 18V+  I don't know if this is how to properly charge a battery, nor if putting higher than 14.5 V directly to a 12V battery was a good idea or not.  The solar installer guy said that once the battery gets to 14.5V, the controller will slow the pulsing and keep the battery regulated at 14.5V

[jasonmanning]

A good solar charge controller is nothing but a voltage or current regulator that prevents batteries from overcharging .Its main purpose is to regulate the voltage and current coming out from solar panels and going to the battery...

[Bruce S]

You do know this thread is well over 6 years old right?

[JW]

This guy made like 7 posts most of which I deleted this morning. Im not surprised you did not get a reply.

[jasonmanning]

You do know this thread is well over 6 years old right?

Sorry for that, was just getting familiar with the forum and replied in random. Will take care