Help with Solar system

calistro

Hi, looking for some info please.

I bought a plug & play type solar system recently which consisted of:

1 x 140w panel
1x 10A Charge Controller
1 x 160AH Lead acid battery
1 x 350w Inverter

Now when I unpacked the whole lot there were 2 x 140w panels in the box

Am I right in saying I got an extra panel as it seems the system is sized for 1 panel considering the 10A controller that was included? After connecting up to 1 panel everything was working fine.

If I connect the 2nd panel in parallel will I need to upgrade the charge controller to 20A or more, as both panels connected will be about 16A.

Thanks for any help.

Controller rating needs to be max, load + 20%. Unless it has current limiting which most don't.

calistro

Cheers!....was looking at a Steca 30a controller, so will go with that.

I wouldn't they're mostly made of bubblegum.

MorningStar are great.
EP solar are what Victron rebrands and sells under their own label.

calistro

Sir Liamalot wrote: »

I wouldn't they're mostly made of bubblegum.

MorningStar are great.
EP solar are what Victron rebrands and sells under their own label.

Oh right!......looked at both of those, fairly pricey. Should have said that the system will only be used a couple of weeks of the year. Would the Steca be okay or are there major issues with them ?

I buy used Morningstar gear cheaper than new Steca.

The Steca is better than nothing. The SOC meter is highly inaccurate. The internal temperature sensor (thermistor) is mounted beside electronic tiny under-rated heat sinks.
No facility of current measurement and I've seen a lot of people bin them once they meet a good one.

"Intelligent" chargers are only as good as the designer who wrote the charge algorithm.

calistro

Thanks again for all the info. Any links to where I might source a used Morningstar, thinking about the Prostar 30

PM sent.